UFC

Greg Hardy vs. Shawne Merriman ... in a fist fight?!

Yeah, this could actually happen.

Shawne -- the former NFL superstar -- is about to compete in his first bare knuckle boxing match ... and if he wins, "Lights Out" says he'd LOVE to get in the ring against Hardy.

Of course, Hardy has been crushing everybody since transitioning from the NFL to MMA -- and has already earned a development contract with the UFC.

Now, Merriman is following Hardy's lead ... sorta.

The ex-Chargers Pro Bowl linebacker signed a deal with the World Bare Knuckle Fighting Federation to brawl on Nov. 9 against Mike Bourke -- a dude who once knocked out Ken Shamrock.

If Merriman wins, he tells TMZ Sports ... a superfight with Hardy would be awesome.

"I'll definitely be open to see what Greg Hardy got to offer."

By the way, this isn't some fun experiment for Merriman -- he's been seriously training for years and believes, since he's only 34, he can have a real future in combat sports.

It all starts with Mike Bourke -- and Shawne says he's already putting together his fight plan.

Fresh off his destruction of Darren Till, UFC champ Tyron Woodley is now targeting the rap game -- dropping his first single with Wiz Khalifa ... "I'll Beat Yo Ass!!!"

The Chosen One gave us a taste on 'The Hollywood Beatdown' -- explaining how a late-night recording session turned into a bangin' new anthem ... and why some of the biggest names in hip-hop are getting involved.

And, he's already got Snoop Dogg down for the remix!!!!

There's a lot more ...

Tyron also explains how he dislocated his thumb punching Till's face at UFC 228 -- but it won't stop him from fighting Colby Covington at UFC 230 in November ... if the paycheck's right.

And, Logan Paul vs. Sage Northcutt?? Tyron says Sage better not underestimate the YouTube star ...

Hell, Tyron says he's even down to TRAIN Logan if he's serious about trying to fight in the UFC.

Who gets punched in the face this week? Watch and find out.

If Logan Paul REALLY wants an MMA fight -- Sage Northcutt tells TMZ Sports he's READY!!!

Remember, before his big boxing match with KSI, Logan said his dream is to fight in the UFC.

Well, Sage has 8 fights in the UFC under his belt -- and told us, if Logan is serious ... bring it on!

"I think my fans would love watching that," 22-year-old Northcutt said on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1).

"It could be massive."

Sage says he's impressed with Logan's high school wrestling accomplishments (he placed in the Ohio state tournament, one of the most respected state tourneys in the country).

He also watched Logan's boxing match and thinks the dude has real talent.

"I would like to see myself fight him ... I think it would be a good match-up."

And, if Logan isn't down for a true mixed martial arts fight -- Sage says he's down for a traditional boxing match, too.

"This actually could be really cool."

Cops have arrested ex-UFC fighter Melvin Guillard for that brutal bar attack in Colorado last week -- and it turns out he's facing domestic violence charges for allegedly attacking his GF back in April.

We broke the story ... Guillard was allegedly captured on video beating the hell out of people at Bar Standard on Sept. 3 -- knocking at least one man out cold.

Officials issued a warrant for his arrest -- but didn't have to look too hard for the guy ... since he had a court date in CO on Sept. 10 for ANOTHER assault case.

Turns out, Guillard was arrested back in April for allegedly roughing up and strangling his girlfriend during a heated drunken argument.

According to the police report, the alleged victim told cops she had asked Guillard when he was finally going to leave his wife so they could be together ... and that's when he snapped.

She claims Guillard choked her multiple times -- and at one point, "she was scared he 'might kill her.'"

When cops arrived, they noticed injuries to her face and neck and arrested Guillard on the spot for 2nd-degree assault, strangulation.

He was due to appear in court for that case on Sept. 10 -- and when he showed up, he was taken into custody for the Sept. 3 bar attack.

Guillard was booked for 2nd and 3rd-degree assault for the bar fight. He was arraigned early Thursday morning. We're told he's still in custody.

The 35-year-old fighter was a rising star in MMA when he first started out, appearing on "The Ultimate Fighter" Season 2 ... and beat UFC stud Jeremy Stephens back in 2010.

