UFC

There were 2 fights connected to the boxing showdown between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano Saturday night -- the fight in the ring, and the fight between their supporters, Jake Paul and Conor McGregor.

Katie beat Serrano in a split decision at Madison Square Garden. Conor -- true to form -- who's in Katie's corner, zeroed in on Jake on social media, comparing him to deceased BBC personality Jimmy Savile ... a man who was suspected of sexual abuse.

McGregor wrote, "Who the f*** is this jackass in the pink Jimmy Savile glasses?"

Now what a shock, we say jokingly, Jake responded ... "I'm the one who has done more for fighters than you ever have; the one who has won five fights in the past two years while you have lost five."

Jake wasn't done ... "The one who isn’t owned by Dana White, the one who made the fight you just watched happen, the one who got your hero Katie Taylor paid, that’s who."

McGregor's comeback ... a pic of Savile sporting pink glasses similar to the ones Jake wore at the Garden.

The 2 have been trash talking for months now, and ya gotta think a fight would line both their pockets with millions and millions of bucks. Problem for Conor -- Jake is 6'1" and 210 lbs, while Conor's 5'8", and now weighs about 175 lbs.

Rob Font will absolutely take the fight, but the UFC contender tells TMZ Sports he doesn't believe a win over Chito Vera on Saturday will propel him to a title shot ... he thinks he still has work to do.

We talked to the 34-year-old, #5 ranked bantamweight as he began to cut weight earlier this week (Note: Font ended up missing weight, and will lose 20% of his purse) for his fight with Vera at UFC Fight Night -- and we asked if he believed a win sets him up for title shot against Aljamain Sterling.

"It's a great opportunity to get back out there, get some exposure, get another main event. I appreciate that. But, it's not like I go out there and put this guy away, 'I'm getting a title shot,'" Font says.

"But, that's cool, too. I'm coming off a loss. I'm not in denial. Like 'Oh yeah, I deserve a title.' That's why I'm saying one or two away. My main focus is obviously Chito."

It's not the typical response.

In fact, we also talked to Chito ... and although the 29-year-old is ranked a few spots lower than RF at #8, when we asked if a win would put him within one fight of the belt, Vera says the dub over Font could catapult him into the Octagon with Sterling.

"Or, I can fight straight for the belt. You never know what's gonna happen."

Chito continued ... "Winning is everything. You go in there and put on a good performance, you probably get what you wish for."

And, Vera's logic isn't crazy ... "I get in there, put on a great performance, go through him and I become number 5 by next week. And, we go from there. Once you're in the top 5 you're a title contender."

The UFC's bantamweight division is competitive. Aljo just defeated #1 contender, Petr Yan, at UFC 273 a few weeks ago. T.J. Dillashaw, former champion, recovering from ligament injuries he had fixed last summer, is ranked #2. The legend Jose Aldo, #3. Cory Sandhagen, #4. Then Font at 5# ... followed by Merab Dvalishvili, Dominick Cruz, and Marlon at #8.

No easy fights in the top 10 ... but both these men are badasses.

Chito's beaten Sean O'Malley (we know, "still undefeated") and Frankie Edgar. Meanwhile, Font's racked-up wins over Cody Garbrandt, Sergio Pettis and Marlon Moraes.

Check out the clips ... there's more talk about the actual fight.

Jake Paul's bet with Eddie Hearn for this weekend's matchup between Amanda Serrano and Katie Taylor will NOT involve any tattoos -- just a million freakin' dollars!!

It all went down during the final presser for the huge fight going down this Saturday at Madison Square Garden ... with Hearn igniting the wager after he asked Paul about his fighter.

"You're fully confident that your charge will be victorious and become undisputed lightweight world champion?" Hearn asked Paul on Friday.

Of course, JP doubled down on his belief Serrano will come out on top -- and that's when the 25-year-old boxer placed his bet.

"I got a bet for you Eddie," Paul said. "I bet you all the jewelry that I'm wearing right now that Amanda wins the fight."

Hearn hit him back with a couple of jokes ... saying "10 grand is not a lot" -- but Paul insists his diamond chain is worth $500k!

"Maybe we can talk a million," Hearn replied ... and the two shook hands.

Of course, Paul is known for making bets when it comes to the boxing ring -- remember, Tyron Woodley had to get an "I Love You Jake Paul" tattoo after he lost to the 5-0 boxer last August.

The $1 million bet ain't the only big-money deals being made this week ... the two female boxers' purse will be more than that, Paul previously said.

