UFC

Joanna Jedrzejczyk ain't gonna like this ...

Weili Zhang -- the reigning UFC strawweight champ -- says Joanna is washed up and does NOT deserve a shot at her belt, despite beating Michelle Waterson this past weekend.

Remember, Zhang won the title by DESTROYING Jéssica Andrade in 42 seconds when they fought back in August ... and now she's ready to defend her belt.

Joanna told TMZ Sports she deserves a title shot -- but Zhang adamantly disagrees, saying the Polish superstar's best days are behind her.

"I don't think shes the fighter that she used to be," Zhang says ... "She's not in the condition she used to be. I'm not very interested."

Joanna went on an impressive 14-0 run to start her MMA career -- but lost 3 out of her last 5 ... twice to Rose Namajunas and once to Valentina Shevchenko.

In fact, Zhang says she's WAY more interested in moving up a weight class and fighting Shevchenko for the Flyweight belt than taking on Joanna.

"I want to fight the best," Zhang says ... "Right now I think Valentina is one of the best."

Zhang says she'd also consider a fight against Rose ... but she hasn't made up her mind yet.

There's more ...

Zhang also weighed in on the political drama between her home country, China, and the United States ... saying she hopes she can help repair relations through sports.

Speaking through a translator, the 30-year-old said ... "Hopefully I can be the bridge between all countries and the U.S."

Chris Weidman says he can do what Daniel Cormier couldn't -- beat Jon Jones -- and he's telling TMZ Sports how he plans on taking down one of the greatest fighters EVER.

Of course, Weidman moved up to the light heavyweight division to fight undefeated Dominick Reyes at 'UFC on ESPN 6' in Boston on Friday -- but his goal is to smash Reyes in the hopes of getting a crack at Jones.

Weidman has spent most of his career fighting at middleweight (185 pounds), but says the weight cuts were killing him ... so he decided to move up to 205.

The former champ -- who took out Anderson Silva TWICE -- says he feels GREAT at his new weight and is already dreaming about adding another G.O.A.T. to his hit list.

Weidman knows he would be a heavy underdog in a fight with Jones -- but says he's got the skills, the size and the power to put Jon on his ass.

In fact, Chris says he's got the physical attributes that guys like Cormier didn't possess -- like a long body and long limbs -- which would give him a real advantage against Jones.

Paige VanZant has a message for the UFC -- GET ME BACK IN THE OCTAGON ALREADY!!!

The 25-year-old says she's got the green light from doctors to fight again after undergoing surgery on her right forearm back in June ... and she's DYING to test it out in combat!

Of course, Paige initially injured her arm while delivering a spinning backfist during a 2018 fight against Jessica-Rose Clark and needed surgery to fix it.

Paige returned to the Octagon in Jan. 2019 and defeated Rachael Ostovich ... but required another operation in June 2019 to get a metal rod reinserted in the arm.

Now, VanZant says she's all healed up and she's already hit up Dana White to book a match ... and she wants a fight in the next 2 months!!

"I told the UFC, actually, almost a month ago. Like 4 weeks ago. 'Hey, I'm ready to fight. Give me a fight.' And its been a month and I haven't heard anything," VanZant says.

"I'm trying to force the hand and get a fight because I've been ready this whole time and we're kinda just waiting to hear who they match me up against."

Paige had offered to step in and fight Michelle Waterson if Joanna Jedrzejczyk dropped out of their Oct. 12 main event due to weight issues. But, Joanna made weight, so no go for Paige.

VanZant says she's still down to fight Waterson when she heals up from the Joanna fight -- but if Michelle needs months to recover, Paige would rather find another opponent because she doesn't want to wait.

A bizarre ending in the Jon Jones strip club vagina slap case -- the UFC star pled no contest to disorderly conduct ... but officials say they couldn't prove Jon actually did what he's accused of doing!!!

Remember, a waitress at TD's Eubank Showclub in Albuquerque told cops Jones had slapped her in the vagina during a wild April 19th night out with his NFL star brother, Chandler Jones.

