UFC

UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture knows exactly what it's like to fight Brock Lesnar -- and thinks Jon Jones can beat the guy ... if he works on one very important part of his game.

Couture and Brock threw down back at UFC 91 in 2008 -- with Lesnar getting the W with a 2nd round TKO. It was a pretty great fight.

Now, with Jones calling out the former UFC heavyweight champ after UFC 214 -- Randy's passing along some of his fight knowledge ... and thinks Jon has all the tools to tame the Beast.

Tyron Woodley ain't feelin' the love after his fight at UFC 214 ... but the champ's got one badass, crazy-hot chick in his corner.

We talked to Mia Kang outside Trinity Boxing Club in L.A. -- and the S.I. model/aspiring fighter told us Tyron's haters are OUT OF THEIR MINDS ... 'cause Woodley did exactly what he was supposed to against Demian Maia.

Mia LOVES that T-Wood fought smart to keep his belt ... even if Dana White and some fans didn't.

Speaking of Dana ... the UFC honcho might wanna meet with Mia soon -- cause she's ready to throw down in the cage!

But does that mean Mia's hangin' up her bikinis? She broke it down for us.

Conor McGregor's former sparring partner says he's down to put their beef aside and train the UFC superstar ... but there's a catch.

Chris van Heerden -- former IBO welterweight champ -- and McGregor sparred in May 2016, but parted ways after video surfaced of them training.

Conor's most recent partner, Paulie Malignaggi, quit Thursday under similar circumstances ... when photos leaked appearing to show P.M. getting knocked to the canvas.

CVH says he talked to Malignaggi Thursday night about what really went down ... and understands why he wants the full sparring video released.

Van Heerden says he's willing to let his grudge go and step back inside the squared circle with the Notorious ... but it's gonna cost him some of that fat $100 million paycheck.

With Wladimir Klitschko calling it quits, there's another fighter who wants to step up and take on boxing superstar Anthony Joshua -- Stipe Miocic!

Wlad and Joshua had been working on a rematch after that great fight back in April -- but WK announced his retirement early Thursday morning ... so those plans are off.

But Stipe wants to take his place ... and with Conor McGregor fighting Floyd Mayweather, he clearly thinks there's a chance.

"Looks like your schedule is wide open," Stipe told Joshua on social media ... "No excuses, let's dance! #BaddestManOnThePlanet."

Stipe -- the UFC heavyweight champ -- is 6'4" and 240 lbs.

Joshua -- the unified heavyweight champ -- is 6'6" and 250 lbs.

How's this for a good day: MMA fighter kicks a dude in the head ... wins UFC contract ... gets a brand new nickname from Snoop Dogg.

That actually HAPPENED to Julian Marquez on Tuesday -- the greatest day of his life.

TMZ Sports spoke with Marquez after his brutal victory on "Dana White's Tuesday Night Contender Series" ... and he told us how Snoop personally invited him to kick it after the fight.

There's just one problem ... Marquez already has a pretty solid nickname, "The Cuban Missile Crisis" (badass, right?).

So, which nickname do you keep moving forward -- the old one or the Snoop one?

Decisions, decisions ...

Brendan Schaub is putting his dong on the line for Mayweather vs McGregor ... promising he'll DM the world his finest wiener pic if Conor doesn't go all 12 rounds with Floyd.

That's right -- the UFC fighter-turned-MMA analyst is so sick of fans countin' out the Irishman ... he's bettin' his manhood on McGregor's chin.

"I promise you Conor will not get knocked out," Schaub told Rob King on "The Kicker" ... "If anyone gets finished that night. It's Floyd."

King asked Brendan if he was willing to put a wager on it -- to which Schaub replied, "I will send you guys a d*ck pic if it doesn't go all 12 rounds."

A bet's a bet. No pulling out now ...

Floyd Mayweather is expecting to make more than $300 MILLION from his fight with Conor McGregor ... which would break down to more than $8 MILLION per minute in the ring.

The boxer spelled it all out for Showtime's "All Access: Mayweather v. McGregor" -- explaining why no other professional athlete in the world is more bankable.

"I mean, am I the highest-paid athlete out there? And just coming back? We not talking about no contract. We not talking about no contract for no 4 years, or no contract for no 5 years. I can do it in 36 minutes. $300 (million) or better. In 36 minutes."

Not a bad deal.

As for Conor, the UFC fighter is expecting to rake in around $100 mil for the August 26 superfight -- but it'll be largest payday an MMA fighter has ever made ... so he's not complaining either.

Tyron Woodley says Georges St-Pierre is ducking him because he "doesn't want to come in and take the concussion" -- in other words, "HE'S SCARED."

Woodley called out GSP after his UFC 214 title defense against Demian Maia ... but Dana White shot the fight down, saying St-Pierre will face Michael Bisping instead.