"This is just historic for the sport in general."

Jorge Masvidal has just been ordered by a judge to stay away from Colby Covington ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The Miami-Dade County judge just issued the order at a hearing on Thursday morning, according to a court spokesperson.

Masvidal's attorneys, Bradford Cohen and Mauricio Padilla, tell us the UFC fighter appeared at the hearing over Zoom. They said Covington was on the call as well.

The two attorneys say as part of the order, Masvidal has now been barred from going within 25 feet of Colby.

We're told Cohen, Padilla and Masvidal had no objections to the order ... with the attorneys telling us they "understand [Colby] is scared of Masvidal."

At the hearing, Masvidal also formally pled not guilty to charges that he attacked Covington outside of a restaurant in Miami on March 21.

As we reported, Masvidal has been hit with one count of felony aggravated battery and one count of felony criminal mischief after Covington alleged Jorge punched him multiple times in the attack.

Covington has yet to publicly comment on the incident.

Good news if you're a boxing fan, bad news if you're a boxer -- Canelo Alvarez tells TMZ Sports he isn't even thinking about retirement ... and plans to fight for years to come as he continues to cement his legacy as one of the greatest boxers of all-time.

We talked to the 31-year-old consensus top pound-for-pound boxer in the world .. ahead of his May 7 bout with undefeated (19-0, 11 KOs) 175 lb. champ Dmitry Bivol on DAZN PPV.

Despite the fact that Canelo -- who has been a champion in four different weight classes -- doesn't even turn 32 until this summer, we asked Saul how much longer he saw himself fighting after all he's accomplished in the sport.

"I hope a long time, because I'm gonna miss boxing when I'm retired. Right now, 6 years more, 7, 5, I don't know."

Canelo, who has a pro record of 57-1-2, went on to talk about his continued passion for the sport.

"I love boxing. I love a challenge. I love that adrenaline. I need to accomplish everything to be in the books of history of boxing. That's why I'm here and I love what I do."

About Alvarez's legacy ... we asked him what work was left to be done in order to cement himself as one of, if not the greatest, fighter ever.

"When you see the best fighter go up and down a weight class and beat all the champions? I think nobody, and I try to do my best. For boxing, for me, for my legacy."

The next step in continuing to solidify that all-time legacy is to beat Bivol ... a fight Alvarez admits could be his toughest challenge yet.

"[Dmitry's] a really good boxer. He's a solid champion at 175. It's a dangerous fight. I like it, I love that kind of challenge. I really like it. But, I believe in my abilities, and I'm strong too. So, I'm confident in that, but it's gonna be a really good fight."

If Canelo wins the Bivol fight (and that's no guarantee), we asked him who excited him most in terms of a future opponent -- Gennady "GGG" Golovkin, David Benavidez, Jermall Charlo or someone else?

"I like the idea to be undisputed at 175. That's what I like, but you never know."

FYI, aside from Bivol who would have lost his belt, the champs at light heavyweight (175 lbs.) are Joe Smith Jr. (WBO) and Artur Beterbiev (IBF, WBC).

Tyson Fury just whooped Dillian Whyte in the 6th round of their WBC championship fight at Wembley Stadium on Saturday ... and celebrated his victory by teasing an epic hybrid fight with UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou.

Fury hit Whyte with a vicious right uppercut that sent him falling to the canvas ... and as Whyte stumbled back to his feet, the ref called the fight.

The 33-year-old champ -- who's been teasing his retirement leading up to Saturday's event -- seemingly declared that he was content with his career and ready to hang up the gloves after the win ... saying, "I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King."

Despite the retirement talk, Fury brought Ngannou in the ring during his celebration ... and the two teased an epic heavyweight bout between the baddest from both combat sports -- with Francis suggesting a fight with MMA gloves in a boxing ring.

There are a couple challenges -- first, Ngannou is dealing with a leg injury and will need months to get back to 100% ... and second, he's also in the midst of a contract dispute with the UFC. If he's under contract, he will need Dana White's stamp of approval before taking a fight with Fury.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. ... Conor McGregor??

Maybe ... if the featherweight champ gets to call his next shot, 'cause during a recent conversation with Volkanovski, TMZ Sports asked if he was interested in a scrap with the Irish superstar.

"Oh yeah, I mean [a McGregor fight always interests me], and it's always going to interest a lot of people," Alex, who hasn't lost a fight since 2013, tells us.

