UFC

Israel Adesanya celebrated his big UFC title victory at a Miami hot spot ... and, needless to say, he pulled out all the stops.

The champ showed up -- belt in hand -- to E11EVEN nightclub after his second-round knockout of Alex Pereira on Saturday night. As you know, Pereira had previously KO'd Adesanya to snag the UFC 281 title at Madison Square Garden last year.

As Israel made his grand entrance into the club, the DJ gave him a shout-out and played his theme music. Everyone went wild, crowding around Israel so they could shoot videos and take selfies with him.

When Israel finally sat down at his table, he was treated like a king, getting bottle service. NFL star Odell Beckman Jr. walked over to Israel for a little chat. We're told Odell seemed very animated during their convo. Unclear, though, what the two were actually talking about.

Then Israel took to the stage to show off his dance moves with rapper GASHI, who was the headline performer. But, of course, Israel and his championship belt stole the show.

Israel also hit the dance floor with UFC legends Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz and Kamaru Usman.

What a night! Congrats, Israel.

Booker T thinks WWE joining forces with UFC's parent company will pay enormous dividends for both sides -- telling TMZ Sports, "It's going to be good for everybody."

We spoke with Booker -- a commentator on WrestleMania 39's kickoff show this past weekend -- at LAX fresh off Endeavor and WWE merging to create a new, publicly traded company valued at $21.4 billion ... and asked him if he could see any crossover happening with the superstars between the two respective sports entertainment brands.

"Of course," Booker said. "I think the UFC always needed a little more entertainment in their life. I think WWE will definitely add to that flavor. It's going to be good for everybody."

"UFC fans already gravitate to WWE. Daniel Cormier was at the NXT show a couple [of] days ago. Those guys and WWE, they go together. Great tag team."

As we previously reported, Vince McMahon sold WWE -- the business he purchased from his father in 1982 -- to Endeavor ... after serving as the chairman and CEO of the sports entertainment conglomerate for over 40 years.

McMahon will now serve as the executive chairman of the board with Endeavor. Meanwhile, Dana White will continue in his current role as UFC President, with Ari Emanuel as the new group's CEO.

Booker told us UFC legends like Tito Ortiz and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, with their larger-than-life personalities, gave UFC the flare it needed ... adding he could see guys Colby Covington and Conor McGregor crossing over to the WWE.

"You look at a guy like Colby Covington, who's very controversial and chaotic. I think he'll fit in perfectly," the WWE Hall of Famer said.

The five-time World Heavyweight Champion says athletes like Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle are anomalies ... but he's predicting that with the new joint deal in place, we'll see some guys from UFC working with the WWE.

Jorge Masvidal vs. Leon Edwards is the fight fans badly want ... and while they're almost certainly not gonna get it next, Dana White says it's closer than you might think.

The UFC honcho joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... when we asked Dana whether Gamebred could do enough to jump Colby Covington and earn the next title shot.

"Let me tell you what's going to happen, if [Masvidal] goes in and does that against a guy like Gilbert Burns, who I have a ton of respect for, Gilbert Burns is an absolute badass. Then you have Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards, and if Leon Edwards beats Colby Covington, the history between Leon Edwards and Masvidal, then they both win these fights, that fight will be so huge people will be dying to see that fight."

White then added ... "it will be absolutely massive, and maybe we do it back in Miami."

FYI, Masvidal told us earlier in the week he felt he could impress enough vs. Burns at UFC 287 to garner the Edwards scrap.

Of course, White declared Covington next in line after Rocky beat Kamaru Usman at UFC 286, but many fans want Jorge and Leon to scrap because the men have serious beef.

The two fighters were involved in a backstage altercation in 2019 after Edwards yelled something at Masvidal as he was being interviewed backstage after beating Darren Till.

It's not Masvidal's personality to take something like that lying down ... so he walked up to Rocky and punched him in the face, now known as a "3-piece and a soda."

Hoping to ruin Jorge-Leon is 36-year-old Burns ... the number 5 ranked UFC welterweight.

