UFC

Kim Kardashian's new podcast is taking over ... quite literally.

Her big true crime project, "The System," shot to the top of Spotify's "Top Podcasts" list this week -- surging past "The Joe Rogan Experience" and even the famed "Call Her Daddy" ... which fell in line behind her at #2 and #3, respectively.

Meghan Markle's podcast, "Archetypes," was #4 -- and from there you got "Huberman Lab," "Crime Junkie," "The Try Pod" and "On Purpose with Jay Shetty" ... in that order.

It's pretty impressive, considering this is less than a week old. If you're unfamiliar -- this first season of "The System" tackles a case pertaining to convicted murderer Kevin Keith ... whom Kim believes is innocent, only to dive deep into the deets/evidence.

Clearly there's interest in what she has to say in a podcast setting, but keep in mind -- this is a Spotify exclusive ... so it's hard to tell how "The System" would translate across other platforms. Rogan and Markle's podcasts are also exclusive to them -- so jury's out there too.

In any case ... she's all in on promoting it. Looks like KK snapped up some old-fashioned billboard advertising in Calabasas to plug the podcast, with her face front and center.

Aljamain Sterling wholeheartedly believes TJ Dillashaw is juicing, telling TMZ Sports he's "100%" confident the former champ is cheating!!

"I'm excited, man. I can't wait to be standing across the cage and hear Bruce Buffer just go, 'two-time UFC former bantamweight champion Pill.J DillaRoid,' and I'm just gonna be like 'Yeah I'm gonna f**k this guy up!'"

The 33-year-old bantamweight champion is fighting the #2 ranked fighter at UFC 280 in Abu Dhabi on October 22.

You may remember ... TJ was suspended for 2 years for using EPO, a banned substance, during his title fight with Henry Cejudo. TJ admitted to what he did, apologized, and vowed to never again cheat.

But, Aljo ain't buyin' it.

"I think this is a legacy fight for myself to beat a guy like this who's been cheating for years and beating a lot of people for years. I think it does a huge boost to my stock and just go out there and have a good performance. The rest will take care of itself."

We asked Sterling ... you really think TJ's still doping?

"100% man! That guy knows the ins and outs of that whole thing," Aljamain said.

There's much more ... we also talked to Aljamain about the fight, and how he sees himself getting the win.

Sean O'Malley isn't an underdog often (in fact, it's never happened in the UFC) -- but "Suga" ain't sweating the betting odds for his fight with Petr Yan -- he actually sees it as an opportunity to make a bundle of cash!

"3 to 1. Sounds like some die-hard Suga fans could really make some serious cheddar," O'Malley told TMZ Sports earlier this week.

"I know a lot of people always bet on me, it's always kind of hard to make good money on me because I'm always the pretty big favorite. It's very interesting being an underdog. At the end of the day, it doesn't really mean anything to me but it is, it's kinda nice."

27-year-old O'Malley is fighting 29-year-old Yan at UFC 280 on Fight Island ... and the current betting odds put Petr at -400. Suga's +200.

That means you'll have to lay down $400 just to make $100 back on Yan. Meanwhile, you only have to wager $100 to win $200 back on O'Malley.

Typically, betting on Suga to win outright would require risking much more than you stood to win. For example, he was a -330 favorite against Raulian Paiva in December (you'd risk $3 for every $1 you won). Against Petr, you win $2 for every $1 you bet.

Betting aside, Yan, the former champion, is coming off an April loss to now-champ Aljamain Sterling ... a fight that was razer close.

O'Malley, ranked 12th in the division, last fought in July at UFC 276 ... a fight that was declared a no-contest over an accidental eye poke.

The scraps not going down in Las Vegas, or anywhere else in the U.S., Dana White and the UFC are returning to Fight Island on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi (Sean's pumped to fight in the UAE!).

We also talked to Suga about his ascension as one of the sport's biggest stars.

"[Fans are] wanting that next superstar. Conor can come back and still be considered the biggest superstar in the sport. So anytime he fights, he is, but when Conor is gone, when it's all said and done, I wanna be that next guy. I wanna be that guy that everyone gets excited for, everyone and their grandma watches the fight just because."

A win will get Suga -- who flew to Abu Dhabi yesterday -- a step closer to that superstar status.

