UFC

Justin Gaethje is sick and tired of playing the waiting game with Conor McGregor -- and tells TMZ Sports his new #1 target is Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Conor has said he was scheduled to fight Gaethje before injuring his hand earlier this year ... and recently, there were rumblings Justin was in the mix to be Conor's mystery opponent for his Jan. 18 comeback fight.

But, Dana White just told us he's gunning for Cowboy Cerrone now ... which leaves Justin without an opponent. Justin says Conor only wants Cowboy because he's looking for a "sure win."

The good news ... Gaethje is such a monster, he's down to fight ANYONE -- and explains why his dream matchup is against the guy who SMASHED Conor.

"I want to fight Khabib, I gotta fight Khabib before he goes away," Justin says.

In fact, Justin points out that Khabib vs. Tony Ferguson isn't a done deal yet either -- and he wants the UFC to know he's ready to step up and fill in if Tony can't go.

As for Conor, Justin isn't completely giving up hope on that fight ... and describes in graphic detail what he would do to the Irishman if he actually steps into the Octagon.

UFC star Jorge Masvidal says fighting in front of President Trump will be a "humbling" experience ... telling TMZ Sports he's honored to put on a show in front of POTUS!!!

As we previously reported ... a TON of star power will be watching Masvidal take on Nate Diaz for the "Bad Mother F**ker" belt at MSG on Saturday -- from The Rock to Robert Kraft to yes, the President of the United States of America!!!

Masvidal says politics aside, it's a once in a lifetime moment at UFC 244 ... and he's going to make the best of it, saying some fighters who love Trump will never even get this opportunity.

"Not every fighter can say, 'Hey, the president is showing up to my fight', you know? So, that's humbling in itself."

Of course, with Masvidal being from Miami, we had to ask about Dwayne Johnson being there as well ... and he says the whole event is such a big deal, he can't even think about all of the hype until AFTER the fight.

Conor McGregor told us to ask the UFC who his opponent will be on Jan. 18 ... so we did. And, Dana White says the fighter they're targeting is Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.

But, there's a HUGE catch ... Dana tells TMZ Sports the deal isn't done yet -- not even close.

"We have nothing done, nothing is even close to being done. So, I hate to even talk about this stuff and say it because it might not happen ... it might happen. But, were looking at Cowboy."

White says the fight would be a lightweight bout between the #3 ranked fighter, Conor McGregor, and the #5 ranked fighter, Cowboy ... at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas.

There are rumblings that Justin Gaethje is still in the picture in case Cowboy doesn't sign the contract ... but based on the conversation we had with Cerrone earlier this week, he's ALL ABOUT IT. Stay tuned on that one.

Meanwhile, White is gearing up for UFC 244 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden ... where President Trump is expected to attend.

We asked Dana if he was concerned about his two outspoken main event fighters saying anything crazy to POTUS when they get the mic after the fight ... and White basically said there's no controlling guys like Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal.

UFC star Derrick Lewis says he doesn't mind watching men bleed in the Octagon -- but he gets squeamish when it comes to bloody women because it makes him think of messy periods.

The 34-year-old heavyweight spelled it all out on "Bernie & Sid in the Morning" -- saying, "I really don't like watching women fights."

When pressed on the issue, Lewis explained ... "Last week, I finally had thought I forgot they had periods. I wonder if they still fight on their period?"

Lewis continued ... "You would think they get cut in the face, something like that [and] they're bleeding and stuff like that ... but no, it's from them being on their period."

"So, I don't like watching women fight."

For the record, this has NEVER been an issue in the UFC or any other pro-MMA or combat sports organization, as far as we know.

It'sssss TIME ... for President Donald Trump to attend a UFC fight in person!

That's exactly what's happening on Saturday -- POTUS will be in the house at Madison Square Garden for UFC 244, featuring a massive fight between Nate Diaz and Jorge Masvidal.

Trump has been a longtime supporter of the UFC and Dana White -- in fact, White has publicly credited Trump for being a key figure in turning the MMA promotion into the juggernaut it is today.

Now, Trump has reportedly made time in his schedule to see Diaz and Masvidal fight for the coveted "Bad Mother F**ker" belt when they clash on Nov. 2.

And, get this ... the celebrity guest list that night is insane -- Dana White previously told us Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will be on hand to present the winner with the 'BMF' belt.

New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft -- whose also close with Trump -- will be in the house as well. The Patriots play the Ravens in Baltimore the next day.

