UFC

UFC champ Kamaru Usman says he was genuinely "scared" for his UFC rival, Ben Askren -- saying that 5-second, knee-to-the-head knockout looked REALLY bad in person. 

Usman was in the crowd at UFC 239 in Vegas last weekend when Jorge Masvidal turned out Askren's lights with a ferocious flying knee ... and Kamaru admits, "I was kinda scared."

"Actually, I was kinda sad cause he was out for a long, long time," Kamaru says ... "He was out for about 5 to 7 minutes." 

"I was kinda scared cause he was stiff. I thought something might've happened."

Askren was rushed to a nearby hospital -- but tweeted later that night and says he's fine. 

Of course, Kamaru and Ben have a pretty nasty history ... Askren mocked Kamaru for months by calling him "Marty," the Americanized nickname he got during his college wrestling days. 

But, when push comes to shove, Kamaru says he doesn't wish terrible things on Askren -- you can tell there's some real respect there. 

As for Masvidal, who's been pushing for a shot at Kamaru's belt, Usman says the guy needs to "SLOW DOWN" ... though he seems open to the idea. 

Chandler Jones would BEAT THE HELL out of his famous UFC brother, Jon Jones ... so says the Arizona Cardinals DE himself, who tells TMZ Sports, "I'll beat Jon Bones' ass!!"

"Listen, he has the longest arms in the UFC," Chandler says ... "My arms are longer than his. That's my brother, I love him to death, but I'll kick his ass!"

The clip is hilarious ... but Chandler seems dead serious -- telling us his older brother would take the first real L of his career if the two really did square up.

And why? Chandler says it's all about his power.

"I would wrestle him. I'm more strong than he is," Chandler says ... "Listen, I'm not trying to brag, but I go against 300-pound men every day. Jon Bones is like, what, 235?"

Jon fights at 6-foot-4, 205 pounds ... while Chandler plays at 6-foot-5, 265 pounds. The tale of the tape is interesting ...

As for Jon's input on the matter, Chandler says even the UFC superstar knows he'd get wrecked in the bro-on-bro fight!!

"Easy work," Chandler says.

Anderson Silva is one of the greatest fighters to ever live ... but the Spider says we ain't seen NOTHIN' yet ... telling TMZ Sports his son could be even better than him!!

Silva's 20-year-old son, Gabriel, just competed in his first Muay Thai fight last month and beat his opponent via 2nd-round TKO ... so we had to ask his dad how good his son could be.

"He has a great future inside the sport." Spider says ... adding it's too soon to decide whether he'll follow in his footsteps to be a UFC superstar.

We followed up by asking if Gabriel could be better than his daddy, and Silva said, "of course!!!"

Silva says they've sparred together in the past ... and his son has beaten him!!

Floyd Mayweather is laughing at the idea of a rematch with Conor McGregor -- labeling the UFC star's camp as a bunch of "circus clowns" who "can't f*ck with Money May!"

As we previously reported, McGregor publicly stated that he wants another crack at Floyd because he knows what he did wrong in the first fight and he's convinced he can win the 2nd-time around.

So, when we saw Floyd out in L.A. this week, we asked if he was down for another scrap with the Irish superstar. 

Floyd and his crew immediately began bursting into laughter -- and that's when the trash talk began. 

"Boy, boy, boy, boy, boy ... these kids are some circus clowns," Mayweather said. 

"They cant f*ck with Money May."

"They gonna keep coming my way. At the end of the day, I keep laughing, I keep living, I keep going to the bank."

Remember, Floyd beat up Conor pretty badly when they clashed in 2017 -- ultimately winning by way of TKO in the 10th round. 

We asked Floyd -- who made more than $300 mil from the first McGregor fight -- if there was a number that would get him back in the ring ... but he essentially told us he doesn't need the money. 

There's more ... we asked Floyd if he's supporting Manny Pacquiao in his upcoming fight against Keith Thurman. 

