UFC

Kobe Bryant wasn't just a UFC fan -- he was a big investor -- and got a huge distribution check from the company just days before he passed away ... so says Dana White.

The NBA legend was famous for his business savvy off the court -- and White says part of Kobe's portfolio was an ownership stake in UFC and Body Armor, the official energy drink of the UFC.

White tells TMZ Sports ... that 2019 was the most successful year in UFC history which resulted in massive payouts for all of the investors.

"Kobe got a distribution from the UFC the Wednesday before the incident and he was so pumped up and excited and he said what everybody always says, 'I wish I had invested more!'"

White says he'll remember Kobe as a great dude and an important part of the UFC fabric -- and tells us the organization plans to honor Kobe on Saturday at UFC 247 in Houston.

As for the fight card, White says he's extremely fired up about the main event -- Jon Jones vs. Dominick Reyes -- telling us Reyes is a dangerous man with a real shot to beat the G.O.A.T.

And, if Reyes wins, there will no doubt be a rematch.

There's more ... after the controversy between Joe Rogan and Stephen A. Smith following the Conor McGregor vs. Cowboy Cerrone fight, we asked if the two TV stars would be working together at UFC 247, Dana replied, "I don't think so."

Remember, Rogan said he was upset with the ESPN host for crapping all over Cowboy's "atrocious" performance during the UFC 246 post-fight show.

Smith said he felt like Cowboy quit -- to which Rogan essentially said Smith's opinion was uninformed and just plain wrong.

Conor McGregor felt Smith disrespected Cowboy and publicly called for Stephen A. to apologize.

UFC star Tyron Woodley says he's been training like a MANIAC in the jungles of Thailand -- and has a warning for his next opponent Leon Edwards, "You gonna get f*cked up."

Woodley and Edwards are set to throw down at UFC Fight Night on March 21 in London ... and Tyron says he realizes he can't have ANY distractions, so he flew out to a remote part of Thailand to train.

"I was in the motherf*cking jungle for real," Woodley says ... "There were monkeys walking on my window sill. Snakes. Bats."

Tyron says he liked Thailand so much, he plans to go back for his full training camp leading up to the Edwards fight ... explaining he's laser focused on getting the "W."

"My kids need to see their dad win again ... so the most important thing for me is the victory."

As for Edwards, Tyron says he knows Leon's been talking trash -- and he LOVES it -- because it's giving him even more motivation to win.

"I'm just gonna f*ck Leon Edwards up so bad that everybody's gonna be like, 'Why did you match them up?' This is a mismatch. Dana, you should lose your job for this."

There's a LOT more in this week's episode of "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... including Tyron's thoughts on the rest of the UFC welterweight division -- from Kamaru Usman to Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal.

Tyron also breaks down the Offset strip club incident, the Gervonta Davis arrest and Beyonce and Jay-Z at the Super Bowl.

Jon Jones says he's radically changed his diet for his upcoming fight with Dominick Reyes -- telling TMZ Sports, "About 80% of my meals have gone plant based now."

The UFC superstar has been a big fan of meat in the past -- he even promoted the ButcherBox meat company on his Instagram in 2019.

But Jones tells us he's switching things up for his UFC 247 fight against Reyes -- and decided to cut a bunch of animal protein out of his diet this time around.

"I switched up my diet a little bit, I started eating plant based," Jones says.

"Cardio feels great, I’m lighter than I normally am. Normally I weigh at least 222 around this time. Right now I’m already 215. So I’m ahead of schedule majorly in my weight cut, which just allows me to focus on happiness and relaxation, and I just feel perfect."

Jones says he's laser-focused and ready to fight on Feb. 8 -- and is gunning for a highlight reel-style knockout -- but as long as he gets the "W," that's all that matters.

"It’d be nice to make WorldStarHipHop for some awesome KO, or make TMZ for some awesome KO. But that’s not really my style."

"I feel like when you go out there and you tell people, ‘I’m gonna knock this guy out right away’ and then you find yourself going into the 4th round and you still haven’t gotten that KO. You start panicking in your head a little bit when your plan is going wrong."

How the hell do you defend against those legendary Jon Jones elbow strikes?

UFC star Dominick Reyes believes he's got the answer -- and he's demonstrating his violent plan on one of our TMZ staffers!

Of course, Dom and Jon Jones are set to do battle at UFC 247 in Houston on Saturday -- in a fight for the UFC light heavyweight title. It's the biggest fight of Dominick's impressive career.

