UFC

Nate Diaz says Jake Paul is a "spoiled f*ck" who needs to stop running his mouth before he gets beat up in real life.

And, Nate ain't messin' around.

The UFC legend went off on Jake after watching a new video Paul posted Monday night going off on Conor McGregor and Dana White.

Diaz felt the video was disrespectful -- because it was -- and went to Twitter to warn Jake to pump the brakes before something bad happens.

"Jake Paul u need your ass beat for free u spoiled f*ck," Nate tweeted.

"U can’t really fight dumbsh*t. Your gonna end up with your ass whooped for real somewhere talking like that."

It's good advice ... but Jake wasn't having it -- and fired back at Diaz.

"You saw what happened to the other Nate," Jake tweeted ... a reference to his violent knockout of ex-NBA star Nate Robinson.

Nate replied again -- this time, tagging Jake's big bro, Logan Paul -- in the hopes Logan can talk some sense into his brother.

"@LoganPaul check this little ho bitch before someone does."

"[Sean O'Malley] is a cry baby. He's a little bitch! He's a bitch once, you're gonna be a bitch forever! I don't care about the guy! He can talk whatever he want."

That's 28-year-old UFC fighter Marlon "Chito" Vera opening up a verbal can of whoop-ass on Suga Sean ... 4 months after handing O'Malley the 1st loss of his career.

Remember, Vera won by TKO in the first round after O'Malley suffered an apparent ankle injury early in the fight.

After the loss, O'Malley wasn't exactly complimentary of his opponent -- saying, "I lost to a guy I feel like is not that good."

O'Malley also recently posted a photo of him punching Vera with the caption ... "Unbeaten."

These guys hate each other's guts ... so, rematch??

Very unlikely, according to Vera, who tells TMZ Sports he's got bigger fish to fry.

"Let's be real. There's not big money in the rematch because first thing, he's not Conor McGregor. Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz, that's money," Vera says.

"Whoever fights Conor McGregor, it's money! O'Malley is just like a lower version of Conor McGregor. He's like the China version of him -- he's made in China. He's fake!"

Despite the trash talk, Vera says if UFC honcho Dana White offered him the fight, he wouldn't turn it down.

"Don't get me wrong, Dana White told me, 'You never refuse a fight.' They know I never refuse a fight, so if they call me one day to fight him or somebody else, I'd take it!"

Music to the ears of fans who want to see these dudes back in a locked cage together. But first, Vera has his hands full next weekend at UFC Fight Night 183 with MMA legend Jose Aldo.

"[Aldo's] definitely a killer. He's definitely a tough fighter, but of course, I definitely believe his time has passed."

"[Conor McGregor] is one of the greatest fighters on Earth right now. He shouldn't be fighting kids that have f**king YouTube videos."

That's Dana White stomping all over Jake Paul's dream of fighting Conor McGregor -- telling TMZ Sports there's a "zero percent" chance that fight ever happens.

Remember, Jake Paul called out Conor McGregor after knocking  Nate Robinson out cold in the 2nd round of their Nov. 28 boxing match.

Jake later told TMZ Sports his team reached out to Conor's manager to begin talks about a possible fight -- and added, "I'm going in there to f**k Conor McGregor up."

And, with Jake's big bro, Logan Paul, scoring a boxing exhibition with Floyd Mayweather, seems anything's possible these days.

While Dana says he applauds both Paul bros for "injecting themselves into the fight world" ... he makes it pretty clear when it comes to fighting skill, they're not even on the same planet as Conor and Floyd.

"There's a market for these kinda fights. It's just not what I do," White says.

"There will be a day when Conor McGregor could do these types of fights and make a bunch of money," White adds ... but it ain't happening any time soon.

What the hell is the deal with the Khabib Nurmagomedov comeback? Is it happening or not?

That's the question we asked the guy who would know ... Dana White and we finally have some clarity.

"The truth is, [Khabib] is not committed to anything," White tells TMZ Sports ... "What he has committed to is meeting with me next month."