Tyron says the politics have nothing to do with it -- it comes down to GSP being too afraid to get in the Octagon with TW because he's afraid of getting hurt.

Woodley says St-Pierre wants guys like Conor McGregor, Nick Diaz, and Bisping 'cause they can't deliver the same kind of blunt force trauma he can.

Seems the war between Tyron Woodley and Dana White has cooled off ... with the UFC president telling TMZ Sports they finally talked things out after blasting each other in the media.

It all started after UFC 214 -- White ripped Tyron's performance against Demian Maia. Woodley fired back demanding a public apology from White or else he would "start leaking some sh*t that people don't want to be out in the wind."

We reached out to White to see where things stand and he told us, "Woodley and I talked and he said he was just pissed and upset and didn't mean it."

We also spoke with Tyron who says, "We good."

While most women are ducking UFC superstar Cyborg Justino ... Tonya Evinger says she wants to fight her AGAIN!!!

Tonya was leaving The Dime in L.A. on Monday night -- just days after fighting Cyborg at UFC 214 on Saturday -- and seemed to be in pretty good spirits after her 3rd round K.O.

Evinger told us she's not guaranteed a rematch -- even though she fought Cyborg tougher than any other fighter before her -- but says she'd REALLY like another bite of the apple.

And why? Tonya says she knows what she can do better the 2nd time around.

UFC fans are hurtin' to see Jon Jones fight Brock Lesnar next ... but Dan Henderson is stompin' out the potential superfight.

Why? Hendo told TMZ Sports he's got ZERO interest in seeing Jones vs. Brock, "because it's not for anything, other than for fun."

In other words -- it'd all be for entertainment, a la Mayweather vs. McGregor ... not like the good ol' days when all dudes cared about was stackin' belts.

Henderson would know -- he's one of the most decorated champs in MMA history.

The legend did give Jon props for his comeback -- where Jones brutally KO'd Daniel Cormier to win back the light heavyweight championship ... and then put Lesnar on blast.

Daniel Cormier has a message for Jon Jones -- Congrats.

D.C. wasn't in the best shape to talk after his loss to Jones at UFC 214 and left the Octagon after only a brief statement with Joe Rogan.

But now, he's opening up ... and giving props to his biggest rival.

"Congratulations to Jon Jones and his team. They did a phenomenal job and got the victory."

Cormier also apologized to ref Big John McCarthy -- who called the fight in the 3rd round while Cormier was taking a flurry of uncontested shots to the head from Jones after a big head kick.

D.C. got into it with McCarthy after the stoppage in an emotional reaction to the loss.

"To Big John McCarthy, I would like to apologize for acting up with you. I am thankful for the time you gave me to try and defend myself and stay in the fight."

Don't worry about Luke Rockhold dippin' his pen in the company ink ...

Despite nailing all sorts of hot women all over the world -- famous ones, wannabe famous ones, you name it -- the UFC star says he draws a hard line when it comes to banging female fighters.

"I appreciate what the girls do. It's sexy at times even," Rockhold says ... "It's just not my style."

So, what IS his style? Victoria's Secret models.

In fact, Rockhold hints that he's banging one on the down low right now ... and knowing this guy's history, we wouldn't put it past him.

Brown and yellow?

If Wiz Khalifa wants to get the actual crap beat out of him, UFC bad ass Felice Herrig says she's more than happy to do the honors ... if Wiz wants to test his MMA skills against a real fighter.

As we previously reported, Wiz has been doing some fight training in L.A. -- so, we asked Herrig to assess the rapper's skills.

She loves him as a rapper, but Herrig says he'd need to get a big ol' diaper if they ever stepped in the cage 'cause the fight would be a repeat of what she did to her opponent back in June.

BONUS -- Herrig also takes a shot at rapping the Eazy-E classic, "Gimme That Nutt" ... and let's just say she's a better fighter than a rapper.

The Mini Team.

Floyd Mayweather's tiny doppelganger has signed his contract and will go toe-to-toe with "Irishman Mini McGregor" ... and it's all thanks to Larry Flynt.

The night before the real Floyd and Conor face off in Vegas, these two guys will step in the ring at the Hustler Club just down the way.

We're told it will be a 3 round fight for the very, very lightweight championship of the world.

You may remember Mini Mayweather from his epic bout with Mini Pacquiao ... a fight that had more action than the real MayPac throwdown.

Hopefully this fight will live up to the hype ... hate to see it fall short.

Listen up McGregor ... one of the greatest warriors in the history of boxing is gonna give you the key to doing what some think is impossible ... beating Floyd Mayweather.

We got 4-time heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield out at the "Pat Cairo Annual Golf Outing and Dinner to Battle Cancer" on Long Island and talked with him about the biggest subject in sports, McGregor vs. Mayweather.

Holyfield won some of the biggest upsets of all time, so the question is, how does Conor do it?