And, since Jon Jones recently came into the office and taught our own Lucas the art of the elbow strike ... we thought it would be a good idea to see if he could test out his skills on Dom!

The good news ... Reyes is ready and has a plan to keep Jon's elbows out of his mouth by essentially beating him to the punch.

"You gotta strike first," Reyes said while demonstrating his counterattack ... "It's so simple, it just might work!"

We also spoke with Reyes about why he's 100% confident he'll be the very first man to give Jones a legitimate L in the Octagon.

"It's just my time. Simple as that. I've worked my whole life for this."

Reyes says he's played out the first a million times in his head and couldn't be more ready.

As for Jones, he's the champ for a reason.

Khabib Nurmagomedov says he has NO interest in fighting "idiot" Conor McGregor a second time -- even for $100 MILLION -- saying, "Why do I need that kind of money?!"

The UFC superstar was speaking with reporters in his native Dagestan Tuesday when he was asked about the comments his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, made to TMZ Sports about moguls in Saudi Arabia offering $100 mil to host the rematch.

That's when Khabib scoffed at the possibility -- saying he's only focused on fighting Tony Ferguson in April -- but says that kind of money could be better used by helping the needy.

"Why do I need that kind of money?" Khabib said ... "There are so many organizations. For example, there’s not only [soccer] for the blind, there’s sambo and other sports."

"Let [the UFC] give it to them if they don’t know what to do with the money. But giving me $100 million for me to beat up that idiot again? I don’t think that’s rational."

When asked if there was interest in a rematch with Conor -- as McGregor has called for numerous times -- Khabib replied, "Not at all."

The comment was met with cheers from the Dagestani crowd.

As for his April 18 fight with Ferguson, Khabib called it a "very serious fight" ... and he's been training like a maniac.

"For the past month and a half, I’ve been consistently training day and night. I’ve gotten myself in good shape to where I’m supposed to be 70 days before a fight. I feel great."

Guessing McGregor will respond.

Stay tuned ...

MMA champ Kayla Harrison -- one of the baddest fighters on the planet -- is going scorched-earth on Gervonta Davis after the boxer got physical with his baby mama.

As we previously reported, 25-year-old Davis -- the reigning WBA lightweight champ -- got into a heated altercation Saturday night with his ex-GF at a celebrity basketball game in Miami.

Davis claims he "never once hit her" but admits he "was aggressive." The video appears to show Davis using his strength to rip the woman out of her chair in a fit of anger.

Enter, Harrison ...  a 2-time Olympic gold medalist in Judo and the reigning PFL lightweight champion who tells TMZ Sports she was DISGUSTED by Gervonta's actions.

"Completely inappropriate and wild," Harrison told us at the Sports Illustrated party in Miami..

"I'm in a violent field of business and that's never unacceptable ... ever, ever, EVER."

Kayla continued ... "There's a line that we as women have very clearly established that we're not taking any sh*t anymore."

As for Gervonta's actions ... Kayla says, "That's not okay. It's never gonna be okay again. And, I hope that he has repercussions for his actions."

Kayla also has advice for anyone in a situation where they feel their safety is at risk ... and it involves ferocious kicks to the nuts.

Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager says some very powerful and rich men in Saudi Arabia have offered $100 million to get Khabib to box Floyd Mayweather in Riyadh.

... but it's highly UNLIKELY we'll see that fight go down in the Middle East.

Ali Abdelaziz says he recently met with the Saudis to discuss possible fight opportunities. Ali wouldn't say who was behind the offer and when it would take place.

He also said the same people have offered $100 mil to host the Khabib vs. Conor McGregor rematch.

But, here's why it probably won't happen ...

Back in 2019, WME -- which owns UFC -- returned a $400 million investment to the Saudi government following the murder of journalist Jamaal Khashoggi.

That doesn't bode well for a fight in SA.

However, we do know the Saudis have been making a MAJOR push to host global sporting events in Riyadh ... with Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz 2 recently taking place there. Plus, they've hosted multiple WWE events over the past year.

Venue aside, Ali says Khabib isn't focused on fighting either one of those guys right now -- he's locked in on his UFC 249 bout in Brooklyn against Tony Ferguson on April 18.

Floyd has previously talked about boxing Khabib -- saying he knows there's HUGE money if it happens.

For his part, Conor has said his priority is Khabib -- but Ali says Conor needs to beat some tough opponents first.