We recently talked to Burns, coming off a dominating win over Neil Magny, before he headed out for fight week ...

There's a bunch more with Dana ... we asked him if this was Israel Adesanya's last shot to beat his rival, Alex Pereira. We also talked to White about the new UFC-WWE deal ... and whether we could now see stars like Conor McGregor cross over to professional wrestling.

Jorge Masvidal apparently doesn't want to wait 'til Saturday night to fight ... 'cause he nearly came to blows with someone on the streets of Miami on Friday morning.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of the UFC star outside of the UFC 287 weigh-ins at the event's host hotel ... and you can see in the footage, he was clearly enraged at someone.

It's unclear exactly who the 38-year-old was quarreling with -- but one witness tells us the person yelled at Masvidal, "You're a clown."

The video shows Masvidal repeatedly trying to go after his heckler ... although he was constantly held back from exploding on the person. He eventually walked away from the scene before things got physical.

Masvidal tipped the scales at 171 pounds at the Friday morning weigh-in in preparation for his Saturday fight with Gilbert Burns. It's not known yet if this video was taken before or after the ceremonies.

Of course, this is not the first altercation Masvidal has been involved in this week in the leadup to the Burns fight ... he and Kevin Holland got into a heated spat on Wednesday at the UFC 287 host hotel as well.

Jorge Masvidal vs. Conor McGregor is arguably the biggest fight you could make in MMA, and one Gamebred wants, but unfortunately thinks he won't get, telling us "that dude ain't trying to get in there with me!"

38-year-old Street Jesus recently joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where he was asked about a potential super fight with 34-year-old McGregor.

"From that perspective of us breaking records, I think 100%. I've sold myself 1.3 million pay-per-views and Conor, I mean, the story goes without saying, you know, just 1.3 million in one night against me and Usman, the first one. It's definitely just a promoter's dream. It's a dream fight for a promoter but the UFC can't get him to sign the dotted line."

Why not? You'd think Conor would relish a fight with Masvidal ... as he isn't going to drag you to the ground. He'll stand up and kickbox without the fear of being taken down.

"I think in many ways I'm really, really bad for Conor's style, brass, and brand because I'm not gonna take him down and see what he smells like. I'm gonna beat the f***ing piss out of him. I'm gonna make him quit, stand up, I'm gonna take his shots, laugh at him and then give 'em right back and break him," Jorge said.

The UFC superstar continued ... "I know that he knows that, he said it, Dana has said it, I'm a bigger, stronger, meaner guy so I can't put a gun to his head to sign. That dude ain't tryna get in there with me, man. We've had some similar opponents where I dismantle them and he's taken them to decision, especially at 170."

Of course, before Masvidal-McGregor or Masvidal vs. anyone else, Jorge first has to contend with fellow UFC star Gilbert Burns, one of the top-ranked fighters in the world. The men will battle in the co-main event on Saturday night in Miami.

Donald Trump may be public enemy No.1 in the eyes of some ... but not to Jorge Masvidal -- the UFC star visited the former President at a rally in Florida Tuesday evening hours after 45 was arraigned in NYC.

Masvidal says he was invited to Mar-a-Lago ... the same night Trump returned from the northeast aboard his private jet, where he appeared before a judge in a Manhattan courtroom, pleading not guilty to 34 felony charges.

"I didn't even sneak in here," Masvidal can be heard saying before he enters Trump's event. "This is Trump Nation."

During the packed rally, Trump ripped Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg for what DT says is a politically motivated attack.

“This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately,” Trump told the crowd, which included Jorge.

Of course, the charges relate to a $130k hush money payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels during his first presidential campaign.

DT also sounded off on Judge Juan Merchan, calling him a "Trump-hating judge."

It's unclear if Masvidal got any FaceTime with Trump -- the resort was packed.

The visit shows Jorge is still rockin' with his friend, despite the world's most polarizing man now facing criminal charges ... though it's not really surprising.

Trump and Masvidal have a friendship. Jorge even stumped for the former prez as he ran his re-election campaign in 2020.

