UFC

Israel Adesanya might get the chance to go G.O.A.T. hunting after all ...

UFC honcho Dana White tells TMZ Sports he's very interested in an Israel Adesanya vs. Jon Jones fight ... but Israel's gotta take out Robert Whittaker first!

Remember, Israel -- who's 17-0 with an impressive win over UFC legend Anderson Silva -- told us a fight with Jon Jones "tickles my loins" ... and added, "I already killed one G.O.A.T. and I'm hunting the next."

Jon saw the clip ... and fired back, "I’ll make you call me daddy by the third [round]."

In fact, Israel was ringside at Jon's UFC 239 fight earlier this month -- but later said he wasn't impressed with Jones.

So, when we saw White out in Beverly Hills ... we had to ask if he has any interest in putting an Israel vs. Jones fight together.

"I do," White said ... but he made it clear nothing's in stone and Israel has to get through Whittaker at UFC 243 in October first.

"If he beats Robert Whittaker, he's a very very dangerous guy and a guy Jones needs to take serious.

FYI, Whittaker is the current middleweight champ -- and famously beat Yoel Romero, TWICE!!

Should be fun ...

Henry Cejudo wins again!!!

The UFC superstar is down in Mexico on vacation with a smokin' hot lady on his arm ... and by the looks of things, he's having a GREAT time!!!

Triple C (two UFC championship belts and an Olympic gold medal) was spotted out in Tulum with a new lady friend.

We're told the mystery lady is a soap opera actress from Brazil named Sandra -- and by the looks of it, we're guessing she also does some modeling (if not, she should).

Our Cejudo sources tell us the two are vacation together (it's not like he met her down there) but they're not an official boyfriend, girlfriend thing just yet.

As one source put, "He's still single man. He's having fun."

Cejudo is having one hell of a year in 2019 -- he defended his UFC flyweight belt in January against a juiced up T.J. Dillashaw and then in June he starched Marlon Moraes for the bantamweight title.

Logan Paul says he and KSI are thiiiis close to finalizing the details on a rematch ... and it's gonna BIG!!!

Remember, the two YouTube superstars clashed at Manchester Arena in England for a 6-round Pay-Per-View boxing match back in August 2018 ... a match that ended in a majority draw.

The fight did impressively well -- even drawing compliments from UFC honcho Dana White -- and leaving many wondering when they would run it back.

But, when we spoke with Logan at Quavo's celebrity charity basketball game on Tuesday in Los Angeles ... he told us some of the big details are being ironed out as we speak.

Paul says the fight will DEFINITELY take place in L.A. and the venue is down to either the Staples Center or The Forum ... two iconic arenas.

As for KSI, Logan says he's confident he'll beat the brakes off his YouTube rival ... telling us, "KSI's a bitch, bro! I mean it!"

Paul also says KSI hasn't been taking his boxing training seriously -- and "he looks like a f*cking meatball right now."

Conversely, Logan says he's in the best shape of his life ... and as you already know, he's fighting all comers in the boxing ring he set up in the backyard of his L.A. home -- including fake Ivan Drago.

AFC North quarterbacks better watch out ... 'cause Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett has been training with Stipe Miocic ... and the UFC heavyweight says he was blown away by his power!!!

Stipe and the Pro Bowl defensive end focused on power work and and combinations in the cage earlier this week ... and Miocic says Garrett was loving every second of it -- and was crushing it!!

"He's an absolute beast," Miocic tells TMZ Sports. "Whatever that dude does, he's good at."

The Cleveland sports hero is a HUGE Browns fan ... so he says he's down to train Garrett's teammates like Baker Mayfield and OBJ to help out his beloved Brownies in any way.

We asked if Garrett would be able to hold his own in an MMA fight someday down the road ... and it's clear Stipe thinks he's got a legitimate shot.

"He's just gotta stand there and punch someone one time. That dude's got power. He's got a LOT of power."

Stipe has his own fight around the corner -- a rematch with Daniel Cormier at UFC 241 -- and he's got one message for DC.

Floyd Mayweather's reps have been "begging" Khabib Nurmagomedov to sign a contract for a Conor McGregor-style boxing match ... this according to Khabib's manager. 

"Floyd Mayweather to this day keeps begging to fight Khabib, BEGGING!" Ali Abdelaziz tells TMZ Sports.

"I'm telling you, people reaching out to me every week about Floyd to fight Khabib but at the end of the day, we're not interested ... for now."

Ali says Khabib is laser-focused on his Sept. 7 fight against Dustin Poirier in Abu Dhabi for the UFC lightweight title ... and after that he's eyeing either Tony Ferguson or Georges St-Pierre. 

Ali also represents Henry Cejudo -- so we asked how he felt about recently-unretired UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber calling for a crack at the Triple C. 

