UFC

Forget Conor McGregor ... Canelo Alvarez says he's down to fight UFC star Jorge Masvidal next -- telling TMZ Sports, "Why not?!"

... Of course, in boxing only.

Masvidal famously called out Canelo shortly after beating Nate Diaz for the 'BMF' belt back in November ... and when we asked Alvarez out in L.A. this month if he'd be up for the fight, the boxing superstar told us he's down.

"For business, why not?!" Canelo says.

Neither guy has an opponent lined up for their next fight ... so could it actually happen??

Seems there's a chance ... the first big, MMA-boxing crossover was HUGE -- with Floyd Mayweather and McGregor making SERIOUS bank for getting in the ring back in 2017.

And, Canelo DEFINITELY appears pretty intrigued by that.

As for if the Masvidal fight falls through ... Canelo says he'd be up for a rematch with Mayweather next -- telling us, "I was very young and experienced at the time and now I'm a different fighter. It will be a totally different result."

You think a fetus can derail UFC fighter Nina Ansaroff's MMA training!?!?!

Well, it can ... but Nina tells TMZ Sports she ain't exactly putting her career on hold when she gets pregnant with Amanda Nunes' baby.

Of course, Amanda ain't the only world-class fighter in the relationship -- 34-year-old Nina is the #5 ranked strawweight contender in the UFC. She's a killer.

But, with the two decided to expand their family in 2020 -- and Nina being the designated baby carrier -- we asked the two how it will affect her career in the Octagon.

"I’m taking a year off," Ansaroff says ... but when she returns, Nina says she plans on moving up a weight class and competing in the 125-lb flyweight division.

"I’m gonna be training throughout my pregnancy. I’m gonna stay in shape. I’m not gonna, ya know, just like not do anything and jump in."

UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman says he's got BIG things lined up for 2020 -- not just in the Octagon -- in fact, he wants to be the next 'Bachelor.'

... and yeah, HE'S SERIOUS!!!

The 32-year-old fighter had a huge year in 2019 -- not only defeating Tyron Woodley to win the welterweight belt but also beating the hell out of Colby Covington in a jaw-breaking performance at UFC 245.

So, how do you top that in 2020? Kamaru's got a plan ...

"I'm gonna blow it out of the water," Usman says ... suggesting he could try his hand at acting or broadcasting.

As for "The Bachelor," Usman first floated the idea back in October ... but now hopes his high-profile win over Colby will help him get on the show!

Tyron Woodley says he was "disgusted'" with the Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington fight ... admitting, "I wanted to throw up [over] the fact I lost to Usman."

"F**k both of them."

The former UFC welterweight champ spells it all out on this week's 'Hollywood Beatdown' -- saying both guys looked weak during their UFC 245 title fight ... and neither man fought smart.

"As far as IQ, moving your fucking head maybe!? ... I didn't see a lot of that."

Woodley also says when it comes to power -- neither guy showed anything special, despite the fact Kamaru broke Colby's jaw in the 2nd round.

"If I would have punched Colby, he may be on life support right now."

Of course, Usman is the guy who beat Tyron to take his welterweight belt back in March. Tyron hasn't been back in the Octagon since ... but says he's looking for a big-money fight, even if it's in the boxing ring.

Woodley says he's getting his boxing license in California and Nevada and is seriously hoping to land a fight with Canelo Alvarez.

There's a lot more in this episode ... from Tyron's thoughts on Conor McGregor vs. Cowboy Cerrone to his upcoming plans with the FaZe Clan and why he's got a ton of respect for Jorge Masvidal.

This was no Mayweather vs. McGregor ...

UFC superstar Derrick Lewis told a boxer to PUT UP OR SHUT UP during an argument about MMA vs. boxing ... and the results did not go well for DL's opponent.

The 34-year-old heavyweight says he was working out in the gym on Wednesday, when the other man said, "He will knock me out because I’m a MMA fighter."

Lewis, not one for boring debates, told the guy to strap on the gloves and get in the ring ... and the rest -- well, just watch.

Lewis beats the guy up so badly, he almost punched him THROUGH THE ROPES!

