UFC

T.J. Dillashaw wants to fight Demetrious Johnson so bad, he's stepping his trash-talk game up to Nick Diaz levels to put the UFC pound-for-pound king on notice.

"Don't be scared ... man up, let's do it," T.J. told TMZ Sports out in L.A.

Dillashaw's been chasing Mighty Mouse the whole year -- and says DJ's time at the top is almost up since that's the only fight he wants.

The UFC bantamweight champ told us Mighty Mouse should be pumped for the scrap too -- 'cause he'd actually be able to sell tickets for once!! (Burn.)

As for how the fight would go ... T.J. told us it "definitely" could be LIGHTS OUT for Demetrious.

UFC superstar Cris Cyborg’s got a secret weapon for her fight against Holly Holm -- boxing legend Mia St. John -- and TMZ Sports has footage of their intense sparring sesh.

Cyborg and MSJ traded shots for four 2-minute rounds at the RVCA gym in L.A. ... and you can tell they were taking it seriously -- even though Cris and Mia agreed not to go full beast mode before they stepped into the ring.

St. John actually faced Holly in a 2005 pro boxing match ... and even though Mia lost, we're told she was sharing tips on how to beat Holm with Cyborg.

After the gloves came off, MSJ told us -- "If Cris lands one solid punch, it's over for Holly."

If you're wondering why these 2 got together ... Cyborg's hitting up Mia's charity event on mental health awareness next weekend.

Pretty crazy to see these legends team up -- especially considering St. John recently called out Cris for a Playboy Mansion fight!

UFC star Frankie Edgar says he's still bummed out after breaking a bone in his face ... but not 'cause it actually hurt or anything.

Frankie was lined up to fight featherweight champ Max Holloway at UFC 218 next weekend, but had to pull out a couple weeks ago after his orbital bone was cracked in a sparring sesh.

Edgar says the pain of missing his title shot is WAY worse than the pain from his broken eye bone.

"It's not bad -- the timing's what makes it worse. As far as timing, what's on the line, it's one of the worst I've dealt with," he told TMZ Sports.

Frankie guarantees he'll get the gold when he's back to being healthy ... and in the meantime, he's keeping busy with charitable events -- like a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway put on by Eat Clean Bro in New Jersey.

T.J. Dillashaw says Cody Garbrandt can get as many lessons from Jean-Claude Van Damme as he wants ... 'cause not even "The Kickboxer" can make him the better fighter.

We told the T.J. -- the UFC bantamweight champ -- about sensei JCVD's trip to Cody's training center in Sacramento ... where he schooled Garbrandt, Urijah Faber and other fighters on the art of the kick.

Dillashaw thought that was pretty cool, but straight-up laughed at the idea of Van Damme actually helping his hated rival -- saying Jean-Claude doesn't know a damn thing about their sport!!

"I don't think Van Damme's gonna bring any wisdom into MMA fighting," T.J. said.

All the Conor McGregor haters can take a seat ... 'cause Conor was just being a boss when he WENT OFF inside the cage last week -- so says Kimbo Slice's son.

"Baby Slice" fought at the Bellator Dublin event where McGregor got violent with MMA officials ... and says the UFC mega-star should get a pass for his outburst.

"I think that was pretty funny, man," Slice told TMZ Sports. "C'mon. We was in his hometown, his city. He probably felt invincible, think he can do what he wanna do. Probably can there."

FYI, Conor issued a "sorry not sorry" apology on Tuesday ... and no official punishment's come down from the UFC -- yet.

Stay tuned ...

You MMA fighters are lucky Jean-Claude Van Damme is busy as an international movie star ... 'cause UFC legend Urijah Faber says if he wasn't doing that, JCVD could be kicking ass in the octagon.

Faber attended a kicking clinic Van Damme put on in Sacramento this week, a clinic also attended by Faber's Team Alpha Male cohort Cody Garbrandt.

Van Damme got busy with his legs (as he always does) but when we talked to Urijah we needed to know if he thought the Muscles from Brussels could ever do it FOR REAL.

"Oh, absolutely."

BTW, this isn't just Faber's opinion, he told TMZ Sports JCVD actually went toe-to-toe with one of the guys from his squad, and things got a little interesting.

"He actually got in with one of our pros and was moving around, and they started going back and forth and he actually caught the guy in the face with a little heel kick and it almost got heated there we had to calm it down."

Nate Diaz ain't gonna like this ...

Tyron Woodley says he's so confident he'll beat Nate's ass if they clash at UFC 219 next month ... he's willing to fight him with a busted shoulder!!!

"If there's any fighter that I think that I can fight with my shoulder not 100% ... it's that dude," Tyron said on "The Hollywood Beatdown" on the TMZ Sports YouTube channel.

Tyron is rehabbing a labrum tear -- but says he's not worried about it one bit.

There's A LOT more -- Tyron talks about the money he thinks he and Nate can rake in from the fight ... and why he's not even a little bit scared of Nate's famous Stockton Slap.

Woodley also tells us if snorting workout powder is a real problem in the bodybuilding community after the death of Rich Piana.

After Tyron Woodley called him out Thursday, Nate Diaz went to his brother's MMA studio in Stockton, CA begging the question ... is he finally gonna take the fight?!?!

Woodley announced on "The Hollywood Beatdown" that he already agreed to fight Diaz at UFC 219 in Vegas on Dec. 30 ... but he was waiting on Nate to sign his contract.

Nate's been radio silent ... but he popped up at the Nick Diaz Academy where a jiu-jitsu class was in full effect.

Unclear if Nate was participating in the training or just hanging out with his bro.

One thing's for sure -- Woodley doesn't think ANY amount of training will save Nate if they do face off in the Octagon.

