UFC

THERE WILL BE BLOOD ...

... a lot of it when Rafael dos Anjos and Kevin Lee go to war this weekend at UFC Fight Night 152.

Lee -- the 7th ranked lightweight in the UFC -- is going up to 170 pounds to fight former welterweight champ RDA ... and "The Motown Phenom" says it's gonna get violent.

"I think this might be one of the fights that I really get to showcase everything. I haven't given that barn burner of a fight to UFC fans yet, and this might be the one," ... Lee tells TMZ Sports.

"I'm expecting it to be a blood bath. That's all I'll say."

It's a massive fight for both guys. Lee's coming off a loss to Al Iaquinta ... and Kamaru Usman handed dos Anjos an L ... so both guys are dangerous, and need to win.

The result? Blood. Bath.

Rough day at the office for ex-UFC star Sage Northcutt -- who just got his face obliterated 30 seconds into his ONE Championship debut.

The 23-year-old was taking on Brazilian fighter Cosmo Alexandre in Singapore ... when just 25 seconds into the fight, things went bad for Sage.

Cosmo cracked the kid with a solid right -- immediately turning off Sage's lights and sending him crashing to the floor face first.

The ref stopped the fight and the announcer said Sage was out cold.

Don't worry, he got up and appears to be okay.

Disappointing debut for Sage to say the least ... he left the UFC after his contract was up last year and was hoping to become a massive superstar with ONE.

In fact, Sage previously told us he was hoping to parlay his MMA success into a movie career -- but it's always harder to do that following a crushing loss.

The estranged husband of UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich just got 4 years probation in his domestic violence case ... stemming from a violent attack back in November.

Arnold Berdon -- who's also an MMA fighter -- was initially arrested for attempted murder after Ostovich claimed he beat the hell out of her and fractured her eye socket.

Ostovich initially pulled out of a high-profile UFC fight with Paige VanZant due to the injury -- but was later cleared by a different doctor. Ostovich ultimately lost the fight.

As for Berdon ... after his initial arrest, prosecutors downgraded the charge to 2nd-degree assault -- and he pled no contest back in March.

Berdon was sentenced on Thursday to 4 years probation -- which appears to be a good deal for Berdon considering he was facing up to 5 years in prison.

UFC legend Anderson Silva says he's already made up his mind about his fighting future -- telling TMZ Sports, "I'm not stopping, I'm not retiring."

The 44-year-old was in pretty good spirits Thursday returning to the United States following his UFC 237 loss to Jared Cannonier this past weekend ... but says his knee is still jacked up.

Silva badly injured his right knee in the fight -- and couldn't make it out of the first round.

After the fight, Silva went to social media and posted a statement that made it seem as if he was pondering retirement.

But now, Anderson says his mind is made up -- he wants to get healthy and get back in the Octagon.

In fact, Silva says he's already spoken with Dana White about a possible rematch with Cannonier ... but White told him to take some time to heal before talking about another fight.

So, how is Anderson's knee?

"It's not good but it's not too bad. The good thing is I start physical therapy," Silva told us.

Forget Conor McGregor ... UFC fighter Kevin Lee wants to throw down with Kamaru Usman next -- telling TMZ Sports he thinks that scrap would be WAY more challenging than one with The Notorious.

"He might not bring the attention and the money," Lee says ... "But, as a competitor, he'll bring a lot more."

Of course, Lee has been trying to set up a fight with Conor and Khabib Nurmagomedov for the last year ... telling us in the past he'd beat both their asses.

But now, he's saying those fights don't intrigue him as much as a possible scrap with Kamaru does ... saying, "Seeing what he did to Tyron Woodley, that's kind of adding a little bit to me."

Either way, Lee knows fights with any of those three won't go down if he can't get past Rafael dos Anjos in their ESPN+ fight this Saturday night ... which is why he tells us he's laser-focused on that scrap right now.

Ex-UFC star Anthony "Rumble" Johnson is fighting back in his domestic violence case -- pleading not guilty to allegations he roughed up his girlfriend during a dispute earlier this month.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the 35-year-old fighter was arrested in Palm Beach County, Florida on May 6 after his girlfriend told cops Johnson got physical with her during an argument.

According to the police report, Johnson told cops at the time he DID pick up the woman to carry her to another room because he was sick of arguing ... but insists he never intended to hurt her.

Johnson was charged with misdemeanor domestic battery -- and his attorney just submitted a not guilty plea on the fighter's behalf.

If he's convicted, Johnson faces up to 1 year in jail.

Johnson already has a domestic violence conviction on his record from 2009 -- when he pled no contest in an incident involving an ex-girlfriend.

He's due back in court for the current case next month.

NBA legend Paul Pierce is being sued over an altercation with a security guard in the stands at the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The man behind the suit is Christopher Mostello -- who was working security at the T-Mobile Arena on Oct. 6, 2018, for UFC 229 when he got called over by a supervisor to respond to an incident involving Pierce.