Former UFC star Tito Ortiz is selling his Huntington Beach mansion ... four months after the place was burglarized.

TMZ Sports has learned ... The Huntington Beach Bad Boy listed his Davenport Island residence this week for $4.8 mil. It's unclear if the burglary had anything to do with the impending sale.

The four-bedroom, four-bathroom Mediterranean-style home is sweet nonetheless ... it features a private boat dock with access to the beach -- and it's also located right next to a park.

The waterfront property is nearly 4,000 square feet ... and has a state-of-the-art kitchen with a wine cellar.

As we previously reported, cops told us the MMA legend's home was "ransacked" back on June 3 ... saying a safe had been stolen following the break-in.

Fortunately, Ortiz was not home at the time of the incident ... and the place is all fixed up and ready to be sold now.

Many people believe Khabib Nurmagomedov is the greatest MMA fighter ever, but ... future Hall of Famer Tyron Woodley isn't one of 'em!

T-Wood was a guest on "BS w/ Jake Paul" -- the Problem Child's new show on betr (Jake and Tyron are cool with each other despite earlier beef) -- when the topic turned to Tyron's best fighters.

First, the fighters that made the former UFC welterweight champs cut:

Jon Jones ... "Best fighter we've seen whether he's fought consistently or whatever the case."

Anderson Silva ... "I would say is the G.O.A.T. because he did it in a really respectful way," Woodley told Paul, adding ... "He beat people without being able to talk the shit that everybody else did."

Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson ... "is the most well-rounded fighter we've ever saw."

GSP ... "I f**k with Georges St-Pierre because he was very respectful all the time."

Tyron also praised MMA vet Carlos Condit ... who he called his "favorite fighter to watch" back in the day.

What about 34-year-old Khabib, who finished his career with a blemish-free, 29-0 record ... and racked up wins over Edson Barboza, Dustin Poirier, Justin Gaethje, and Conor McGregor??

Surely impressive in the Octagon, and someone Tyron respects a good deal ... but Nurmagomedov isn't one of the greats in his eyes.

"[khabib] on my top 10 list? Probably not. I f**k with Khabib. I like him, I respect him a lot. I think he's a good fighter. I think his type of fight for that weight class (lightweight), nobody could do that besides Sean Sherk back in the day, but like, he was just really aggressive, but I didn't see the wrestler with good hands fight him so I couldn't really jump on that train."

Nurmagomedov retired after defeating Gaethje in October 2020. Since setting his gloves down in the Octagon, fans have clamored for a match with former lightweight champ Charles Oliveira ... whom some believe has the tools to beat Khabib.

UFC star Chris Weidman just shared some awful news ... his nephew was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of cancer -- and he's now asking everyone for their help and support.

The former middleweight champ published a video message on his Instagram page on Thursday revealing that his nephew, Josh, was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma in July. He said it's an extremely rare disease that "starts in the muscle tissue and usually affects athletic young kids."

Weidman said Josh will now have to undergo chemo for 42 weeks in order to try to fight it off.

The fighter explained the road is going to be a long one -- but he said there are ways people can pitch in and help.

Weidman urged his followers to share his video message, make a donation to Josh's GoFundMe page, and shave their heads to show solidarity with the boy.

In the 38-year-old's video message, Weidman, Josh's brothers, cousins and other family members were all seen cutting off their hair.

The mixed martial artist also shared some of Josh's basketball, football, wrestling and lacrosse highlight clips in his post.

"This is my family," Weidman said. "This is my nephew."

"I just want to be able to help out my family the best way I possibly can. I appreciate your help."

Dana White was so touched by the story of a Muay Thai fighter who's trying to make a comeback to the ring after losing his legs in a tragic work accident last year, he opened up his wallet and donated $10,000 ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The fighter's name is John Esposito -- and back in December 2021, his life changed forever while he was doing his job as a road worker.

Esposito says he was filling in potholes on the side of a highway, when a car sped into the work area and hit him from behind, pinning him against a trailer. The 30-year-old said the amputation of his legs "happened on the spot."

"Halfway through the flight on the medivac, I flatlined," Esposito said recently while recalling the incident. "They were able to resuscitate me, though, and bring me back to life."

