UFC

There's one person who thinks Ronda Rousey won't hate Paige VanZant's guts forever ... Paige VanZant ... who says she's more than confident she and Rousey will be gal pals again.

You know the story ... Ronda went nuclear on Paige at a VIP event earlier this year -- cussing her out in public ... all because PVZ congratulated Holly Holm after she punched Ronda's face in.

You'd think Paige would still be pissed, right??

Wrong.

Check out the clip -- Paige thinks they'll be all Thelma & Louise again before you know it (they were friendly before the incident).

Cris "Cyborg" Justino says it's destiny for her to fight Ronda Rousey -- and says when the two finally meet, she's gonna knock Ronda the hell out.

Ex-UFC fighter Diego Brandao has admitted to pulling a gun during an altercation with bouncers at an Albuquerque strip club ... but the former "Ultimate Fighter" champ insists it was only in self-defense.

TMZ Sports obtained video of Brandao being grilled by cops following his arrest on April 15th -- during an incident in which cops say the fighter pistol-whipped a bouncer at Knockouts bar after he was denied entry. The bouncers told cops Brandao was too drunk to get in.

During the interrogation, the 28-year-old Brazilian fighter begins by adamantly denying he ever had a weapon -- but the cops pressed him hard and warned there would be consequences if he was lying.

"Listen, you just said you don't wanna f*** your life," one of the cops told Brandao ... "If anybody comes up with video showing that you had a gun, you're life is gonna be f***ed."

Brandao immediately changed his story and admitted to having the gun -- but says he only pulled it out because one the bouncers had a gun. Plus, Brandao says he was being choked out and wanted to put a stop to it.

When cops asked Brandao what happened to his gun, the UFC fighter said he broke it into several pieces and scattered them away from the bar.

During the interrogation, cops suggest there may be video of the entire incident -- and it could hold the key to Brandao's case.

Gabriel Iglesias says he predicted Nate Diaz's upset over Conor McGregor -- saying he's got the one quality Conor just couldn't prepare for ... SUPER HOODNESS!

We're about to reach a whole new level of Steve-O craziness ... 'cause he's freakin' calling out ISIS ... and he's doing it in the name of UFC fighter Tim Kennedy.

Kennedy's situation is no laughing matter ... the FBI was investigating "credible threats" against the fighter -- an uber Patriot -- earlier this year ... believing those threats were possibly coming from ISIS operatives.

Steve-O and Kennedy are buds ... so much so that Steve-O let Tim CHOKE HIM OUT at a recent comedy show ... and when we ran into the "Jackass" star at LAX he let it be known ... he's got Tim's back.

For the record ... Tim Kennedy is an ex-Green Beret ... Steve-O is not.

Check out the clip.

Conor McGregor just hit the red carpet at the VIP Style Awards in Ireland -- the first event he's been at since Dana White yanked him out of UFC 200.

But Conor and his girlfriend, Dee Devlin, didn't look angry or upset -- it was the exact opposite ... smiling, happy and taking selfies and signing autographs for anyone lucky enough to get close.

Paige VanZant has confirmed Miesha Tate's story -- that she WAS cussed out by Ronda Rousey last month ... and says the whole thing was "shocking and totally unnecessary."

In a statement to TMZ Sports, VanZant says, "It appears that I offended Ronda by congratulating Holly after her victory. The incident was very shocking and totally unnecessary."

Tate described the incident in great detail on Joe Rogan's podcast ... saying Rousey tracked Paige down and unleashed the fury all over her during the April 27 incident ... claiming Paige has "crossed her" by giving props to Holm.

Ronda Rousey went ballistic on fellow UFC superstar Paige VanZant at a VIP party -- dropping all sorts of F-bombs -- all because Paige congratulated Holly Holm ... this according to Miesha Tate.

When it comes to policy, Miesha Tate says Donald Trump has one thing 100% right ... his blinding hatred for Ronda Rousey!

UFC star Nick Diaz says training with Jean-Claude Van Damme this weekend was a dream come true -- especially since JCVD helped grow his love for fighting back when he was a kid.

