UFC

Ronda Rousey won't be ringside for McGregor vs. Mayweather ... 'CAUSE SHE'LL BE GETTING MARRIED!

Dana White revealed that Ronda will be tying the knot with longtime boyfriend Travis Browne on Saturday. The two got engaged back in April.

White told Rich Eisen he was invited to the wedding but obviously won't be able to attend. Ronda previously announced on "Kelly and Ryan" that the wedding will go down in Hawaii.

As for Ronda's career, Dana says she hasn't retired -- but says she's in a great place and super happy.

Tyron Woodley ain't convinced Jon Jones took steroids ... but if he did and has to sit out 4 YEARS, Tyron says Jon would still come back and DOMINATE.

That's right -- Woodley told us Jones is such a boss, he could reclaim his belt even if he's benched through his prime.

"Jon Jones is the only fighter on the roster that it wouldn't be over for him. He's 3 or 4 years ahead of the curb right now, for the (205 pound) division."

"After Daniel Cormier, tell me one fighter who's gonna compete with Jon Jones."

FYI, Dana White estimates Jones will get suspended for his test failure ... but JJ could serve less time (or no time) based on how his appeal goes.

Conor McGregor whispered some words of psychological warfare to Floyd Mayweather during their final face off on Wednesday ... and now we know exactly what he said.

Take a look ... Conor leans in and takes a few quiet, private shots at Floyd.

Floyd responds, "You're a comedian."

Despite the trash talk -- the two men exchange final pleasantries ... quietly wishing each other good luck.

And get this ... the UFC has released new footage from Conor's sparring sessions with Paulie Malignaggi showing the Irish superstar putting a beating on the former champ.

Paulie is now saying he was spying for Floyd the entire time. Hard to spy from the canvas though.

Floyd Mayweather just stepped up the mind games big-time with Conor McGregor -- claiming he and Paulie Malignaggi plotted to have Paulie spy on Conor's camp from the beginning!

"Paulie has always been my friend," Mayweather told FightHype.com ... as Paulie paid a friendly visit to Floyd's Vegas boxing gym. That's when he revealed the spy plot ...

"My friend called me and said, ‘Floyd, do you want me to go to (Conor’s) camp?’ I said, ‘Abso-f*ckin’-lutely.' ... Paulie, thank you for going over there like I asked you to do."

As Floyd talks, Paulie repeatedly says "suckas" -- a shot at McGregor ... and maybe the public for being duped.

Remember ... Paulie was brought into Conor's camp to be a sparring partner -- but bounced after training footage he said made him look bad got released.

Now ... Floyd's saying Paulie's been in his corner all along -- and that his boy is gonna tell him all about Conor's game plan.

“Me and Paulie gonna stay at the house and talk about strategy, we gonna talk about EVERYTHING."

Is he joking? Maybe. Maybe not.

Dana White says he REALLY hopes Jon Jones' positive drug test is a mistake and he'll be exonerated by the B sample ... but he says that's "highly unlikely."

White appeared on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) and said he still hasn't personally spoken with Jones since he learned the UFC superstar tested positive for steroids.

White said he was disappointed in Jones -- since the guy is so insanely gifted, he doesn't need banned substances to dominate in the UFC.

"He doesn't need it!!!! He doesn't need to do that! He's that talented and that gifted that he doesn't need drugs."

Dana White says Floyd Mayweather is full of crap -- and his allegations that Conor McGregor is using illegal tactics to cut weight for the fight are pure fiction.

Early Thursday morning, Mayweather told Ariel Helwani that he had information from a "strong source" that Conor had used 7 IV bags to stay hydrated for Saturday's big fight.

"You know, with the Nevada (Athletic) Commission, that's illegal," Mayweather said.

To be fair, Floyd kept using the words "rumor" and "allegedly" -- but he's a media master and he knows exactly what he's doing by putting that out there.

So, we called White -- who told TMZ Sports there's NOTHING true about Mayweather's claims. Period.

In fact, White pointed to reports that it was FLOYD who was caught up in IV drama before the Manny Pacquiao fight. USADA ultimately said the IV was administered to Floyd before that fight was approved.

