UFC

Nate Diaz got an official award from the People of California Tuesday night ... recognizing his bad assness for his "upset" victory over Conor McGregor back in March.

Assemblyman Jim Cooper signed a resolution ... declaring "the exploits of Nathan Diaz, a successful American mixed martial artist from Stockton, have been a source of great joy and pride to the people of the State of California."

The award also describes Nate's victory over Conor as "one of the biggest upsets in UFC history."

Diaz is also hailed for his work with children, teens and adults at the jiu-jitsu center he runs in Lodi, CA -- saying he instills the values of respect, sportsmanship and responsibility to his students.

So, the question ... if he fights McGregor again -- and wins again -- does he get another award?

Floyd Mayweather says he's supremely confident Jon Jones will join The Money Team -- and tells TMZ Sports exactly why Floyd's crew is the perfect fit for the UFC superstar.

Floyd and Jon recently had a FaceTime convo -- and there have been rumblings that Floyd's trying to recruit him to the TMT family.

So, when we saw Floyd at his daughter's 7-figure sweet 16 party in Vegas this weekend -- we asked straight up if it was gonna happen.

You gotta watch the clip ... Floyd wants Jon to know TMT had Jon's back during his toughest times -- and will continue to support him moving forward.

He's even planning a trip to New Mexico to hang with Jon during his UFC 200 training camp.

3:45 PM PST -- We contacted Dana just after he returned to Vegas and he said, "Obviously I'm not going to disclose details of the deal, but let's just say my trip to Stockton didn't go well."

Dana White flew to Stockton, CA Friday to seal the deal for a rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, but we've learned it all went south and the UFC Prez stormed out of the tavern.

We got video of Dana greeting Nate, the same way he met Conor earlier in the week at a Bev Hills hotel -- smiles and hugs.

Our Stockton spies -- yeah, we got those -- tell us Dana, Nate and a couple of suits were all friendly as they chowed down, but the talk got serious and ended abruptly when Dana was visibly angry, stood up and beelined it for his SUV.

Unclear what torpedoed the meeting, but we've covered this stuff long enough to know it usually involves money. We know Conor was poised to score a $10 mil payday for a rematch. We don't know what Nate wants.

Cris 'Cyborg' Justino is already throwing her hat in the ring to be a part of the possible Mayweather vs. McGregor superfight ... and says she's down to BOX if that's what'll seal the deal.

After we broke the story that Mayweather has a $50 million offer out to Conor -- Cyborg tweeted out to Floyd saying:

"Hey @FloydMayweather if [McGregor] Fights you In Boxing I want a Boxing Fight on The event2. #mma vs #boxing u pick The girl! #tmt."

Cyborg also says she's already got a boxing coach who "will have me ready."

As we reported, nothing is in stone (or even close) but it seems like there's a real chance.

Floyd Mayweather has a $50 MILLION offer out to Conor McGregor, sources tell TMZ Sports ... but it's going to take a lot more to seal the deal.

We're told Floyd is proposing a New Year's Eve fight in Vegas and Conor is game. We're told Floyd's $50 million offer is far less than half the amount the fight would rake in ... and therein lies the rub.

Floyd has been talking to the wrong guy, because Conor can't ink the deal. It's all about convincing Dana White, and there's just no way White would accept such a lopsided deal. Fact is ... in 3 critical Pay-Per-View markets -- Europe, Australia and Canada -- Conor is a bigger star than Floyd.

Floyd's last fight produced disappointing PPV numbers, and Conor's star has never been brighter. Even his loss to Nate Diaz was epic ... the fight was great and it did not disappoint fans.

Sources connected with Floyd tell us ... the champ has not approached Dana, at least not yet.

It's the matchup we've all been waiting for ... Conor McGregor and Dana White face-to-face for the first time since CM was yanked off the UFC 200 card -- and TMZ Sports has the footage.

It all went down at the ultra-swanky Montage hotel in Bev Hills -- where Conor rolled up in a $500k Rolls-Royce Phantom drophead coupe and was personally greeted by White, who arrived first.

Our sources tell us the two men hugged when they first met -- but we're told it was a very aggressive embrace ... the kind you could hear from down the hall.

White and McGregor were all smiles as they headed up the stairs to a private dinner flanked by 3 very large gentlemen. The meeting took roughly two hours.

We're guessing they weren't just there to eat ... with McGregor training for a Floyd Mayweather super bout that could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, business was certainly on the table.

So, how'd it go??

McGregor was all smiles on the way out -- waving cheerfully to TMZ cameras as he left the building.

Another huge star is calling for Ronda Rousey to fight 'Cyborg' Justino -- this time, it's UFC superstar Paige VanZant who says it's a fight she would LOVE to see.

Cyborg has been calling out Ronda for months -- and even came on the "TMZ Sports" TV show this week and challenged Rousey to "stop hiding behind your pillow" and fight!

VanZant was careful not to take sides -- especially after Ronda confronted her over "crossing her" -- but made it clear the two need to throw down already.

Here's UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic belting a home run out of Progressive Field in Cleveland earlier today ... well, because he's a freak athlete.

Miocic was taking batting practice with the Cleveland Indians when he connected -- and blast the ball over the left field wall.

FYI, Miocic played college baseball at Cleveland State University ... but that was like 10 years ago.

#StillGotIt

The Cleveland Cavs just extended a VIP invitation to the new UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic -- an Ohio native who shouted out the NBA team after winning the belt at UFC 198 this past weekend.

TMZ Sports spoke with the Cavs who told us ... they saw the video of Stipe encouraging the Cavs to follow his lead and win the championship -- and they LOVED IT!

In fact, we're told the team reached out and invited him as their guest for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals Tuesday night at the Quicken Loans Arena.

Miocic accepted -- obviously -- and we're told the team plans to honor him tonight for making Cleveland proud.

Congrats, champ!

Cris "Cyborg" Justino has a message for Ronda Rousey -- STOP HIDING BEHIND YOUR PILLOW AND FIGHT ME!

Fresh off her dominating performance at UFC 198, Cyborg joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show and called out the UFC legend ... even using a prop to make her point!

You gotta watch the entire interview tonight on FS1 (9 PM PT, 12 AM ET) -- we also asked Cyborg if she thinks she could take Conor McGregor in the octagon ... wait'll you hear what she says!

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.