White says he and Khabib will sit down in January to discuss a potential return to the Octagon after The Eagle's sudden retirement back in October.

"We're gonna find out how persuasive I can be," White says ... adding, "I'll bet on me every time."

In the meantime, White is gearing up for UFC 256 on Saturday night -- and he is FIRED UP about this one.

The main event features Deiveson Figueiredo taking on flyweight champ Brandon Moreno -- both guys are fighting on just 3 weeks rest from their last victory.

Figueiredo is coming off a 1st-round win over Alex Perez on Nov. 21 -- the same night Moreno defeated Brandon Royval.

As Dana points out, "This is the fastest turnaround ever for a championship fight."

The co-main event is also insane -- Tony Ferguson vs. Charles Oliveira, who happens to be on a 7-fight win streak.

UFC star Mackenzie Dern says she's a better fight NOW than ever before -- and it's all because she's a mom.

The 27-year-old jiu-jitsu specialist -- who gave birth to her daughter back in June 2019 -- won 2 of her last 3 fights after returning to the Octagon.

Now, she's gearing up to fight Virna Jandiroba at UFC 256 on Dec. 12 and feels more dangerous than ever.

She's also right on schedule to EASILY make weight on Friday -- something she struggled mightily with in the past.

In fact, Dern famously came in 7 pounds overweight for her May 2018 fight against Amanda Cooper and was docked 30% of her fight purse.

So, what's changed? Dern says having a child and getting married forced her to grow up.

Dern tells TMZ Sports she's more focused, more mature and more professional since starting a family. She's married to pro surfer Wesley Santos.

"Before my daughter was born, I thought I was focused at the time, [but] now I see how [I was] kind of a little more rebellious [when I was younger]."

Dern admits she lived a more carefree lifestyle before her daughter was born -- partying, traveling, etc. -- "I was single, I didn't have this support family to keep you grounded."

But now, Dern says she's laser-focused and is gunning for a title shot -- which is more realistic now than ever before.

"I really see the potential to be the champion," Dern says ... "I see the title. I can see it. Now it's in my vision."

“These guys have a life outside. They have families to look after. They have other things going on. I don’t have anything else going on besides chasing this mother f**king title.”

That's 27-year-old UFC rising star Marvin Vettori putting the entire middleweight division on notice ... telling TMZ Sports his singular goal in life is to SMASH Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya -- and get the championship belt.

We talked to Vettori fresh off his 5-round, unanimous decision win against #4 ranked 185 lb. fighter, Jack Hermansson Saturday night in Vegas.

The fight was INSAAANE!! Vettori and 32-year-old Hermansson -- who says he suffered a broken eye socket during the scrap (see pic below) -- set a record for significant strikes landed in a middleweight fight.

After the fight, Vettori initially called out Paulo Costa ... but the Italian star obviously changed his mind, and has his sights set on even bigger fish.

“I wanna go after the title. And, if anything, fight for the #1 contender spot. And, if [Adesanya] goes away, fight for an Interim title. And, I think the most legitimate guy out there, the #1 legitimate contender is Robert Whittaker.”

FYI, Vettori is referring to Izzy (temporarily) moving up a division to fight Light Heavyweight champ Jan Błachowicz next year.

If Marvin beats #1 ranked Whittaker, it'd set up a rematch with Adesanya. The men fought in April 2018 ... and some people -- including a judge from the fight -- felt Vettori won the fight.

"I want to be the legitimate #1 contender for this f**king title," Vettori says, continuing ... "And then I want to be the one that dethrones that bulls**t ass champion called Israel Adesanya."

He's gone viral for a violent body slam KO finish ... but UFC fighter Jordan Leavitt felt horrible afterward and says the move should be outlawed from MMA.

The 25-year-old -- nicknamed The Monkey King -- was taking on 37-year-old Matt Wiman on Saturday when Leavitt picked up his opponent and slammed him into unconsciousness just 22 seconds into the 1st round.

