UFC

MMA star Justin Wren says Conor McGregor is just WRONG for trying to paint Dustin Poirier's charity foundation as some shady operation ... and it's more evidence that Conor is simply not a good person.

Wren is widely respected for his charity work all over the world -- in fact, Joe Rogan has praised Wren's "Fight for the Forgotten" foundation for years for all of the work he's done helping impoverished communities in Africa.

So, when Wren learned McGregor was backing out of his $500,000 pledge to Dustin Poirier's "The Good Fight Foundation" -- Wren wasn't happy.

As we previously reported, Conor not only bailed on the donation he had been promising since October -- but he made Poirier's foundation seem like a clown show, incapable of explaining how the money would be deployed to actually help people in need.

McGregor called Poirier a "fool" with "no plan in place" for such a sizable donation.

Of course, Poirier has called B.S. on Conor -- saying his team reached out to McGregor's camp multiple times to address their concerns, but never got a response.

So, who's lying?

Wren says he's personally worked with Poirier's foundation and can vouch that's it's not only legitimate -- but it's made a REAL impact in communities in need in Dustin's home state of Louisiana.

"Dustin is an honorable man, a good character, who’s a family man, who has literally done everything he ever said he was gonna do and more ... and the other guy hasn’t followed through on a lot of the things that he has said. So, I think that this really calls Conor's character into question even more so than it's already been."

Wren says he's been in touch with Dustin and his wife, Jolie, over the past few days -- and they're upset Conor would take such a "cheap shot" at an organization that was created to help people in need.

"I think that this has really changed Dustin's opinion on who Conor is as a person. He’s not a good guy."

Wren adds, "Conor didn’t rob Dustin of anything. What he did was he cheated or stole from the people he would’ve helped."

Wanna see Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill face off against a UFC badass in an ultimate pickleball showdown for the ages??

You're in luck ... 'cause Julian Marquez tells TMZ Sports he's made contact with the K.C. Chiefs superstars after issuing his public challenge -- and they're already planning the big game!!

The 30-year-old Kansas City native called out the trio of Super Bowl LIV champs right after choking out Sam Alvey during UFC Fight Night on Saturday ... saying he's ready to prove once and for all he's the pound-for-pound top dog in his city with a friendly game of pickleball.

The guys responded on Twitter ... with Mahomes, Kelce and Hill ALL agreeing to the challenge.

But, it wasn't all talk -- "The Cuban Missile Crisis" says he's been in touch with the guys since the call-out ... and it's a matter of WHEN, not IF, they face off on the court!!!

"I've actually been talking to Travis Kelce, he's 100% down," Marquez tells us. "The Kansas City Chiefs are 100% down. The local Kansas City fans are 100% down, and that's all we need. We just gotta figure out the right times for us all."

Marquez points out Mahomes is still recovering from foot surgery to fix a turf toe injury ... so he wants to make sure the guy is fully healthy before they compete.

"I don't want him to have an excuse when we go at it on the pickleball court."

As for the biggest threat on the court, Marquez thinks Kelce is the guy to watch.

"There would be a lot of trash-talking, a lot of jokes. Maybe a couple dances. We'll probably TikTok it out, but I'm just saying, I hope he comes with that same energy he brings on the field."

We also got an update on Marquez's budding friendship with Miley Cyrus ... and he tells us the "Prisoner" singer could be popping up at a UFC fight in the future!!

Another bad look for Conor McGregor ... who's admitting he never forked over the $500,000 donation check to Dustin Poirier's charity, despite promising to make the payment before they fought back in January.

In the lead up to their main event scrap at UFC 257, McGregor repeatedly publicly declared he would send the sizable donation to Poirier's "The Good Fight Foundation," a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides resources to underprivileged youth in Poirier's home state of Louisiana.

McGregor initially pledged the money in October 2020 -- repeated the $500k promise again in November ... and vowed to cut the check again in the days before the fight.

But, Poirier revealed Sunday night his organization NEVER got a cent from Conor's team -- claiming McGregor's team went MIA on Poirier's charity "after the fight" in January.

Poirier later explained, "We thanked him because his team reached out fight week to initiate the process but ghosted us the past 2 months after the fight."

"My foundation has reached out 3 times since with no reply. We've moved past it! We will be announcing our next goal soon! It's a big one."

Conor sheepishly replied on Twitter with allegations of his own -- saying, "A donation, not a debt. We’ve been awaiting the plans for the money that never came. I do with all my donations. Know where it’s going dot for dot. Otherwise it goes walking. As is the case with a lot of these foundations, sadly. You took the McG over the belt shows I was right."

McGregor is trying to paint Dustin as more interested in money than legacy -- both in and out of the ring.

