UFC

Chael Sonnen strolled in to the TMZ newsroom ...

With a poem to make everyone look like buffoons.

No, not us, his Bellator competition ...

Who he says he'll knock out, what a shocking admission!

That's right, Chael says he'll put Rampage to sleep ...

Putting Jackson's lights out, leaving him in a heap.

Sonnen's not scared of the others either, you see ...

The heavyweights in his tourney are kinda crappy, says he.

Russia's Fedor couldn't win if Putin came through with a tank ...

And Roy Nelson's too fat, you can take that to the bank.

So when Chael sweeps the field and out-fights 'em all ...

Tyron Woodley says things got thiiiis close to REAL violence with Conor McGregor when the Irish superstar called him a "bitch" behind the scenes ... but Tyron set him straight real quick.

The UFC welterweight champ told the whole story on "The Hollywood Beatdown" -- explaining how things went from 0 to 100 real quick at UFC 205 in Nov. 2016 ... with Conor ultimately backing down.

There's a lot more ... Tyron calls B.S. on President Trump's physical exam numbers -- saying there's no way in hell POTUS is really 6'4", 239 lbs ... but he's got a plan to help him cut the fat.

Tyron's also weighing in on Logan Paul ... telling us if the YouTube star really deserves a 2nd chance after his suicide forest videos stunt.

UFC interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson says he's not worried about Conor McGregor's championship status ... promising he'll destroy "McNuggets" after beating Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Tony and Khabib faced off at the UFC 222 & 223 news conference in Boston -- where Khabib promised to break Tony's arm when they face off in the Octagon on April 7.

Dana White was asked several times if he will be stripping Conor of the lightweight title he won by defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 ... but White isn't saying.

Great news for rich UFC fans -- the iconic "superfight" belt from UFC 5 is about to hit the auction block ... and you can add it to your mantel if you're willing to drop a small fortune!

Backstory -- UFC legends Royce Gracie and Ken Shamrock threw down to crown the company's first ever superfight champ back in '95 ... but their 36-MINUTE bout was declared a draw, so neither of 'em took home the gold.

Now, Goldin Auctions -- consigning the strap for a collector who got it from UFC co-founder Art Davie -- is bringing it to a bid ... and expects it to go for $25k-$100k (if not more).

G.A.'s founder Ken Goldin tells TMZ Sports -- "It's the most significant UFC item ever to be auctioned" ... so expect a lot of action before bidding ends on Feb. 17.

WWE Raw women's champ Alexa Bliss ain't sweatin' Ronda Rousey -- in fact, she's got a message for the UFC legend ... "I'm not worried."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Ronda recently had dinner with Triple H and it seems like a deal to bring her to the WWE is imminent.

So, when we saw Bliss at LAX, we had to ask if she was scared Ronda would be coming for her belt.

"Please, I'm a fighting champion," Bliss said ... "I'm not worried about anybody taking my belt."

As for the rumors Rousey could make her debut in the first ever women's Royal Rumble match -- Alexa addresses those, too.

UFC star Cody Garbrandt says him and Jean-Claude Van Damme are totally cool ... but if they ever fought for real, he would straight-up DECAPITATE the Muscles from Brussels.

"I'd rip his f**king head off ... is that really a question??" Cody told TMZ Sports at the premiere of JCVD's "Kickboxer: Retaliation" event at TAO in Hollywood.

You might remember ... a few months back, JCVD accidentally kicked Cody in the mouth during a light sparring sesh -- a move that had Garbrandt seeing red.

But Garbrandt says Jean-Claude felt so bad he actually started crying ... and now they're bros again.

For Van Damme's sake -- we're glad.

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.