The woman claimed Jon came up from behind her that night and put her in a "tight rear-naked choke hold" and then lifted her up in the air in what felt like a "wrestling match."

Once he put her down, the woman claims Jon slapped her right in the genitals.

Jones was initially charged with misdemeanor battery -- though he ADAMANTLY denied all wrongdoing and pled not guilty at the time.

Cops investigated the allegations and interviewed "numerous independent witnesses" -- but NOBODY could corroborate the woman's allegations.

In fact, cops say they tried to work with the accuser -- but she stopped cooperating with law enforcement during the investigation.

Ultimately, the Bernalillo County DA's office tells TMZ Sports, "There was not enough evidence to proceed with the petty misdemeanor charge of battery under New Mexico state law."

Yair Rodriguez SWEARS there will be no eye pokes when he rematches Jeremy Stephens this weekend -- and he even got a brand new manicure to make sure his fingernails don't go rogue and scratch anyone!

Remember, Yair and Jeremy were set to do battle in Mexico back in Sept. -- but the fight was stopped in the first few seconds after Yair accidentally jammed his finger in Jeremy's eye.

The fight was ruled a no-contest and the two agreed to run it back on October 18 at "UFC on ESPN 6" in Boston.

Yair says there are a bunch of major changes this time -- this will be a 3-round fight instead of a 5 rounder ... and the fight will be at sea level in Boston, instead of 8,000 feet elevation, like it was in Mexico.

Rodriguez believes the new parameters will give him a major advantage -- "It's gonna be even easier than last time."

He's wrestled live bears and sprinted up mountains, but now Khabib Nurmagomedov is taking his training to the next level ... swimming a freezing cold Dagestani river!

Oh, and he's swimming against a pretty strong current!!!

THIS IS INSANE!!

Khabib -- who recently defeated Dustin Poirier -- is gearing up for a tough fight (presumably against Tony Ferguson) and he's not wasting any time getting into fight shape.

Which is why he ended up taking a dip in a river in Kizilyurt -- a small town in Dagestan.

Khabib's pal (who goes by King Farruh) shot the footage and gave his account of the session.

"Hard work and dedication from champ khabib_nurmagomedov. Today was very cold, he doesn’t care."

"Water was very cold I tried to put my feet and almost freeze my a$$ off. Tony you’re in trouble!"

Tito Ortiz's love for the Trump family is definitely mutual -- with the UFC legend getting invited to hang with the President after a private lunch with Don Jr. and Eric Trump.

Tito's camp tells TMZ Sports ... Eric personally reached out to Tito last week when he heard the MMA superstar was in New York -- and the two sides quickly arranged a lunch date at Trump Tower.

"Secret Service walked us through crowds to a private room in Trump's restaurant," Tito's rep tells us.

"They talked fights and politics before Donald Jr. came down to join before heading off to a campaign event."

UFC star Joanna Jedrzejczyk says Dana White is right ... she intentionally misled the media to think she was in danger of missing weight before fighting Michelle Waterson as part of a "mental game" to mess with her opponent.

"It was a head game, mental game," Joanna tells TMZ Sports ... "Everything work out so good. I was not even close to missing the weight."

Remember, Dana White blew up at the MMA media -- including ESPN -- claiming reports suggesting Joanna's main event fight this past Saturday was in jeopardy were just wrong.

There were stories that Joanna was coming into fight week heavy and if Waterson didn't accept a catchweight, the fight would be called off.

But, Joanna says she was never in danger of missing weight ... adding, "We should trust Dana always!!!"

In the end, Joanna DID make weight and dominated Waterson -- despite badly injuring her right foot in the 2nd round of their 5-round war.

Shockingly, Joanna says she was just informed the foot is NOT broken -- and she'll get back to training soon to get ready for a strawweight title fight with Zhang Weili.

Meantime, Joanna is chillin' on the beach in Miami -- enjoying the fruits of her labor.

MMA fighter Luis Peña -- aka "Violent Bob Ross" -- tells TMZ Sports the time has come to renegotiate his contract with the UFC ... and he's confident he's gonna get it.