He also got beat up by some of the biggest names in the business including Nate Diaz, Justin Gaethje and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.

Here's new video of Conor McGregor hitting the gym to prep for his superfight with Khabib Nurmagomedov -- and he looks scary good.

He's sparring, he's grappling, he's knocking people on their asses ... it's impressive stuff.

Of course, Conor hasn't had an MMA fight since defeating Eddie Alvarez at UFC 205 in 2016 -- but he's booked to make his triumphant return to the Octagon at UFC 229 on Oct. 6.

Some people are worried Conor could have "ring rust" -- but when you're looking at the new highlight video, he seems sharp and strong.

Obviously, it's heavily edited -- but we all know what Conor's capable of ... and it's cool to see him back in beast mode.

As for Khabib, that dude is an absolute monster -- he's 26-0 and beat the dog snot out of just about everyone he's faced.

The two have bad blood -- remember, when Conor attacked that bus at Barclay's Center back in April, he was gunning for Khabib ... who had disrespected one of Conor's training partners earlier that week.

Floyd Mayweather dished out advice for Khabib -- telling him not to underestimate Conor, who's a "warrior."

Conor shot back with some insults for the entire Mayweather family.

Wanna hear something gross? Imagine putting your opponent in a KNEEBAR and then hearing it POP!!!!!

That's exactly what happened to UFC star Aljamain Sterling this weekend -- when he was ripping away at Cody Stamann's knee and heard it explode right in the Octagon!

The "Funkmaster" was ripping Stamann's left leg over his head with an excruciatingly painful move, when he pulled just a little too hard and heard the joint go snap, crackle, POP!

"I heard it bro," Sterling tells TMZ Sports ... "It was a nasty one!"

Sterling says he feels bad for Stamann and hopes he heals up soon -- but fears the dude tore his LCL and maybe even more ... judging by the way the injury went down.

Injury aside, Sterling's victory was super impressive and Aljamain says Dana White took notice -- even promising to send him a little bonus check in the mail for putting on a show at UFC 228.

Congrats, man ... you earned it!

It was just a matter of time, but Conor McGregor has finally been sued by a UFC fighter for that April bus attack at Barclay's Center where he threw a steel dolly through a window, injuring several people.

The man behind the first lawsuit is Michael Chiesa -- who was scheduled to fight Anthony Pettis at UFC 223 but was forced to pull out due to the injuries he received in the bus attack.

As we previously reported, Chiesa was on the bus with several fighters and UFC staffers when Conor and his gang of hooligans went berserk. Chiesa suffered cuts to his body and face.

According to the lawsuit filed in state court in New York, Chiesa says he also suffered "severe emotional distress, mental trauma and/or bodily harm."

Chiesa is suing McGregor for assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

He's also going after the Barclay's Center for negligence, claiming they failed "to engage in proper security measures to protect the plaintiff and other patrons."

Chiesa doesn't specify how much he's going after in the suit -- but he's clearly looking for a big number because part of the damages he's seeking are the paychecks he lost due to missing that massive UFC event.

Conor was arrested after the incident and charged with felony criminal mischief and 3 counts of misdemeanor assault. However, he later struck a plea deal with prosecutors in which he pled guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct and the other counts (including the felony) were dropped.

Conor issued a statement thanking the D.A. for "allowing me to move forward."

There were other fighters injured in the attack including Rose Namajunas who has also told the media she was emotionally scarred. She hasn't sued yet, but that's only a matter of time.

Tyron Woodley says his skull-crushing victory over Darren Till at UFC 228 solidifies him as the greatest welterweight fighter of ALL TIME ... putting him over Georges St-Pierre.

"The Chosen One" was fired up Monday morning after notching his 4th title defense in a row -- but admitted to TMZ Sports his elbow and hands were sore from bashing in Till's face.

"I don't think [he landed one shot on me]. I think the stats show one, but I didn't feel one. His head connected with my elbow a lot. That motherf**ker is sore," Tyron said.

"I'm like, 'Damn! What's your head made out of?!'"

As far as his legacy is concerned, Tyron says there's no question -- "I am the greatest welterweight of all time. No disrespect to Georges St-Pierre, but I don't have to fight him to prove that."