Jorge Masvidal's FINALLY gettin' the respect he's long deserved -- thanks to his brutal Ben Askren flying knee KO -- so says UFC star Robbie Lawler.

TMZ Sports talked to Lawler -- who was in NYC promoting his August 3 fight with Colby Covington -- about his former teammate Masvidal's monster win at UFC 239 last weekend.

"That was damn impressive. Masvidal is awesome and it was cool to see him go out there and showcase his skills," Lawler says ... "He's been in the sport a long time and never got the respect that I think he was due. And, hes earning it now." 

"He has almost 50 fights. He's fought a lot of the good guys in the sport. He's impressive!"

FYI -- Masvidal's 34-13 with wins over guys like Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone and Darren Till.

Of course, Masvidal FLATTENED Askren, the formally undefeated fighter in 5 seconds ... the fastest UFC KO ever.

What's interesting -- Robbie and Ben have history ....they fought in March (Askren won), but the match ended in controversy.

Lawler (and a lot of fans) believed ref Herb Dean prematurely stopped the fight while Robbie was getting choked.

In fact, Dana White publicly said he wanted to rematch the fight ... but it never came together.

Justin Bieber is stoking the battle flames again by nominating Tom Cruise after doing the bottle cap challenge and saying the cap could be Tom's dome, if he wants to join the party.

JB threw up a video Sunday, showing himself doing the now-famous viral challenge that tons of celebs have taken part in. He tells the cameraman, "This could be Tom Cruise's head," and then does a spinning kick to fully unscrew the cap and send it flying.

In his caption, Bieber wrote ... "I nominate Tom cruise and Hailey Bieber." Besides the fact that we're likely to see Hailey's version of the challenge, it's obvious that the Biebs actually DOES want to fight ol' Tommy ... despite telling paps that he was just messing around when he sent out that bizarre tweet. 

Bieber even said at the time that TC would probably whoop his ass in a real fight, but based on what we're seeing here ... we're not so sure. Bieber's got some karate moves in the shed, it seems.

There's one person we know who would be happy to make it happen ... Dana White. He's already told us it would be the biggest purse in UFC history and could possibly go down. There's even been rumblings that Tom might actually be interested in getting in the Octagon. 

Fact is though, he hasn't uttered a peep about it ... so who the hell knows. In the meantime, put this bottle cap challenge up there with the best of 'em.  

Jon Jones powered through the pain after his big win Saturday -- 'cause he was up on his own two feet dancing the night away ... despite having to be wheeled out of the Octagon.

The light heavyweight champ -- who tied a record with his 13th title fight victory at UFC 239 -- was spotted partying it up after walking away with a split decision W. You can see Jon turning up at On the Record at the Park MGM casino and hotel. 

He eventually got on the mic and thanked his fans for showing up and showing love, and then continued to boogie. 

Jon and his opponent, Thiago Santos, both had to be rolled into the locker room after their brutal brawl, but Jon seemed to be doing better at the presser. He showed off some cool tricks in his chair, and was able to get up on the stage without much of an issue.

If you blinked, you missed it!!!

UFC star Jorge Masvidal set a UFC record Saturday -- knocking out Ben Askren in 5 seconds!!!

The two faced off at UFC 239 in Las Vegas -- after months of some serious trash talk between the welterweight stars. 

When the opening bell rang, Ben -- a highly decorated wrestler -- put his head down and went for a takedown ... something Masvidal clearly expected. 

Masvidal had clearly been training for that move -- and came sprinting out his corner with a flying knee that connected right to Askren's temple. 

Askren was out cold before he hit the mat -- but Masvidal continued to smash him until the ref stepped in and stopped the fight. 

Askren eventually woke up -- he was helped to the back where he was treated by medical staffers. He was later transported to a local hospital. Hopefully, he's okay. 

As for Masvidal ... wow. 

Could Jon Jones be the 4th member of the New Day?