Now, the question is, might Donald make an appearance this Saturday in Miami ... where Jorge Masvidal is fighting Gilbert Burns in the co-main event at UFC 287.

Dana White's adamant Leon Edwards' next fight will be against Colby Covington ... but Jorge Masvidal isn't quite so sure, telling us he believes he can change the UFC honcho's mind with a win over Gilbert Burns, and snatch the fight from "cop-calling charlatan bitch ass Cupcake Covington."

"100% [I can jump Colby]. I feel it in my heart, I see it in my mind," 38-year-old Masvidal told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1).

"UFC, at the end of the day is a pay-per-view selling business, and Colby's bitch ass has never sold over 300,000 pay-per-views except when it was against me. What are him and Leon gonna do?"

31-year-old Edwards defeated Kamaru Usman last month, retaining the welterweight title. Following the fight, White told reporters Covington was next in line, to the chagrin of some fans who were really hoping to see Masvidal vs. Edwards.

Of course, Jorge and Leon have serious beef -- er, chicken -- which came to a head in the UK in 2019, when the two men were involved in a backstage altercation after Edwards yelled something at Masvidal as he was being interviewed backstage after beating Darren Till.

Gamebred didn't take kindly to what Rocky said, so he served him up a "3-piece and a soda."

First, Masvidal has to beat fellow contender, Durinho Burns, the 5th-ranked fighter in the division, at UFC 287 on Saturday ... a fight Jorge believes suits his style.

"In the Gilbert fight, I don't have a standout wrestler conditioning freak like that where he can just continue to go for takedown after takedown. He doesn't have that, he's never shown that," Masvidal said.

"And on the standup, yeah, he throws hard, but he doesn't understand the sweet science. He doesn't understand setups. He doesn't understand distance, timing, fakes, things like that. From a technical standpoint, I think this is a great match for me. I just have to show up, put my hard hat on, put my mouthpiece on, and get to work and just put the holes in this guy's face."

When Jorge and Gilbert step into the Octagon, they'll be doing it at Miami-Dade Arena in Masvidal's hometown of Miami, where Gamebred, just a kid, grew up fighting older and bigger dudes in backyards and in the streets.

Masvidal reps MIA heavy to this day ... and the card is especially important to him because as a kid, he told a friend he'd bring a big UFC card back to South Florida one day, and now he has.

"I looked over to my friend who I was with and I told him 'One day I'll bring a show over here to Miami.' It took 20 years but now we're in this bitch!"

And, Jorge says the city couldn't be happier or more grateful.

Bad Bunny may want to think twice next time about attending a WWE event the night after WrestleMania weekend ... 'cause the Latin music superstar got choke slammed through a table, and it appeared to hurt like hell.

Bunny was at Crypto.com Arena Monday night just 48 hours after he helped Rey Mysterio defeat his son, Dominik, at WrestleMania 39. But, Dominik, with his partner Damian Priest, had revenge on their mind.

Dominik approached Bunny, who had front-row seats, and tried to push him -- but Bunny dropped Dominik to the ground with a right hand, not once, but twice during the segment.

Priest -- a third of the Judgement Day stable -- grabbed Bunny from where he was standing, threw him over the barricade, then delivered a chokeslam to the three-time Grammy Award-winning artist through the announcer's table.

Bunny appeared shaken up after the spot, grabbing his neck as he writhed in pain on the ground, but eventually, he returned to his feet and walked backstage with help from WWE referees.

Of course, Bad Bunny's fans were happy to see he wasn't hurt since the 29-year-old is headlining Coachella in a few weeks.

Bunny is also hosting WWE Backlash in Puerto Rico in May -- and given the feud he and Dominik are currently engulfed in, the event should make for must-see TV.

Despite losing to Alex Pereira last year, Israel Adesanya is a slight favorite against his bitter rival heading into their rematch at UFC 287 ... and Izzy admits it surprises him, and shows the oddsmakers in Las Vegas actually do know a little something about fighting.