John -- who fought regularly prior to the accident -- has worked tirelessly the last nine months to get back in between the ropes ... hitting mitts from a wheelchair while he learns to move around with prosthetics.

After hearing of his journey, Liam Tarrant, founder and president of The Muay Thai Project, alongside friends Chris and Sarah Romulo, started a GoFundMe to help Esposito on his road to recovery.

And, after Tarrant appeared on UFC fighter Angela Hill's "Ceremonial Weigh-In" podcast to speak about it all ... White ended up donating $10K to the cause.

Tarrant tells us thanks to White's generosity -- as well as other donors -- the GoFundMe has already exceeded its initial goal ... and is approaching $30,000.

Tarrant says the cash will ultimately go toward Esposito's recovery costs "in the coming months & years."

Maryna Moroz is showing the world a different side of her and making history in the process ... becoming the first fighter in UFC history to be featured and pose nude for Playboy Centerfold.

The 11-3 MMA fighter has made a name for herself by punishing opponents inside the Octagon ... but Moroz tells us she's embracing and leaning into a sexier, gentler side.

"Before, I was a very closed person," Moroz said. "Now, America changed me, and now I'm open, and I feel more energy when I show nude pictures."

Maryna says whenever she would post content where she was showing her body, she noticed the responses she received were largely positive -- and she liked the attention.

Moroz was so eager to tell the world about her newfound opportunity with Playboy ... her manager had to tell her not to prematurely reveal the big surprise too soon.

Although Moroz is stepping into a new arena, she reminded the combat world that fighting remains at the forefront of her mind as she prepares for her upcoming bout against Jennifer Maia in November.

"My life is like train, my pictures, rest, food, and that's it," Moroz said. "Super big fight for me, and I'm ready for it because I work hard and focus is always in training. I love my job!"

Maryna told us she's happy that her scheduled fight with Maia is still on after it appeared to be in jeopardy, but she's equally ecstatic that she gets to work with Playboy.

Moroz knows that working with Playboy may be viewed as deviating from the norm for fighters, but she's not worried about public perception, and most importantly she's happy.

"Playboy is super big for me," Moroz said. "It changed everything in my life, and now I am different. I am a different person."

Singers, rappers ... Aljamain Sterling will walk to the Octagon to your music -- blasting in the arena, on TV -- at his next UFC title fight, if your song's good enough.

The bantamweight champ is teaming up with 2x Grammy nominee Joyner Lucas ... and they're launching a contest aimed at putting a spotlight on independent artists.

The way it goes ... artists submit a song on Tully, and if Aljo and Joyner like it, you might hear it on the UFC 280 broadcast next month.

Aljamain is fighting T.J. Dillashaw on October 22 in Abu Dhabi ... and the winner's song will be the last thing Aljo hears before he scraps.

Sterling and Lucas' friendship began in April earlier this year ... after Aljamain walked out to Joyner's "I Love" at UFC 273 before his bout with Petr Yan.

Aljamain became UFC champion that night ... and the men later came up with the contest.

Joyner, who pushes independent musicians like him, has also worked with some of the industry's biggest names ... Will Smith on "Will (Remix)" and Lil Baby on "Ramen & OJ."

It's not the first time Joyner's been part of a big-time sporting event. He's a huge Boston Celtics fan ... and performed at halftime of Game 6 during the 2022 NBA Finals.

Raul Rosas Jr. -- the 17-year-old who just inked a UFC deal -- is one of the most badass high schoolers in the world ... but, RR's so young, he tells TMZ Sports his mom and dad had to sign his contract!

It's a history-making signing for the UFC ... who made Rosas Jr. the youngest fighter to sign with the promotion after the teenager beat 25-year-old Mando Gutierrez earlier this week on the Contender Series.

We talked to the newest/youngest UFC fighter just days after inking the deal ... and while we may all be surprised he's reached this level as fast as he has, he isn't.

"No, not really [shocked] because I've been working my whole life for this moment. Right now, everything going into existence, but I'm grateful for this opportunity, but not impressed."

FYI, Rosas Jr. is 6-0 professionally (and 6-0 as an amateur) ... and fights in the bantamweight division.

The funny part ... 'cause Rosas Jr. is still a minor, his parents had to sign his contract.