Mostello claims he rushed over and was told Pierce had gotten aggressive and physical with the security supervisor -- a woman -- because she had asked for his ticket before allowing him back to his seat.

Mostello claims he was told Pierce grabbed the woman by the arms and pushed her to the side -- so he stepped in front of Paul to try and stop him.

But, Mostello claims Paul didn't stop -- instead Paul screamed "F*ck you" and accused Mostello of being a racist.

Footage of the altercation was captured by other fans in the stands and posted on TMZ Sports -- where you can clearly hear Pierce call the man a racist.

Mostello claims he's NOT a racist -- and he only engaged Pierce in the capacity of doing his job.

Now, Mostello claims his reputation has taken a serious hit and he's been subjected to public embarrassment, harassment and ridicule.

In the suit, filed by attorney Jesse Sbaih, Mostello accuses Pierce of defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress. He's demanding more than $15,000 in damages plus attorney's fees and other costs.

This is amazing!!

Deontay Wilder has a massive fight this weekend ... but that didn't stop the heavyweight champ from hittin' up an NYC elementary school and delivering a rousing pump-up speech to the kids.

It all went down Monday afternoon at P.S. 288 -- a school for Pre-K to 8th graders -- in Brooklyn ... and the message was inspirational and heartfelt.

"I'm here to say I was just like you young guys, just in a different state, in a different city, different environment. Every time I woke, there was negativity," Wilder told the kids at the event put on by the "Game of Life" program, which focuses on helping children stay out of trouble.

"But, with you guys, you guys are powerful. Your words are powerful. The things you speak, the things you think. Your surroundings that you surround yourself around every day is powerful. And, I want you guys to know that."

Deontay continued ... "It took me 11 years to get here. Many people died near me. Many people labeled me as statistics to society ... 'You ain't gonna do nothing, you're bad.'"

The message is clear ... believe in yourself, follow your dreams ... and don't stop until you get where you wanna go.

Wilder ended the epic speech with a chant -- "Believe it, speak it!"

UFC star Johnny Walker says his shoulder surgery was a massive success and he wants to get back in the Octagon the next 2 months ... with the hopes of fighting Jon Jones by the end of the year.

Walker jacked up his left shoulder back in March while doing The Worm dance to celebrate a violent 34-second victory over Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235.

The 26-year-old underwent surgery right after the fight -- and tells us he's back in L.A. for a checkup with the doctor who performed the surgery.

The good news ... Walker -- who's on a 9-fight win streak -- says he feels great but doesn't want to rush his return, he wants to "heal properly" so he can fight at 100%.

Walker says he's still hoping to book 1 or 2 fights before he gets his dream match with Jon Jones ... who previously told us he's interested in fighting Walker too.

As for Jones, he's scheduled to take on Thiago Santos at UFC 239 in July ... and while Walker says he always supports his fellow Brazilians, he's conflicted this time because he wants to be the guy to give Jones his first loss.

"I want to beat Jon Jones," Walker says ... "I have to make history by myself."

Oh, and if you're wondering if Walker is ready to retire his "worm" celebration after the injury ... he ain't.

Conor McGregor is off the hook in his Miami phone smashing case -- prosecutors have dropped the charges against the UFC star after the victim stopped cooperating with authorities.

"The victim of the crime does not wish to return to the United States and prosecute this case," prosecutor Khalil Madani said during a hearing on Monday.

As we previously reported, McGregor was captured on video getting into an altercation outside the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami on March with Ahmed Abdirzak -- who was visiting from the United Kingdom.

In the footage, you can see McGregor snatch the guy's phone, stomp on it ... and leave the hotel with it.

He was arrested hours later and ultimately charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor criminal mischief.

But now, prosecutors say Abdirzak has left the country and doesn't want to come back to aid in Conor's prosecution ... which everyone saw coming from a mile away.

Here's why ... Abdirzak had filed a civil lawsuit against Conor -- which McGregor ultimately settled out of court.

Translation -- Abdirzak probably got a huge payday and wasn't exactly motivated to help put Conor behind bars.

This now clears the way for Conor to negotiate his next UFC fight without having to worry about being unavailable because of incarceration.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is not abandoning hope for a super fight against UFC legend Georges St-Pierre ... his manager tells TMZ Sports he's actively working on getting the two in the Octagon.

Ali Abdelaziz not only reps Khabib -- but he's also close with GSP and helped get Georges back into fighting after a 4-year layoff to take on Michael Bisping in 2017.

Georges won that fight -- but hung up his gloves in early 2019 saying, "You should retire on top."

Now, Ali says the fighters have expressed to him that a Khabib vs. GSP matchup would be a "dream fight" on both ends ... but the trick is getting everyone to agree on money and a weight class.

"It's about weight," Ali says ... "The problem is about weight. What weight class do we fight at?"

If the two sides can strike a deal, the fight wouldn't happen any time in the immediate future -- Ali says Khabib has two fights to get through before he could get to GSP ... including a title fight with Dustin Poirier later this year.