But the bottom line ... White says there's no issue with McGregor because he's not using an IV.

Floyd Mayweather Sr. has his son's back in his beef with Justin Bieber -- saying the pop star unfairly kicked Floyd to the curb just because he found God.

As we previously reported, Floyd Jr. is furious with his former friend -- who's been distancing himself after some counseling from his church. Bieber even decided to unfollow Floyd on Instagram as part of a bigger plan to back away from people who don't share the same Christian values.

Enter Floyd Sr. ... who says he doesn't really know if the two will ever be able to bury the hatchet.

He also said Justin needs to be true to himself -- but just because he's a godly man now doesn't mean Floyd has to change.

The message is essentially ... Floyd's still the same guy who had your back in the past -- you shouldn't push him away now.

But will Bieber get an invite to the Mayweather vs. McGregor after-party?

Jon Jones is DONE as a competitive fighter. Finished ... this according to Skip Bayless, who says it absolutely breaks his heart.

The FS1 star says he's gotten to know Jones through appearances on "Undisputed" -- and tells TMZ Sports news of JJ's positive steroids test crushed him.

"How can that guy be either so stupid, or so flawed, and ultimately so shockingly insecure, that you have to resort to steroids or whatever the PED was -- or any kind of drug?"

"He's just like a flawed human, but he's got so much potential. He's such a likable, nice guy."

In his parting message to Jones, Skip offered some tough love.

"Jon: I have tried for years to love you, and you just wouldn't let me love you. And in the end, I can't have any sympathy for you because you could've been the greatest."

Skip also looked back at JJ's appearance on "Undisputed" before his fight at UFC 214 ... and told us the way Jones acted seems pretty fishy now.

Even when Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather were trying to keep things business-like days before the fight, there were still insults flying at their final news conference.

Conor dropped the B word -- again -- vowing to "f**k this boy up" come Saturday night. He said it way more calmly this time around, but still didn't back off using the racially charged term.

For his part, Floyd complimented Conor -- calling him a tremendous fighter -- but reminded him of the the long list of boxing greats he'd defeated on the path to 49-0. As Floyd put it ... Pacquiao, Canelo and Mosley all had "had bombs" too.

UFC heavyweight Mark Hunt is throwing MAJOR shade at Jon Jones -- calling the guy a "cheating ass loser" after failing his UFC 214 drug test.

Hunt has gone through steroid scandals in the past -- his UFC 200 opponent tested positive for a banned substance after they fought. Hunt sued the UFC and demanded Brock Lesnar's fight checks as punishment.

So, when Hunt found out about Jones testing positive for his match against Daniel Cormier, the Super Samoan went off.

"DC should get all of Jones money," Hunt said ... before calling Jones a "betch" and a "cheating ass loser."

He then mocked Jones' bible verse tattoo -- saying, "Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through him who gives me strength plus the juice."

Jon Jones was devastated when he got the call about a positive steroids test -- so says JJ's teammate, who claims there's NO WAY Jones cheated and blames the whole thing on a "setup."

Frank Lester -- who trains with Jon at Jackson Wink in New Mexico -- says, "I was just at dinner sitting next to Jon Jones when he got the phone call about this failed drug test."

"Supposedly the story is between weigh ins and fight night he took an oral steroid. Which makes zero sense since it wouldn't do anything at all for Jon to do so. It takes weeks for steroids to build up in your system to be a performance enhancer. Jon was devastated to say the least."

"This is a setup, straight-up, no athlete would test clean his entire fight camp, and then randomly take some cheap f*cking oral steroid between weigh ins and fight night knowing he would be tested once he got done fighting."

"This is a straight setup. They are trying to ruin this kid's life. It makes no sense and Jon wouldn't do it."

Jon Jones has tested positive for steroids in his UFC 214 victory over Daniel Cormier ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Our sources tell us ... Jones tested positive for Turinabol -- an anabolic steroid.

Jones won the July 29 fight -- taking the UFC light heavyweight belt from Cormier with a savage head kick followed by a barrage of punishing punches to Cormier's head.

Jones will now go through the disciplinary process and his title could be stripped, which would make the fight a "no contest" and the title would go back to Cormier.