"I am surprised [that I'm the favorite] to be honest, cause I thought these bookies were not as smart as they are," 33-year-old Adesanya told Mike Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

"I'm surprised they actually picked me as the favorite cause I am the more polished fighter, but he's the guy who got the tools, he's got that nuke. Only a few fighters in history have that," Izzy continued, explaining why he assumed oddsmakers would've given Pereira the advantage.

"[Coach] Eugene said in an interview, you're lucky to face a Mike Tyson, you're lucky to face a guy like David Tua, you're lucky to face a guy like Deontay Wilder even just once in your career. You're lucky to face a guy like Alex Pereira even once in your career. So, lucky me."

BetOnline.ag has Adesanya as a -137 favorite (risk $137 to win $100). Pereira, who won by 5th round TKO -- a fight he was losing on the scorecards -- is listed at +117 (bet $100 to win $117).

FYI, bookmakers aren't necessarily picking who they believe will win a fight when they set odds. It's about trying to get as close to even money wagered on both sides -- allowing the sportsbook to collect the vig (essentially a fee charged by the sportsbook). However, bettors generally pick the man or woman they believe will win a fight. So, Adesanya's the favorite.

Sticking with the first UFC fight, we talked to Izzy about the end of round 1, where he landed a 3-piece combo, buckling Alex's legs.

"One more shot, one more shot is all it took. I did the same thing when I fought my guy Rob [Whittaker] at UFC 243, the last second I dropped him. I'm dangerous every second of every fight."

There's much more ... we talked to Izzy about parallels he sees between him and Muhammad Ali and whether he's added size to combat Pereira, a huge middleweight. Also, with Endeavor buying WWE, to go along with UFC, which Ari Emmanuel's company already owns, we asked Adesanya if he'd consider wrestling.

"That's later on down the track. Later on down the track."

The WWE and the UFC are merging into one ... now forming a $21 billion company.

Endeavor, the parent co. of UFC, announced the move on Monday morning ... revealing its shareholders will own 51 percent of the new org. WWE shareholders, meanwhile, will own 49 percent.

Vince McMahon will hold the title of Executive Chairman of the Board with the new group -- while Dana White will continue as the President of UFC. Ari Emanuel, the CEO of Endeavor, will be the head honcho of it all.

McMahon said in a statement Monday he was thrilled over the news.

"Together, we will be a $21+ billion live sports and entertainment powerhouse with a collective fanbase of more than a billion people and an exciting growth opportunity," McMahon said.

"The new company will be well positioned to maximize the value of our combined media rights, enhance sponsorship monetization, develop new forms of content and pursue other strategic mergers and acquisitions to further bolster our strong stable of brands."

White also said Monday he was overjoyed with the merger ... adding, "Vince is a savage in the wrestling space, Ari is a beast at what he does, and then add what we at UFC bring to the table and there is no limit to what this company can accomplish in the next few years."

The move comes following a rocky year for McMahon, who retired as WWE CEO last July -- only to come back in January. At the time of his return, he revealed he would explore all opportunities for a sale of the company.

The newly formed org. does not yet have a name.

Here's one for the "wrestling is fake" crowd -- WWE Superstar Finn Balor just showed off the aftermath of getting rocked with a ladder during his Hell in a Cell match at WrestleMania ... revealing a massive gash on his head.

Balor suffered the injury in his showdown with Edge on Sunday ... which required WWE medical staffers to pause the match to get him checked out.

Balor and Edge were pretty much torturing each other in the squared-circle, but things took a turn when Edge yeeted a ladder at Balor.

To make matters worse for "The Demon," the match finally resumed ... just for Edge to end up taking the win over Balor.

"Just a flesh wound," Balor joked on social media as he put the cut on full display ... with many wondering in the comment section how he was able to fight through the pain.

It wasn't the only injury to happen during the event -- Shane McMahon tore his quad shortly after entering the ring against The Miz, which led to Snoop Dogg finishing the job.

Here's hoping everyone heals up in time for WM40 in Philly next year!!

The romance between Jake Paul and Jutta Leerdam has taken the next step -- the two are now IG official!!

The Dutch speed skater posted three pics of her and the YouTuber-turned-star-boxer in announcing their relationship status ... one of which showed the two holding hands on a boat.

