UFC

UFC 223 still has a main event!!!

Khabib Nurmagomedov will be scrappin' with lightweight contender Al Iaquinta, who's steppin' up after Max Holloway got yanked from the fight during weigh-ins ... the UFC announced.

After Max got pulled, it was rumored former champ Anthony Pettis would step in ... but he was reportedly asking for too much cash.

So, the honor of facing the UFC's scariest dude goes to Ragin' Al -- a lightweight contender most famous for feuding with Dana White and the UFC brass. Iaquinta's currently riding a 5-fight win streak.

FYI, Khabib's still eligible to win the 155-pound title the UFC is stripping from Conor McGregor ... but it appears Al is not in the running for the belt.

It's been a crazy sequence of events to determine Khabib's opponent. Last Friday, Tony Ferguson suffered a freak accident -- tripping during a media sesh. Then, Holloway answered the call ... but doctors abruptly forced him to stop cutting weight Friday morning.

Conor McGregor will be allowed to board his jet and return back to Ireland as soon as he posts his $50,000 bail ... this according to his bail bondsman.

We spoke with Ira Judelson -- who's become the NYC bail bondsman to the stars (Ja Rule, Katt Williams, Lawrence Taylor) -- who tells us Conor's bail package is as follows:

Conor pays a $50k bond to be released on bail and must report to Ira once a week by phone, otherwise the court could take his passport.

Conor is allowed to travel but all travel must be pre-approved by Ira. No ankle bracelet. Conor gets to keep his passport.

The bail package is expected to become official when the arraignment begins in just a few minutes -- but the judge could always pull a last second audible ... so stay tuned.

Conor is facing several criminal charges including assault and felony criminal mischief for attacking a UFC bus at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday.

Dana White is adamant the UFC had nothing to do with planning the Conor McGregor melee -- and slams theories it was all a publicity stunt gone sideways.

"I'm seeing tons of dummies out there saying this is something staged," White said on "TMZ Live" -- "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life."

White says he was horrified by McGregor's actions and says the whole thing is "just a disaster."

"I still can't believe it's real and that it actually happened."

White says he would NEVER put Conor or any of his fighters in a dangerous situation to sell a fight, and he's livid at McGregor.

One of the UFC fighters Conor McGregor injured during his window-smashin' bus attack at the Barclays Center has filed a police report against the Irishman ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Our sources say Michael Chiesa -- who was hospitalized with facial lacerations -- spoke with cops at the arena after the incident on Thursday ... and again when they visited his hotel later that night.

Of course, Conor was also arrested late Thursday night ... and charged with 1 count of felony criminal mischief and 3 counts of misdemeanor assault.

We're told one of the assault charges is for injuring Chiesa ... who was forced to withdraw from his fight vs. Anthony Pettis at UFC 223 as a result of his injuries.

Conor McGregor was just escorted out of an NYPD precinct in Brooklyn -- wearing handcuffs ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

McGregor was arrested late Thursday night for attacking a UFC bus with a dolly -- shattering a window and injuring multiple people, including UFC fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg.

He was arrested for misdemeanor assault and felony criminal mischief and spent the night in the precinct.

McGregor is NOT being released -- he's being transported to court where he will be arraigned.

Also, McGregor's mug shot has now gone public.

Dana White previously told us McGregor is in a ton of trouble ... and outside of the criminal case, he'll likely be sued by several people involved in the incident.

White also told us his fighting future is in jeopardy ... but would not say if the UFC will cut ties with Conor going forward.

Things just got even worse for UFC 223 -- Max Holloway was not medically cleared to fight in the main event vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, according to multiple reports ... less than 24 hours after Conor McGregor’s violent bus attack forced 3 FIGHTS off the card.

Remember -- Max took the fight on 6 DAYS notice and had a ton of weight to cut. Seems his health was at risk in the final hours before hitting the scale ... and doctors had to call it off.

Holloway issued a statement shortly after learning the bad news -- "(Khabib) my brother I want to keep going but they are stopping me. Sorry to your team and the fans. You don’t deserve this."

As of now, unclear if another fighter could step in on a day's notice to fight Khabib.

