UFC

Paige VanZant didn't hold a grudge after Michelle Waterson choked her out at UFC on FOX 22 this weekend -- and graciously congratulated her opponent backstage ... so says Michelle herself.

The Karate Hottie say she has the ultimate respect for Paige -- and thought it was classy when VanZant spoke with her after the fight. "She's a really sweet girl."

Waterson says she has 2 opponents in mind moving forward -- and also wants to capitalize on her high profile victory ... maybe even taking Paige's place on "Dancing with the Stars."

Check out the clip ... Michelle's awesome.

More insults, more fun!

This time it's UFC star Cody "No Love" Garbrandt taking aim at Dominick Cruz's facial hair ... saying his newly sported stubble won't save his chin when they face off at UFC 207 on Dec. 30.

These two guys have been going back and forth for months ... and it ain't gonna stop until they get in the Octagon.

Question is ... can these two ever be friends when it's all said and done? You might be surprised at the answer.

It's a fight between two pretty boys ... and Mickey Gall says he's got the edge over his opponent, Sage Northcutt, in both looks AND talent.

Gall and Northcutt will face off at UFC on FOX 22 on Saturday ... and when we got Mickey out in NYC he joked that he's gonna get revenge for all fruit affected by Sage's "Apple Challenge."

Brock Lesnar was just hit with a 1 year suspension and massive $250k fine for two failed drug tests at UFC 200.

Floyd Mayweather just upped the ante in his beef with Conor McGregor ... calling him one of the most disrespectful words out there ... a "bitch."

Mayweather hit up Instagram Live ... and ripped into the UFC star, saying "Conor McGregor's a bitch."

Floyd didn't stop there ... he also posted video of C.M. getting choked out by Nate Diaz ... and offered 10 Gs to the person who comes up with the "best caption" for the video.

These latest shots come on the heels of Floyd saying he'd "slap the s***" out of McGregor.

Your move, Conor.

Anyone betting on Ronda Rousey to beat Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 should be shakin' in their boots ... so says former UFC star Chuck Liddell.

TMZ Sports got the Iceman at LAX Wednesday and he painted a worrisome pic of Rousey -- who hasn't fought in more than a year.

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor's war of words just got realer than real ... with Mayweather vowing to "slap the s***" out of the UFC star the next time he sees him.

Mayweather made the threat while doing an Instagram live chat on a boat (in full Hawaiian shirt mode) ... saying he's tired of Conor mentioning his name and he's now willing to take violent action.

This comes just days after TMZ Sports got McGregor out in L.A. dissing Mayweather yet again ... saying that it's himself -- not Floyd -- who's the biggest combat sports star in all the world.

Floyd was smiling when he made the statement ... but we know The Notorious one doesn't take any threats lightly ... and has had near-brawls with other UFC stars based on Twitter beefs in the past.

It's starting to get good, folks.

Cris 'Cyborg' Justino is officially a United States citizen!!

The Brazilian born UFC fighter was one of thousands who took an oath of citizenship in Los Angeles Tuesday morning at the L.A. Convention Center.

Get this ... Justino says she put "Cyborg" as her middle name on her docs, just to make things official.

Cyborg applied back in December 2015 ... and had previously had a visa for competitive athletes and a green card.

Hard to tell what Conor McGregor's more fired up about right now -- getting his hands on Floyd Mayweather ... or on a juicy fried chicken breast.

UFC star Paige VanZant says a super fight between her and Ronda Rousey is DEFINITELY a possibility ... as long as Rousey is willing to shed some serious pounds to make it happen.

The two ladies haven't exactly been cool with each other ... being locked in a yearlong feud that started when Ronda got pissed that Paige congratulated Holly Holm on kicking Rousey's ass.

Seems like that beef has cooled off lately ... but when we got Paige out in L.A. Monday she said she's definitely down to feud with Ronda in the Octagon ... as long as it's at a fair weight.

FYI -- Paige fights at 115, Ronda fights at 135 ... according to VanZant, the magic number here is in the middle ... at 125.

It's not an impossible scenario. Rousey has a massive fight coming up against Amanda Nunes at UFC 207 ... but if she gets past that test, a fight with Paige -- one of the biggest names in the sport -- could be huge.

Heavyweight Champ Deontay Wilder says there's only one UFC fighter he'd like to get in the boxing ring ... and it ain't Conor ... telling TMZ Sports he'd love to kick the hell out of Brock Lesnar.

We got the big man out at LAX and wanted to know which Octagon star he'd like to rumble with ... since boxing vs. UFC is all the rage these days.

He totally disses McGregor ... saying he's too small and not skilled at all ... but definitely had a guy in mind ... and although it's the biggest, baddest monster in MMA ... Wilder says he'd roll him.

The next time you're murdered by a blood elf rogue in World of Warcraft ... there's a good chance the person killing you is Ronda Rousey.

Turns out, the UFC star is SUPER into World of Warcraft -- and that's actually how she became friends with Vin Diesel on the set of "Furious 7."

Here's Ronda Rousey's badass comeback "Rocky" style montage -- complete with grueling workout sessions, full-speed wind sprints ... and a sick look at her mansion in the hills.

It's all part of the new promo for UFC 207 on Dec. 30 in Vegas -- and the message is clear ... Ronda has heard all the doubters and haters and CAN'T WAIT to prove 'em all wrong.

She's your problem now, Amanda Nunes.

IT'S TRUE!!

Conor McGregor DID shoot some scenes for "Game of Thrones" -- and will appear on the show next season ... so says Dana White.

The UFC honcho appeared on "Fox Sports Live" with Jay and Dan and confirmed Conor will be mixing it up with the Starks and the White Walkers and the Lannisters and everyone else n Westeros! (go to 4:30 in the clip)

"I knew that a few months ago that they were interested in putting him in the show," White said ... "And I'm glad he did it. It'll be great."

Dana didn't expand on McGregor's role -- but he's gotta kill someone, right????

Conor McGregor wants everyone to know he still has BOTH of his UFC championship belts -- and ain't NO ONE gonna take 'em!

The problem ... obviously ... is that the UFC has said Conor relinquished his featherweight championship last weekend because he can only defend 1 title at a time. He's keeping his lightweight title.

But Conor sees it differently -- he believes the "title" belongs to whoever physically holds the championship belts ... and as long as he has both belts in his possession, he still considers himself the "champ champ."

In fact, he took his belts on a private jet flight Monday morning.

Conor McGregor believes he's got all the advantages in a fight with Floyd Mayweather -- power, reach and youth ... saying, "Age waits for no man!"

McGregor talked about his possible boxing career during an event in Northern Ireland on Friday -- when, of course, the topic of Mayweather came up.

"If I focus with the work ethic I have solely on the sport of boxing, there’s no telling what I could do,” McGregor said.

"I would not go in there just to show up, I’d go in there to knock [Floyd] out. That’s it. He can be hit, he’s been hit before. Age waits for no man."

"I know the size is on my side, I know the reach is on my side, I know the youth is on my side."

He continued, "There’s a lot to lose for them, so that’s why they're scrambling ... but that’s okay, I’ll leave them scrambling. I’ve got some other boxing opportunities and potential opponents in mind. Some previous Floyd opponents. They can bring in anyone in the game. We’ll see what happens."

Someone brought up boxing champ Paul Malignaggi -- who called McGregor out on social media.

Conor's response? WHO THE F**K IS THAT GUY?!!