"My parents got to sign too because I'm a minor. So parental guardians got to be on there, too."

But, make no mistake, this kid can fight ... and if you want to see how excited the UFC is for his arrival, just listen to Dana.

As for the reaction of his friends and peers, the 12th grader says many of his classmates are pumped about the achievement.

"A lot of them are happy and excited because they don't really know how this process works for me to get to the UFC. I never really explained it because it's a long process. They just like since middle school, like 'Hey when is Dana White gonna sign you?' Or stuff like that."

Lastly, we asked Raul if anyone messes with him at school.

His response? "No, no, no."

UFC fighter Eryk Anders loved his "Cobra Kai" debut so much he wants to continue acting if the right opportunities come up ... telling TMZ Sports it's "less hazardous" than fighting MMA.

No spoilers here ... but Anders was seen fighting in the new season of the Netflix series that was released earlier this month, and we must say, he did a good job for his first role.

He thought so, too ... and tells us even though he's a fighter in the world's biggest MMA promotion, he sees himself acting more in the future.

"I'd love to," Anders said, "if the right opportunities present itself."

"Timing is everything. It's a lot less hazardous to my health as well. As you can see my nose is crooked."

And, the 35-year-old already knows who he wants to work with ... after he gets his nose fixed, and lays down the gloves.

"Maybe something with The Rock," Anders said, "he seems to be the guy like the Arnold Schwarzenegger of now."

"All his movies seem to pretty surefire that it's gonna be a good movie. I think it would be kinda hard to bus with The Rock. I think that'd be dope."

That's no shade to the Cobra Kai actors like William Zabka who plays Johnny Lawrence -- in fact, Anders is a fan of the 'Karate Kid' legend.

"It was cool. It was quite an experience. I watched all the 'Karate Kid' as a kid growing up."

Cory Sandhagen says simply defeating Yadong Song isn't enough ... the #4 ranked fighter tells TMZ Sports he's gunning to destroy his opponent this weekend in grand fashion.

We talked to the 30-year-old star UFC fighter ... who admitted he wanted a higher-ranked opponent for Saturday's fight, but since he didn't get one, he must put on a spectacular performance.

"I just gotta beat these guys and I gotta beat them impressively and I gotta show that I'm one of the best guys in the world," Cory told us.

He continued ... "Against a guy like Song, I don't really feel like winning will be just enough for myself. I need to go out and dismantle Song and make him look like he doesn't really belong. That's gonna be the goal."

FYI, 24-year-old Song is ranked 10th in the UFC's Bantamweight division. Yadong is 8-1-1 since entering the promotion.

And, if Cory finds himself up a few rounds Saturday night ... don't look for him to coast.

"I think that that's a pretty bad mindset in a sport where it can end like this (snaps finger)."

Sandhagen is coming off two consecutive losses for the first time in his career. Cory lost to former champ T.J. Dillashaw in July 2021 at UFC Fight Night. Then, he was defeated by Petr Yan -- also a former champ -- at UFC 267 in October 2021.

Even though he lost to the absolute highest level of competition, Cory takes no solace. To him, a loss is a loss.

"I really don't give myself that excuse. All the losses feel the same. They felt the same when I was an amateur and they feel the same now as a professional even against the best guys. Nah man, the burn still burns the same."

Three losses aren't an option for Sandhagen ... who says he couldn't handle it.

"There's a little bit of an extra motivator there because I definitely hate losing and I don't know that my soul can take another hit. I don't know if it can take another third loss in a row and my pride and my ego, I don't think it can do that either."

Tyron Woodley's ready to give the people what they want ... a fight between the future UFC Hall of Famer and YouTube star-turned-boxer, KSI!

Some backstory -- KSI blasted out a poll to his 8 million Twitter followers, asking a simple question ... would you like to see me fight T-Wood, Dillon Danis, Slim, or Dr. Mike in January?

And, the winner (at the time we're writing), with 264,446 votes or 36% of the followers polled ... Tyron Woodley. So, we asked the MMA star if he was interested in the fight.

"KSI, I like that he's energetic, he's all into it, he's all over the place but he's gonna get f****d up playing around me. My new slogan is 'don't get f****d up by having me f****d up' and he's had me f****d up for a long time talking shit about my name."