Jake, meanwhile, threw up two photos of the couple on recent dates ... confirming their relationship as well.

"Im Dutch now," Paul wrote in his caption.

"That's it," Jutta said in hers.

Paul also shared a snap of the two on his IG stories Monday -- showing the couple cuddled up on a beach somewhere.

Of course, Paul was most recently linked to model Julia Rose until last year ... and Jutta previously dated fellow speed skater Koen Verweij.

We broke the story, 26-year-old Paul and 24-year-old Leerdam were spotted kissing on a dinner date in Miami last month ... but it was unclear if it was anything more than just two, hot young people enjoying each other's company.

Seems we've now got our answer ... and we're here for all of it!

Vince McMahon is adamant the scandal that mired his 2022 played absolutely no role in the WWE's merger with the UFC on Monday.

The wrestling icon sat down with CNBC to go in-depth about his decision to form a massive new company with Endeavor, the parent co. of UFC -- and at one point during the conversation, he was asked if the '22 allegations of misconduct impacted his choice to sell his org.

McMahon said firmly they did not -- adding that they didn't push him to make a decision quicker, either.

"I'm always looking into what's best for our stockholders, what's best for the company," the 77-year-old said. "This is the best thing that's happened in a long, long time."

McMahon didn't address the accusations specifically or the WWE's investigation into them ... though he did admit, "I've made mistakes, obviously. Both personally and professionally through my 50-year career."

"I've owned up to every single one of them," he added. "And then, moved on."

McMahon was accused of agreeing to pay millions of dollars to four different women to keep them quiet about their relationships with him. While the probe into the claims was ongoing, McMahon retired as WWE CEO -- but he rejoined the company in January ... revealing he was exploring a potential sale of the org.

Francis Ngannou is still a free agent -- arguably the biggest in the combat sports world -- and although he has a ton of options on the table, MMA legend Randy Couture tells us the former UFC heavyweight champ should press pause on boxing, and sign with PFL.

TMZ Sports talked to Couture, UFC Hall of Famer and current Professional Fighters League commentator, ahead of Saturday's PFL 1 in Las Vegas (more on that in a minute), when the conversation turned to 36-year-old Ngannou's fighting future.

"Honestly, I'm hopeful that we do get him signed [to PFL]," Randy said.

Couture says PFL, which has traditionally aired for free on cable, will soon start putting on pay-per-view shows, and Randy believes that could draw big stars.

"I think that's where you're going to see stars like Kayla Harrison show up, and hopefully maybe Francis and some of these other big-named guys that we have. It's going to be interesting to see where he shows up. Obviously, there are other promotions with opportunities, I know Bellator is still on the playing field. He could end up going back [to the UFC]. Everybody wants to see him fight Jon Jones. I'm one of those guys, too."

Of course, Francis last fought at UFC 270 in January 2022 when he defeated Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision after a competitive 5-round fight. Unfortunately, Ngannou and Dana White couldn't agree on a new contract, so Francis and the UFC went their separate ways.

"I'm glad that Francis is stepping up, standing up for himself, demanding some advocacy that we as fighters deserve. It wasn't about the money, they're gonna make him out to be some greedy kid that wasn't just enough money, and I just don't think that's accurate, that's not what's really going on. So, good for Francis, I hope he ends up where he wants to be."

Where he wants to be could also be a boxing ring. Ngannou, the hardest puncher in all MMA, has flirted with the idea of switching sports ... with Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury being rumored opponents.

Randy, who once fought heavyweight champion James Toney in MMA in 2010 (Couture won via first-round submission), says that might not be the best idea.

"There's some chatter in the professional boxing world that he might show up there. Some people are talking about potentially fighting him. I honestly feel like he has some work to do there to be operating at that level."

Randy continued ... "Those guys have been entrenched in professional boxing as long as he's been doing MMA and stuff. He's always gonna have a puncher's chance, he's got that power. But those guys are as technical of boxers as I've seen in the sport in a long time."