Long story short, Ali says Henry would be down ... but he wants 40-year-old Urijah to fight #1 bantamweight contender Marlon Moraes first ... and if Faber can get through Marlon, he would prove he's worthy of a title shot. 

Stay tuned on this one ... 

UFC stud Jorge Masvidal will NOT get a crack at Conor McGregor, despite his record-breaking victory over Ben Askren ... so says Dana White. 

"Hell no," White told us ... explaining that Masvidal is a welterweight fighter (170 lbs) and he's simply too big for take on the smaller McGregor, who fights at lightweight (154 lbs). 

"There's plenty of fights for him in his weight division without Conor," White said ... "He's too big for Conor. [McGregor] doesn't belong in 170."

"[Conor] has the balls to fight at 170, but he doesn't belong there."

So, when WILL Conor return to the Octagon and who will he fight? 

White says he expects to see Conor back in action either at the end of 2019 or early 2020 -- but he won't commit to an opponent until Khabib Nurmagomedov fights Dustin Poirier in September.

McGregor will NOT automatically get the winner of that fight -- but White says it will be easier to matchmake after that fight goes down. 

"A lot of things will shake out and we'll see who's next."

Conor hasn't fought since UFC 229 back in October 2018 when he lost to Khabib -- and he's currently nursing an injured left hand he busted up during a recent training session. 

Dana White says Urijah Faber's comeback is REAL -- telling TMZ Sports the 40-year-old's victory this weekend was legitimately impressive ... and he ain't ruling out a fight with Henry Cejudo. 

Faber hadn't fought in 3 years when he came out of retirement to take on Ricky Simon on Saturday -- and Faber destroyed him in 46 seconds!

"He looked good man," White told TMZ Sports. 

"Obviously, not just who he beat but HOW he beat him and how he did it. He looked incredible."

Earlier this week, Faber told us he wants a shot at Henry Cejudo at Madison Square Garden in November -- but after talking with Dana, it seems Urijah might have to wait. 

White explained that Cejudo should defend his 125 pound title against Joe Benavidez BEFORE taking on Faber ... giving Henry a chance to avenge his last defeat (Joe beat Henry in 2016). 

Look, it's obvious Faber vs. Cejudo isn't White's priority -- but Dana clearly knows there's interest ... and that's good for Urijah. 

In the meantime, White says he's glad Cejudo -- who's the champ in TWO weight classes -- is willing to defend both of his titles. 

"I think that he's a guy who can carry both of them ... by both of them I mean both divisions."

We also spoke with White about Pernell Whitaker -- and how much he meant to the world of combat sports. 

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is so amped up after his victory over Ricky Simon this weekend -- he wants a shot at Henry Cejudo ... and he wants it THIS YEAR!!

"He's the best guy in the world and I want to fight him," the 40-year-old legend told TMZ Sports ... "It makes sense."

Faber says at his age, he doesn't want to be sitting out too long -- and says his dream situation would be to fight Cejudo at UFC 244 on November 2 at Madison Square Garden.

"I think Henry's injured at the moment, but the sooner the better!"

Urijah's right ... Henry is currently recovering from shoulder surgery and will likely be out the rest of the year -- but if Faber has to wait until early 2020, it sounds like he's down. 

Faber also tells us why he thinks fighting Cejudo would be a good matchup for him stylistically. 

And, if that fight doesn't come to fruition, there's another UFC star Faber would be down to scrap ... T.J. Dillashaw. 

Every blockbuster fight needs a big-time promoter ... and Floyd Mayweather tells TMZ Sports he's the guy for Justin Bieber's potential fight against Tom Cruise!!

As we previously reported ... there have been serious talks about setting up a fight between the 25-year-old singer and the 57-year-old movie superstar after Biebs playfully tweeted about wanting a piece of TC last month. 

Dana White -- who was tagged in Bieber's initial post about the dream fight -- has said he'd be down to make it happen and predicts it would be the biggest fight in UFC history.

Enter Mayweather -- who says he wants NOTHING to do with training either celeb for the possible fight ... but wants EVERYTHING to do with the money involved.

"If they bring me in as a promoter, then I can talk about it. But until then, I gotta stay in my lane. Gotta stay in my business."

Remember, Mayweather used to be super tight with Justin Bieber -- he even let the pop star walk him to the ring for a few of his fights. Floyd even trained Bieber to box at one point.  

But, the two had a falling out back in 2017 ... and haven't really spoken since. 

Floyd didn't back Justin when we spoke with him ... but he didn't exactly praise him either. 

UFC star Urijah Faber's comeback could be a short one -- like 1 fight -- IF he doesn't get a crack at champ-champ Henry Cejudo, the HOFer tells TMZ Sports.

