UFC

UFC star Aljamain Sterling says the haircut incident with high school wrestler Andrew Johnson is "so f*cked up" ... but he was so impressed with the kid, he wants to train him personally.

"It's so messed up on so many levels," Sterling tells TMZ Sports ... "I felt bad."

Sterling says he's spent a lot of time coaching high school wrestling and has NEVER seen a situation where an athlete was forced to cut his hair.

In fact, Sterling says if he was the coach that day, he would have pulled his team out of the gym in protest and forfeited the rest of the match.

"We're not gonna stand for no sh*t like this," Sterling says.

The good news ... Sterling trains with other huge UFC stars like Al Iaquinta and Chris Weidman with the Serra-Longo fight team in Long Island, NY -- not too far from Johnson's high school in New Jersey.

UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley is FIRED UP over the high school wrestling ref who made a black kid cut his dreadlocks before a match ... and he's calling for NJ officials to FIRE HIS ASS.

Before dominating the UFC, Tyron was an All-American wrestler at the Univ. of Missouri ... and before that, he was a FORCE in the high school wrestling community.

Tyron tells TMZ Sports ... the ref, Alan Maloney, should have been fired years ago when he reportedly made a racist comment to an African-American man back in 2016.

Woodley's bigger issue is he's sick of people with a history of racist behavior being allowed to have positions of authority. And, that includes police officers.

As for the recent incident with high school wrestler Andrew Johnson, Tyron thinks the way the high school wrestling community handles hair maintenance ... specifically with black athletes ... is ridiculous.

A shocking recording of the Rachael Ostovich domestic violence incident has surfaced -- in which her MMA fighter husband allegedly screams, "I'm going to f**king murder you."

A neighbor used a cell phone to record the scene on Nov. 27 -- when Arnold Berdon allegedly brutalized Ostovich during an argument at their home in Hawaii.

The footage is mostly dark -- but you can definitely hear voices.

In the video, obtained by Hawaii News Now, you can hear a male voice make several threats ... including, "I’m going to murder you. I’m going to f**king murder you."'

At the end of the 9-minute video, you can see a nude female jump off the lanai and try to escape.

We broke the story ... Berdon was arrested and charged with 2nd-degree assault.

Ostovich suffered serious injuries to her face, head and body -- and pulled out of her January fight against Paige VanZant.

Ostovich later got a second opinion from another doctor who cleared her to fight -- so it's now back on.

8:22 AM PT -- McGregor’s spokesperson Karen Kessler tells TMZ Sports …"This complaint is a routine but sad attempt to grab publicity in a case that should have been resolved months ago. We are pleased that Chiesa’s quick recovery allows him to continue fighting."

UFC fighter Michael Chiesa claims Conor McGregor's steel dolly attack was a publicity stunt intended to hype his fight with Khabib ... and now he wants ALL of Conor's UFC 229 profits.

Long story short ... Chiesa (who was injured in the bus attack) claims NY law bars people from profiting from criminal activity and requires them to turn over ill-gotten gains to their victims. It's called the Son of Sam law.

In new court docs filed by Chiesa, the UFC fighter argues the April 5 dolly incident drove up interest in UFC 229 and boosted sales of Conor's Proper 12 whiskey brand, so all profits should be handed over.

It's not a small number -- Conor publicly stated he expected to make $50 MILLION for the Oct. 6 fight against Khabib ... plus MILLIONS more from the sales of Proper 12.

Here's how Chiesa spells it out in his lawsuit ...

"By his own admission, [McGregor] engaged in the aforementioned conduct and acts with the premeditated intent and purpose of inflicting severe personal injuries and/or murdering Nurmagomedov, and sought to promote his brand and profit from his criminal activity."

He also cited Conor's UFC 229 press conference ... when McGregor reflected on the bus incident and said Khabib would be "dead" if he had stepped off that bus that day.

Chiesa was a passenger on the bus and suffered cuts to his face when he was struck by shattered glass.