"It's always going to be a big fight, there's always going to be money, there's going to be a circus, it's going to be entertaining, it's going to be fun, I'll enjoy that whole f***ing thing."

Of course, Conor hasn't fought since July 2021 ... when he snapped his leg during his third fight with Dustin Poirier.

McGregor is clearly getting closer to making his Octagon return ... and Dana White previously told us he expects the UFC superstar will fight towards the end of the year.

Regarding Conor, there are several potential opponents ... welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, lightweight contender Justin Gaethje, and Volkanovski.

If you've seen Conor lately, you'll know he ain't making 145 lbs. anymore ... but that might play into Alex's hands, as the champ says he wants to move up a weight class and achieve champ-champ status.

FYI, Conor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo are the only UFC fighters to hold two belts at one time.

Check out the extended cut with Alex ... where he and Babcock talk everything from the beatdown of "Korean Zombie" (warrior!) at UFC 273, a trilogy fight with Max Holloway, and whether or not AV's the greatest featherweight ever -- plus much more!

Full interview ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

Bare Knuckle Fighting star Joey Beltran was nearly KO'd before his Thursday night fight -- 'cause the #1 ranked heavyweight tells TMZ Sports he literally began choking at breakfast, and would probably be dead if someone didn't step in and save him.

And, guess who played hero? Bare Knuckle executive David Feldman!!

If you're a fight fan, you know 'The Mexicutioner.' Before joining BKFC (where he has a 5-2-1 record) a few years ago, Joey spent time in the UFC and Bellator.

Beltran was eating breakfast in his hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale when his coach showed him a funny internet video.

"An old school Fear Factor video or something and I started laughing," Beltran tells us.

"Next thing you know, I started choking."

The 40-year-old scrapper says he started panicking when he couldn't cough up the food -- and that's when Feldman came to the rescue.

"Of all people, the boss man had to come up and bust a Heimlich," JB said. "Couple of pumps and I spit it out and I was all good."

"So, contrary to popular people, David Feldman cares about us fighters!"

Despite the scary incident, JB is still scheduled to fight Frank Tate (1-1-1) tonight -- the main event for a loaded fight card.

It's arguably a must win for Beltran ... who's gunning for a rematch with Arnold Adams, the #3 ranked heavyweight fighter who recently beat him in a title fight.

Oscar De La Hoya is being accused of sexually assaulting a woman on two occasions ... with the former co-worker alleging the boxing star brutalized her, causing "severe physical and emotional damage" that plagues her to this day.

But, the boxing Hall of Famer is adamantly denying the claims ... accusing the woman of being nothing more than a bitter employee who was fired.

"Unfortunately, with the twenty-four-hour news cycle, we find ourselves today, more often than not, as the recipient of vindictive and unjust accusations that are interpreted and spread as truth -- without any evidence to support erroneous claims," Oscar's rep told TMZ Sports in a statement.

As for the explosive allegations ... they're part of a larger lawsuit -- initially filed by Casa Mexico Enterprises -- where 49-year-old De La Hoya is a business partner.

ODLH's accuser was sued by Casa Mexico ... before filing a countersuit where she revealed the disturbing claims.

The accuser says she was on a work trip with Oscar and others at the company distillery in Mexico in March 2020. She says while fast asleep, someone began banging on her door. She says she got up and opened the door, only to find ODLH standing there with his pants around his ankles. She claims Oscar pushed his way past her and got into her bed.

The accuser states she got Oscar out of her bed, and back into his own room ... before returning to her room for the night.

However, the next morning she claims she was tasked with waking Oscar up ... and that's when she says things took a turn for the worst.

The alleged victim says she knocked on the door, but didn't get a response. She went inside the room. Once inside, the woman claims Oscar "subsequently pulled [name withheld] into his bed, where he sexually assaulted her."

The lawsuit makes no mention of the woman going to law enforcement ... or alerting Casa Mexico execs.

Unfortunately, the woman says the abuse didn't end there.

Sometime after the Mexico trip, the woman says she went to dinner with work colleagues, including Oscar, before returning to his home after eating.

The woman claims Oscar "revealed and retrieved a sexual object from a stored collection in his house" and "forcibly inserted the sexual object into" the alleged victim's body.

At that point, the woman says she alerted Don Buccio, the Casa Mexico founder, but she says no action was taken.

Despite the serious allegations, De La Hoya believes his name will be cleared.