40-year-old Faber walked away from fighting in December 2016 ... but recently inked a deal to fight Ricky Simon at UFC Fight Night 155 on Saturday -- almost 3 years after retiring.

The California Kid tells us he hasn't decided what he'll do after his fight -- meaning he could hang the gloves back up.

"The truth is, I'll make that decision later. I'm really enjoying this process at the moment. For me, 1 fight at a time," Faber tells us.

But, there's 1 big catch ... he'll absolutely without any doubt fight Cejudo.

"Fighting Henry Cejudo, Mr. Cringe himself," Urijah says ... "I'll fight that dude all day. Believe that."

Remember, Henry called out Urijah in the Octagon after winning the bantamweight title last month.... saying he had a hit list and Faber was on it.

"Styles make matchups. He's not gonna break me, that's absolutely sure. I'm not worried about getting out wrestled or out grappled. His pressure is what's won him fights. That's something I can handle. Pressure is all good with me."

The greatest female boxer in the world wants a piece of the greatest female UFC fighter in the world ... with Claressa Shields guaranteeing she'd KNOCK OUT Amanda Nunes!!!

"If we were to fight, I would win," Shields told us bluntly ... "In boxing, yeah, Amanda Nunes would go to sleep."

24-year-old Shields is a MONSTER in the ring -- she's 9-0 and the undisputed women's middleweight champion of the world! BEAST!!

Of course, Nunes ain't no punk -- she's widely considered the greatest female MMA fighter EVER ... after smashing everyone from Ronda Rousey to Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm. 

Sheilds says Nunes would obviously have the advantage if they stepped into the Octagon, but in a pure fistfight ... oh man, Sheilds says Nunes wouldn't stand a chance! 

So, could it happen? 

Don't rule it out ... Nunes prides herself on her striking ability and we've seen MMA fighters jump into the boxing ring before (McGregor vs. Mayweather anyone!?). 

In the meantime, Claressa says she REALLY wants a crack at welterweight champ Cecilia Braekhus, a 35-0 superstar who hails from Norway. 

UFC champ Kamaru Usman says he was genuinely "scared" for his UFC rival, Ben Askren -- saying that 5-second, knee-to-the-head knockout looked REALLY bad in person. 

Usman was in the crowd at UFC 239 in Vegas last weekend when Jorge Masvidal turned out Askren's lights with a ferocious flying knee ... and Kamaru admits, "I was kinda scared."

"Actually, I was kinda sad cause he was out for a long, long time," Kamaru says ... "He was out for about 5 to 7 minutes." 

"I was kinda scared cause he was stiff. I thought something might've happened."

Askren was rushed to a nearby hospital -- but tweeted later that night and says he's fine. 

Of course, Kamaru and Ben have a pretty nasty history ... Askren mocked Kamaru for months by calling him "Marty," the Americanized nickname he got during his college wrestling days. 

But, when push comes to shove, Kamaru says he doesn't wish terrible things on Askren -- you can tell there's some real respect there. 

As for Masvidal, who's been pushing for a shot at Kamaru's belt, Usman says the guy needs to "SLOW DOWN" ... though he seems open to the idea. 

Chandler Jones would BEAT THE HELL out of his famous UFC brother, Jon Jones ... so says the Arizona Cardinals DE himself, who tells TMZ Sports, "I'll beat Jon Bones' ass!!"

"Listen, he has the longest arms in the UFC," Chandler says ... "My arms are longer than his. That's my brother, I love him to death, but I'll kick his ass!"

The clip is hilarious ... but Chandler seems dead serious -- telling us his older brother would take the first real L of his career if the two really did square up.

And why? Chandler says it's all about his power.

"I would wrestle him. I'm more strong than he is," Chandler says ... "Listen, I'm not trying to brag, but I go against 300-pound men every day. Jon Bones is like, what, 235?"

Jon fights at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds ... while Chandler plays at 6-foot-5, 265 pounds. The tale of the tape is interesting ...

As for Jon's input on the matter, Chandler says even the UFC superstar knows he'd get wrecked in the bro-on-bro fight!!

"Easy work," Chandler says.

Anderson Silva is one of the greatest fighters to ever live ... but the Spider says we ain't seen NOTHIN' yet ... telling TMZ Sports his son could be even better than him!!

Silva's 20-year-old son, Gabriel, just competed in his first Muay Thai fight last month and beat his opponent via 2nd-round TKO ... so we had to ask his dad how good his son could be.

"He has a great future inside the sport." Spider says ... adding it's too soon to decide whether he'll follow in his footsteps to be a UFC superstar.

We followed up by asking if Gabriel could be better than his daddy, and Silva said, "of course!!!"

Silva says they've sparred together in the past ... and his son has beaten him!!