He's insinuating Dustin only took the Conor fight because of the massive check -- instead of taking a fight with another opponent that would have brought him closer to winning the UFC lightweight title.

Dustin responded to Conor early Monday morning ... saying, "100% never a debt. You offered, we accepted, and like I said your Team never responded to our emails regarding the process of where funds would be put to work! July 10th you will taste defeat yet Again."

So, here's the long and short ... McGregor is suggesting Poirier's charity is shady -- which is a pretty heavy allegation to make publicly.

But, McGregor had MONTHS to do his own research before making a public declaration to donate such a hefty amount.

Props to Dustin for dealing with the situation with class.

Khabib Nurmagomedov’s manager has a warning to pro wrestlers who want a crack at the UFC legend -- be careful what you wish for!!

Now that Khabib has retired from MMA, the big question everyone is asking ... what’s he gonna do next?

A crossover into WWE seems like a natural fit -- and Khabib’s manager Ali Abdelaziz tells us Nurmagomedov will gladly smash anyone who has the stones to get in the ring.

"Let’s be real, [if] any of these soft steroid freaks wanted to go ahead and have a wrestling match with Khabib and they wanna get beat up for real, they know who they need to call," Ali tells us.

"He’ll go there and he’ll smash John Cena’s face. No problem."

Tons of MMA fighters have successfully transitioned into pro wrestling -- and they’re usually super successful at it. From Ronda Rousey to Ken Shamrock to Bobby Lashley and more.

As for now, Khabib has made the transition to coaching ... sharing his expertise with fighters like Luke Rockhold, who recently told us the champ is looking to follow in his father's footsteps as a legendary coach.

Ali explains why Khabib is such a natural in the switch to coaching ... saying, "He got no egos, he loves his friends, he loves his peers and he's there for them."

"You're gonna see a lot of new generation coming from his team. They're probably going to dominate the UFC or MMA in general."

"I'm sad, I'm very sad."

Anderson Silva was so shocked by the death of rap legend DMX, he could barely find the words -- but ultimately explained how the guy made such a tremendous impact on his life.

The MMA legend -- who's boxing Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. on June 19 --  famously used DMX's "Ain't No Sunshine" as his ring walkout song for years. Watch the video below, the fans went WILD!!!!

So, when we spotted Silva shooting a promo on Friday in the hours after X's passing, we had to ask his thoughts -- and you can feel the sadness.

Silva also tells us he plans on honoring DMX during the Chavez fight.

As for the fight itself, Anderson tells TMZ Sports he knows Chavez Jr. has a lifetime of experience as a boxer ... but he's up for the challenge and says he wouldn't have signed up if he didn't think he could win!

And, get this ... if Silva beats Chavez, he wants MORE boxing fights down the road and says he would seriously consider Jake and Logan Paul as future opponents.

UFC star Nina Nunes just gave birth 6 months ago ... but tells TMZ Sports she CAN'T WAIT to get back in the Octagon and fight on Saturday!

Nina -- formally known as Nina Ansaroff -- had a baby back in September with her longtime partner Amanda Nunes, who happens to be one of the greatest combat sports athletes of all time!

Nina ain't too shabby herself -- she's the #5 ranked UFC strawweight -- and she's taking on fellow mom Mackenzie Dern on "UFC on ABC 2" on April 10.

Mackenzie made headlines herself back in 2019 when she fought Amanda Ribas just 4 months after giving birth ... and gave a pretty inspiring performance, despite losing the fight.

Nunes tells us she has tremendous respect for Dern ... and hopes the fight will show people you can be a mom and also kick ass as a pro fighter!

Nunes admits her delivery wasn't exactly smooth -- she had some serious medical issues that left her in rough shape.

But, as soon as she was cleared to work out, she got ripped in weeks -- just look at the photos! Amazing!

As for Dern, she tells TMZ Sports the respect with Nunes is mutual -- "The babies make us better athletes, better fighters, more motivated, more professional."

Both women tell us they're expecting a war -- but it's not personal ... and they expect to take pictures with their babies together after the fight!

Kevin Holland ➡️ Israel Adesanya ➡️ Middleweight title

That's the blueprint UFC fighter Marvin Vettori tells TMZ Sports he plans to follow ... insisting he's only 1 "Big Mouth" ass-whoopin' away from a long-anticipated rematch with Stylebender.

We talked to the 27-year-old Italian MMA star before his UFC on ABC 2 main event scrap on Saturday with 28-year-old Holland ... who stepped in for Darren Till -- who broke his collarbone (but MV ain't buying the injury) -- about his place in the 185 lb. division.

Per the UFC's Middleweight rankings, Marvin's #6, Holland's #10, and Till's #5. Despite sitting behind a few other top fighters, Vettori says with a dub on Saturday, it's his time for a shot at the title.

