UFC

Listen up Gisele -- legendary boxer Bernard Hopkins has some advice on how to deal with those unruly Philly fans when you get to Minnesota ... and it's basically not to be Gisele.

We got Hopkins -- a Philly legend -- out at LAX and asked him how the notoriously outspoken Mrs. Bündchen should handle herself Super Bowl weekend around his Eagles people.

NOTE: Eagles fans are freakin' crazy, having actually assaulted Santa Claus on one occasion.

B-Hop had a very simple idea for Gisele, utilizing a skill she's used to ... playing dress-up.

"You got to camouflage yourself so you won't be noticed. Cause Philly, no matter where we go we make that Philly."

UFC star Eddie Alvarez is a diehard Philadelphia Eagles fan.

His boss, Dana White, lives and breathes New England Patriots.

So, when we asked Eddie how he's getting along with Dana during Super Bowl week ... he had a 2-fingered response.

It's hilarious.

Of course, they're just kidding around -- but Eddie says they both agreed to suspend the friendship "until Philly wins."

In serious news ... since Eddie famously fought Conor McGregor -- we asked for his take on a possible Conor vs. Floyd MMA match.

Eddie makes it clear he thinks Floyd would get the beating of his life -- and even his 12-year-old son could get Mayweather to tap inside of an octagon.

It's been almost a year since Derrick Lewis hollered at Ronda Rousey after KO'ing her BF, Travis Browne ... and he ain't ready to let go of his #WomanCrushEveryday.

Remember -- Derrick famously asked where Ronda's "fine ass" was at last February ... after sending poor Trav to the shadow realm.

Since then, both Lewis and Rousey have both gotten hitched to their SOs ... but Lewis says that hasn't changed how he feels about her.

"My wife doesn't like me still searching for Ronda ... but she'll get over it sooner or later," Black Beast told TMZ Sports.

Derrick also told us why he's happy Rousey joined WWE ... and why the hell he's been TRAINING WITH A RATTLESNAKE just weeks away from his scrap at UFC Fight Night: Austin.

11:39 AM PT -- Sources connected to Floyd tell us ... Floyd rented out the entire Syndicate MMA gym in Las Vegas on Monday for a private workout session.

As far as the MMA training goes, we've spoken to multiple people and everyone is being VERY tight-lipped about what Floyd was working on inside the gym.

We obviously know he spent some time in the cage -- but no one will say if Floyd was doing actual MMA training or just getting his usual boxing workout in with a change of scenery.

FYI, a ton of legit pro MMA fighters train at Syndicate, including UFC Hall of Famer Forrest Griffin, Jessica-Rose Clark, Mike Pyle and Julian Marquez.

11:28 AM PT -- Conor has seen the video and offered up some thoughts ...

"Hahahaha very good. Keep up the good work my son. Yours sincerely, Senior."

Well, here's Conor McGregor's dream come true ... Floyd Mayweather stepped into an MMA cage in what appears to be another attempt to bait the UFC star into another fight.

Floyd posted the footage on social media Tuesday -- one day after he took a shot at Conor for his #MCM ... which Floyd dubbed, "Mayweather Crushes McGregor."

Both Conor and Floyd made a killing off their superfight in 2017 -- but McGregor says he wants his next fight to be in the octagon.

So, how would that go? Oscar De La Hoya just told us the other day Floyd wouldn't last 10 seconds with The Notorious.

But we'd all probably pay to see it anyway ... and Floyd knows it.

As if us average bros need more reasons to be jealous of Chris Pratt ... here he is lockin' up with UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture at Jay Glazer's MMA gym -- and holding his own!

So, why didn't Couture ragdoll the "Guardians" star like an MMA wannabe?

1) Pratt was actually a stud wrestler back in the day, and 2) Pratt says Couture took it "very easy" on him.

Fun fact: this was actually a reunion! Chris says Randy coached him at a college wrestling camp 21 years ago, and he still remembers it like it was yesterday.

"He invited teenage me to come up and demonstrate the three throws we’d learned that day ... it was such an honor."

MMA Fighter Sergio da Silva just pled not guilty to robbing a NYC bank over the summer ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Officials say Silva -- who fought at Bellator 180 -- busted into a CitiBank in Queens on August 24 claiming to have a gun, and threatening to shoot whoever didn't cooperate.

Cops say Silva got away with around $50k in cash.

Silva was arrested, and charged with 2 felony robbery charges ... including 1st degree robbery while displaying a firearm.

SdS's attorney, David Fish, tells us, "We intend to show at trial that he’s not guilty of what he’s alleged to have committed. The allegations are very serious. I think Sergio has a lot of confidence in that the truth will come out at trial."

Silva, who was present in the NYC court, pled not guilty to both charges. He's due back in court in April.

Liz Carmouche -- the UFC's first openly lesbian fighter -- says public perception has come a long way since she came out ... and the UFC is finally ready to accept a gay male athlete.

"I do actually believe that a man could come out as openly gay and he could rise to the top," Liz told TMZ Sports.

You might remember ... Liz broke the glass ceiling back in 2013, when she fought Ronda Rousey in the UFC's inaugural women's title fight.

Back then, Carmouche had serious doubts about a man following in her footsteps ... but says she feels differently now after experiencing how LGBTQ fighters are treated in MMA gyms like her own (San Diego Combat Academy).

Liz -- who recently partnered with HempMeds -- also told us why she thinks the UFC's at a place where it can let its fighters smoke weed ... even though she's way more of an advocate for CBD oil.

Oscar De La Hoya has set the over/under for how long Floyd Mayweather would last in a UFC fight ... and Floyd's not gonna like it.

We got Oscar heading into Staples Center for a Lakers game the other day and asked him how his former boxing rival would fare in MMA.