Of course, Conor McGregor is also still in the picture -- he's demanding a rematch after Khabib dominated him at UFC 229 back in October.

Ali says Khabib feels Conor needs to prove he's worthy of a rematch -- considering he's lost 2 of his last 4 fights in the UFC.

Jennifer Aniston went HAM on a fan trying to sneak a selfie vid with her on the street, but unlike Conor McGregor she won't be arrested for it ... 'cause it's all for TV.

Jen was shooting a scene for her new Apple TV+ show, "The Morning Show," in NYC Thursday night ... and it features her going off on a guy and snatching his phone.

Check it out -- Aniston unleashes an f-bomb rant and looks primed to punish the dude's phone, but fortunately ... Reese Witherspoon's there to talk some sense into her!

If only Conor -- or Offset for that matter -- had someone like Reese in their crew.

"The Morning Show" is an upcoming dramedy web television series starring Aniston, Witherspoon, Steve Carell, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Billy Crudup. It's described as "an inside look at the lives of the people who help America wake up in the morning."

Camille Kostek is having a pretty great 2019 -- she's officially a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover girl now ... and she lost her mind when she found out!

The former New England Patriots cheerleader -- who's also dating Rob Gronkowski -- was informed about the cover by the editor, MJ Day ... and immediately began bawling!

It's actually a really cool, raw moment.

Kostek first started working with SI back in 2017 -- and she's always talked about how modeling for the mag was a career goal. Congrats on the cover!!!

There are three versions of the SI Swimsuit Edition cover -- the other two feature Tyra Banks and soccer superstar Alex Morgan.

SI has also said the 2019 edition will feature other major female athletes including UFC star Paige VanZant.

As for Kostek, she just wrapped up a big weekend in Vegas celebrating Gronk's retirement from the NFL ... where the two danced their faces off and smashed cake by a Vegas pool.

Anderson Silva ain't mincing words when it comes to his message for Dana White ... telling TMZ Sports he wants a fight with Conor McGregor ASAP!!!!

"Come on, boss," Silva says ... "Give this show for the fans. Give this show for the fans of UFC."

Remember, Silva has pleaded with the UFC honcho ever since Conor said in October 2018 he'd be "interested" in scrapping with Anderson.

But, Silva tells us he's still dead serious about making the fight happen ... and he even explained to Dana why the UFC should set it up!!!

"It's good money for you, Dana. And, a good challenge for me and Conor."

Silva says the fight should take place at a 180 pounds ... which means Conor would have to go up from his normal 155-pound division -- but Anderson says it'll be worth it in the end.

"That's the good fight for me and Conor ... It's a super, super, super fight."

Ex-UFC star Anthony "Rumble" Johnson was arrested for domestic violence Monday night after admitting he got physical during an argument with his girlfriend, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports, a woman called police to report an altercation with her boyfriend, Anthony Johnson.

The woman claimed she had started to pack AJ's belongings to throw him out of the house when he forcefully picked her up -- "put her in a football hold" -- and carried her into another room.

The woman claims "she was scared due to his size and martial arts experience."

FYI, 35-year-old Johnson is a former UFC star who was 22-6 as a pro -- with wins over stars like Glover Teixeira, Ryan Bader and Alexander Gustafsson.

Cops say the woman did not have any visible injuries.

When cops spoke with Johnson that night, he admitted he had grabbed the woman and carried her during the argument -- but says his intention was never to hurt her. Johnson claimed he simply didn't want to argue anymore.

Cops determined Johnson's actions warranted a domestic violence arrest -- so they took him into custody and hauled him to a nearby station where he was booked on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

Johnson retired from the UFC back in 2017 -- after losing to Daniel Cormier. His profession on the police report is listed as "body building."

UFC champ Rose Namajunas says she wouldn't rule out a superfight against Valentina Shevchenko ... but first, she's gotta get through Jessica Andrade.

Rose is the reigning UFC strawweight champ (115 lbs) after posting two amazing wins over UFC legend Joanna Jędrzejczyk.

She's gearing up for a title defense against Andrade this weekend at UFC 237 -- and despite being the champ, Rose is the betting underdog going into the fight.

"It's definitely a familiar feeling. This is not something new. I'm always the underdog. Not always, I shouldn't say that, but generally speaking," Namajunas told us.

"And, it makes sense. Andrade, when you look at her highlights, when you look at her physique, and you look what she does to girls, it's pretty intimidating."

Andrade's a beast ... but if she wins, would Rose -- who's cleaned out her division -- go up a weight class and fight the 125 lb. champ, Shevchenko?

"I've trained a lot with Valentina. Definitely, the training sessions, the way she trains, she's an animal. Of course, I'd love to test myself against her."

The issue? They're friends ... but Thug Rose ain't above punching her buddies.

"She's also my friend too, so that would kinda be strange. But, it's whatever, like I've fought friends before multiple times."