Kofi Kingston ain't ruling it out ... telling TMZ Sports he'd love to see the UFC star get involved in pro wrestling -- but he's gotta see Jon's hip-shaking ability before bringing him into the group!!!

Check this out ... Kofi says he actually met Jon recently and admitted he was straight-up starstruck -- "He's one of the greatest of all time man!"

"It was a real honor meeting him ... real cool."

And, with former UFC star like Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey killling it in the WWE, Kofi thinks Jon could be the next great crossover.

"He's definitely got the height, he's got the skill," Kofi says. "From what I see he's got the right attitude."

"I think a lot of people would love to see Jon Jones in there."

Of course, before Jon can even consider a wrestling career, he's gotta get through Thiago Santos at UFC 239 in Vegas on Saturday night.

UFC legend B.J. Penn tried to get into a scrap with a strip club DJ before he ultimately got into a street brawl with the bouncer ... this according to 911 calls obtained by TMZ Sports.

Penn was involved in a melee at Club Femme Nu in Honolulu last week ... with the UFC Hall of Famer mounting a man and shoving his elbow into the guy's throat.

Cops were called to the scene ... but since no victim came forward -- Penn was never arrested, and charges haven't been filed.

But, now, we're learning more about the incident ... with a 911 caller telling dispatch Penn had tried to fight the club's DJ before he got into the street fight outside.

"So B.J. Penn is here causing a fight with the DJ," a woman tells dispatch.

The woman is clearly annoyed with Penn ... and goes on to say he had been stirring up problems throughout the night, saying, "It's really pissing me off."

"He's just running around with shorts and no shirt on. Screaming and yelling and trying to cause problems again."

In another 911 call obtained by TMZ Sports ... you can hear a man clearly concerned about the fight Penn was in outside, with the guy telling dispatch they need help separating the two.

Can size and strength overcome decades of hardcore MMA training if a UFC fighter and an NFL lineman threw down in a real life street fight?!

It's a debate we've been having in the office for months ... so we brought in 2 guys who would know a little something about it to hash it out on the "TMZ Sports" TV show. 

Bryant McKinnie is a 6'8", 375 pound former NFL lineman with crazy athletic ability -- and played pro for 11 seasons. 

Tyron Woodley is 5'9" and fights at 170 pounds -- and is considered one of the greatest UFC welterweight champs of all time. 

So, who wins if they fight in the street???

"Somebody's gotta get the business," Woodley said ... "I can't be on the receiving end!"

You gotta listen to the two superstars go back and forth and state their cases about why they would emerge victorious ... it's actually really interesting. 

But, the bottom line here ... DON'T FIGHT WITH EITHER ONE OF THESE GUYS IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE!!!

UFC champ Amanda Nunes won't have to look far for her bucket list fight -- she can find her opponent in the comfort of her own home ... 'cause she wants to scrap with her FIANCEE!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the MMA power couple leading up to Nunes' fight with Holly Holm at UFC 239 next week ... and her fiancee, Nina Ansaroff, says she's 100% down to fight her boo.

"We already talked about it," Nina says. "After she gets the belt, I'm gonna get my belt at [115 pounds], and then we're gonna do a super-fight at 125 ... we're so down. We really would try to kill each other."

"Why not? Bring the money home in the same household."

Even being in a lighter weight class, the women know each other's weaknesses, considering they've been training together for years.

As for Nunes ...  She's totally on board too, saying "My last fight is gonna be against Nina and then I'm gonna retire."

FYI -- the couple has been together for years and got engaged back in August 2018 ... and Nina says their relationship is rock solid, so there won't be any hard feelings after the fight.

"Afterwards it would be like, 'that was awesome.'"

UFC legend Diego Sanchez says he WILL attend a UFC Hall of Fame ceremony just 24 hours before his UFC 239 fight ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks it'll help him build momentum!!!

Sanchez and Clay Guida are being honored for their famous "Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale" fight back in 2009 ... a 3-round war that's being enshrined in the UFC's Hall of Fame fight wing. 