We spotted the 26-year-old after he landed at LAX on Sunday following a controversial split decision loss to Matt Frevola at 'UFC Fight Night' on Saturday ... and it's clear Pena thinks he got robbed.

Pena points out that Frevola trains in Tampa -- where the fight went down -- and he suggests there may have been some "small-town bias" affecting the judges' cards.

Pena stormed out of the Octagon after the judges announced the decision -- and Luis admits he was heated and pissed off, and let his emotions get the best of him.

"At the end of the day, it's on me for not going out there and finishing the fight," Pena says.

Still, Pena (7-2 as a pro) is not only a good fighter -- but he's entertaining -- and it seems the UFC appreciates it. Pena says UFC exec Sean Shelby told him the company is ready to start talking about a new deal.

Seems obvious, but now it's official ... Dana White tells TMZ Sports Israel Adesanya's next opponent will be Paulo Costa.

Of course, Costa was sitting Octagon-side when Izzy knocked out Robert Whittaker last weekend at UFC 243 in Australia ... and the two talked trash to each other after the fight.

So, when we spoke with White this week he told us the two fighters are on a collision course ... and if Israel emerges victorious, then we can start talking about Izzy vs. Jon Jones.

"The next fight is Paulo Costa. That's the fight to make next and if a Jon Jones fight is possible down the line, I like it!"

Israel and Jones traded shots on TMZ over the past few months -- Israel said he's a G.O.A.T. killer and Jon replied, "I'll make you call me daddy!"

Wanna see a walking work of art?? Just check out Cody Garbrandt's fresh ink ... 'cause the UFC star is giving TMZ Sports the breakdown on his new tattoo!!

Of course, No Love is no stranger to the needle -- he's got tats on his neck, chest and arms ... and now his back is fully covered with an epic gladiator-esque image!!

Cody tells us the whole process lasted about 25 hours ... so yeah, tat artist Nic Westfall at the Skull Museum is one patient cat.

Cody says the most painful part of the process was when Westfall got to his lower back, because he recently had stem cell treatment.

But, the craziest thing about this -- Cody says it didn't cost him a PENNY to get done ... the dude got the hookup because it's basically an ad for the artist whenever he fights in the Octagon!

We also talked UFC with the former champ ... and he says he'd be down to face off against Henry Cejudo .... after he got called out by Triple C!!

Did Michael Bisping fight in the UFC -- and win -- with a prosthetic eyeball???

That's the question everyone has been asking ever since Bisping revealed his right eyeball is a fake. And, when we saw him at LAX this week, we asked him straight-up.

Of course, Bisping suffered a detached retina from a brutal head kick during a 2013 fight with Vitor Belfort -- and has said vision in his right eye was pretty much "non-existent" ever since.

It's interesting because Bisping fought 11 TIMES in the UFC after the injury -- including winning the UFC middleweight belt with a victory over Luke Rockhold in 2016. But, Michael's never revealed WHEN his right eyeball was surgically removed.

So, Bisping ... did you secretly fight with a glass eye????

"Don't worry about it! Don't worry about it! All you gotta worry about is that I won the belt," Bisping told us with a grin on his face ... "It doesn't matter!"

But, it kinda matters ... we spoke with the California State Athletic Commission, and a rep tells us had they known Bisping had a glass eye before the Rockhold fight, he wouldn't have been licensed.

"A fighter with a glass eye would not be able to be licensed in California. Prosthetics aren’t specifically called out in the code specific to vision, but it would definitely fall under section (g) any other visual condition. Aside from the issues with depth perception and peripheral vision, we couldn’t put somebody in a match where there’s a danger that they could lose their only remaining eye."

However, CSAC says Bisping went through a thorough examination -- including a doctor who examined his eye -- and he was cleared.

Badass fighter and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu royalty Kron Gracie tells TMZ Sports he never wanted to choke people for a living ... he was about kickflips and ollies until a tragedy changed the course of his life.

