UFC

UFC star Luke Rockhold banged his shin -- and accidentally opened a gash on his leg that needed so many stitches, the guy lost count.

We spoke with Rockhold, who says his shin was surgically repaired after his fight with Yoel Romero back in February ... but the wound reopened while he was training this past weekend.

So, Luke went back to the doctor who needed to sew his shin shut -- and the whole thing was insanely graphic ... we're talking lots of blood and gore.

There's bad news and good news ...

The bad news ... Luke says he can't fight again until at least October, so the fight he was targeting with Alexander Gustafsson is off for now.

Rampage Jackson is putting an end to rumors he's headed to an MMA fight with 50 Cent -- telling TMZ Sports there's no way in hell Fiddy ever REALLY gets in a cage with him.

50 started trash talking Rampage earlier this month -- saying he's the superior "Jackson" and would wreck the former UFC champ if they ever stepped in a cage.

The rapper fueled speculation that the two were working on a deal when he posted a photo with Bellator president Scott Coker.

So, when we saw Rampage at LAX, we had to ask ... and Jackson told us straight-up he's INCREDIBLY ANNOYED by all the fight talk ... 'cause it's never happening!

"50 probably drinking too much of that champagne that he got," Rampage said ... "Who actually think 50 trying to fight?

"I just don't feel like 50 trying to step in no cage with me ... he ain't no fighter."

"I ain't trying to challenge him to no rap battles."

Rampage added ... "It's annoying as f*ck."

UFC star Rose Namajunas has a message for Joanna Jedrzejczyk -- want a rematch? Hope you're ready to PUBLICLY stuff your face with a fat ol' piece of humble pie!

Of course, Rose already smashed Joanna TWICE -- ending Jedrzejczyk's historic 14-fight win streak. But Joanna wants a 3rd crack at the 25-year-old champ.

"She knows I'm the best," Rose tells TMZ Sports ... "But she won't admit it to anybody."

Well, if Joanna wants a third fight, Rose says that's gotta change.

"If she says that I'm the best PUBLICLY," Rose says ... she'll CONSIDER another rematch.

"Just say it!"

If JJ can't bring herself to make the public declaration, Rose says she's moving on with her life and career ... but doesn't rule out a 3rd clash with Joanna somewhere down the line.

"I'd be interested to see how she does with somebody else before even entertaining that possibility."

How freakin' bad does UFC star Kamaru Usman HATE Colby Covington?

"If I see this beady-eyed, snake-head-lookin' dude in any room, my heart rate goes up. I just want to punch a hole through his head."

Yeah, that bad.

We talked to Usman -- the 7th ranked welterweight in the world -- the day before his headlining UFC Fight Night against Demian Maia in Chile.

Kamaru says the whole division knows he's the best fighter -- even champ Tyron Woodley -- but there's only 1 guy who gets his blood boiling.

Covington.

The beef goes back ... Usman once told us C.C. had "p***y-itis," and they almost came to blows before UFC 223.

So, if Usman leaves the Octagon with a W Saturday ... you know who's next up on the wish list -- and if it goes according to plan, there will be blood.

"I just want to punch a hole through his head."

Tyron Woodley came thiiiiiiis close to beating the dog snot out of YouTube star Vitaly when a stupid prank crossed the line ... and Tyron's still fuming about it.

FYI, Vitaly is famous for screwing with big stars like Kim Kardashian -- but when he tried to punk Tyron with an ass-grabbing stunt in L.A., the UFC star says things got really heated.

"His [stunt] almost got him knocked out," Tyron said on "The Hollywood Beatdown."

"I said, 'Do you know who I am? I will knock your ass out in the middle of the street.'"

Don't worry, Tyron let the dude live ... but it's clear he doesn't like the guy.

So, when Vitaly made a racist joke while weighing in on the upcoming KSI vs. Logan Paul fight, Tyron unleashed some of the fury.

There's more ... Tyron revealed some behind the scenes secrets from the new Stallone flick, 'Escape Plan 2' ... and tells us how he got the producers to hire one of his NFL star friends.

And, if you're sick of the Royal Wedding, you're gonna love watching Tyron go in on the British.

He just turned 1 ... but Conor McGregor Jr. already has his own house!!