Of course, Lewis -- aka "The Black Beast" -- is known as one of the toughest dudes in all of combat sports ... beating guys like Francis Ngannou, Alexander Volkov, Travis Browne and Roy Nelson.

Here's UFC heavyweight Alistair Overeem showing off his new surgically-repaired lip ... after his face was blasted open in a TKO loss to Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

Overeem's face was a bloody mess after the UFC on ESPN 7 event on Dec. 7th ... when Rozenstruik hit Alistair with a crushing right hook in the 5th round that ended the fight with only 4 seconds left.

Overeem was hospitalized after the fight and underwent a surgical procedure to stitch him up ... and ESPN's cameras captured the 39-year-old as he was healing up.

"It was a nice fight," Overeem said ... "It was a good scrap."

"I was winning all rounds, just doing my thing. Too fast of a stoppage if you ask me. I was not out. I was knocked down, getting right back up."

Overeem is the #8 ranked heavyweight in the UFC at the moment -- and seems eager to get back in the Octagon and fight again ... just as soon as he gets cleared.

Tough dude.

Here's UFC star Mackenzie Dern showing her holiday spirit ... rocking a tiny bikini in Brazil, where it's 80 degrees and sunny in the middle of December!

The 26-year-old jiu-jitsu champion is coming off an impressive fight against Amanda Ribas -- who she fought in October, just 4 months after Dern gave birth to her daughter, Moa.

Dern lost the scrap, but the fact she was able to get back into fighting shape in just 124 days -- and fought Ribas all the way to a decision after three 5-minute rounds is pretty damn amazing!

Now, Dern is back home in Brazil where she's getting in some quality beach time with her family -- including longtime boyfriend Wesley Santos, a pro surfer.

No word on when Dern will return to the Octagon and fight again -- but she's been back in the gym and we're told she's planning on taking a fight in early 2020.

"He must want to die."

That's UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman reacting to Conor McGregor after the Irishman suggested the two could fight down the line.

After Kamaru broke Colby Covington's jaw and spirit at UFC 245 on Saturday, Conor tweeted out "145. 155. 170" ... and since he's won belts at 145 and 155, the insinuation is that he wants a crack at Kamaru's title.

So, we asked Kamaru about a possible scrap with McGregor -- and Usman didn't hold back.

"You saw what Khabib did to him," Usman tells TMZ Sports ... "Like, oh my god. It wouldn’t even be fair if I fought Conor."

"Much respect to Conor for what he’s done for this sport and transcended it, but nah, this is not what you want."

"Sit down, little man! Sit down! Learn to walk before you can run because I would hurt that guy."

So, who DOES Kamaru want to fight? Georges St-Pierre.

"If I had to choose, of course, I want Georges ... I want GSP."

Of course, St-Pierre officially retired from MMA earlier this year ... but there are rumblings he's down for one last scrap if the situation is right.

Kamaru says he has tremendous respect for GSP, but if the two get into the Octagon together, Usman tells us, "I think I'll finish him."

And, if you're still reveling in Usman's victory over Colby and wanna see Kamaru talk even more trash ... watch the clip below.

Kamaru says he's super proud for shutting Colby's mouth -- and get this, he explains why he still wants to take the UFC belt to the White House to meet Donald Trump.

Amanda Nunes is calling BS on Cris Cyborg ... telling TMZ Sports the former UFC champ NEVER would've left the UFC if she really wanted a rematch with the champ-champ.

Nunes -- the bantamweight and featherweight champion -- came by the office this week with her fiancee (and #5 ranked UFC strawweight) Nina Ansaroff ... and chopped it up about Cyborg.

Remember, Cyborg -- who was KO'd in the 1st round of her December 2018 fight with Nunes -- floated the idea of a UFC-Bellator cross-promotion fight in the future when we saw her at LAX last month.

But, straight up, Nunes ain't buying it.

"Honestly, I love a challenge, but she made a wrong decision. She left [UFC], why? Why? If she really wanted to fight me she should’ve stayed."

Amanda says if Cyborg truly wanted the fight, she would've done anything -- including staying with the UFC -- to make the fight happen.