Wiman's body went stiff -- and it was pretty scary to watch as medical personnel raced into the octagon to tend to him.

Leavitt tells TMZ Sports ... he's happy he won the match but hates the manner in which he got his W.

"I think slams are ugly and I think they’re dangerous," Leavitt tells us.

"I would have preferred to have won in any other way. I’m happy -- I mean it's a highlight and it's good for my career and notoriety -- but that's not the way I wanted it to be."

Leavitt says he tried to ensure Wiman landed on the side of his head instead of the back -- but it still looked pretty nasty.

The move is legal -- but Leavitt says he would be in full support of banning slams from the sport.

"I also 100% agree that I feel like the sport would be a much safer, artful thing if slams like that weren’t allowed."

"But, when you’re out there, when you’re in that cage you have to decide, 'Am going to pay rent tonight? Or am I going to have to downgrade to my house, and have to put my family in an unstable position?'"

"I feel like any person what do what I did in that situation. And, I did what I have to do."

Leavitt says he spoke with Wiman's wife after the match -- and apologized for the way the fight ended ... but there were no hard feelings on her end.

"She just said it's the fight game, it happens."

Marvin Vettori is straight-up GIDDY to become the first Italian to main event a UFC card -- telling TMZ Sports, "It's f*ckin' massive, man. It's beautiful."

The 27-year-old old middleweight -- born and raised in Trento, Italy -- is set to take on Jack Hermansson at "UFC Fight Night" on Saturday in Las Vegas.

"It's super exciting, man," Vettori tells us ... "I'm proud of this moment. But man, we've gotta make it a memorable f*ckin' day."

Vettori is 15-4-1 as a pro fighter -- but he's on a 3 fight win streak ... and says the goal is to prove he's worthy of a title shot.

FYI, Vettori is currently the #13 ranked UFC middleweight. Hermansson is #4.

The last time Marvin took an "L" was in 2018 to Israel Adesanya -- a split decision loss that Marvin badly wants to run back.

He's even talkin' some trash to the reigning middleweight champ.

But, Vettori says he's focused on the goal at hand ... beating Jack Hermansson.

What was UFC star Brandon Moreno doing when he received the biggest phone call of his life???

Eating a DELICIOUS burger ... of course.

Here's the deal ... 26-year-old Moreno -- the #1 contender in the UFC's flyweight division -- got a big 1st round win against Brandon Royval at UFC 255 last Saturday night.

Moreno -- who had to weigh in at 125 lbs. -- wanted to blow off some steam after the fight ... so naturally, he went to grab a cheeseburger.

Enter the biggest opportunity of Moreno's career ... when his manager called him and said Dana White had just offered him a title fight against 32-year-old champ, Deiveson Figueiredo.

The catch??

The fight is December 12 at UFC 256 ... ONLY 14 days from today.

Moreno tells us ... “I was eating some burger from Shake Shack, and then my manager called me and said, ‘I’m with the matchmaker now. Do you wanna fight December 12?’"

"I said, ‘Man, this is really, really close to the fight.’ I talked with my head coach, and he said, ‘Man you are ready. You don’t have any injuries from the fight. So let's go. This is the opportunity of your life.’ So I take it. I’m ready. I’m so ready!”

BTW, Figueiredo ALSO fought on Saturday ... submitting Alex Perez in the 1st round.

Moreno -- without hesitation -- said yes to the fight ... but he has to weigh 125 lbs. in a few weeks. So, did he finish the burger??

Damn straight!

He's got TWO of the best knockouts of the year -- but UFC rising star Joaquin Buckley says he's still not ready to quit his day job ... at Walgreens!

Buckley first went viral for that insane spinning back kick knockout of Impa Kasanganay back on Oct. 11 -- a knockout Dana White praised as one of the greatest finishes EVER.

He followed that up at UFC 255 by destroying Jordan Wright in the 2nd round -- earning his second "Performance of the Night" bonus in a row!