Tyron goes on to explain why he deserves the #1 spot over GSP.

By the way, Tyron has previously called out GSP to his face on "The Hollywood Beatdown" back in November ... but St-Pierre wouldn't commit to a scrap.

By the way, we also asked Tyron if there's a chance he'd fight Conor McGregor down the line -- since the two had beef backstage at UFC 205 back in 2016 ... and Tyron's definitely down.

Tyron told us Conor needs to focus on getting through Khabib Nurmagomedov next month first -- and then "maybe" the two can work something out.

Ex-MMA star War Machine insists he's no longer the woman-beating maniac he used to be -- he's found Jesus and changed his life ... and he's begging his ex-GF for forgiveness.

War Machine's story made national headlines -- he was a super talented UFC fighter who lost it all in 2014 when he viciously attacked his then-girlfriend, Christy Mack, when he caught her with another man.

Mack's injuries were horrific -- 18 broken bones, broken eye socket, broken nose and a lacerated liver. The other victim, Corey Thomas, was choked out and bitten before escaping.

War Machine was eventually convicted on 29 felony counts and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 36 years.

Now, the imprisoned fighter -- real name Jon Koppenhaver -- is speaking for the first time from behind bars as part of a documentary by Jon Bravo ... and he's expressing serious remorse.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't regret that, and I hate it," he says.

"Nobody hates me as much as I hate the man that I used to be."

Machine says he initially blamed Christy for the incident because she was cheating on him -- but has now realized none of it was her fault ... he was the bad guy, period.

"From the bottom of my heart, I apologize to Christy. I'm sorry, Christy."

Conor McGregor just got called the HELL out, and not by a scrub either ...

The guy doing the talking is 28-0 welterweight champ Keith "One Time" Thurman, who says he'd destroy Conor on any shaped mat -- that includes Octagons.

McGregor has obviously tried his hand at boxing before, getting beat up by Floyd Mayweather in Vegas last summer ... Keith told TMZ Sports if he ever got his hands on Conor, it'd be WORSE.

"I'd beat Conor McGregor's ass, I'd beat his ass. He would've got knocked out. If he fought a real young welterweight ... he would've got knocked out for the whole world to see."

He's obviously referring to the boxing ring -- but if you think Thurman is scared to beat Conor at HIS game ... you're wrong.

"I'll take Conor in the Octagon. Ain't like he's throwing a lot of kicks anyway."

BTW ... anyone wondering when Keith is coming back to boxing, he addresses his future below, and it seems either Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter, or Manny Pacquiao is in for a headache.

NBA stud Deron Williams was once offered a real-deal fight with Greg Hardy ... and wanna guess what his response was??

Yeah, it was a firm HELL NO.

Deron is actually a pretty legit MMA fighter ... dude has a serious wrestling background and he even co-owns Fortis MMA in Dallas where 3 fighters on the UFC 228 card train.

In fact ... UFC heavyweight Rashad Coulter -- who works out with Williams -- tells TMZ Sports, "He's a good wrestler and has fast hands."

But, when word of those skills got around to the Legacy Fighting Alliance -- where Hardy used to scrap -- they asked if Deron wanted to fight Greg ... D-Will's response was a swift no.

"Are they crazy right now!?" Williams says.

"Greg Hardy has to cut weight to make 265. You think I'm getting in there with that animal!?"

Williams tells us there is one scenario where he might step into the Octagon for real -- albeit not against Hardy -- saying he'd be down to fight one day for charity.

As for his basketball future ... Williams sure seems like he's done with the NBA -- although he ain't officially closing that door yet.

UFC champ Tyron Woodley says he LOVES that Nike signed Colin Kaepernick -- because it's inspiring and brave ... and he strongly believes the QB is continuing the legacy of Muhammad Ali.

"When Muhammad Ali died, I think [Kaepernick] took the torch."

Tyron says Kaep could have easily taken his NFL money and shut up somewhere -- ignoring the glaring issues when it comes to police brutality against minorities ... but he did the courageous thing and spoke out.

... just like Ali.

There's a lot more on this episode of 'The Hollywood Beatdown' -- including Tyron's weight cut for his UFC 228 fight against Darren Till.