President Trump's sons, Don Jr. and Eric, attended a UFC fight in New Jersey earlier this year -- when Trump supporter Colby Covington defeated Robbie Lawler.

Donald Trump called Colby after the fight to personally congratulate him.

As for UFC 244, you better believe Secret Service will be swarming that night.

And, it'll be VERY interesting to hear what the always outspoken Nate Diaz has to say if he gets the mic after the fight!

Douglas Lima says he ain't just the best welterweight in Bellator ... he's the best freakin' welterweight MMA fighter on planet Earth.

Yes ... ya listening, Kamaru Usman? 'Cause Lima says (in the most respectful way ever) he knows for sure he'd beat you!!!

TMZ Sports talked to the 31-year-old Lima -- who's got a record of 32-7 with wins over beasts like Michael "Venom" Page and Paul Daley -- 2 days after his Bellator Grand Prix title win over Rory McDonald.

The prize? The welterweight belt and a million bucks.

We'll get to the money later ... but first, we asked Lima where he stacks up when it comes to the badass welterweight fighters in the UFC.

Flat out, Douglas says he's the best ... and he's tired of people shading him and his skills 'cause he isn't in Dana White's promotion.

"I know real MMA fans, they recognize, they know I'm up there with those guys. They know I can beat, I can fight any of them. But, most of them it's like, 'Man, you're not in the UFC, you're a nobody.'"

Lima continued ... "Man, I hate that. That's people who doesn't understand the sport. It's not the name UFC or Bellator or ONE FC. There's killers everywhere."

Usman is the current champ ... so we point-blank asked Lima what'd happen if they fought.

"I'd beat him. I'd probably KO him. He's a great wrestler for sure, he wrestles a lot. But man, at any point in that fight if I connect, I can put him away. I don't even think about that, I just know I can beat him, I can beat anybody at this weight class.

"I'm not talking bad about the guy. He's a champion there. He's doing his thing. But, I just know it, man. If one day something like this happens, I definitely believe in myself to go over there and kill it."

Now, bout that milli ... the check hasn't hit Douglas' account just yet, but when it does -- he's got some pretty cool plans for the dough.

Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone says Conor McGregor has NOT signed the official UFC contract to fight on Jan. 18 ... and now he's putting the pressure on Conor to get the deal done.

Of course, 31-year-old Conor announced his UFC comeback last week during a media event in Russia ... saying he'll fight on Jan. 18 but wouldn't reveal his opponent.

36-year-old Cowboy tells us both his team and Conor's team have been in contact with the UFC, but they're still trying to "figure it out."

"I think it's gonna happen this time," Cowboy tells TMZ Sports ... "I really do. Conor's really serious about making a comeback."

Cowboy says he knows Conor vs. Cowboy is the fight "everyone wants to see" and says he's "pumped" at the idea of sharing the Octagon with the Irish superstar.

"It's gonna be a fun fight! He's a great fighter. I'm not taking anything away from him by any means, he's got a lot of punching power ... and it should be a good time!"

In fact, Cowboy had a message for McGregor -- "Sign the damn deal man, let's get this done!"

Oh, we also asked if Cowboy has tried Conor's Proper 12 whiskey ... and ya gotta hear his review!

Conor McGregor says he gifted the very first bottle of his Proper No. 12 Whiskey to Vladimir Putin -- but the Russian president wouldn't sip until it was tested for poison.

The UFC superstar says he brought Bottle #1 with him to meet Putin at the 2018 World Cup final in Russia, but Vlad's security team swooped in and took the bottle before they could pop it open.

"President Putin's security detail is second to none as I'm sure you know," Conor told the media in Moscow this week ... "You don't mess around with Vladimir."

"So, I gifted the bottle, I gifted it to his security. So, they had to take the liquid from the bottle to make sure the liquid was safe and it was not maybe poisoned or whatnot and then it was gifted to Vladimir Putin."

Conor says because of the security protocol, he was unable to share a glass with Putin at the World Cup, but McGregor says ... "I'm sure he did have a taste and I'm sure he enjoyed it."

Of course, Conor went on to fight Russian superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov and lost ... and Khabib ended up getting the invite to meet up with Putin afterward.

Tyson Fury wasn't just talkin' that talk when he said he wanted to get into MMA -- he was serious ... now announcing he'll be training with the Notorious MMA to get ready.

The heavyweight boxer confirmed the big news Sunday while talking to Sky Sports News, telling them that he's got something even bigger in the works than his upcoming WWE match against Braun Strowman in Saudi Arabia. What might that be, you ask???