Bellator star Corey Anderson -- who was dominating his light heavyweight title fight before an inadvertent headbutt ended the fight without a decision -- tells TMZ Sports Vadim Nemkov's mentor and trainer, MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko, was talking s**t after the fight.

"When I got worked up that's cause of Fedor came in and said 'You don't win. You headbutt. You don't win.' Like motherf***er, what? Excuse my language. Like, really Fedor? You gonna say that? So you're trying to tell me I wasn't beating your guy? I wasn't winning this fight?"

32-year-old Anderson faced 29-year-old Nemkov in the finals of the Bellator Light Heavyweight Grand Prix ... with the title, and a million bucks on the line.

With 3 seconds left in the 3rd round (it was a 5 round fight), Corey accidentally headbutted the Russian fighter who was previously undefeated in Bellator's promotion.

Anderson -- who previously fought in the UFC and has beaten the likes of Glover Teixeira and Jan Blachowicz -- was clearly dominating the fight before the headbutt.

Unfortunately for Corey, the ringside doctor ruled the cut was too severe, and Nemkov couldn't continue.

Anderson says he was initially told he won the fight (they even brought in the giant $1 million check) ... before telling Corey they screwed up, and the fight would actually be ruled a "no contest."

That's when Corey says Fedor -- who coaches Nemkov -- started running his mouth.

"I even told Nemkov when I got up, I helped him up earlier, like 'Yo, my bad. That was an accident, nobody's fault.'"

"But [Fedor] came in saying 'You don't win, you only headbutt.' Like really?' Instead of just owning up saying, 'Bro, helluva fight. Sorry about the headbutt. We're running it back.' He gonna say 'You don't win, you only headbutt.'"

"Bro, I don't give a damn who you are, if you're a legend or not."

There's much more with Anderson in the extended interview below!

Dana White says he's hoping to get Jon Jones back in the Octagon this summer ... telling TMZ Sports a fight against former heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic is an obvious move.

Bones hasn't fought since February 2020, when he beat Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision at UFC 247.

We talked to the UFC boss about the superstar's future recently ... and it sounds like this year's International Fight Week is going to be an absolute banger.

"Listen, people have been talking about how awesome this card is, and I was just telling somebody the other day our lineup for this summer is incredible," White said.

"I'm hoping that Jon Jones is gonna be a part of that lineup this summer."

We followed up and asked if this meant we could see Jon take on Francis Ngannou or Stipe Miocic ... and fans of the former champ out of Ohio are gonna be excited.

"Yeah, Stipe makes sense."

As for another UFC legend -- Conor McGregor -- Dana says he's not going to consider giving him a fight until he's 100% and cleared ... and that hasn't happened yet.

It's been nearly four years since Cris Cyborg lost to Amanda Nunes ... but she STILL wants her revenge -- telling TMZ Sports she's still gunning for a rematch with The Lioness.

Cyborg initially lost to the UFC legend in December 2018 -- and she's clearly not over it ... explaining to us out at LAX that she'd love to get another crack.

The 36-year-old says she initially wanted to run things back right after the fight 3.5 years ago -- but wasn't able to make it happen.

Now, she tells us she's down to get it done in any way -- even if that means making the fight happen on their own.

In the meantime, Cyborg is set to square off with Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279 on April 23 ... and she says she's excited to try to get the win even though she's already beaten Blencowe back in Oct. 2020.

As for how much longer Cyborg plans to fight ... she tells us she's still planning to be around for a while -- hoping to get three more years in.

Well, hell has officially frozen over and pigs are flying ... 'cause the long-standing feud between Oscar De La Hoya and Dana White could be coming to an end after the boxing legend told us he wanted to patch up his relationship with the UFC president.

TMZ Sports talked to De La Hoya and his girlfriend Holly Sonders outside the Christian Louboutin store in Beverly Hills ... when the conversation turned to Las Vegas, and eventually the UFC honcho.

"I wanna fix things up with Dana."

You probably know ... Dana and Oscar pretty much hate each other's guts. They've both gone back and forth, verbally eviscerating each other in the process.

"I criticized the UFC a bit and I was wrong for it but yeah, I would love to patch things up with Dana and Mayweather."

It's gotten personal -- very personal -- between the men over the years (search YouTube) ... but it's clear Oscar had a change of heart and wants to squash the beef.

ODLH says he's building a house with Holly in Sin City (which happens to be Dana's backyard, where he lives and runs the UFC ... and actually wants to work with White as business partners.

"I have some big plans for Vegas."

