UFC

UFC star Al Iaquinta wants to prove he's worthy of another fight with Khabib Nurmagomedov -- saying he's convinced he can beat the Dagestani if he gets more than 1 day to prepare.

Remember, Al stepped as a last-minute replacement for Max Holloway at UFC 223 in April 2018 ... and survived all 5 rounds with Khabib, despite zero preparation for one of the scariest guys in MMA.

Since that fight, Al beat up Kevin Lee and has lined up a big fight with Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone at 'UFC Fight Night' on May 4.

Al tells TMZ Sports he wants to make a statement in the Cowboy fight to show everyone he's the real deal -- and deserves a second crack at Khabib.

"I fought Khabib not only on a day's notice but also after fighting 90 seconds in 3 years," Iaquinta says ... "So it was short notice and a huge layoff."

Al -- the #4 ranked lightweight in the UFC -- says he knows he needs to have a "great performance" against Cowboy ... and seems more motivated than ever.

We spoke with Al after the first fight with Khabib and even though he was bruised up, he never lacked confidence.

As for Khabib, Dana White has said his next fight will be against interim champ Dustin Poirier -- and they're gunning for a Sept. fight date.

But as Al knows ... if Dustin gets hurt and Dana needs a replacement, he could be the guy who gets the call.

You're looking at "Iranian Hulk" Sajad Gharibi -- a powerlifter who's become a social media sensation -- and he's about to try his hand in MMA.

The good news ... UFC star Brian Ortega is offering up some advice for the massive 27-year-old -- but that advice comes with a serious warning!

Long story short ... Ortega is 100% confident he would destroy Gharibi in a fight -- despite weighing roughly 250 POUNDS less!!!!

"I would just gas him out, piss him off," Ortega tells TMZ Sports.

For the record, Ortega is 5'8", 145 ... Gharibi (from the info we've found) is 6'2", 385.

"Of course, you're gonna see me just get mauled up like a damn little chihuahua in the beginning," Ortega says ... "but just when I ride that wave out, it's a done deal man. He'll gas out and he'll be mine."

Gharibi says he's dead serious about taking a real MMA fight -- telling reporter Chamatkar Sandhu he's already accepted a fight against a Brazilian opponent.

"Platinum" Mike Perry HATES Colby Covington -- telling TMZ Sports he FANTASIZES about torturing the UFC fighter ... in one of the most sick, twisted and awesome rants we've seen in a while!!!

"I want to grab him and stick my thumb in his eye and bite his ears off and rip his face apart and rip his head from his neck," Perry says.

"And, if this much pain and suffering and hatred is inside of me, I will, I can, and I'm capable."

Let that sink in.

Perry is coming off a pretty impressive win over "Cowboy" Alex Oliveira this weekend -- so we asked Mike who he wants to fight next.

Obviously, Mike says he's got a mission to destroy Colby -- but if he doesn't get that fight, he wants Darren Till.

Either way, the 27-year-old says he's peaking right now and feels he can beat ANYONE the UFC throws in the Octagon.

Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis ... get ready -- 'cause Greg Hardy says he's coming!!!

"They're not in my mind," the ex-NFL star says of the UFC heavyweight beasts ... "They're in my sights, brother. They're locked in."

Of course, Hardy ain't sure exactly when those fights will go down ... he tells TMZ Sports, after being DQ'd in his first-ever UFC fight -- he's got a lot to learn before he steps in the Octagon with the superstars.

But, he says guys like Stipe and The Black Beast are still the goal ... telling us, "When I go there and I do fight these guys -- hopefully soon enough when I do elevate and graduate -- it's going to be Goliath vs. Goliath."

Hardy's first step in that plan? A bout with Dmitrii Smoliakov in the co-main event of Saturday night's ESPN+ Fight Night 150.

Greg says he's more prepared for this UFC tilt than his first one -- the one he lost after he illegally kneed Allen Crowder back in January.

Hardy tells us he was "overwhelmed" by the stage in that fight ... but he's learned from it -- and says he's ready to kick some ass Saturday!!!