FYI, doctors already told Michael Chiesa (facial cuts) and Ray Borg (eye cuts) they can't fight at 223 due to the injuries they suffered during the window-smashing attack by McGregor and his entourage at the Barclays Center.

Conor’s close friend, Artem Lobov, was also yanked from his fight after taking part in Thursday's melee.

Chris Brown can sympathize with Conor McGregor -- telling us when it comes to his crazy bus attack, "We all get crazy sometimes."

Brown would know ... especially when it comes to smashing glass -- the singer famously hulked out and threw a chair through a window at "Good Morning America" back in 2011.

Chris was on probation at the time of the window-smashing incident stemming from another violent outburst -- the 2009 domestic violence incident with Rihanna.

As for Conor, he was arrested Thursday night in NYC for the bus attack which injured several people including UFC fighters and at least one executive.

Conor McGregor just surrendered to authorities in connection with the bus attack at Barclays Center ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, cops wanted to speak with Conor after he threw a dolly into a bus which was carrying several UFC fighters and staffers. Multiple people were injured in the attack -- including fighter Michael Chiesa ... who was hospitalized with lacerations to the face.

Sources tell us Conor has been charged with 3 counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of felony criminal mischief.

We're told one assault charge is for the injuries to Chiesa's face ... and another for allegedly punching someone in the face several times.

We're told the criminal mischief charge is for the damages to the bus, which amounts to approximately $8,000.

TMZ Sports obtained video showing Conor attacking the bus -- so he really has no defense.

Dana White previously told us McGregor is in a ton of trouble and outside of the criminal case, he'll likely be sued by several people involved in the incident.

Dana White says Conor McGregor is in SERIOUS trouble following his violent bus attack in Brooklyn ... confidently telling TMZ Sports the UFC's biggest star is "going to jail."

We got Dana in NYC -- just hours after McGregor and his goon squad smashed up a bus filled with UFC 223 fighters at the Barclays Center.

The UFC prez told us he's "very disappointed and upset" with Conor's actions ... and is sure McGregor's punishment will go well beyond anything the UFC could throw at him.

"He's going to jail!!! People are gonna sue him. He's gonna have a bunch of civil lawsuits," White said.

12:18 PM PT -- TMZ Sports now has video showing Conor picking up a dolly and smashing the side window of the bus.

We spoke with Dana White ... who tells us Michael Chiesa was "cut to pieces" in the attack and is currently hospitalized for his injuries. It's unclear if he will fight as planned at UFC 223.

White says Rose Namajunas was also on the bus and very shaken up after the incident -- telling us she almost broke her hand.

We asked Dana if he will fire Conor as a result of the incident and he told us, "This is bigger than us firing him."

TMZ Sports has obtained video of Conor McGregor and his entourage going BERSERK at the Barclays Center ... attacking a bus leaving the arena with several UFC fighters including Khabib Nurmagomedov.

An object was thrown through one of the bus windows -- and the damage left one fighter, UFC lightweight contender Michael Chiesa, cut up and bloodied.

Unclear who was responsible for shattering the side window but it's clear people on the bus suspect it's Conor.

A member of Conor's entourage then grabbed a chair and threw it at the front windshield of the bus. Conor grabbed a chair and tried to attack as well, but was restrained.

Fighters were at the arena doing media ahead of UFC 223 ... and McGregor was videotaped by several witnesses running around the arena before the incident.

Police sources tell us NYPD got a call for a fight at Barclays involving 25 males ... and EMS was called to the scene to treat injuries.

Unclear what may have triggered the incident, but Khabib did get into a heated confrontation with Conor's good friend and training partner, Artem Lobov, Tuesday at the UFC fighters' hotel in New York.

UFC fighter Felice Herrig says Conor McGregor endangered the lives of everyone at the Barclays Center -- including her own -- and she's GOING OFF on the Irishman for his violent bus attack.

We spoke with Felice in the immediate aftermath of Conor and his goon squad smashing the windows of a bus filled with UFC fighters ... and she told us what he did is unforgivable.

"He put our lives in danger," Herrig told TMZ Sports. "What if a security guy or a cop comes and starts shooting ... somebody gets caught in the line of fire?"