Yeah, it's a bouncy house ... but it's dope and it's all set up at the UFC fighter's massive Ireland estate.

Conor Sr. is getting in some quality father-son time before he goes back to fighting ... and it's pretty cute. He even pushes the kid on a swing and CJ loves it.

It's a different side of Conor ... much different than the raging maniac we saw in Brooklyn, when he went berserk on a UFC bus and injured several people.

Makes you wonder if Conor ... a master P.R. guy ... is using social media to rehab his image, especially with criminal charges still looming in NY.

If he does avoid jail time -- next up is likely a date with Khabib Nurmagomedov ... one of the most violent men on the planet.

'Ultimate Fighter' star Tyler Diamond is giving the blow-by-blow about the violent incident at an MMA event where Nate Diaz slapped him in the face ... and it's nuts.

Diamond -- an undefeated fighter who's killing it on 'TUF' -- says he was at a Combate Americas event in Sacramento on Friday when he saw Nate get into it with his pal, Clay Guida.

Diamond says he got in the middle of the ruckus to try and break it up ... but Nate reached out and slapped him in the face before another guy in Diaz's crew followed up with a punch.

"I get punched from my left side by some big fat dude who don't pack no heat -- I would love to fight that guy, actually."

Diamond says a melee ensued but Nate's crew quickly realized they were outnumbered and retreated.

Now, the Sacramento Sheriff's Dept. says they took reports for a possible misdemeanor battery and will investigate the incident.

Diamond says he thinks Nate's a bitch -- but he doesn't want to prosecute.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... since there were no major injuries, the incident isn't really a high priority for cops.

Nate's camp had no comment.

UFC fighter Raquel Pennington says she would have been "devastated" if her corner would have thrown in the towel during UFC 224 ... saying, "I'm glad they didn't let me quit."

Pennington's corner has been under fire for not throwing in the towel when she told them she had nothing left after the 4th round of her fight with Amanda Nunes.

Raquel says her corner team has been beating themselves up for talking her into fighting in the 5th round ... but she insists they only did what SHE wanted them to do.

"If I truly wanted out of there, I could have turned around [to the ref] and waved out of the fight," Pennington says.

In fact, she says her coach did give her the motivation she needed to get back out there ... and does NOT feel like her team ever put her in real danger.

Ex-UFC star Tim Kennedy said the reason he decided to get waterboarded was to show the world, "We're not a bunch of spineless cowards" ... and insists it didn't even hurt.

Kennedy -- a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper -- let his friends waterboard him for about 45 minutes over the weekend ... and live streamed it to show the world why it shouldn't be considered torture.

"It feels like you're drowning. It feels like it, but you're not," Kennedy tells TMZ Sports.

"Because the water is going down in the back of your eyes, up your nose, it's pooling in the back of your throat. You’re trying to hold your breath, but all that water is pounding at the back of your throat, so you can't hold your breath."

"It's uncomfortable. It doesn’t feel good. It's not like, 'Let's go get a spa treatment.' A little face massage. It's an uncomfortable thing. But, it's a very effective thing."

Kennedy is adamant waterboarding should NOT be considered torture -- and explained his point in graphic detail.

UFC fighter Ray Borg says tough genes run in the family ... with his newborn son fighting like a champ after undergoing his 2nd major brain surgery

Ray's son, Anthony, was diagnosed with hydrocephalus -- excess fluid in the brain -- after a premature birth at the end of March.

Anthony underwent two major brain surgeries -- and unfortunately suffered seizures -- but the good news ... Ray says things have taken a turn for the better and he's getting healthier every day.

Still, the medical costs are adding up so Ray started a GoFundMe page ... and his MMA pal Cody Garbrandt stepped up in a big way, donating $1,000.

Pretty cool right?!

Don't get it twisted, Ray says this experience has been one of the hardest things he's ever had to go through in his life ... but he's hopeful he'll get to take his son home soon.

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is PRAISING Raquel Pennington's corner for talking her out of quitting after the 4th round at UFC 224 ... saying Raquel would live to regret it if she did.

Pennington was getting pummeled by Amanda Nunes during the championship fight Saturday night -- and told her corner, "I'm done. I want to be done."

Her coaches talked her out of quitting and they've been catching hell ever since ... with many critics saying they failed in their duty to protect Pennington's health since she lost in the 5th round anyway.