"You got a cast on, bitch -- you lucky!!"

Jorge Masvidal and Kamaru Usman almost got into an all-out brawl on radio row at the Super Bowl in Miami ... and video of their heated confrontation is EPIC!!!

The near-fight all started with some friendly trash talk ... but things got more serious when Usman begged Masvidal -- repeatedly -- to "do something!"

Masvidal seemed to be down for the scrap ... but he told Usman he wasn't going to hit him because of a cast Kamaru apparently had somewhere on his body.

"That's the only reason why nothing's happening to you!" Jorge said.

The two were ultimately separated by their entourages ... but it begs the question, is this the next fight for the two UFC superstars?!?!

Neither has an opponent lined up for their next tilt ... and Dana White himself told us earlier this month that would be "an incredible fight."

After seeing the two in Miami on Wednesday ... we gotta agree. MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!

Conor McGregor is Team MAGA -- calling Donald Trump a "phenomenal President" ... and shocker, Trump LOVED the compliment!

The Irish superstar sent out a random tweet Monday night raving about POTUS for no apparent reason ... maybe he was just in a super-Trumpy mood following his UFC 246 victory.

"Phenomenal President. Quite possibly the USA [Greatest of All Time]," McGregor wrote.

"Most certainly one of them anyway, as he sits atop the shoulders of many amazing giants that came before him. No easy feet. Early stages of term also. Incredible."

He added, "Congrats and Happy Martin Luther King Jr. day America."

Trump LOVED the shout-out and responded early Tuesday morning -- writing, "Congratulations on your big @UFC WIN!"

We know Trump is a huge MMA fan -- and he personally attended UFC 244 to watch Jorge Masvidal fight Nate Diaz at Madison Square Garden.

But, we didn't know McGregor was a Trump guy. In fact, McGregor ripped Trump back in 2015 when Donald criticized Ronda Rousey for not touching gloves with Holly Holm.

"Donald can shut his big fat mouth," McGregor said at the time ... "I don't give a f*ck about Donald Trump."

UFC fighter Felice Herrig is giving TMZ Sports a blow-by-blow of her bloody Vegas street fight ... and she tells us the whole thing started over a penny.

35-year-old Herrig --the #12 ranked strawweight -- was in Sin City for UFC 246 ... when her night out on the town started to resemble her day job.

Herrig was walking with a friend between two casinos when a woman halted foot traffic to retrieve the cent.

“I was just like, ‘Dude it’s just a penny,’” Herrig told us. “And then I thought it was over and I was walking out with my friend, Kim, and she comes up from behind me and she was like, ‘It was on heads!’”

The penny-pincher declined Herrig’s request to get out of her face.

“So, I kind of shoulder bumped her to kind of let her know to go away, and she came at me,” Herrig tells us. “She punched me in the nose. I just remember punching her two times back.”

Herrig wasn't seriously hurt ... but did have her nose busted. Luckily for the woman who allegedly started beef with Felice ... she wasn't badly hurt either.

“I wanted to double-leg her, but I’m still recovering from my ACL injury,” Herrig tells us.

Felice says she doesn’t go out in public looking for fights, but she had a message for anyone else looking to start with her.

Dana White says Conor McGregor's next fight will almost definitely be a rematch with Khabib ... and the result of the match will have a major impact on the legacy of both guys.

TMZ Sports talked to Dana White outside T-Mobile Arena in Vegas after McGregor DOMINATED Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone ... and asked the UFC honcho who the Irish superstar wants next?

"Conor wants Khabib. Conor always has a lot of options. He wants Khabib, that's the fight he wants, and we'll see what happens."

We then asked White who he wants Conor to fight.

"I think Khabib makes sense too."

Khabib is scheduled to fight Tony Ferguson in April ... and if the 28-0 fighter wins, that could set up the Nurmagomedov-McGregor rematch -- and it'd be HUGE.

The only snag? Khabib and his manager, Ali Abdelaziz, have repeatedly said the Dagestani star will NOT rematch Conor.

But, Dana doesn't sound worried.

"Listen, Khabib has never turned down a fight. The guy's 28-0. He's one of the baddest dudes to ever do it," Dana tells us.

"This fight's important for his legacy too. When you start looking back at Khabib's career and if he goes undefeated and retires. You're looking at the names, and the names mean everything. He beat Conor McGregor. He beats Tony Ferguson. He beat Conor McGregor again. He beat this guy, that guy."