"If [Cyborg] really wanted [the fight], [she'd say] 'I’ll fight Amanda, give me $10,000 dollars. I'll fight her for $10,000. I’m better than her, I want that belt back.'”

So, Amanda thinks Cyborg's lying ... but it probably doesn't even matter.

The UFC hasn't done a cross-promotion in over 15 years ... and then there's the whole issue of Dana White despising Cyborg.

UFC champ Amanda Nunes says it would be "impossible" for Claressa Shields to beat her in an MMA fight ... and she's warning the boxing star to back down before she gets hurt.

Shields is the biggest star in women's boxing by far -- she's undefeated, holds multiple belts and Olympic gold medals. But, she REALLY wants to fight Amanda and recently started MMA training in hopes of making it happen.

The good news for Shields ... Dana White told us he's interested.

The bad news for Shields ... Amanda says she would SQUASH Claressa like a bug.

In fact, Amanda's fiancee Nina Ansaroff -- the #5 ranked UFC women's strawweight fighter -- thinks Shields is in for a rude awakening about the difference between MMA and boxing.

"She would have to win enough fights to even get into the UFC to even see Amanda. I don’t think that’s possible. Because there’s girls now that are coming from a wrestling background."

Amanda added, "We can get a girl from low rank right now in 135 and put her to fight. [Shields] wouldn’t pass the 1st round."

More bad news for Shields ... if an MMA fight doesn't happen, Nunes says she has ZERO interest in taking a boxing match with Claressa.

"I'm not a boxer, I’m an MMA fighter. If I wanted to be a boxer, I would be."

It's time to play "SPOT THE G.O.A.T." -- and if you picked any of those farm animals in the background, YOU LOSE!!!

Here's the UFC's G.O.A.T. Amanda Nunes -- living up to her G.O.A.T. nickname with actual goats on a farm in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

We're told 31-year-old Nunes -- widely considered the greatest female fighter of all time --  posed with the goats as part of a promo shoot for UFC 245. She's set to defend her bantamweight title against ex-UFC featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie.

Besides holding TWO belts at the same time (champ, champ!) -- Nunes is currently #5 on the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings list ... above male stars like Daniel Cormier and Max Holloway.

Also, she happens to be on a 9-fight win streak -- with victories over some of the toughest women to ever fight in MMA ... women like Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm and Valentina Shevchenko.

NBA legend Paul Pierce has been ordered to write a $100,000 check to a security guard he called "racist" at the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib fight ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... a security guard at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas sued Pierce for defamation and other things over an altercation they got into during UFC 229 in Oct. 2018.

Long story short ... Pierce called security guard Christopher Mostello "racist" -- claiming Mostello (who is white) gave him a hard time while trying to get to his seat.

Pierce's "racist" allegation was captured on video and posted by TMZ Sports.

In his suit, Mostello claimed it was Paul who was acting inappropriately that night -- saying Pierce had gotten aggressive and physical with a female security supervisor -- and Mostello was only doing his job.

Mostello claimed his reputation took a serious hit because of the altercation and Pierce's accusations -- and he's been subjected to public embarrassment, harassment and ridicule.

The case went in front of a judge who ordered Pierce to either respond to the lawsuit or face a default judgment ... and since the court never heard from Pierce, the judge ordered him to pay up.

Pierce isn't out of moves yet ... he can ask the court to set aside the judgment but that's usually reserved for someone who didn't have the means to fight in the case in the first place.

Bottom line, it's an uphill battle for Pierce and it would probably cost him more than $100k to go that route anyway.

If Floyd Mayweather is serious about boxing a UFC fighter, Max Holloway says he's ALL THE WAY DOWN!!

The reigning UFC Featherweight champ has a solid stand up striking game -- and sources tell us that's exactly what Floyd is looking for in his UFC opponent.

So, when Max rolled through the TMZ Sports office ... we asked if that was something he would seriously consider.

"I want a Money Belt! Why not?!"

He added, "I would love to do that. He's one of the best guys to ever do it. And, to share the boxing ring with him, it would be a checklist for sure."

Holloway says he's already in INSANE shape -- and 12 rounds in a boxing ring would be "easy work" since he's already a cardio machine!