De La Hoya's prediction -- "Tapped out in 10 seconds."

Ouch.

FYI, Floyd says he probably ain't gonna test his skills inside the Octagon ... but money talks, so don't rule it out.

Speaking of money fights, Oscar updated us on his quest to do business with Dana White ... a couple weeks after TMZ Sports got his initial pitch.

Paige VanZant just got engaged to her MMA fighter boyfriend ... and her last name ain't gonna change all that much.

The UFC figther posted a photo Sunday of her guy, Austin Vanderford, getting on one knee to propose, with the caption ... "I said yes!!!"

The couple's been going out since at least this past summer, when she posted a photo of the two of them together in August with the caption "Mine."

Mine, indeed. Congrats to the future VanZant-derfords!

After he beats the living hell outta Tony Ferguson and Conor McGregor, there's a strong chance UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov is DONE FIGHTING -- so says his agent.

"He's probably going to retire undefeated," Ali Abdelaziz told TMZ Sports. "He's gonna beat Conor and he's gonna beat Tony and he’s probably going to say, 'bye bye.'"

FYI, Khabib's 29 years old and at the top of his game ... and he's just a few months away from his first UFC title fight with Tony, the interim lightweight champ.

But Ali makes it clear Khabib could be done after that scrap and a super-fight with McGregor, who's the reigning 155-pound champ (for now) ... guessing 'cause of long-term health concerns.

How huge will Ronda Rousey be for WWE??

Pro wrestling legend Diamond Dallas Page says she'll be a bonafide mega-star ... and he's comparing her to a couple heavyweight titans to make his point.

The first -- Mike Tyson ... who famously crossed over to WWE to briefly feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania.

And if Rousey wants to make it a permanent gig ... DDP says she could be the female equivalent of future WWE Hall of Famer, Bill Goldberg!

"He had that incredible charisma and personality and that 'it' factor, and Rousey's got that same thing," DDP told TMZ Sports at his yoga performance center in Georgia.

DDP would know -- he and Goldberg were big-time rivals in WCW ... and he's also locked up with pro athletes with Tyson's clout.

Daniel Cormier says he's excited to get a crack at Stipe Miocic -- "the greatest heavyweight champion of all time" -- and says the huge payday ain't bad either!

D.C. joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs tonight on FS1) and explained why the fight against Stipe at UFC 226 in July is an opportunity he just couldn't pass up.

Cormier says Dana White first approached him as he was leaving the octagon after beating Volkan Oezdemir at UFC 220 this past weekend ... and used his powers of persuasion (aka his checkbook) to get the deal done!

D.C. -- the reigning light heavyweight champ -- says he conferred with his good friend, Cain Velasquez, before accepting the fight because he didn't want Cain to feel like he was cutting him in line for a shot at the heavyweight belt.

And if Cormier beats Stipe ... D.C. says it would put him in the conversation about the best fighters of all time.

Mark Wahlberg might not be on 'roids, but there are a TON of Hollywood movie stars who are ... some of the biggest names in town, this according to Tyron Woodley.

The UFC champ -- who's also appeared in a bunch of big movies -- opened up about Hollywood's steroid habit on "The Hollywood Beatdown" after Wahlberg was called out by a PED kingpin ... revealing that he's met "lots of big-name, A-list actors that are openly on steroids."

But Tyron says he does NOT think Marky Mark is one of Tinseltown's PED pumpers ... and even if he is, explains why he shouldn't be shamed like all the juiceheads in pro sports.

Woodley also slams UFC star Nate Diaz, "nasty ass" Larry Nassar and the MULTIPLE Eagles fans who thought it was cool to punch a horse (it's not).

It's pretty obvious Dana White is "working on" Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier ... even though he won't come out and say it.

The UFC honcho did everything short of confirm negotiations on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... telling the guys he LOVES the idea of a champ vs. champ superfight for the heavyweight title.

"We’re working on something fun right now ... could be Cormier," Dana said with a smile when we asked him about Stipe's future.

Of course, Brock Lesnar and Jon Jones are potential wild cards ... but both are still suspended for doping.

So, with no other crazy options on the table ... all signs point to Cormier (the light heavyweight champ) being offered the next shot.

Greg Hardy will take a pro MMA fight in February and take the field for Jim Jones' arena league football team in March.

And that's why Jim says Greg could be the modern-day Bo Jackson -- a "beast" in TWO pro sports.

As we previously reported, Greg is pursuing a career as a pro MMA fighter -- he beat the hell out of his first 2 opponents.

But he also wants to play pro football again -- and with Jim owning the Richmond Roughriders in the American Arena League, the rap star saw a great opportunity to get the ex-NFL star back in the field.

"That man is a BEAST," Jones said on the "TMZ Sports" TV show ... "He's not one of the regular players. He's one of the best in his craft."

Dana White isn't wasting time ... telling TMZ Sports he's calling up Nate Diaz TONIGHT to make him an offer to return to the octagon.

White joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs tonight on FS1) -- and we asked about Nate's Instagram post where he called himself "The Real Champ" and vowed to return to fighting in "May or June."

"I'll tell ya what," White said ... "I’ll call him today and make him an offer."

"I will make Nate Diaz an offer to fight today."

White says he's not sure who he'd match Diaz up against -- "I gotta look at the rankings and see where everybody is."

What about a 3rd fight with Conor McGregor? Dana isn't ruling it out ... but says that fight ain't the priority for Conor.

"I think people would rather see Conor come back and either fight Tony [Ferguson] or Khabib [Nurmagomedov] -- whoever wins -- and the Nate Diaz fight isn’t going anywhere. We can do that thing any time."

What about Nate vs. Tyron Woodley? Dana says he has other plans for the welterweight champ.