A former UFC fighter was hit by a car and killed in Brazil after officials say he got into an argument with his rideshare driver.

The fighter is 26-year-old Rodrigo de Lima -- who fought Neil Magny in 2014 and Efrain Escudero in 2015 during his stint in the UFC. He lost both of those fights.

Rodrigo was a passenger in a car in Belem, Brazil when he got into an argument with the driver. According to reports, the driver stopped the car and booted de Lima from the vehicle.

Once outside the car, the driver allegedly drove away from the scene -- then turned around and struck de Lima from behind, killing the fighter.

There are reports the driver was working for Uber at the time of the incident. We've called Uber to confirm but so far, no word back.

Officials are currently on the hunt for the driver. De Lima is survived by his wife and two young children.

De Lima was 9-3-1 as a pro -- and earned the nickname "Monstro" (which means monster) -- due to his fighting style.

Justin Bieber better learn to love whiskey and potatoes ... 'cause he's Irish!!!

The Biebs ecstatically revealed Saturday he's around 60% Irish ... prompting him to give Ireland a shout-out on his Instagram story. This was in response to his pops, Jeremy, posting on IG showing him holding a bottle of Conor McGregor's Proper Twelve Irish whiskey.

Naturally, all of this got Conor's attention who jumped on Twitter and embraced his fellow deartháir -- don't look it up, it means brother.

Justin, of course, was born in Canada and not long ago had huge plans on applying to become an American citizen. The kid's literally taking over the world, eh?!

The Biebs' got good timing ... Conor sent his love all the way from Dublin where he was there taking part of an exhibition boxing match. Conor kicked ass ... and now he has 2 reasons to slam back a few Proper Twelve shots.

Remember that insane video of Amir Khan chugging a protein shake and then juggling the bottle in midair with punches???

Yeah ... dude says it was 100 percent real -- telling TMZ Sports it took AN HOUR of practicing before he got it right!!!

The trick is wild ... Khan tosses a plastic bottle in the air, hits it just right so it stays spinning ... and then he keeps it in the air with punch after punch until he's bored with it.

Khan tells us the trick ain't easy to do ... saying, "I was standing there for about an hour until I got it right!!"

In fact, Amir says it's SO difficult, he's only been able to do it twice since!!!

As for his upcoming mega-fight with Terence Crawford on Saturday night ... Khan says he's feeling extra motivated to get the win because he's such a huge underdog.

TMZ Sports has obtained police body cam footage showing Conor McGregor being handcuffed and arrested at a private home by Miami Beach PD over the cell phone smashing incident.

The footage was shot on March 11 ... hours after Conor got into it with Ahmed Abdirzak outside the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami.

As we previously reported, McGregor went after Abdirzak around 5:21 AM -- snatching the guy's phone and then stomping it multiple times. McGregor eventually left the premises with Abdirzak's phone.

Abdirzak filed a police report and the Miami Beach PD tracked down McGregor at a private residence nearby -- eventually arresting him just before 10 AM.

In the footage, McGregor is cooperative and quiet as cops instruct him to place his hands behind his back while they place him in handcuffs and put him into a squad car to be transported to jail.

McGregor has since been charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor criminal mischief. If convicted on all counts, Conor faces up to 6 years in prison.

Conor has pled not guilty on all charges. A trial is scheduled to begin in May.

UFC star Dustin Poirier says when it comes to Khabib Nurmagomedov there's no need for trash talk ... telling TMZ Sports, "He knows what’s up. I know what’s up. Let’s f*cking fight."

Poirier is still sporting bruises from his 5-round war with Max Holloway at UFC 236 on Saturday -- but he's already looking forward to his next challenge ... a lightweight unification fight with Khabib.

Dana White has previously told us he's targeting a Sept. fight date -- and Poirier says the timing couldn't be better.

"I think Sept. is perfect for this fight," Poirier said ... "I believe that's when [Khabib's] suspension is over. That will give me plenty of time to decompress and get back into training camp. It's perfect."

Of course, Khabib is 27-0 as a pro -- and most famously smashed Conor McGregor at UFC 229 back in October. Dustin clearly respects the guy but he's confident he can serve Khabib his first loss.