Conor McGregor believes the shooter in Tennessee could've been stopped before anyone was hurt IF the building was better protected ... and that's why the UFC superstar believes armed guards are necessary in American schools.

"I would like to see armed protection at each school," 34-year-old McGregor wrote on social media.

Of course, six people -- three children (9-year-olds) and three adults -- were shot and killed on Monday at The Covenant School when a 28-year-old entered the building and went on a murderous rampage before police heroically stopped the shooter, who died at the scene.

McGregor, a dad of three who spends a lot of time in the States and is currently in Orlando, says "I have had my children at school here while stateside and have had my own armed guard present at the school. This was prior to the most recent school shooting also."

Conor continued ... "If she shot her way in to that school from the outside, my guard, who is tucked away, armed and unseen, would have seen her and taken her down. Saving those children’s lives."

Many schools have Resource Officers -- typically retired cops -- stationed at schools, but not always. There have also been fatal shootings at schools where armed security was present.

The Covenant shooting is simply the latest in a long line of horrific attacks ... and has sparked debate among Americans -- how do we protect our kids?

There are a lot of different proposed solutions ... from banning guns to arming teachers. Conor believes the answer is armed guards.

Justin Gaethje's gearing up for a title run, and the UFC star tells us he has the power to dethrone champ Islam Makhachev ... but he knows he has to earn the fight, and he's ready to run through Dustin Poirier to prove his worthiness!

34-year-old Gaethje, the #3 ranked UFC lightweight, joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where we talked about everything from who he wants next, to how he'd fare against the current champ, to how much longer he sees himself fighting, and Conor McGregor recently calling him "handicap" on Twitter.

On who Gaethje, who is coming off a dominating win over fellow contender Rafael Fiziev at UFC 286 in March, wants next:

"I think that's the obvious choice, Dustin. He's sitting at number 2 right now, I gave the new guys a chance and I proved that I am elite, and I need to fight elite fighters to fight for a belt. I think Dustin's the obvious choice. I think the loser of Dariush and Oliveira is also an option, but outside of those two, I do not see an option."

FYI, Justin and Dustin fought back in 2018 ... a classic fight that Poirier won by fourth-round TKO.

Of course, Islam, who was just in battle with 145 lb. king Alex Volkanovski (Makhachev won by the thinnest margin), is the lightweight champ. We asked Justin how a fight between the men would look.

"I think [Islam is] a hard fight for anybody. Just create damage. I'd have to fight the perfect fight," Gaethje told us, adding he recognizes he wouldn't be on the Dagestani fighter's level when it comes to "submission grappling," but Justin believes with his power, he can shut anyone's lights out.

"I think I can knock him out. I think I can knock anybody out with the power that I possess."

We asked Gaethje, who lost by submission to Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020 at UFC 254, to compare The Eagle and Makhachev.

"I think they're very similar. I think the biggest difference is Islam has been finished. He's lost a fight. He's been finished. So that aura of invincibility is there, but it's not based on 100% facts like Khabib has, I think that's the biggest factor, the biggest difference."

We also talked to Gaethje about retirement.

"I have never thought about retirement. I haven't thought about my life after retirement. I'm still working for the goal that I've set for myself," Justin said, explaining he has faith that his family and friends would tell him when it's time to hang up the gloves. But, that's likely years away, according to JG, who believes he's just hitting his stride as a fighter.

"34, I think we are at our peak, mentally, physically. Between 34 and 36, so I can't see myself being done in the next two years. I'd say two to four years is def a timeline that makes sense. I'm not trying to fight when I'm 40, and after 36, I don't see myself getting better."

Lastly, Conor recently tweeted "Justin Gaethje is a handicap," before deleting the message shortly after. We asked JG for his reaction.

"One of my best approaches in life is to make everybody think you're stupid and then go into a conversation or situation where you can take advantage of everybody feeling like that. It plays perfectly into my hands. I love when people think I'm handicapped or dumb -- that's not a guy, I don't believe I'll ever fight him."

Gaethje vs. McGregor is a fight fans clamored over for years ... but Justin says the guy simply doesn't want to step foot in The Octagon with him.