"F**k you, Conor McGregor. F**k you."

FYI, Felice was in a UFC fighters' bus at Barclays that was NOT attacked ... but UFC fighter Michael Chiesa wasn't so lucky, suffering facial lacerations from the broken glass.

Herrig says it's clear Conor thinks he's "untouchable" -- above the law 'cause of all his fame and fortune -- and his actions, no matter the motive, are beyond childish.

12:57 PM PT -- Law enforcement sources tell us the NYPD is looking for McGregor. We're also told detectives are currently interviewing people who were on the scene during the incident.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports there's a warrant out for Conor McGregor's arrest after he and his entourage attacked a bus with UFC fighters at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

However, we have not confirmed that with the NYPD just yet.

According to Dana, law enforcement has told Conor his plane cannot take off from New York and leave the state.

McGregor has been instructed to turn himself into authorities as soon as possible ... and multiple people involved in the incident have vocalized that they plan on suing the Irishman.

Dana says he hasn't spoken with Conor yet, but plans to do so as soon as possible. White says his focus right now is making sure UFC 223 continues as planned.

Dana White has confirmed UFC is trying to seal the deal for CM Punk's next opponent ... and it's Mike "The Truth" Jackson.

Rumors have been swirling for weeks, but White has finally confirmed to TMZ Sports that Jackson -- who also lost to Mickey Gall in his UFC debut -- is the intended target for Punk at UFC 225 in Chicago.

There's more ... Dana also talked about Brock Lesnar's impending return to the Octagon -- telling us Brock's opponent could hinge on who wins the Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier fight.

But, he also flashed a smirk when we mentioned the possibility of a Lesnar vs. Francis Ngannou scrap.

As for Conor McGregor ... we asked how he felt about the Irish superstar referring to him as a "c*nt" -- and shockingly, he wasn't too upset about it ...

If Conor McGregor can fight Floyd Mayweather ... why not Brian Ortega vs. Gennady Golovkin?!

The UFC rising star tells TMZ Sports he's all the way down to take Canelo Alvarez's place in the May 5 boxing match ... now that Canelo has withdrawn from the fight.

"I'm down. I'm down. I'm down," Ortega said while out in NYC to promote UFC 223 ... "I want Triple G."

Look, Ortega -- and his boxing coach James Luhrsen -- know it ain't exactly an even fight ... but Ortega says he's down for the challenge and would work his ass off for a shot at one of the best boxers in the world.

"Triple G, I'm a fan ... If you want to fight an MMA fighter and you're looking for a fight, let's do it, man!"

Most people wouldn't call their bosses a bunch of "c*nts" in public -- but most people aren't Conor McGregor.

The Irish superstar was clearly paying attention to the UFC 223 media event on Wednesday, where Dana White announced he'd be stripping Conor of the 155-pound title to crown the winner of Khabib vs. Max Holloway.

Enter Conor ... who chimed in on social media following the event:

"You’s’ll strip me of nothing you’s do nothing c*nts."

Wonder how Dana's gonna feel about that?

McGregor has been challenging the UFC to strip him for months -- previously saying the organization would need an army to take his gold.

White also announced McGregor would "100%" be fighting for the UFC this year -- but didn't specify an opponent or a date.

Seems likely Conor will face the winner of Khabib vs. Holloway ... but guys like Nate Diaz and Floyd Mayweather are also on the table.

Stay tuned ...

Chris Pratt's Hall of Fame MMA tour has hit Sao Paulo, Brazil -- where the Hollywood stud is takin' on (and takin' down) ANOTHER former UFC heavyweight champ!!

You might remember ... a few months back, the 'Guardians' star was at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Gym in L.A. -- he's a member -- to grapple up with Randy Couture, and did pretty damn well since he used to be a legit amateur wrestler.

This time, Pratt took some time off his "Avengers: Infinity Wars" press tour to practice his double-legs on one of Brazil's most legendary fighters -- Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira!

Chris says he also trained with Minotauro's twin bro, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira ... and couldn't be more thankful for the sesh with two of MMA's GOATs.

Watch your back, evil Marvel dudes.