As for Floyd Mayweather ... TBE and Floyd previously fought each other in 2007, where Mayweather won by split decision. Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy, Oscar's promotion, also worked together for years.

Question is ... after all the barb's back-and-forth, will Dana and/or Floyd be open to the peace talks??

UFC contender Belal Muhammad says Khamzat Chimaev proved he's the real deal in his battle with bonafide title contender Gilbert Burns ... and now the 6th ranked welterweight says he's aiming to be the man who ruins Borz's undefeated record.

"[Khamzat] fought with the #2 guy in the world in his 11th fight, so I think we learned how tough he is. I still think he's a great fighter and a great challenge for me, cause he's still undefeated now. I want to take his '0.'"

Of course, Chimaev fought Burns at UFC 273 ... and won by unanimous decision. The fight was great -- a Fight Of The Year candidate.

It was the first time Khamzat was pushed in a fight. In fact, in his first four UFC fights, Khamzat was only hit one time.

But, Burns landed over 100 strikes ... and many were big, heavy shots.

33-year-old Muhammad -- who hasn't lost since January 2019 -- is set to face #5 welterweight, Vicente Luque, Saturday at UFC Fight Night.

And, Belal says watching GB and KC perform made him want to push himself.

"That fight was amazing, it was a great back and forth war and it just made me wanna level up," Muhammad says, adding, "Later, I hopped on the treadmill, I started jogging five miles right away while the main event was still on. I was like, 'alright now I know what I need to do.'"

We also talked to Luque ... and like Belal, he says the Khamzat and Gilbert fight has him pumped up and ready to go!

Kamaru Usman -- the UFC welterweight champ and top pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world -- is breaking his silence on (likely) future opponent Khamzat ... telling TMZ Sports, he's down to fight Chimaev, but it's gonna cost him that undefeated record!

"I've never had a doubt that I can and will or would beat anyone in the world," Usman plainly told us when we asked if he had any uncertainty that he could beat Khamzat after watching the Burns fight.

It's the first time the 34-year-old star -- who hasn't lost in nearly a decade -- has talked about Chimaev, who is now the #3 ranked UFC welterweight, since UFC 273.

Prior to the fight, Khamzat had literally been hit a grand total of one time during his four UFC fights. However, that all changed when Burns put a hurtin' on Chimaev, landing over 100 strikes during their three-round brawl which KC won by unanimous decision.

We asked Usman if he saw any weaknesses he could take advantage of in Chimaev's game.

"Absolutely. That's what I'm supposed to do. That's my job. That's just how I roll, what I do. I dissect each and every situation all the time, and I definitely did in that fight. But, there were a lot of things there that I knew were present all along."

Holes in his game aside, Kamaru isn't downplaying Chimaev's accomplishments, admitting he's been pretty impressive.

"This kid has done a good job going out there and defeating the #2 guy in the division. So, yeah, if that's the next fight after Edwards, then that's the next fight. But, Edwards is our focus right now," Usman says.

FYI, Kamaru and #2 ranked Leon Edwards are supposed to fight sometime this year ... though contracts haven't yet been signed.

And, whenever the Chimaev fight makes sense, Usman is ready to roll.

"I'm just focused on the next one, and if it's Edwards, so be it, I'll be prepared, I'll be ready to go in there and do what I do best."

"If it's Chimaev, I'll be ready to do what I do best. If it's the little Irish guy [Conor McGregor], I'll be ready to do what I do. That's why you're given the title of pound-for-pound best."

Paige VanZant is super pissed at JetBlue for apparently canceling her flight without letting her know ... and the AEW star let them have it, blasting them online.

The 28-year-old fighter/wrestler ripped the airline on Thursday via Instagram -- alleging JB royally screwed her over at a Florida airport.

"F U JetBlue," VanZant said, "Just sat at my gate for over an hour waiting for my flight."

"Never got an updated gate or delay info. Went to ask where the flight is. Apparently, they changed the gate and didn't tell anymore."

Her flight was pushed to Friday, which sent PVZ through the roof when she realized other families were stranded, too.

"They will not get us on a flight until tomorrow. I'm lucky I live in Florida. What about all these other families!!!!"

"Multiple families with nowhere to sleep. JetBlue you suck."

To make matters worse, VanZant says her flight was delayed again on Friday but finally took off this morning.

We reached out to JetBlue for a comment ... but so far, no word back.

According to VanZant's IG, it looks like she's heading to LAX ... where we spoke to her last month about her new AEW deal.