Ya gotta understand who Gracie is ... his dad's Rickson Gracie -- regarded as one of the greatest BJJ practitioners ever -- and his grandfather's Helio Gracie -- who literally invented BJJ.

But, when he was growing up, he told us he had no interest in fighting.

"When I was younger I wanted to skateboard. I liked skateboarding. I had like little skateboard sponsorships and surfing, and that was all fun to me. I had no real interest in jiu-jitsu. As a young kid, it was kinda just the family business."

Then Kron says tragedy struck the family.

"I had an older brother who had passed away. So, once he passed I was the only boy left in the family, and it kinda put all the pressure on me, and I wanted to keep the family legacy going and I wanted to keep my dad proud."

"I wanted to give my dad a son who was a champion, and I wanted to make my brother proud and I had all the resources to do such. So, it would be stupid and ignorant to not do what I did."

The 31-year-old undefeated fighter's path to that championship runs straight through Cub Swanson this Saturday at UFC Fight Night 161.

Derek Brunson trained with Jon Jones ... and fought Israel Adesanya, so who'd the UFC star tell TMZ Sports would win in a fight???

Jon Bones Jones.

"I kinda know who would win the fight. Jon Jones would be a little bit too much," Brunson says.

"Jon is a high IQ fighter. So, really the chance of Izzy winning that fight is really catching him and hurting him, and Izzy got the finish in this fight, but he's not really a power guy, he's more of a TKO guy."

"He's gonna put some punches together. But Jon's big, strong, and he's gonna figure it out."

Jones and Adesanya have beef ... it all started when Izzy told us he was a G.O.A.T. killer earlier this year. Jon responded ... and the rivalry's only intensified since ... and both guys say they want to fight.

Brunson is down to watch the 2 champs battle ... but he also wants another crack at Adesanya himself.

Izzy stopped Brunson with a flurry of punches and kicks at the end of the 1st round when they fought in November 2018.

Dana White says reports that UFC star Joanna Jedrzejczyk was in danger of missing weight for her main event fight this weekend are COMPLETE BS ... and says she's good to go!!

Jedrzejczyk is fighting Michelle Waterson in Tampa on Saturday -- but there were several reports that the fight was in jeopardy over questions about Joanna being able to make the 116-pound weight limit.

White says UFC's network partner, ESPN, fueled the misinformation -- and he's FIRED UP about it.

"This is madness!!!" White says... "Yesterday, my partner, ESPN, put up on their ticker tape Joanna Jedrzejczyk didn't make weight. The weigh-ins are today!!!"

Both Joanna and Michelle DID make weight and the fight is good to go.

We asked Dana why he thinks there were questions surrounding Joanna's weight -- and he chalked it up to "head games" the veteran fighter was playing on her opponent.

"What has been happening is there has been some head games going on between two veterans who are fighting in the main event in a fight that is very important in both of their careers and to see who gets the next title shot."

"And, all these MMA suckers fall for it because they're hearing things behind-the-scenes."

Undefeated UFC star Mackenzie Dern just made weight and is set to fight on Saturday ... just 4 months after she gave birth to her first child!!!

We did the math (hey, numbers are hard) ... and it's only been 124 days since 26-year-old Mackenzie became a mom. She gave birth to her daughter, Moa, on June 9.

Think about that ... not only did Mack have to recover from the toll that pregnancy and delivery takes on your body, but then she began to train for a FISTFIGHT with a world class opponent almost immediately.

Dern -- who's 7-0 as a pro MMA fighter -- just hit the scales for the official weigh in for UFC Fight Night 161 in Tampa, Florida ... and came in at 115 lbs, a perfect number for her weight class.

Mackenzie -- who's known as one of the top female Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioners -- is set to face Amanda Ribas, who did NOT give birth 4 months ago!

And, get this, according to Vegas odds ... Dern is still the slight betting favorite ... you have to put down $145 to win $100.

FYI, Mackenzie's baby daddy is Brazilian pro surfer Wesley Santos ... so that kid is gonna be freakishly athletic!!!