It's the second time Jones has failed a USADA drug test. He tested positive for banned substances in 2016 before UFC 200 and was pulled from the main event. Jones got socked with a 1 year ban.

We're told this time around, he could be banned for up to 4 years.

Jones had blamed his previous failed test on a male enhancement pill. He claimed he didn't realize the pill contained a banned substance and insisted he was NOT trying to gain a competitive edge.

If the test results hold up, it's unclear how he'll explain his way out of this one.

Story developing ...

7:25 PM PT -- A rep for Jon Jones released the following statement ... "We are all at a complete loss for words right now. Jon, his trainers, his nutritionists and his entire camp have worked tirelessly and meticulously the past 12 months to avoid this exact situation."

"We are having the samples tested again to determine the validity or source of contamination. Jon is crushed by this news and we are doing whatever we can as a team to support him."

7:01 PM PT -- A rep for Daniel Cormier tells TMZ Sports ... "It is very hard not to feel cheated. Again!"

6:25 PM PT -- The UFC released a statement saying they were notified today by USADA of a "potential Anti-Doping Policy violation violation stemming from an in-competition sample collected following [Jones] weigh-in on July 28, 2017" ... the day before UFC 214.

The statement goes on to say, "under the UFC Anti-Doping Policy, there is a full and fair legal process that is afforded to all athletes before any sanctions are imposed."

Things got real heated between Conor McGregor and Paulie Malignaggi at a fight media event in Vegas moments ago -- with Paulie getting right in Conor's face, teasing him about his balls.

Paulie kept repeating to Conor, "Did you bring your balls?"

Conor reached out and put his hand on Paulie's shoulder and said, "You got your ass whooped. Get over it."

Paulie is furious with Conor for releasing a sparring video from his training camp which showed him knocking Paulie down in the ring.

Paulie claims the video was edited to make him look bad. Conor's camp says that's BS.

Paulie will be part of the Showtime announcing team working the Mayweather fight -- but Showtime says it's not worried about slanted coverage.

WWE superstar The Miz has a Plan B in mind for Conor McGregor after he fights Floyd Mayweather ... and it ain't the UFC!

We asked Miz if Conor should join him in WWE after MayMac is a wrap -- and his answer was a resounding HELL YEAH.

Miz told us McGregor can "talk the talk" and "walk the walk" -- and that his skills on the mic would make him a huge star in the squared circle.

But even though the WWE intercontinental champ LOVES Conor's shtick ... he ain't exactly sold on him out-boxing Floyd.

McGregor's got plenty of options after taking on TBE, of course ... but he might wanna avoid the WWE after trashin' Brock Lesnar and most of the roster last year.

So much for an impartial announcer ...

One of the guys commentating on the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight hates Conor McGregor's guts with a passion ... which begs the question, why is Showtime allowing Paulie Malignaggi to call it?!

Paulie was Conor's training camp sparring partner until a nasty breakup last month. Since then, Paulie's been on a media blitz, blasting Conor to every media outlet that will have him on.

He's called McGregor everything from a dirtbag to a bum fighter -- and insinuated that he was set up by McGregor's people to be a fall guy in order to make Conor look like a legit boxer.

Despite the declaration of war, Showtime says Paulie will remain on the broadcast team -- they see the situation as a "non-story."

But it's a big story ... commentators have a BIG influence on how the public sees the fight and a constant, slanted trashing of McGregor could unfairly hurt his image.

In most cases, announcers tasked with working major sporting events like NFL or MLB games are mandated by networks to keep their opinions to themselves until the game.

Demi Lovato has signed on to sing the national anthem at the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight on August 26 ... Showtime has confirmed.

Lovato is a HUUUUGE fight fan. She's not only a regular at UFC fights, but also trains MMA at Jay Glazer's gym in Los Angeles.

She also just released her new single, "Sorry Not Sorry," last month -- so the timing is great for her.

Also, Diddy and Mark Wahlberg are making a $200k bet on the fight (doubling down on their Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight bet).

Diddy has Floyd. Mark has Conor. Mark lost the first bet and paid the money to charity. Guessing it's the same plan for this fight.