Chiesa claims he was unable to compete in his scheduled fight against Anthony Pettis at UFC 223 that weekend -- and lost an even BIGGER opportunity to fight Khabib when Max Holloway pulled out of the main event.

In his docs, Chiesa claims the UFC had reached out to him about filling in for Holloway in the title match at UFC 223, but Chiesa says his injuries prevented him from taking the fight.

Chiesa says he suffered from depression following the ordeal -- and claims his inability to fight at UFC 223 hurt his overall standing in the UFC.

Chiesa claims Conor deliberately created "havoc, mayhem and injury" that resulted in his injuries.

Jon Jones REALLY wants a 3rd crack at Daniel Cormier -- and he's willing to write a fat ass check to get DC back in the Octagon.

"Fight me one more time and prove you’re actually the champ champ. I’ll donate $100,000 to a charity in San Diego if you accept," Jones wrote to Cormier on Twitter.

Of course, the two have fought twice -- with Jones winning both fights ... only to have the 2nd victory overturned in the wake of a positive PED test.

Jones is finally cleared to return to the UFC after serving his suspension -- he'll fight Alexander Gustafsson for the light heavyweight title at UFC 232 on Dec. 29.

But, Jones is already thinking past Gustafsson, trying to bail Cormier.

"Conor McGregor was an actual double Champ, the whole world knows your claim is a freaking joke. You’re more than welcome to be my first title defense."

Jones also took umbrage with comments Cormier recently made to Jim Rome -- when he questioned JJ's explanation that he only had a "pinch of salt" worth of steroids in his system during their 2nd fight.

"Daddys baby still out there whining," Jones said ... "What proud 'double Champion' just vacates his belt because someone else returns to the sport?"

Cormier says he's retiring from MMA in March -- on his 40th birthday -- so if Jones wants the fight, they gotta make this thing come together fast.

UFC superstar Amanda Nunes says her upcoming fight against Cris Cyborg is the biggest fight of her career -- even bigger than her destruction of Ronda Rousey.

Amanda and Cyborg are set to clash at UFC 232 on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas in a championship bout for the women's featherweight title.

Nunes has won 7 fights in a row, Cyborg's on a 20-fight win streak -- they're widely considered two of the greatest fighters in women's MMA history.

And, when we saw Nunes out in NYC, she was downright giddy -- telling us how excited she is to get into the Octagon and square up against Cyborg.

Of course, Nunes famously destroyed Ronda Rousey in Dec. 2016 in Ronda's last ever UFC fight. Since then, she's defeated Valentina Shevchenko and Raquel Pennington.

Amanda has big plans after the Cyborg fight -- she's engaged to fellow UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff -- who's on a 4-win streak of her own after a victory over Claudia Gadelha earlier this month.

The two are so stoked to the knot, they're even extending an invitation to Cyborg to attend the wedding!

"Anyone can come! It's a happy day."

Congrats!

Conor McGregor is too freakin' chicken to step into the ring with Anderson Silva, at least that's what Anderson Silva thinks, saying he'd love to fight Conor, but doubting Conor wants any part of him.

Conor has said back in October that he'd be interested in fighting Silva, saying he was willing to bulk up a little to get into the Octagon with Spider and duke it out.

Since then, Conor has taken a beating at the hands of Khabib, but when we got Silva out, he said he doesn't care about that, telling our guy he still wants the fight.

"I say let’s go do it. 180 is the perfect weight for me, I think it's good for McGregor, and let’s go do it because that’s amazing. That’s for the fans."

One problem ... Anderson isn't sure Conor still wants it, and is using the s-word as the reason why.

"It’s close to happening you know, but McGregor, come on, man. Let’s go do this. Don’t run, man, don’t run. You scared? I don’t believe that you're scared, let’s go."

Here's the thing ... the fight kinda makes sense now. Conor might want to take a tune-up before a Khabib rematch, and who better to fight than a much older opponent with a huge name?

Conor McGregor wins again ...

The UFC superstar appeared in an Irish court Monday morning to deal with charges stemming from a July 10, 2018 incident when he was pulled over by cops in Dublin.

