UFC

Dana White ain't exactly saying "never" when it comes to Greg Hardy possibly fighting in the UFC ... but the ex-NFL star has to prove himself in some "serious fights" before he gets a look.

Hardy -- who was a beast in the NFL -- has transitioned into MMA and vows to be a real deal fighter ... with hopes of one day competing in the Octagon.

White warns that athletes who come from other sports often get WRECKED when they try to fight ... since most successful MMA fighters have been training for combat since they were kids.

Conor McGregor must be high as a kite if he thinks he deserves equal pay to fight Floyd Mayweather ... so says "Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood" star Jason Lee ... an unofficial member of The Money Team.

We got Jason Saturday at Toast in L.A., and he made it clear Floyd's ready to fight ... but that Conor's holding things up over ridiculous money demands.

Jason also has a dismal outlook on the future of boxing.

Ronda Rousey had a blast shooting her episode on "Blindspot"and wants to continue her role on the show into next season ... this according to Ronda and Dana White.

We spoke (briefly) with the UFC legend -- who shot her scenes for the NBC show 2 weeks ago -- and she tells us, "Blindspot was awesome. I really loved it. I hope I get to go back."

Pierce Brosnan is ALL ABOUT the Fighting Irish on St. Paddy's Day ... telling TMZ Sports his fellow countryman, Conor McGregor, will DESTROY Floyd Mayweather if they actually square up.

Dana White says Conor vs. Floyd is still a real possibility -- telling TMZ Sports, "It doesn't make a lot of sense for my business, but I would never keep Conor from making that kind of money."

The UFC boss was out in Bev Hills when he laid out Conor's opportunities ... some real big fights. He also said Conor's waiting for his kid to be born before he fights again.

Willie Nelson can take BOTH Diaz brothers at the same time ... at least when it comes to smoking weed.

The country music legend (and pot icon) was proudly displaying his new boxes of the new Nick and Nate Diaz line of marijuana cigarettes.

The company behind the pot products say "Nate's Energy" weed is a pre-workout blend and "Nick's Recovery" is to help athletes post-training.

Or, if you're Willie Nelson ... pre-show, post-show?

Floyd Mayweather had made it loud and clear -- he's willing to step out of retirement to fight Conor McGregor ... if they can just hammer out a deal.

Floyd made the official announcement Saturday, saying "for Conor McGregor, I'm coming out of retirement ... just to fight Conor McGregor."

He added ... "I don't want to hear no more excuses about the money, about the UFC. Sign the paper with the UFC so you can fight me in June. Simple and plain. Let's fight in June. You're the B side, I'm the A side."

Here's the problem ... Dana White has already said the fight isn't likely to happen because negotiations are falling apart. They seem to be worlds apart on money ... and there's simply no deal as of February.

Floyd's been back and forth about being willing to fight Conor, but seems to be taking a firm position now ... he's willing if a deal can be struck.

Your move, Dana.

This is great ... some Faizon Love Post-Airport Fight Analysis ... with a real UFC star.

We spoke with Roy "Big Country" Nelson about the throwdown in Ohio -- and he told us the heavyweight actor showed real fighting skills ... almost like he's done it before.

But, what woulda happened if Love picked on someone his own size?

Nelson has some thoughts.

If you thought there wasn't a man alive crazy enough to call out former 2-time UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez, you're wrong ... 'cause TMZ Sports found the MMA badass willing to do it.

We got Francis Ngannou -- the #6 ranked heavyweight in the UFC -- out in NYC, and we asked the 6'4" 260 pounder who he wanted to fight next time he steps in the Octagon ... his answer was simple.

"My next opponent I want is Cain Velasquez."

Cain's last fight was this past summer when he beat down Travis Browne (like everyone does) and Francis TKOd Andrei Arlovski back in January for his 9th straight win.

Casper Smart says there's a reason he's putting in work on the MMA mat ... and it's not to beat up J Lo's next boyfriend ... telling TMZ Sports he wants to be an action movie star!

We got Casper out in Vegas and talked to him about his MMA training, which he's taken quite seriously since he starred in the combat themed movie "Street" a couple years ago.

Smart says anyone who thinks he's doing all this work for a shot at the UFC is super WRONG ... telling our guy he's getting his rounds in so he can be the next big action star.

BTW -- we also ask Smart who he thinks would win in a fight between him and Drake, Lopez's last (rumored) flame.

Tyron Woodley said an emotional pre-fight encounter with a woman whose daughter recently died inspired him in the 5th round at UFC 209 ... and he's shipping her his championship belt.

It's a pretty incredible story ... Woodley says the woman (who works at T-Mobile Arena where the fight was being held) approached him before UFC 209 and told him that she had lost her daughter recently and watching his fights had helped her get through the tough times.

Woodley says he thought about the woman and her family during the fight and it motivated him in the championship rounds.

After defeating Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson, Woodley says his team tracked down the woman -- and he plans to send her his belt because he knows how much it means to her.

Nick Diaz says Michael Bisping and Georges St-Pierre are STUPID for not fighting him -- telling TMZ Sports he'd make them both a lot of money ... but they're too chicken to take the match.

We got Diaz leaving the UFC 209 in Vegas ... and after he was done insulting UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley ... we asked him his thoughts on Bisping & St-Pierre locking horns in the future.

UFC champ Tyron Woodley is going after his boss in a big way -- blasting Dana White for publicly saying he didn't think Tyron should have won this weekend ... but Dana says Tyron needs to shut up and let his fists do the talking.

Woodley tells TMZ Sports he found it "distasteful" for White to say the judges scored the fight incorrectly by awarding Tyron the majority decision over "Wonderboy" Thompson at UFC 209.

"That's like me coming out as a fighter and saying, 'I don't think you did a good job promoting the fight' ... which I don't. I don't think they did a good job promoting me as champion."

Woodley says he vows to be a "tough guy to deal with" moving forward.

We spoke to White who essentially said if Woodley would have beat Wonderboy's ass like he promised, there wouldn't be an issue.

"Tyron Woodley came out and said he was going to destroy Thompson and there would be no question he was the champ. Well guess what? There's questions again."

"Let me tell you what ... when you have a performance like you did at 209 and you get booed for 5 straight rounds and then people are booing so loud you can't even do your interview, you should probably just take your lumps and move on. Get your next fight as fast as you can and try to put that performance behind you."

Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager says the UFC fighter's medical scratch this weekend was a VERY costly decision ... but the team ultimately decided his health was more important than money.

We spoke with Ali Abdelaziz who says Khabib was in more pain during his weight cut before UFC 209 than he's ever seen -- despite keeping the same weight cutting routine he uses for every fight.

Ali says Khabib initially refused IV fluids when he was taken to the hospital Thursday evening -- but ultimately caved because the pain became unbearable.

Jorge Masvidal has a pretty violent prediction for his UFC 211 clash with Demian Maia -- "Imma f**k him up, man."

Masvidal is coming off a pretty dominant victory over Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone -- and says he's "betting the house" on ANOTHER big victory when he fights in May.

Jorge tells our guy the fight will NOT be the classic "striker vs. grappler" matchup because he's a beast on the mat ... "I can wrestle my ass off."

FYI, Masvidal was a backyard brawler before the UFC and even appeared in some videos with Kimbo Slice ... but Jorge says he's a MUCH different fighter now.