UFC

UFC rising star Khaos Williams wants to give his boss an early holiday gift -- by beating the dog snot out of Jake Paul.

Williams -- who won his first 2 fights in the UFC in a combined 57 seconds -- says he's seen Paul attack Dana White in the media ... and feels strongly that someone needs to check him, stat.

"Look, Dana ... I can handle you light work if you need me to and I won't let you down."

As we previously reported, Jake trashed Dana for refusing to allow Conor McGregor to fight the YouTube star. White told TMZ Sports Conor is wayyyyy too far out of Jake's league.

But Khaos, whose star is unquestionably on the rise, says he's all the way down for a scrap ... and guarantees a violent victory.

"Man, I box before anything. I'm in the gym with ex-WBC world champions, people that's going to the Olympic tryouts, undefeated boxers day in and day out. I do this for real!"

"I know for a fact, I will knock him out!"

But, Khaos has another opponent he's gotta focus on first -- he's taking on Michel Pereira at UFC Fight Night in Vegas on Saturday in a matchup some say could be a candidate for fight of the year!

FYI, Pereira is known for dropping some unusual strikes during his fights -- but Khaos says he'll be ready.

"If he come in there doing backflips and all of that stuff, it's a wrap! I'm gonna catch him! All it takes is one shot. We gonna test that chin out!"

"At some point, the student has to kill the master."

Shaquille O'Neal gave an AWESOME (and violent!) pump-up speech to rising UFC star Gillian Robertson ahead of her scrap this weekend ... and yeah, someone tell her opponent to watch out!!!

Shaq's pep talk all went down at his mansion in Atlanta ... when famous MMA coach Din Thomas reintroduced the Big Diesel to 25-year-old Robertson before her tilt with Taila Santos in Vegas on Saturday.

O'Neal was asked to give her some advice -- after all, Robertson is considered by some to be an underdog in the fight and is still trying to make her way up the women's flyweight division -- and the NBA legend sure delivered.

Shaq talked about how he had to take down guys like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and David Robinson when he first got into the league ... and then he brought violent karate movies into the speech!

"All the karate movies were the same," Shaq said. "At some point, the student has to kill the master. So, right now, you're the student. You're ranked No. 12. So, you've got 11 masters to kill."

"And then when you get to the top, you've got more work to do. Now, you got to stay at the top."

Shaq then left Gillian with this ... "You got to want it. You got to want it. If you want to be the best, say it. Mean it. And just go for it. And don't hold back."

"If you've got to break some cheeks and break some jaws, do it."

Two UFC fighters are teaming up -- FOR LIFE -- because Thiago Santos proposed to Yana Kunitskaya ... and she said, 'Da!'

(Side note: She's Russian).

Thiago -- AKA The Sledgehammer -- popped the question to his longtime GF earlier this week, using a ring he got from celeb jeweler Boodaddy Diamonds.

We're told the ring is 18k rose gold with a diamond halo. The center stone is a 2-carat round pink sapphire.

The two have reportedly been dating for a few years -- but Thiago decided it was time to level up -- so he took Beyonce's advice and put a ring on it!

Thiago is the #2 ranked light heavyweight in the UFC (remember, he fought Jon Jones for the title in 2019).

Yana is the #8 ranked women's bantamweight fighter who's coming off a unanimous decision victory over Julija Stoliarenko back in August.

The two have been training together throughout the COVID pandemic -- and while we've all heard stories about the lockdowns wreaking havoc on relationships, it seems to have brought Thiago and Yana even closer together.

Don't worry ... Brandon Moreno's nuts are okay!!

This, after the UFC star took a ferocious kick to the gonads from Deiveson Figueiredo at UFC 256 -- a shot that was so powerful Moreno was dry heaving in the Octagon.

It's been 4 days since that insane fight between Moreno and Figueiredo -- an instant classic that was judged a majority draw -- and you can see the bruises all over Moreno's face.

So, we had to ask ... how his "twins" were doing after that ferocious low blow, and Brandon filled us in.

“In that moment, it was very painful. Was very, very painful because he throws a really, really hard direct to there. I don't say it was intentional, but man it was a nasty kick directly to my balls," Moreno says.

"I think this the first time when a referee told me if I wanted to rest a little bit, my first time saying, 'Yes, please I need this moment.'"

Naturally, one of the first things Moreno's wife, Shirley, asked about after the fight was her husband's junk.

"My wife asked me the same, 'Hey, you fine?' Like, 'Yeah baby, no problem.'"

There's more ... Moreno says he doesn't feel any sympathy for Figueiredo after learning his opponent was hospitalized until 2 AM on fight day with a bad stomach infection.

"Before the fight, I don't know anything about [Deiveson] being sick. He was in the hospital, but man, in this world of Martial Arts, that is very normal. I had like two fights in the company, I was very sick to my stomach, but I never said nothing because it's my problem."

In fact, Moreno thinks Deiveson is using the medical situation as an excuse for not winning the fight.

Kevin Holland blasted Jacare Souza's face until he was unconscious ... and now the UFC star says he's coming for Israel Adesanya and all the top middleweight fighters ... starting with Derek Brunson.

TMZ Sports talked to the 28-year-old fighter after his 5th (yes, 5th!!) UFC win of 2020, and the 6'3", 185 lb. striker tells us there's no time for R&R ... he wants to get right back in the Octagon, ASAP, with #7 ranked Brunson.

“I know a lot of people don’t know the name, but Derek Brunson. That's who I want to smack,” Holland tells us.

Why the beef??

"[Derek] said something about slamming me on my head 1 time. I was like, 'Oh, okay. That's how you think we play.' That may be how you play with other wrestlers, but I’m a striker. Know what I mean?," Holland says.

"You think you’re gonna slam me on my head, that’s alright. I think I'm gonna punch you in the head a couple times. I can take a slam. He can’t really take too many punches.”

FYI, Brunson is on a 3-fight win streak ... and recently handed up-and-coming star Edmen Shahbazyan his first loss.

Holland tells us his plan is to beat Brunson, then take out ALL the high-ranked guys in the division ... before ultimately snatching Adesanya's belt.

“So, if I beat Derek Brunson, I’d be number 6. Then I gotta go through 5, 4, 3, 2, champ. Then that’s 6 fights in a year. That’s a good year. Then no one can say [I] didn’t fight tough competition.”

We also asked Holland about 26-year-old phenom, Khamzat Chimaev ... who Kevin called out after beating Souza at UFC 256 on Saturday.

How the hell did Tony Ferguson survive that NASTY arm bar from Charles Oliveira on Saturday night at UFC 256????

Simple ... Tony says it's a combination of crazy genetics and mental fortitude.

The UFC star opened up about his jacked up arm on social media late Monday -- saying it's not as bad as it looked.

"My Arm Is Aright," Ferguson posted on IG ... "The Armbar Was Really Tight."

"The Thought Of My Son ArmandAnthony’s Ability To Be Double Jointed In His Elbow During That Sequence & My Mental Capacity To Endure Pain Got Me Through It. # Breathe # MentalTUFness."

There have been rumblings that Ferguson could consider wrapping up his MMA career after 2 bad losses in a row ... but T-Ferg says he ain't going nowhere.

"We Are Far From Being Retired," Tony said ... while dropping a middle finger emoji to his haters.

"I Can’t Wait Til We Compete In Front Of A Big Loud Crowd Again, It’s Not The Same Without You All."

In the meantime, Ferguson says he's working on healing up his arm -- with a focus on increased blood circulation.

He even underwent some cupping therapy to help out.

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!"