Tyron tells us everything about all of his last minute preparations -- including final meals and what music he listens to right before walking into the Octagon.

It's great stuff.

Ex-UFC fighter Melvin Guillard -- who fought the likes of Nate Diaz and Justin Gaethje -- brutally attacked and KO'd a man in a Colorado bar ... and now cops are on the hunt.

TMZ Sports has obtained surveillance footage which shows the 35-year-old getting into it with several people at Bar Standard in Denver around 2 AM on Monday morning.

After some pushing and shoving, you can see Guillard -- with his trademark bleach blonde hair -- cold-cock a bar patron in the face ... knocking the guy out cold before he hit the floor.

The victim was clearly unconscious and people ran to tend to him -- while a female patron tried to attack Guillard in retaliation. Guillard hit her too.

TMZ Sports spoke with a Denver Police Dept. spokesperson who told us several witnesses were able to identify the attacker as Guillard ... and now a warrant has been issued for his arrest.

Guillard was a pretty promising MMA fighter when he first started out -- appearing on "The Ultimate Fighter" season 2. He famously scored a victory against UFC stud Jeremy Stephens back in 2010.

But, he also got his ass kicked a lot ... chalking up Ls to guys like Nate Diaz, Israel Adesanya, Justin Gaethje, Michael Johnson and Donald Cerrone.

The UFC is the gift that keeps on giving, especially if you're one of the guys who sold it for max profit ... and later got some of the biggest names in music for your kid's wedding.

Frank Fertitta's daughter, Kelley, got hitched this weekend in Vegas to her man, Tyler, in what turned out to be one hell of a shindig -- 'cause they got guys like Bruno Mars, John Mayer and Seal to perform live. Needless to say ... that can't come cheap.

It all went down Saturday at the Red Rock Casino, with Bruno clearly being the biggest name on the bill. Based on video that was taken up close, it looks like he had close to a full band performing with him ... and belted out a few songs as part of his set.

John Mayer's performance from the rehearsal dinner appeared to be a bit more low-key and subtle (that's kinda his thing) ... but Seal's time on the mic day-of seemed to be the most intimate. He was on the dance floor singing to (and with, honestly) the crowd around him. Other notable guests of honor included EDM DJ Marshmello ... and none other than the king of UFC himself, Dana White.

In case you weren't familiar, Frank and his brother, Lorenzo, bought UFC back in 2001 for $2 million ... and sold it just a couple years ago for a reported $4 BILLION. So yeah ... the Fertatti family's set for life. It's no wonder they could snag such A-list talent -- they're freakin' loaded!!

Fresh off snatchin' James Vick's soul, Justin Gaethje's got a wish list of 3 of the baddest MF'ers in the UFC -- Conor McGregor, Tony Ferguson and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Gaethje joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (weeknights on FS1) just days after his devastating 87 second KO victory ... and he ain't lookin' to wait long before stepping back in the Octagon.

"Now, I needed this so bad. We're right back in the mix," Gaethje says ... "I'll even fight the loser of Khabib and Conor. Hell, I'm in."

Gaethje also says he's got work for Tony Ferguson -- who's fighting on the Conor-Khabib UFC 229 card in October.

"If something happens with Anthony Pettis. He stubs his toe, rolls an ankle. I'm in. I'll fight October 6th verse [Ferguson]. That's for damn sure."

"He's coming off a leg injury. I'll go in there and chop it off the rest of the way."

Mike Perry is hoping for a second shot at a first impression with Jon Jones ... 'cause the UFC fighter was HIGH AS BALLS when the two met earlier this month -- and he says Jon kinda hated him for it.

The hilarious tale all went down after Mike landed in Albuquerque to train at Jackson Wink MMA Academy ... when Perry decided eating a weed brownie before meeting one of the best ever would be a good idea.

"I had this f*cking brownie, and I was dead when Jon came through," Mike says.

"I didn't know it was going to be like that! So, Jon's like a little disappointed in me, because our first meeting the other day I was high as hell on some brownie!!"

Mike says he tried to mend the fences ... and he thinks he might have salvaged it -- 'cause he says Jon's agreed to grapple with him.