Unclear why McGregor was initially pulled over, but during the stop officials say McGregor failed to produce a valid driver's license and proof of insurance ... so he was cited and ordered to appear in court.

The good news for the 30-year-old ... Conor was able to get his ducks in a row and presented all the documentation he needed during the Dec. 17 hearing -- so the charges were dropped.

McGregor's court appearance was a big event in Dublin -- he rolled up to court in a blacked out BMW surrounded by a team of bodyguards ... while wearing one of his trademark slick suits.

Conor reportedly didn't have much to say inside the courtroom other than, "Thank you, Judge."

Conor's no stranger to the Irish legal system -- he appeared in court just last month to deal with a 2017 speeding charge. He got a 6-month driving ban in that incident.

"Hi, Mr. White ... the President was hoping to reach you by phone when you're available."

That's a real voicemail that Donald Trump's office left for UFC boss Dana White last week ... all because POTUS wanted to shoot the sh*t about the Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega fight!!!!

"He calls me on Tuesday," White said on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast ... "For 15 minutes he couldn't stop talking about the fight."

By the way, Tuesday was the same day Trump sparred with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi about possibly shutting down the government during a debate over his border wall.

Unclear if the conversation with White took place before or after the meeting -- but it sure sounded like Trump was in a good mood.

White said Trump praised both fighters for their toughness and called the bout at UFC 231, "The greatest fight I've ever seen."

White and Trump have been friends for decades -- with Dana even giving a campaign speech for Donald at the Republican National Convention.

Bernard Hopkins doesn't seem to care that Michael B. Jordan and Roy Jones Jr. squashed their beef ... 'cause the legendary boxer says he wants to train the actor to whoop Roy's ass!!

ICYMI ... Michael B. previously told us his boxing skills were so good after filming "Creed II," he wanted a scrap with Roy -- and then the 49-year-old boxer told him to set it up!!

But, when we got Roy out at LAX last week ... he said the beef has been squashed -- and it doesn't look like a fight will go down.

Enter B-Hop ... who says not only should the fight still happen -- he wants to train MBJ to beat that ass!!!

"I'd love to be his trainer. I'd love to be Michael B.'s trainer. ... Michael cannot beat Roy Jones unless he has B-Hop's assistance!"

Of course, Bernard and Roy have history ... the two fought in 1993 and in 2010 -- and Bernard says that most recent bout (the one Hopkins actually won) is the key for MBJ.

"You know what the first lesson I would show him? I wouldn't show him the first fight, I would show him the second one when I won!!"

A UFC fighter learned the new armor for his man jewels works just fine ... and it's all 'cause of Cris Cyborg's powerful kicks!!!

Here's the deal ... UFC's Don Madge was in a gym recently and wanted to try out his new cup -- so he asked Cyborg for a helping foot.

Cris reared back and went to kick the dude pretty hard -- but Madge was having none of that ... pulling away at the last second and screaming, "That was way too hard!!"

Don didn't let that deter him ... he asked for more from the UFC superstar -- and Cyborg delivered -- TWICE!!!

Good news for Madge ... his genitals remained intact and seemingly unharmed -- and looks like he's found a solid cup for his next fight.

Shane Mosley has some friendly advice for Dana White -- DON'T ACCEPT OSCAR DE LA HOYA'S BOXING CHALLENGE ... fight him in the Octagon instead!

Remember, Oscar and Dana have been beefing hard lately -- with Dana calling Oscar all sorts of nasty names on ESPN.

So, Oscar issued a challenge of his own -- going on SiriusXM's 'Luke Thomas Show' and saying, "Let's get in the ring. Three rounds. Let's do this."

De La Hoya also told TMZ Sports that he would beat Dana's ass if things actually came to blows.

And, since "Sugar" Shane Mosley knows exactly what it's like to fight the Golden Boy -- he beat Oscar twice -- we asked if he had any advice for the UFC boss.

"Don't take the challenge," Mosley joked at the Smash Global MMA party in L.A. ... "I wouldn't do that. That wouldn't be a smart move."