Both Nick and his bro Nate Diaz hooked up with the action legend for a clinic in leg strikes -- so, we hit up Nick to find out what exactly went down when the 3 got into the gym.

Check out the clip ... Nick was clearly stoked to train with the guy and says things went so well, he plans to do it again soon.

But the funniest part ... watch how quickly Nick shut down the question when we tried to ask about his brother and Conor McGregor. Dude wasn't havin' it.

There's nothing fake about the hostility between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier -- so says UFC honcho Dana White ... who says the hatred these guys have for each other was definitely NOT concocted for publicity.

Dana -- skyping in from his PRIVATE JET -- joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 ... and was asked straight up if the feud between the fighters was cooked up by the UFC to help sell tickets.

But Dana shut that down fast -- explaining, "They obviously respect each other as fighters but as human beings they completely dislike each other."

You gotta watch the entire interview Wednesday on FS1 -- we also asked if he felt Cormier crossed the line when he called Jones a "drug addict."

Oh, and he also told us about the sick in-flight meal on his private jet.

#ItsGoodToBeTheBoss

Daniel Cormier took things personal with Jon Jones Wednesday morning -- calling him a drug addict to his face ... and threatening to "beat that ass" at UFC 200.

Cormier was responding to Jones -- who had asked Daniel what he'll say to his kids if they ever ask, "Daddy, did you ever beat Jon 'Bones' Jones?"

Cormier essentially said he didn't HAVE to beat Jones to get his championship belt because Jones eliminated himself by testing positive for cocaine.

FYI -- Jones has said he's NOT an addict ... but admits he made a "really dumb decision" before the drug test for UFC 182 last year.

The back-and-forth between these guys is nasty ... and multiple people in the UFC tell us the hatred is 100% legit.

The smack talk continues ...

UFC superstar Daniel Cormier is already predicting victory over Jon Jones -- telling TMZ Sports the fight will be "easy work" after what he saw over the weekend.

Cormier was leaving 'GMA' in NYC -- where Dana White had just announced Jones vs. Cormier will be the main event at UFC 200 ... and told us he was PUMPED to get another shot at JJ.

As for the "easy work" comment -- Cormier is referring to Jones' victory over Ovince St. Preux over the weekend. Jon looked pretty rusty ... which was to be expected for a guy who hadn't fought in 15 months.

These guys HATE each other's guts -- and with more than 2 months until the fight ... the smack talk is only gonna get worse.

By the way, we recently spoke with UFC star Dominic Cruz on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on FS1 -- and asked if the beef is real ... or just an act to drum up publicity. Check out what he said ...

Conor McGregor is out ... Jon Jones is in!

UFC honcho Dana White just appeared on "Good Morning America" to announce the new main event for UFC 200 in July -- Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier!!

We kinda saw it coming ... so, it's not really a shocker -- but people are fired up about it.

These two guys HATE each other -- and cussed each other out the last time they were face-to-face.

This should be fun!!

Did you know ... table tennis is an Olympic sport -- and MMA is not?

Well, Kevin Costner ain't happy about it -- telling TMZ Sports he thinks the powers that be should bring the fighting sport to the Olympic games, ASAP!!!!

Costner says MMA has already "established itself as one of the greatest sports out there" ... adding, "I think it's where the real tough guys exist."

BTW, Costner's not the first high-profile dude to call for MMA in the games ... Randy Couture's been banging this drum for years.

#NoDisrespectToPingPong

Dana White tells TMZ Sports he's still working to get Nate Diaz to fight at UFC 200 in July -- and says Diaz can essentially fight anyone he wants ... with one giant Irish exception.

"Obviously, I would like to keep Nate [in 200]," White told us outside of Mastro's in Bev Hills Monday night ... "Nate stands to make a lot of money in 200, I'd like to keep him in 200, but that's up to him."

Dana says Nate's not even mad that the whole Conor McGregor super fight fell apart -- insisting Diaz is "actually pretty cool about it."

"This is a fight that Conor was really obsessed with and Conor wanted this fight and Nate was like ... whatever."

So, what's the plan? Dana says the ball is in Diaz's court.