Tyron Woodley says a showdown with Nate Diaz at UFC 219 is "50% complete" -- and the only thing that's holding it up is "scared" Nate Diaz.

"All you gotta say is 'Yes,'" Tyron said in a message to Nate on "The Hollywood Beatdown" show ... "Put the ink to the paper and we done."

Tyron says he's ready and training for the Dec. 30 fight in Vegas ... and says he honestly believes Nate is scared to fight him.

"Guys in our sport bump their gums quite a bit and they get you to think they're these huge tough guys ... they're these gangsters that they'll fight anybody, anytime."

"And then when you get in front of a person like me ... the crickets start to come out. They don't really wanna fight."

Tyron says it happened with Michael Bisping, Georges St-Pierre, Conor McGregor and Nick Diaz.

"Now it's happening with baby brother [Nate] so I guess it's in the bloodline."

UFC star Fabricio Werdum attacked another UFC fighter with a boomerang in Australia.

Seriously -- we're not making this up.

It all went down at the UFC fighters' hotel in Sydney ... when rising welterweight star Colby Covington allegedly called Werdum a "filthy Brazilian" in the lobby.

FYI, Covington hurled a similar insult at a Brazilian crowd after his last fight in Sao Paulo ... and Fabricio's one of the UFC's biggest Brazilian stars.

So, Werdum did what any angry Australian tourist would do -- he took it outside and UNCORKED HIS DAMN BOOMERANG!!!

Later on, Covington recorded himself going on a racist and homophobic rant against the former heavyweight champ ... where he claimed Fabricio also punched him in the face.

"Look at you, f**king f**got," Colby said. "F**k Brazil. F**k Fabricio Werdum ... and they wonder why they get talked to like that -- 'cause they’re a bunch of animals."

But Werdum says he didn't punch Covington ... claiming Colby got physical first by throwing a kick.

Just how bloody was Dustin Poirier's UFC war with Anthony Pettis on Saturday??

Picture a Tarantino movie -- then put it inside the Octagon -- 'cause Dustin told TMZ Sports he was still cleaning plasma out of his ears 3 DAYS AFTER THE FIGHT.

"My hair was matted with blood ... my back, my shins, everything was covered. I'm still cleaning blood out of my ears right now."

Poirier says he could literally smell Pettis' blood on him during the fight -- and he ENJOYED it 'cause he's a straight savage.

But Dustin's got a softer side too ... the lightweight stud's auctioning off all his "Fight Night 120" gear, with 100% of the cash going to the family of a fallen cop.

Like blood?? Bidding ends soon!

Turns out, there was a celebrity onboard the Southwest Airlines flight that was delayed due to a co-pilot WITH A GUN ... and that celeb is UFC champ Tyron Woodley.

The reigning welterweight champion touched down at LAX after the incident at St. Louis Lambert International Airport early Wednesday morning.

TMZ broke the story ... one pilot was arrested after taking a loaded gun through security though witnesses had told us there were TWO pilots in handcuffs.

Woodley says he definitely saw TWO pilots.

Jean-Claude Van Damme put his money where his mouth is ... when he showed up to one of the top MMA training centers in the world and led a kicking workshop in front of 2 UFC superstars!!!

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber and Cody Garbrandt were both on hand at Team Alpha Male in Sacramento on Tuesday night ... where JCVD did his sensei thing.

Jean-Claude has long talked about how he can make MMA fighters better -- and even gave TMZ Sports a tutorial in a gym parking lot back in 2016.

Well, the guys at T.A.M. were paying attention and invited him over to teach class -- and from the looks of it, the students loved it!

JCVD's 57 years old ... too late to take a fight????

Ronda Rousey would be a "force to be reckoned with" in the WWE and Vince McMahon needs to sign her ASAP ... so says wrestling legend Torrie Wilson.

There have been rumblings that Rousey could join WWE soon (though it hasn't happened yet) and Wilson says it's the ultimate no-brainer.

"She's a badass," Wilson told TMZ Sports outside of Catch LA ... right before listing off several legit reasons why she would be an instant superstar in the squared circle.

By the way, Wilson looks AMAZING (did we mention she's a fitness-aholic?) ... so, check out some of the pics below ... which prove working out really does do a body good!

Conor McGregor is apologizing for storming the cage and getting violent with MMA officials during Bellator 187 in Dublin last week ... but he's still trashing the referee.

"I sincerely apologize for my behavior at last weekends fight event in Dublin," McGregor said ... adding he let his emotions get the best of him after watching his training partner Charlie Ward win the fight.

"As a multiple weight UFC champion, executive producer, role model and public figure, I must hold myself to a higher standard."

But Conor refuses to back off his criticism of referee Marc Goddard -- saying the ref made a "horrendous decision" trying to allow the losing fighter to continue into the second round.

McGregor says he's personally witnessed an MMA fighter die from injuries suffered in the cage during a fight in Dublin -- and he was afraid it could happen again.

FYI, the fatal incident McGregor is referring to occurred in 2016 -- and the man who died happened to be fighting Charlie Ward.

Conor says he has learned from his "mistakes" and vows to be better moving forward.

The guy who got KO'd in the cage right before Conor McGregor LOST HIS DAMN MIND feels pretty much how we all do about the situation ...

"You can't f**kin' jump out of a crowd in a sporting contest and do all that type of stuff," John Redmond told TMZ Sports. "In no place in life is that really tolerated."

John's being pretty cool to Conor, all things considered ... saying he's got no plans of taking legal action even though McGregor's outburst almost got him trampled.

That said, Redmond tells us there's only 1 way Conor can make it right -- A REMATCH (with his teammate, Charlie Ward).

"Tell your boy to bleedin' gear up again and get in and fight me!"

Doesn't seem like McGregor's in the mood to make amends with anyone ... but maybe for a fellow countryman??