Mosley's fiancee suggested the boxer give Dana some 1-on-1 personal training ... but Mosely replied, "It's not gonna help."

But, get this, Shane DOES think the guys should fight -- but he wants MMA rules since Oscar would have too big of an advantage in a boxing match.

BTW -- Mosley also reminded us that he and Oscar BOTH fought Shaquille O'Neal back in the day ... and we found the video.

And, it's AMAZING!!!

MMA fighters are terrified of Khabib ... that is, except UFC star Kevin Lee who says he's dyin' to square up with the undefeated champ ... and he's confident he'll kick his ass.

Lee -- the #4 ranked lightweight -- tells TMZ Sports he knows exactly who he wants next after beating up Al Iaquinta at UFC on FOX 31 Saturday night.

Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov.

Why does Kevin think he'd fare any different than the 27 fighters who were all handed an L from Khabib?

"Everybody's afraid to wrestle with the man and that's what kinda lets him shine through. All of the sudden he thinks he's a good boxer cause he kinda clipped Conor a little bit, but it was really the wrestling threat. Conor was so afraid to wrestle with him."

"I'm bigger, stronger and I ain't afraid to wrestle with no man."

Them fightin' words.

Cris Cyborg says she and Halle Berry have become so close, the Hollywood star will be her guest of honor at her big fight with Amanda Nunes in two weeks at UFC 232.

Halle's directing and starring in the upcoming MMA movie "Bruised" -- and she's been training for the role at Cyborg's Fitness MMA Gym in Huntington Beach, CA.

In fact, Cyborg says she's super confident Halle's movie will inspire more women to get involved in Mixed Martial Arts.

Now, with Cyborg getting ready for her megafight with Nunes on Dec. 29, the UFC champ says she'd like Halle to walk her into the Octagon if the UFC approves.

Guessing Dana White will greenlight that in a SECOND!

Cyborg is the reigning UFC women's featherweight champion -- and Nunes is the bantamweight champ.

This fight will be for the featherweight belt -- and it's being hailed as one of the biggest fights in the history of the women's division.

Cyborg gave us a little preview of her fight skills at her gym on Wednesday -- and yeah, she looks dangerous.

Post Malone says he has the perfect opponent for Wiz Khalifa's first real MMA fight ... and it's UFC all-time LEGEND Anderson Silva ... which has us at TMZ Sports asking an important question ...

Why does Post Malone want Wiz Khalifa dead?

Wiz has been training MMA at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Performance gym for a while now, and he looks GREAT, but Posty's answer on who he should fight first left us scratching our heads.

"I wanna see Wiz and Silva. They got the same type of body type, long and skinny." Post said when we got him out in L.A.

Yes, that Anderson Silva ... the same one that ran off a 17-match winning streak in the UFC and is regarded by some as the finest MMA fighter of all time. That guy.

Post and Wiz have worked together for years -- as a matter of fact, Wiz was instrumental in the early success of Post's breakout hit, "White Iverson" -- so we're not sure when Post decided Wiz had to die.

On the other hand ... maybe Post really thinks Wiz could compete with Silva.

Say no to drugs kids.

You knew Wiz Khalifa could scrap in MMA ... but did you know he could box too???

It's true ... at least, now it is -- after the rapper got a private, 1-on-1 fighting lesson from Evander Holyfield!!!

The Real Deal and Wiz hit up Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Performance Center in L.A. recently ... and the "Black and Yellow" spitter got in a dope training sesh with the champ.

Evander gave him some pointers on his defense ... Wiz explained how he's put some weight on his skinny frame -- and Glazer was there to document it all.

So ... why were the two hittin' the mitts together in the first place??

Wiz has a song dedicated to the boxing legend called "Holyfield" -- so, seems only right Evander gave him some fighting pointers in return.

Wiz has told TMZ Sports in the past he'd take -- and maybe even WIN -- a pro-MMA fight if the money was right ... but the question now is -- would he do the same for boxing?!?

Stay tuned ...