UFC

UFC fighter Uriah Hall says he suffered a "slight heart attack" and "mini-seizure" the day before his fight with Vitor Belfort at UFC Fight Night: St Louis ... and doctors told him he's lucky to be alive.

"The doctor even said that even if I had made weight I probably would have died the next day because my body just wasn’t having it," Uriah said in an Instagram Live video.

Hall says his health scares were due to an injury that hindered his weight cut ... and he's refuting Dana White's claim that he was partying in L.A. -- insisting he was taking his training 100% serious.

The day before the event, the former 'TUF' finalist fainted on his way to the scale and was transported to a local hospital.

UFC pound-for-pound king Demetrious Johnson says it's "an honor" Anderson Silva called him the greatest fighter of all time -- but tells TMZ Sports he does NOT think he's G.O.A.T. status.

That said, when the guys on "TMZ Sports" (airs weeknights on FS1) really pressed the flyweight champ for an answer -- he did admit he's getting close.

"I don't believe that," Demetrious told us ... before adding, "I do believe that I have, out of all the champions and all the opposition I've fought ... it's getting there."

FYI -- Mighty Mouse recently broke Anderson's UFC title defense record with his 11th straight ... but dude might be too humble to ever say he's the best.

UFC champ Tyron Woodley recently told Joe Rogan he doesn't really like fighting, "I'm just good at it."

Yeah, that's not true. He LOVES it.

Especially when he's smashing dudes out of consciousness.

Woodley clarified his comments on "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... waxing poetically about why there's no better feeling in the world than knocking an opponent out cold.

Make sure to check the full ep. when it drops on Friday (subscribe to the TMZ Sports YouTube page) -- when Tyron talks about how his beef with Conor McGregor got very real.

Meantime, here's a video of Woodley doing what he does best ... destroying people.

UFC legend Anderson Silva says he's NOT the greatest MMA fighter of all time -- telling TMZ Sports that honor goes to Demetrious Johnson.

In his prime, Silva had 17 consecutive wins -- with 10 consecutive title defenses -- leading Dana White to call him the "Tom Brady of the UFC." The dude was a machine.

But, that was before Johnson went on his MMA run ... ripping off 13 consecutive victories over guys like Ray Borg, Henry Cejudo and Joseph Benavidez.

DJ's the reigning flyweight champ -- and last year, broke Silva's record for most consecutive UFC title defenses.

What's worse than being brutally KO'd by a juiced-up Jon Jones??

For Daniel Cormier, you'd assume the answer would be "nothing" ... but the UFC light heavyweight champ told us dropping his fight at UFC 220 this weekend could be even more painful.

"As bad as July was, it can actually be worse if it happens again," Cormier told TMZ Sports.

"My motivation is not only competition, but to avoid feeling like I felt in July, and putting ... everybody that's close to me through the disappointment that we felt."

Daniel told us how he plans on getting the job done ... and says once he's finished with #1 contender Volkan Oezdemir, there will absolutely be a 3rd fight between him and Jones.

FYI, Jon's still waiting to find out how long he'll be sidelined.

UFC star Francis Ngannou says it's "bullsh*t" Stipe Miocic is complaining about not being promoted enough before UFC 220 ... and he's putting the heavyweight champ on notice.

"The UFC not gonna fight for him," Ngannou told TMZ Sports. "The fight day we gonna be 1-on-1 in the Octagon and we will see the truth."

FYI, Francis has taken the MMA world by storm -- BRUTALLY knocking out 5 dudes in his last 6 fights -- leading Stipe to believe the UFC wants Ngannou to take his belt.

Francis clearly thinks the champ's priorities are crap ... saying Miocic should be focused on not ending up like Alistair Overeem.

Amen.

She may have lost the fight ... but Paige VanZant once again proved she's tough as hell -- fighting 2 more rounds after BREAKING HER ARM!

The former "Dancing with the Stars" finalist cracked her right arm while throwing a spinning back fist at Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC Fight Night 124 on Sunday. She was obviously in pain but refused to stop the fight.

In fact, Paige battled for 2 more rounds -- throwing punches with the broken arm!!!

In the end, PVZ lost the fight (props to Clark) ... but damn -- impressive.

"I’ll be back better and stronger than ever," Paige wrote on Instagram ... "It’s all apart of the fight game. God had other plans for me. Darn spinning back fist."

Ronda Rousey ain't the only UFC star gunnin' for the WWE ... Paige VanZant says she LOVES the pro wrestling biz, and is "definitely interested" in making the jump.

"If the knock comes onto my door, I'm taking it," Paige told TMZ Sports before adding ... "when the time is right."

PVZ also seemed pretty down to face Rousey in the ring ... especially if WWE lets 'em throw hands for real!

For now, VanZant's gonna stick with kickin' ass inside the Octagon. She's making her debut at 125 pounds this Sunday at UFC Fight Night 124 ... and says she's got BIG plans for 2018.