It's the Octagon, baby!!! The Gypsy King himself says an MMA debut is on the horizon, and that none other than Conor McGregor is going to help him train across the pond.

And, when is this gonna be happening, you may wonder??? Tyson had an answer for that too ... he says if all goes according to plan, we may be seeing him get in the cage sometime this year. Keep in mind -- it's October, folks. So, if he's serious, that's a quick turnaround.

Lucky for Tyson, he looks to be in great shape right now ... and is definitely on a tear to take over all combat sports, as he told us just last week in NYC. We couldn't tell if he was simply hyped off his WWE debut by roping in MMA, but clearly he wasn't. He's dead serious.

Conor McGregor has set the date for his UFC comeback ... and there's one guy who wants to welcome him back with an ol' fashioned Irish vs. Irish beatdown -- Paul Felder!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the Irish Dragon about The Notorious' return ... and he says it's good news -- most likely because he wants to beat the dude's face in -- but also because he's "holding up the whole division right now."

There have been names like Justin Gaethje and Dustin Poirier and Frankie Edgar being thrown around right now ... but Felder says he should be in that conversation too.

"I feel like a lot of guys out there aren’t mentioning my name right now, and if they are they’re ranked way below me," Felder tells TMZ Sports.

"I’ve always done nothing but bring violence and bring excitement to the cage. He’s a striker, I’m a striker, you know what’s gonna happen if a guy like me and him fought."

We asked Felder (the 6th ranked UFC lightweight) what his message to Conor would be ... and the dude made it clear he wants to find out who the best Irish fighter is!!

"If you want to fight someone that’s got that Irish blood in them too, who’s an American, why don’t you fight an Irish-American. Let’s get that Irish-American vs the real Irishman and see who’s tougher."

There's more ... "You can talk about me, you can call me a plastic patty cause I’m the Irish Dragon, you can do all that kind of crap. It’s not really gonna bother me."

"I’m a kid from South Philly who grew up in a neighborhood just as tough as wherever the hell you grew up in Dublin and I’m just gonna show the fans what a real martial artist looks like."

Ever wonder how someone who wins a $1,000,000 prize gets paid?!

Allow us to introduce you to PFL 11 winner Lance Palmer ... who took home $1 million big ones when he beat up Steven Siler on New Years Eve 2018.

TMZ Sports talked to Palmer and he walked us through exactly how he got his million bucks.

"The night of the fight you get this one, you get the big check the night of the fight, but actually it comes in as a wire like 2 weeks later," Palmer says.

"They make sure your drug test comes back clean and then after that, you get the wire. That's the craziest feeling ever cause I've never had that kinda money, anything close to that kinda money come in my account. It's wild."

Lance continued ... "I never thought I'd see 7 figures in my account at 1 time."

So, what'd he do with the dough?

Lance says he bought a Dodge Hellcat Redeye ... a ridiculously fast 800-horsepower sports car.

And, get this, Palmer might have another fat wire transfer on the way ... 'cause he made this year's PFL tourney final and will AGAIN fight for a million dollars.

That goes down December 31.

Bellator star Roy Nelson says Greg Hardy can beat up Alex Volkov -- the 6'7" Russian badass -- on only 18 days notice ... as long as he can hit his inhaler between rounds!! 😂💀

Last week, TMZ Sports asked Nelson -- who fought Frank Mir this weekend at Bellator 231 -- if Hardy has a snowballs chance in hell of beating the 7th ranked heavyweight when they fight November 9 ... and the big man threw major shade at the Pro Bowler turned fighter.

"Sure he does," Nelson told us ... "I mean as long as he gets his inhalers, he can puff those between rounds. He should be good."

Remember, Greg fought October 18 -- and won on the scorecards -- before the W was stripped and the fight ruled a no contest 'cause Hardy was seen using an inhaler between rounds (a big no-no).

After the fight, The Prince of War told us he takes full responsibility for the inhaler screw up ... and was super pumped to finally get in the Octagon with a "real monster."

It's a huge challenge for Greg -- who's never fought anyone like Volkov -- so we asked Big Country if he had any advice for Hardy.

Cue more shade.

Randy Couture is so damn tough ... HE WALKED HOME FROM THE HOSPITAL AFTER SUFFERING A HEART ATTACK!!!

Just 2 days after the 56-year-old UFC Hall of Famer suffered a heart attack and underwent an emergency procedure ... Couture walked out of Cedars Sinai under his own power.