But, Faber is not one of those critics ... saying the corner did exactly what they were supposed to do -- motivated her to take advantage of her championship opportunity.

Plus, Faber points out ... "If she really wanted out of the fight, she could have told the ref."

Urijah says he would hope his corner would do the same exact thing if he was in Raquel's position -- because quitting on the stool is a decision fighters regret for the rest of their lives.

Ex-UFC star Tim Kennedy -- a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper -- doesn't believe waterboarding should be considered torture ... and to prove his point, he turned the hose on himself.

Yep, Kennedy and his pals waterboarded each other for roughly 45 minutes on Friday ... and barely even flinched.

So ... why???

Kennedy says the move was to show support for Gina Haspel, Trump's pick to lead the CIA. Haspel has been criticized for using waterboarding and other interrogation methods at black sites during her CIA career.

"It’s not torture!!!!" Kennedy wrote ... "Hell we had elk tacos and wine afterwards. Wake up people. #waterboarding."

Kennedy also described -- in detail -- the waterboarding technique -- "They wouldn’t tell me when they were going to put the towel on they would just smash it on my face and start pouring. You can’t hold your breath while they do it because the water runs down your sinuses. The water run through your eyes, down your nose, and pools at the back of your throat."

Still, seems Haspel could have an uphill battle -- with people like John McCain arguing against her nomination due to her connection to questionable interrogation methods.

Wiz Khalifa says he completely AGREES with Jay Glazer ... that he's good enough to take a pro MMA fight if he wanted to.

There's just one catch ... HE NEEDS A CRAPLOAD OF MONEY!

Earlier this week, Glazer raved about Wiz ... saying the rapper is an absolute beast in the gym -- and has legit power.

So, when we saw Wiz at LAX we asked if there was a chance ... and he didn't say no!

"You got to pay me a whole bunch of money to get me to fight, man."

Wiz says he still likes rapping better than fighting -- but he really enjoys training with some of the best MMA stars in the world.

"It's just fun, man."

Dillon Danis needs to stop "living in the shadow" of Conor McGregor ... so says undefeated Bellator star and potential D.D. opponent Neiman Gracie.

Danis -- Conor's training partner and friend (he bailed McGregor outta jail) -- made his pro MMA debut last month ... winning his first fight in under 2 minutes.

After the fight, Dillon gave a Conor McGregor-esque promo in the cage ... calling out the entire roster.

So, who's next for the rising star?

Neiman -- a 4th generation member of the Gracie fam who's 8-0 -- says he is ... if Danis has the balls to fight him.

"I talked to the Bellator guys. They say they're going to offer him the fight."

Stay tuned.

UFC superstar Nick Diaz says he was poisoned "with some kind of weird ass drug" before he fought Georges St-Pierre back in 2013 ... telling TMZ Sports there was a diabolical plot against him.

Diaz was leaving Catch in L.A. Friday night when we asked about the allegations his brother Nate made about GSP -- that he was a steroid cheater at UFC 158, a fought Nick lost in a 5-round unanimous decision.

Nate had previously said he will not fight GSP until he admits he cheated publicly.

Enter Nick ... who doubled down on the cheating allegations and then accused someone -- he doesn't name anyone specifically -- of poisoning an IV he was administered before the fight in Montreal, GSP's hometown.

Diaz insists he was in the best shape of his life at the time but something caused his body to fail on the night of the fight ... and he believes he was sandbagged.

Nick also touched on his previous allegations that the Quebec Athletic Commission didn't really test the fighters before his match with GSP, and his proof is ... he knows he should have tested positive for weed, but didn't.

Tyron Woodley says Georges St-Pierre and Nate Diaz have something in common -- they're both punk bitches.

The Chosen One went off on both fighters on 'The Hollywood Beatdown' ... blasting the UFC stars for refusing to fight him over the past 6 months while working on a deal to fight each other instead.

He's mad. You gotta watch.

There's a lot more ... including Tyron's take on that brutal fight after the Met Gala involving Cardi B's entourage ... and his blunt advice for DJ Khaled, who refuses to participate in certain activities with women.

Tyron also breaks down the new Conor McGregor sparring footage and tells us why he's actually impressed!

Plus, Tyron wants to take Evan for a real-life streetfight ... good times!