One of those plans involves the UFC ... but she's also got a serious proposition for "Dancing with the Stars!"

Here's something you don't hear everyday -- a UFC Hall of Famer saying Conor McGregor's next fight should be in BOXING, not MMA!

"If he's a smart guy he should keep on boxing -- that's what I would do," Bas Rutten told TMZ Sports.

Don't get it twisted -- Bas says he wants to see Conor come back and defend his UFC lightweight belt ... but at the same time, thinks it'd be crazy for McGregor to leave Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather money on the table.

FYI, McGregor told us he wants an MMA fight next ... but would he really turn down another HUGE payday??

You're gonna see Ronda Rousey in the ring sooner rather than later -- so says Tyron Woodley, who's got a strong hunch when the UFC megastar's making her WWE debut.

Tyron broke down why the timing's perfect for Rousey to cross over to pro wrestling in this week's episode of "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... days after TMZ Sports spotted her out with Triple H.

As for the when ... the welterweight champ says it'll be at one of WWE's biggest annual events, which is only weeks away -- and explains why Ronda's "kicking some ass" right out the gates.

Also on the 'Beatdown,' Tyron says Oprah's got his vote for president ... and lays out how we can officially settle the O.J. Simpson/Khloe Kardashian biological father debate.

Khabib Nurmagomedov wrestles bears, mauls human beings and is by all rights the scariest fighter on the planet.

But the 145-pound UFC champ, Max Holloway, ain't even a little intimidated -- telling TMZ Sports he'd be happy to move up a weight class to throw down with the Russian monster.

"That’s the kind of guy you want to fight to cement your legacy," Max said. "If you wanna be the best you gotta beat the best."

Even Tyron Woodley -- the UFC 170-pound champ -- doesn't want anything to do with Khabib ... so props to Max for being a badass.

Move over, Floyd Mayweather ... Oscar De La Hoya says he's the guy to partner with Dana White to book "the biggest fights" in boxing -- if the UFC prez will give him a damn call!

You've probably heard -- Dana says he's gonna promote boxing in 2018 ... and told us he's meeting with the sport's more powerful people (including Floyd) to make it happen.

But one guy he hasn't hit up is Oscar -- and De La Hoya doesn't seem too happy about it.

"It's surprising he wants to get into boxing and hasn't gotten a hold of the biggest promoter in the sport," DLH told TMZ Sports out in L.A., where he was promoting his Casa Mexico tequila.

But Oscar -- who we shot earlier this week -- says he's still open to doing business ... unless White wants to play hardball.

"It's gonna be very hard to try and do what he did with the UFC because there's a little company by the name of Golden Boy Promotions is in the way."

UFC fighter Jeremy Stephens just hit Conor McGregor with the trash-talkin' KO of the century -- saying he's ready to turn up the heat with the Irishman's "hot" mom!!

You remember how the beef began -- after Jeremy called out Conor at a news conference for UFC 205, Conor whipped around and famously said, "Who da fook is dat guy?!"

About a year later, Stephens shot back ... with a little help from Mama McGregor.

And now, Jeremy's taking it all the way.

"Maybe his dad can pick us up with the cab he used to drive and then take me and his mom out on a date," he told the guys on TMZ Sports (full interview airs tonight on FS1).

Ronda Rousey may be an all-time great inside the Octagon -- but WWE superstar Enzo Amore says it's gonna be a painful transition for her if and when she steps into the ring.

"She's in for a rude awakening," Enzo told TMZ Sports.

"You ever been put through a table, slammed on concrete? It's a different ball game."

Don't get it twisted -- Enzo respects the hell outta Ronda ... and even told us she's got the tools to be a kick-ass pro wrestler.

That said, when we told him about Rousey's private meeting with Triple H -- a sign that a deal might be close -- he wanted to make it clear that crossing over to wrestling is no joke.

He ain't lying ...

Conor McGregor just had his most epic face-off to date -- a shirtless staredown with Sir Richard Branson!!

For real.

It all went down at the Pendulum Summit for business leaders in Dublin, Ireland ... where Conor was presented with a lifetime achievement award for his BIG money moves.

Branson joined McGregor onstage -- and after some back-and-forth, convinced the UFC mega-star to bro out.

Not to be outdone, Rich ripped off his top too ... and we gotta say, dude looks pretty frickin' jacked for a 67-year-old gazillionaire.

Ronda Rousey had a VERY interesting dinner date Tuesday night -- Triple H ... and it seems like the two sides are one step closer to hammering out a deal to get Ronda in the WWE.

Triple H snuck out of Republique restaurant in L.A. first. Ronda followed with her agent in tow and was in a pretty great mood.

She wouldn't spill the beans on whether a deal was done -- but interesting that Triple H would come to L.A. at the same time the "WWE SmackDown Live" was going down in Alabama.

One WWE source tells us it's unusual for Triple H to miss a TV event -- he's usually on hand for everything ... so, you know if he's gonna fly out west, it's not just for a good meal!