Couture, clutching an adorable oversized stuffed animal, was surrounded by his family and friends as he walked home Friday ... and told TMZ Sports all about the experience.

"Feeling good, way better obviously," Couture said ... admitting the health scare was a reality check about mortality.

"At some level, you think you're invincible and then you find out you're not."

The good news, Couture says doctors have identified the problem and he'll be following up with specialists to make sure this never happens again!!!

Couture says he's already itching to get back in the gym and resume training with his MMA pals ... but knows he should take it slow. Good luck stopping this man.

Oh, and he's already planning to get back to work in Hollywood -- telling TMZ Sports he's got a shoot for a new movie with Michael Jai White on Tuesday and he ain't missing it!!!

There's more ... Couture says he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from close friends and old rivals ... including Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz, who both reached out.

The kids who mercilessly attacked a 12-year-old autistic boy in videos that went viral are facing "swift and prompt" discipline from their Oklahoma school, so says MMA star Justin Wren.

Wren befriended Rayden Overbay when he saw the disturbing footage of students repeatedly mocking and beating the kid because of his disabilities ... and he's leading the charge to make things right.

Wren appeared on "TMZ Live" on Friday and said the school has made it clear to Rayden's family that they will NOT tolerate violent bullying.

"Thankfully, Rayden's dad says the school has taken swift and prompt action," Wren said.

"I can't speak about whats happened with the kids because they're minors, but they are taking action and they are being held accountable."

Wren says despite what we've all seen in the videos, the school has rallied around Rayden -- same with a local church youth group, which has embraced the 12-year-old.

As we previously reported, Rayden -- who's autistic, diabetic and deaf in his right ear -- was so distraught from the repeated beatings, he was writing suicidal messages on his arm.

Wren says the most important thing to him now is to continue to introduce Rayden to people who will love and support him ... and stand up to anyone who tries to bully him.

Wren has also facilitated meetings with some of Rayden's sports heroes -- from WWE star Mick Foley to the L.A. Chargers.

In the 3 weeks Wren has spent with Rayden, he's changed his life -- getting Rayden medical help for concussions he suffered from the attacks ... and introducing him to fun new foods like cotton candy grapes!!!

Even Cleveland Browns QB Baker Mayfield reached out to offer his love and support.

Conor McGregor doesn't REALLY want to fight Justin Gaethje ... it's all smoke and mirrors ... so says Tyron Woodley who thinks JG would bust him up!

Of course, Conor just announced he's fighting on Jan. 18 -- but wouldn't reveal the name of his opponent. Most people think the front-runners are Justin Gaethje or Cowboy Cerrone.

But, Tyron says his money's on Cowboy ... simply because he thinks Justin poses a much bigger threat that Conor doesn't really want!!!

"If I was him, Gaethje ain't the fight he want. Gaethje punch too hard. His chin is too crazy. He's gonna come forward with all that pressure. I don't think that's the fight."

Tyron says Cowboy is a "safe fight" for McGregor ... and thus, the more likely match-up.

"I think the Gaethje sh*t is just him just talking smoke and mirrors. I don't think he really want that noise. He don't wanna fight guys like me."

There's A LOT more -- Tyron sends a message to his pal Randy Couture, explains why Israel Adesanya is the next UFC superstar and daps up Tony Hawk!

Conor McGregor was attacked by a pissed off Dagestani man in Russia on Friday who threw a water bottle at the UFC star as retaliation for trashing Dagestan.

You gotta see the video ... it's intense.

The man went to a media event in Moscow on Friday specifically to get answers from Conor about why he's been trashing Dagestan lately.

Remember, just Thursday ... Conor said he "wouldn't go to Dagestan to take a s**t" in a tirade bashing his UFC rival, Khabib Nurmagomedov, who hails from Dagestan.

Clearly, people in Dagestan -- a part of Russia -- heard the insult and the man who crashed the media event Friday decided to take matters into his own hands.

He pressed Conor about the statement and demanded answers about why he "hates" Dagestan so much.

Conor tried to justify his hatred saying people in Dagestan have been mean to him (boo-hoo) -- but the answer wasn't satisfactory to the Dagestani, so he fired off a water bottle.

The man shouted at Conor, "All the people? My father, my brother ... you think are all cowards?"

Conor replied, "Yes, yes, yes."

The man shot back, "My father?! What did he do to you?! My brother, what did he do to you?!"

Conor managed to duck out of the way and shouted back, "Shut up, you fool." The man was escorted out by security.

McGregor didn't seem fazed -- he just stood there.