So, when we spoke with the 26-year-old St. Louis native, we asked if he was finally ready to leave his gig at the pharmacy chain and focus on MMA full time.

The short answer ... he's not ready to part ways with the big "W" just yet!

"The thing is ... besides UFC -- and they're giving me these big checks -- I still don't have a business of my own. So, I need to just keep working," Buckley says.

The fighter says it's important for him to maintain a "working mentality and work ethic" -- "So, I'm gonna just keep holding down a job."

Buckley says if he's able to grow a real business from his MMA exposure, he'd consider walking away from Walgreens ... but for now, he's not going anywhere!

Buckley says he's working on a clothing apparel line called Solid Foundation and he's optimistic about it -- but "until my business is off the ground, we still gon' be working at Walgreens, yessir."

The craziest part, Buckley is already trying to get back in the Octagon and fight again IN JANUARY!!

He's hoping to get a crack at 34-year-old welterweight James Krause -- and it's obvious, these two have VERY bad blood.

"He's just out here spreading lies and spreading rumors [about me] ... it's getting frustrating and for him to think he can just keep talking his stuff without any type of punishment or any type of consequences, it's ridiculous!"

Amanda Nunes is the ONLY woman to beat Valentina Shevchenko in the last 10 years ... and now the UFC flyweight champ tells TMZ Sports a 3rd fight with the Lioness is 100% goin' down!!

We talked to the 32-year-old Shevchenko -- who's defending her belt at UFC 255 against Jennifer Maia Saturday night in Vegas -- about the possibility of the highly coveted match-up with Nunes, the 32-year-old bantamweight and featherweight champ.

"You know right now I'm not thinking about [Amanda] cause my goal is to defend my belt," Shevchenko says ... "One day it’s gonna come to the point when it's gonna [make] much more sense, and it's not gonna be other than to make this 3rd fight."

Valentina continued ... "And when this day comes, it comes. But, now I'm not rushing it. I'm not trying to delay it. So I'm just living my life and waiting for when it comes, and I know for sure it comes."

Of course, the women fought 2 super competitive bouts in 2016 (UFC 196) and 2017 (UFC 215). Nunes won both fights ... but some people believe Shevchenko -- who's 19-3 as a pro -- was robbed in the 2nd fight.

Bottom line, Shevchenko is undoubtedly the toughest opponent Amanda -- the greatest female MMA fighter of all-time -- has ever faced ... and if Valentina's right, a 3rd scrap is on the horizon.

"I have no plans to continue fighting."

That's Khabib Nurmagomedov saying pretty matter of factly he will NOT return to the octagon ... despite UFC boss Dana White suggesting otherwise.

"There will always be rumors about my comeback," Khabib said this week ... "because Dana White or other promoters who could replace him in the future will always want me to fight."

He's right -- Khabib is one of the biggest combat sports stars in the world ... dominating everyone from Conor McGregor to Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje.

But, Khabib has insisted he's lost the desire to compete again and wants to focus on his career outside the octagon.

"Of course, I am in my prime and there’s still tons of money I could earn, but I had a different goal," Khabib says.

"And, as for money -- from now on we will earn it somewhere else."

Dana White has been saying for weeks -- and again during an interview we shot on Thursday -- that he strongly believes Khabib will come back for a 30th fight. He's even considering opponents for Khabib.

But, Khabib insists he's done for good -- saying there's nobody else out there for him to fight.

Dana White is doubling down on his claim Khabib Nurmagomedov will return to the Octagon -- and he's willing to put his money where his mouth is!

"If I had to make a bet -- and I'm a betting man -- I would bet he does [return]," Dana tells TMZ Sports.

"So, yeah ... I think he will."

Of course, Khabib announced his retirement following his Oct. 24 victory over Justin Gaethje at UFC 254 ... explaining he has no desire to fight anymore after the death of his father earlier this year.

But, Dana says Khabib's father is the reason he WILL return -- explaining it was his dad's dream for Khabib to finish with a 30-0 record.