10 years after getting the victory in that fight, Sanchez is still a VERY active UFC fighter -- who's set to take on Michael Chiesa at UFC 239 on July 6. 

Some fighters refuse to do anything the night before a fight -- opting to keep things low-key (meditating, relaxing, etc) as part of their pre-fight routine. 

But not Sanchez!!!

"I think it's a great build up of momentum going into the fight," Sanchez says ... "I'm gonna go up there, put my jacket on, take my little walk!"

"I look at it as positive energy ... it's great. Something that I see as normal."

Sanchez says he doesn't think the honor makes him feel old -- "I feel like I'm a legend continuing to be a legend!"

Sanchez is 29-11 in his pro MMA career -- and he's currently on a 2-fight win streak after beating up Mickey Gall back in March. 

Jon Jones has NEVER been beaten (no, the DQ doesn't count) ... but Chris Weidman says he's gonna be the guy to hand Bones his first real "L" in the UFC Octagon!!!

Weidman -- the former middleweight (185lb.) champ who recently jumped to light heavyweight (205lbs.) -- has been Twitter beefin' with Jon ... and both guys seem down to a scrap. 

TMZ Sports talked to Chris at LAX earlier this week ... and the UFC star had a short, but ominous message for Jones.

"See you soon, Jon."

After winning his first 13 pro fights, Weidman's been in a slump ... losing 4 of his last 5 fights -- taking L's from killers like Yoel Romero and Luke Rockhold.

Still, Weidman is the guy who took out Anderson Silva (TWICE) -- and the 35-year-old former champ feels he's got what it takes to stick it to Jones too.  

"I definitely think I have the tools to beat him."

But, Chris knows he won't just be handed the title fight ... "I gotta fight some other guys first, but at some point, [Jon's] the goal."

Chris also tells us who else is on his UFC hit list (hint: he badly wants to avenge a loss) ... and answers an age ol' and fiercely debated question.

Forget Tom Cruise ... Steve-O says HE should be the one to fight Justin Bieber -- telling TMZ Sports that Justin is "picking a fight with the wrong guy!"

We broke the story ... Dana White is hoping to put together a UFC match between the Biebs and Cruise after Justin called out the actor on Twitter.

But, Steve-O says he's personally offended that he wasn't the guy in the initial challenge ... telling us out at LAX, "I'm sick of being overlooked for my potential as a cage fighter!"

Steve-O says he was so upset about the Bieber snub ... he actually flew to Las Vegas to have a personal convo with Dana White himself about it all!!

"I had a little chat with Dana White," Steve-O says ... "And he agreed that if Tom Cruise doesn't step up, and someone needs to fill the cage with Justin Bieber, then I'm the guy."

"We shook on it, me and Dana White."

Steve-O then issued a call-out of his own to Bieber ... telling the Biebs, "I think you've been picking a fight with the wrong guy. Tom Cruise might be 56, but, hey, I'm 45!"

As for who would win in the Octagon ... all Steve-O would tell us is that Justin has NO chance of ending the fight early -- saying, "I can take a serious beating."

He ain't lyin'!!!

All good things must come to an end ... and Michael Chiesa's signature mullet is no exception ... and the UFC fighter is telling TMZ Sports he chopped off his hair at his girlfriend's request!!!

Chiesa has been rockin' the "business in the front, party in the back" look for years ... but the welterweight cleaned up his look and got rid of the mullet recently ... and now we know why.

"It's just time for me to grow up. I've had a mullet the better half of my whole life. I've always just been this hairy, wild man," Chiesa says.

"I have a girlfriend now, and as she's gotten more comfortable in the relationship, she wants a civilized looking boyfriend ... it's good for me, man."

Maverick -- who is fighting Diego Sanchez at UFC 239 next weekend -- says although he doesn't care what people think about him, it's about time he looked the part of being a professional.