That's not all ... White also talked Floyd Mayweather -- who teased a Floyd-Conor II and Floyd-Khabib bout Saturday night -- and made it clear TBE still wants to fight.

Conor McGregor partied his face off in Vegas after beating Cowboy Cerrone in spectacular fashion.

Conor celebrated his win at Encore Beach Club, after entering the Octagon Saturday night after a 15-month hiatus. Conor did not disappoint ... a kick to the head in round 1 was all she wrote ... Cerrone went down and Conor pummeled him until the ref stopped the fight.

Fact is ... it's Conor's first victory since 2016, and he needed to win this one -- bad.

The fight -- at the T-Mobile Arena -- was sold out, with more than $11 million in ticket sales alone. Tons of celebs showed up, including Matthew McConaughey, Jeremy Renner, Dave Bautista, Tom Brady, Christian McCaffrey, Baker Mayfield, Myles Garrett and Jon Gruden.

As for the party ... Conor arrived at 1 AM and stayed until 4 AM.

Alex Volkanovski ain't done G.O.A.T. hunting ... 'cause the new UFC champ -- fresh off taking out Max Holloway -- tells TMZ Sports he's got his eye on another legendary fighter.

Khabib Nurmagomedov.

We were talking to the the 31-year-old featherweight champ when the convo moved to going up to 155 pounds ... and fighting the undefeated Daghestani superstar.

"I'm not going looking for these fights, but you'd be silly if it doesn't cross your mind," Volkanovski says.

"I'm the type of person, I'll look at all opportunities and I'll at least let me play in my head. Whether I think they're realistically happening anytime soon, alright, maybe not. But, I'm still gonna think about it."

Volkanovski continued ... "People will be like, 'He's trying to call out Khabib.' They can take it however they want, but if that opportunity comes ..."

"Again, my goal is to defend my belt in the featherweight division, we've got a stacked division, so I'm happy to defend it there. But, if that opportunity comes up, I'm not gonna lie, obviously I'll take it."

Alex is 21-1 as a pro -- and hasn't lost since 2013 (that's 13 wins in a row) -- so no shocker he believes he matches up great against Nurmagomedov.

"Let's be honest. I'm not an easy man to hold down. Me being short sometimes works in my favor. These little limbs get me up pretty easily. I'm very strong, I've got a very good base. And then, obviously, you know that I can strike."

Kamaru Usman says he'll whoop Conor's ass worse than Khabib ... and the beating will be so bad, McGregor might never fight again.

The beef heated up earlier this week at UFC 246 media event when "The Notorious" took aim at the welterweight champ, saying a Masvidal fight would be more entertaining 'cause Usman "has the similar style of Khabib, the sniff the jockstrap style."

Kamaru heard Conor ... and now he's firing back.

"Humans love the path of least resistance," Usman tells TMZ Sports ... "Fair play to him, I'd say. Fair play to Conor. But, this jock sniffer will humble him even worse than Khabib has humbled him."

Of course, Nurmagomedov dominated Conor during their October 2018 bout ... ultimately forcing him to tap midway into the 4th round.

Conor McGregor and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone are scrapping tonight in Vegas ... but the real winner in the Octagon? That's Brookliyn Wren ... and all of us.

Meet Brookliyn ... who will be working the UFC 246 fight with Arianny Celeste, Brittney Palmer, Red Dela Cruz and the rest of the UFC's Octagon girls.

Wren -- who started with the UFC back in April 2017 -- has worked some of the biggest fights in the promotion's history ... including the October 2018 Conor-Khabib fight that spilled into the stands after McGregor tapped.

"The Notorious" returns to the Octagon for the first time since that night ... and while all eyes will be on McGregor, we have a feeling Wren might catch a few glances too.

Here it is ... Conor McGregor and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone stripping down and weighing in for their main event fight at UFC 246 -- and good news, they both made weight!

Conor and Cowboy both hit 170 on the dot -- perfect weight for their welterweight matchup Saturday night at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The last time McGregor fought, he only weighed 155 to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the UFC lightweight title.

But now, he's moved up in weight and he looks pretty good -- big, strong and UFC doctors say he's in the best shape of his MMA career.

As for Cowboy, DON'T SLEEP ON THAT GUY -- Cerrone holds the UFC record for most victories, most finishes and most fight bonuses!

Both fighters will next attend the UFC ceremonial weigh-in -- which goes down later Friday in front of thousands of fans. It's usually a chaotic scene. We'll have the highlights for you right here.