40-year-old Woodley then sent a message directly to the 29-year-old YouTuber.

"KSI, I know you watching because you watch everything I do. You probably was a fan of me like everybody else. If you're watching this, you wanna be a fighter, you want the respect, get the full training camp to yourself as you requested."

"I'll get the full training camp. January, we can get it cracking. We can get it cracking in White Castle. We can get it cracking in U.K. We can get it cracking in Vegas."

As for the fighter's resumes ... Woodley, of course, is one of the best MMA fighters of all time.

But, KSI isn't a scrub. He recently fought twice in one night ... albeit against overmatched opponents. He knocked out Swarmz and 2-5 pro boxer Luis Alcaraz Pineda at the O2 Arena in London.

Woodley also broke down some of what he was dealing with behind the scenes leading up to the second Jake Paul fight, and he expressed interest in a scrap with Tommy Fury.

Bottom line ... Tyron is anything but retired, and he's ready to dole out an ass whoopin'!

Daniel Rodriguez has a message for the fans and "experts" (and even Dana White) who've said Li Jingliang was robbed at UFC 279 ... I won the fight!!

"It was a close fight," 35-year-old D-Rod told TMZ Sports just two days after securing the dub, adding ... "At the end of the day, I give Li the first round, and I took the 2nd and 3rd [round], in my opinion. I landed more strikes, I pushed the pace the whole fight."

Of course, Rodriguez, the #14 ranked UFC welterweight, fought Li following a last-minute opponent change (he was originally supposed to fight Kevin Holland) ... and the scrap was super close.

D-Rod -- who hasn't lost since 2020, and is 7-1 in the UFC -- was awarded the split decision win.

During his post-event presser, White told the media he believed Jingliang was the rightful winner.

But, Rodriguez disagrees ... and wholeheartedly feels if the decision went the other way, there would've been outrage from the people.

"If they would've gave the fight to Li, there would've been even more people saying I got robbed, or s*** like that," D-Rod says.

Despite earning the victory and now being a top 15 fighter who's becoming more popular in the sport by the day, Daniel believes he didn't fight his best fight.

Jake Paul says Dana White still owes him a million-dollar check for beating Ben Askren, but the Problem Child is once again proposing a friendly wager with the UFC honcho ... saying he's willing to put $5 MILLION on the line when he fights Anderson Silva.

Jake and Spider were holding a news conference in L.A. on Monday ahead of their October 29 bout in Arizona ... when Paul mentioned how his nemesis thought he'd never take on the challenge ahead of him.

"Dana White did not think I'd take this fight," Jake said minutes ago. "And Dana, I know you're watching, bro. You still owe me a million dollars from when you bet against me on Ben Askren."

"I want you to come out of hiding, stop being a bitch and make a bet against me and Anderson and actually pay up this time because you didn't think I would take this fight."

"So let's make a bet," he added. "Let's put a mil, let's put two mil, let's put 5 mil on it. But I bet you won't, Dana, because you're a bitch."

As for a bet between Jake and Anderson ... Spider says he hates tattoos, so a body ink bet is off the table. With that being said, Jake says he'll get clever and figure something out.

Don't expect Dana to respond to Jake's offer -- 'cause as he told TMZ Sports last week, he's sick of talking about the guy.

Former UFC fighter Elias Theodorou died Sunday following a battle with cancer. He was only 34 years old.

Theodorou had been courageously fighting stage 4 liver cancer ... but chose to share the diagnosis with only select people who were close to him.

Elias -- an outgoing and personable dude outside the cage -- was a heck of a fighter inside it. During his years in the UFC, Theodorou posted an 8-3 record with wins over Eryk Anders and Sam Alvey.

ET was also an advocate for the use of medical marijuana in combat sports ... believing the herb to be safer and more beneficial than prescription drugs.

Elias last fought in December 2021 ... against Bryan Baker at Colorado Combat Club 10, where he won by unanimous decision. Overall, ET was 19-3 professionally.

Back in 2018, Theodorou became the first "ring boy" ... when he worked the Invicta FC (all women's MMA promotion), strutting around the cage like Arianny Celeste.

We spoke to Elias at the time (March 2018) ... and he couldn't have been cooler.