So, who would be the opponent? Dana says he's NOT considering Georges St-Pierre, despite Khabib previously suggesting that's he'd be open to that opportunity.

Instead, Dana pointed to 2 upcoming fights ... Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier and Michael Chandler vs. Tony Ferguson.

"We'll see how all these things play out here ... One of those guys would definitely be in for the fight."

There's more ... we also asked Dana about plans for Jon Jones, who appears to be bulking up for a fight at the heavyweight level.

But, White says there's nothing in the plans for a Jon Jones scrap in the near future.

"Jon Jones, I don’t know what Jon Jones is doing," White says.

"When he’s ready, all he's gotta do is let us know … but we have no inclination whatsoever that this guy is coming to fight."

Anderson Silva is retired -- but he's still under contract with the UFC despite reports to the contrary, according to Dana White.

The UFC boss tells TMZ Sports ... the promotion did not and has not agreed to part ways with the 45-year-old after his last fight against Uriah Hall at UFC Fight Night on Oct. 31.

Silva reportedly still has 1 fight left on his UFC deal -- but MMA Fighting reports the two sides agreed to part ways after Anderson's 4th-round loss to Hall.

UFC boss Dana White says that's just not the case -- explaining that Silva remains under contract, so if he wants to fight again, he's bound to the UFC.

But, Dana says Anderson is "retired" -- so, there's not a real expectation that he will fight in the UFC ever again.

Silva (34-11) is considered one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time -- with victories over stars like Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Chael Sonnen, Stephan Bonnar, Dan Henderson and more.

He set the record for longest win streak in UFC history with 16 in a row (from 2006 to 2013) and is a lock for the UFC Hall of Fame.

But, he's only won 1 of his last 9 fights and it's become clear his best days are behind him.

There was a buzz Anderson could jump to Bellator -- but CEO Scott Coker recently shot that down saying the promotion was happy with its current roster.

Conor McGregor is officially returning to the Octagon in 2021 -- he and Dustin Poirier have signed their contracts to fight at UFC 257, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The two sides had reached a verbal agreement a while back -- with Dana White saying he was confident the UFC would be able to make a deal. But now, McGregor says the paperwork is done.

The rematch of their 2014 brawl will go down on January 23, possibly at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi. Conor says they will fight at lightweight (155 pounds).

McGregor commented about the upcoming fight on social media recently -- saying, "I look forward to the fresh test Dustin will bring since our first bout, while also showcasing my own incredibly deep cache of weaponry."

"Whatever tool is needed on the night will be pulled from the duffel."

McGregor has also pledged to make a donation to Dustin's charity, The Good Fight Foundation, which provides resources to underprivileged youth in Poirier's home state of Louisiana.

Conor and Dustin first clashed at UFC 178 in 2014 -- with McGregor stopping Poirier in the 1st round.

Tyson Fury's newest training sesh literally brought the house down -- as the ceiling collapsed while the heavyweight champ was annihilating the heavy bag!

... and the video is pretty great!!

The Gypsy King is gearing up for a fight with undefeated German star Agit Kabayel (reportedly happening in early 2021) -- and he's been busting his ass in his gym in Morecambe Bay to get ready.

But, the 32-year-old took things to another level on Tuesday -- when he rocked the heavy bag so hard, it looked like the sky was falling!

You can see pieces from the ceiling -- where the bag was attached -- came crumbling down on top of the champ, who tried to move out of the way!

At one point, you can hear Fury say, "That coulda come down and hurt me, ya f**kin' idiot!"

Despite the collapse, Fury was still feeling an adrenaline rush and wanted to keep training -- so he simply moved to another bag and kept punching!

After the workout, Fury said the workout was "fantastic" -- noting he's been "absolutely smashing it!"

No lies detected.

Fury defeated Deontay Wilder in their rematch back in February -- but they could face off for a 3rd time in 2021.

Fury has also expressed interest in fighting Anthony Joshua -- which would be awesome.