"Mixed martial arts is a crazy, crazy thing to do man. There are lots of variables and lots of ways to lose. To go [undefeated] ...That’s impressive. Of course, I'm impressed by him."

30-year-old Poirier is on a pretty impressive run in the UFC right now himself ... with huge wins over studs like Justin Gaethje, Eddie Alvarez and Anthony Pettis.

Poirier fought Conor back in 2014 and lost -- so we asked if he'd be down to run that back at some point in his career. You'll want to hear his answer.

Dustin shouted out all of his supporters who have stuck with him over the years -- and tells us why he's so happy his young daughter gets to see his UFC championship belt!!!

Well, this is adorable ... in a violent way.

When Dustin Poirier's daughter saw his face after the Max Holloway fight, she was genuinely worried for her daddy ... saying, "Oh no! You have a boo-boo dad!"

The footage is ridiculously cute -- and shows how sweet UFC fighters can be with their families when they're not destroying other people in the Octagon.

Of course, Dustin won a crazy bloody 5-round brawl with Holloway for the UFC interim lightweight title ... a fight where Dustin took some serious damage to the face.

One report says Poirier took 208 total strikes during the UFC 236 co-main event -- which is A LOT.

The good news, Dustin seems to be feeling pretty good, despite the bruising -- and told his daughter he was taking her to the zoo so they could "see the animals!"

After the fight, Dustin and Max couldn't have been more respectful toward each other -- each praising the other fighter for battling their hearts out.

#Respect.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports ... the winner of the Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier fight this weekend will be rewarded with a shot at Khabib Nurmagomodov in Sept.

In other words ... UFC 236 on ESPN+ PPV is the KHABIB-BOWL!!!

Of course, Conor McGregor was hoping to get a 2nd crack at Khabib as soon as possible after The Eagle wiped the floor with him at UFC 229 back in October.

But, he'll have to get in line -- because Dana says the winner of Max vs. Dustin will be the interim lightweight champion ... "and the next fight is Khabib."

It's a big deal because Khabib has become an international superstar since the Conor fight -- and it would seem whoever fights him next could cash a HUGE payday.

There's more ... Dana is also fired up for Israel Adesanya vs. Kelvin Gastelum for the interim middleweight title -- and warns Israel that people have been underestimating Gastelum for years.

But, there's a huge upside for Israel too -- because Dana says he'd also like to see Israel fight Jon Jones ... and if he beats Kelvin, that fight could happen sooner than later.

Luke Rockhold's firing back at Anthony Smith ... a fighter he says is a soft, talent-less bitch who'd get OWNED in a fight with the former UFC champ.

TMZ Sports talked to Luke after he was BLASTED by Smith at a UFC press conference ... where Anthony called him "a f**king piece of sh*t" and promised to "beat that dude's f**king ass.”

Smith hates Luke's guts ... and the feeling's mutual.

"I don't think much of Anthony Smith. I don't think he's very tough, technical, talented. He ain't got what it takes."

Rockhold thinks Smith sucks as a fighter, but he's still down to fight him ... especially after Smith said he'd "drill a hole thru Luke Rockhold’s f**king face."

Luke's response ... "He's not gonna be drilling nothing. I will own that kid from start to finish, anywhere he wants to go."

Both guys have fights booked this summer (Luke's fighting Jan Błachowicz at UFC 239) -- and seem to be on a collision course with each other -- but Rockhold says Smith should talk less about him and concentrate on his opponent, Alexander Gustafsson.

"He better focus on the fight coming up, cause my opinion is he's about to get his ass kicked," Rockhold says ... "So go out there go take your ass-whoopin', and come talk to me afterwards."

UFC superstar Jon Jones is firing back at Israel Adesanya -- saying he would DESTROY the 29-year-old so badly when they fight down the road ... "I’ll make you call me daddy by the third [round]."

Jon is responding to comments Israel made during an interview with TMZ Sports, when Adesanya told us a fight with Jones "tickles my loins" ... and added, "I already killed one G.O.A.T. and I'm hunting the next."