But, even if the Mayweather fight doesn't work out, Max says he's still interested in taking a boxing match ... especially with Dana White gunning to launch Zuffa Boxing in 2020.

Max says he's always wanted to box -- and brags that he's got a pretty solid Philly Shell ... but first, his focus is on beating Alexander Volkanovski on Dec. 14 at UFC 245.

Alistair Overeem is cracking jokes about it Sunday, but he couldn't even crack a smile after a sudden and bloody ending to his UFC fight, where his lip was nearly knocked clean off.

Overeem went down late in the 5th and final round of his UFC on ESPN 7 heavyweight match with Jairzinho Rozenstruik -- he was winning handily, really ... until then.

You gotta see the video of the shot Jairzinho uncorked right to Alistair's upper lip -- it's almost like his face exploded.

He managed to get back up, and attempt to grin, but the referee called the fight with just a few seconds left in the round. The attempted grin didn't work either, due to the horrific damage to Overeem's face.

A few hours later, Overeem joked on Twitter about his lip not looking too sexy.

If nothing else, the heavyweights made history -- Jairzinho's KO is the latest ever in a UFC heavyweight division fight.

Floyd Mayweather vs. a UFC star is nothing more than a "circus fight" -- according to pro boxer Andre Berto who says he's ready to step up if Floyd wants a REAL challenge in 2020.

Of course, Berto -- a former welterweight champ -- fought Floyd back in 2017 ... just a few months after Mayweather beat Manny Pacquiao.

Berto lost the fight ... but tells TMZ Sports he knows what he did wrong and things would go MUCH differently if they fought a second time.

"It was hard to catch him the first time," Berto says ... noting he would "let his hands go" a lot more in the rematch.

As we previously reported, Floyd is looking for TWO boxing matches in 2020 -- one against a pro boxer and another against a UFC star.

Berto thinks Floyd is too afraid to take on a legit contender -- explaining, "I doubt he's gonna come in and fight any of these other hungry champions out there."

"He might come back for one of these circus acts."

UFC superstar Jorge Masvidal is calling 2020 "The Year of the Lottery" -- telling TMZ Sports he's actively trying to line up fights with Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather.

"2019 was cool," Masvidal says ... "But, if you like violence, 2020 will be a very powerful year. We’ve got a lot of options. I've got a lot of lottery tickets in my hand."

Masvidal -- who demolished Darren Till, Ben Askren and Nate Diaz in 2019 -- says his goal is to fight Conor in April or May ... and then take a boxing match with Floyd in November.

As we previously reported, Mayweather has a handshake deal with UFC president Dana White to box an MMA fighter in 2020 and we're told he's eyeing fighters with top stand-up striking talent.

Masvidal obviously has those skills and firmly believes he's the frontrunner for that fight.

"I can box my ass off," Masvidal says ... "Not saying I’m a better boxer than Mayweather, but man, I’m gonna be in there with bad intentions trying to hurt him."

The last UFC fighter to take on Floyd was Conor McGregor who famously gassed around the 8th round with the ref ultimately stopping the fight in Round 10.

"I'm a well-conditioned athlete that’s not gonna fade," Masvidal says ... "I'm not gonna fade in the 8th or 9th round. I’m gonna be there for the whole night."

Jorge -- who's calling the big Tito Ortiz vs. Alberto El Patron fight for Combate Americas on Saturday -- also had a message for Floyd ...

"If you’re looking for a fight, I’m right here. If you’re looking for an easy paycheck, go back to Japan and beat up those little guys."

Masvidal says he understands why Floyd would be interested in someone like Khabib Nurmagomedov ... it's easy money for Floyd ... but if he REALLY wants a challenge, he'll sign the contract with Jorge.

The video is great ... Jorge knows Floyd is obviously much more experienced than him in the boxing ring, but he truly believes he can get the best of Mayweather and spells out his case on camera.

Think about it ... if Jorge's plans come to fruition, he can make LIFE-CHANGING money in 2020.

The Conor fight alone is big money ... and a Floyd fight could earn him more around $100 MIL.