The "G.O.A.T." Adesanya says he killed is Anderson Silva -- who Israel defeated in a 3-round unanimous decision back in February.

Just a few weeks ago, Jones told us he thinks a fight with Israel is on the horizon -- and after seeing Adesanya's "G.O.A.T." comments, Jon is clearly fired up about the possible match up.

"If you think you killed 44 yr old Anderson, you didn’t," Jones tweeted out ... "I’m not really sure what fight you’ve been watching."

"You got past the legendary GOAT, now come f*ck with the King of the jungle. I’ll make you call me daddy by the third."

Before he can focus on Jones, Adesanya is fighting Kelvin Gastelum for the interim middleweight title at UFC 236 on Saturday ... a massive fight on ESPN+ PPV (click here to order).

Adesanya told us he's laser focused on Kelvin -- and will deal with Jones after he gets his "W."

UFC fighter T.J. Dillashaw has broken his silence on his cheating scandal -- finally admitting, "I messed up."

The former bantamweight champ tested positive for EPO -- a banned substance -- before his January title fight with Henry Cejudo. He's accepted a 2-year ban and won't be eligible to fight until Jan. 2021.

"I'm having a hard time trying to forgive myself for this," 33-year-old Dillashaw said ... "Which I SHOULD have a hard time."

"But, I got to man up to what I did."

Dillashaw initially played dumb about the positive test -- saying he would look into how the positive test came about.

But, now he's admitting he knowingly cheated -- and says he understands all of the criticism and scrutiny that comes his way.

Dillashaw says he vows to return to the sport and wants to prove to his 15-month-old son that he can come back after making a tremendous "mistake."

"This is who I am. I'm a fighter ... and I'm gonna have to fight my way through this one."

While he's on the bench, Dillashaw has already had surgery on one shoulder and will get surgery on the other soon.

Whoa!!!!!

UFC fighter Anthony Smith HATES Luke Rockhold's guts. Like REALLY hates him.

And, moments ago, Smith issued a threat to Rockhold, despite the fact they don't even have a fight on the books.

"That guy’s a f*cking piece of sh*t," Smith said at the UFC press conference in Atlanta moments ago.

"F*ck Luke Rockhold."

So, why the hostility?

It stems back to a radio interview Rockhold did earlier this year when he called Smith a "sloppy bum" who wasn't worthy of a fight with Jon Jones at UFC 235.

Smith was clearly offended -- and used his opportunity Friday to lash back at Rockhold.

"The first opportunity I get I’m gonna drill a hole through Luke Rockhold’s f*cking face. I promise you guys that.”

“The first opportunity I get after this fight, doesn’t matter what happens. I’ll fight Luke Rockhold on one f*cking leg. I’m gonna beat that dude's f*cking ass.”

UFC star Israel Adesanya says a fight with Jon Jones "does tickle my loins" -- and he's warning the light heavyweight champ, "I already killed one G.O.A.T. and I'm hunting the next."

Of course, before Israel can fight Jones, he's gotta get through Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 on Saturday (on ESPN+ PPV) in a huge middleweight interim title bout.

But, if he beats Kelvin, there's a path to Jon Jones -- who's already told TMZ Sports he's very "excited" about a matchup with "The Last Stylebender."

When we spoke with Jon back in March, Israel was already on his radar -- and he told us, "I've got a feeling me and him will eventually fight each other."

Israel says he doesn't want to think TOO much about Jones because he's gotta stay focused on Gastelum ... who's chalked up some pretty impressive victories over guys like Michael Bisping, Johnny Hendricks and Tim Kennedy.

Israel's resume ain't too shabby either -- back in February, he defeated UFC legend Anderson Silva, the "G.O.A.T." he was referring to earlier.

By the way, the fight's going down in Atlanta -- home to one of the most famous strip clubs on the planet ... and if Israel beats Kelvin, he's already got a plan to celebrate!!

The UFC 236 card is insane -- it also features Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier ... but you can only watch it on ESPN+ PPV, which you can order by clicking this link.