"Most of the top five, they're injured or they're not showing up, so it don't count. Like they're top-five just on the paper. I think I deserve the title shot after this," Marvin says.

As for that scrap with Till ... Vettori says he isn't interested anymore.

"[Darren] lost his opportunity. I don't even trust him anymore to show up. I would like to eventually, but he can try and challenge me when I'll be the champion and if he can gain the spot, I'll face him then," Marvin tells us.

"He lost his spot, man. He lost his opportunity. I'm getting more suspicious by the day, to be honest."

Regarding that rematch with 31-year-old Adesanya ... Izzy and Marvin fought in April 2018. Israel won via split decision ... but some people believe MV was the real winner.

But, just beating Adesanya on a single scorecard is an impressive feat ... something that no other UFC middleweight has done.

Get Kevin Holland a new nickname ... 'cause "Big Mouth" won't be running when he fights Saturday night, telling TMZ Sports his sole focus is whooping Marvin Vettori's ass.

28-year-old Holland received an onslaught of criticism -- from fans to Dana White -- for the nonstop crap talk during his unanimous decision loss to Derek Brunson only 19 days ago.

Holland's stepping up on short notice to fight Vettori -- the 27-year old, 6th-ranked UFC middleweight -- and we asked if he was gonna press pause on the trash talk.

"Yeah, I mean ultimately, I go in there and get the job done and then we'll see what happens after that, but it's like a whole lot of talking that night, I don't see that happening. Go in there, get the job done and then we can talk about it after."

It's an interesting dilemma ... MMA fans loved Holland's brashness when he was winning (he fought and won 5 times in 2020!!) -- but turned on him when he talked and lost.

So, moral of the story for Kevin? Win. This. Fight.

"I just got a job to do. The job is to put Vettori away in a nice fashion."

As for any bad blood with White ... Holland says everything's cool with the UFC honcho.

GREAT NEWS, FIGHT FANS!!!

Jon Jones believes he WILL come to terms with the UFC on a deal to fight heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou ... saying, "I think it's gonna happen."

PLEASE BE RIGHT!

Jones vs. Ngannou would be one of the biggest fights in UFC history -- featuring two incredible champions.

The issue has been money ... Jones has said the UFC needs to write a HUGE CHECK to make it happen. He's already told the fighting org. that $10 million is "way too low."

But, seems there is progress being made ... Jones told FightHype.com he's confident the two sides will come to an agreement to give the fans what they want!

"Hopefully the fight happens. We just gotta stay focused and stay training and see what the UFC is going to do on their part," Jones said between workouts at the Jackson Wink MMA gym in Albuquerque.

Jones added, "I think it's gonna happen ... I think the UFC will eventually do the right thing."

"I think this is one of the greatest fights of our generation and it would be really sad if it weren’t gonna happen. And I believe that it will."

He added, "It’ll happen, all in good time."

In the meantime, Jones says he's training like a maniac -- trying to bulk up so he can match up with the larger Ngannou.

"People want to see two titans. Francis is already a titan and I'm trying to become a titan. I want to look like a titan. I want to be the same size as this guy if not bigger when we get out there."

Jones has fought as a light heavyweight since 2008 -- usually weighing right around 205 pounds.

Ngannou, on the other hand, weighed 263 pounds when he defeated Stipe Miocic for the UFC heavyweight title at UFC 260 back in March.

"I've got a lot of work to do."

"Listen, Conor McGregor is the biggest piece of s**t scumbag in the sport."

That's Kamaru Usman's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, going off about Conor McGregor after the UFC superstar accused Usman of stealing his signature catchphrases.

Here's the quick backstory ... Usman (the reigning UFC welterweight champ) is promoting his big UFC 261 fight with Jorge Masvidal and told ESPN, "It’s green panty night when you fight me."

It's a nod to Conor's famous "red panty night" comment he made at a press conference back in 2015 -- a line that's become one of Conor's most famous moments.

“I can make you rich,” McGregor told Rafael dos Anjos at the UFC 197 news conference -- explaining, "I change your bum life; you fight, it’s a celebration. When you sign to fight me, it’s a celebration. You ring back home, you ring your wife, ‘Baby, we’ve done it. We’re rich, baby. Conor McGregor made us rich, break out the red panties. We’re rich, baby.'"

So, when Conor saw Usman using a similar line (replacing red with green because of the color of the Nigerian flag), McGregor called him out on social media.

"Am I tripping or is this jackass always at this? Everything I say," Conor tweeted.

Well, Usman's manager saw the tweet and decided to respond -- aggressively.

"Kamaru Usman is a great father, great husband, he's not a jackass. If you have a problem with him, fight the man. But we know Conor doesn’t have the balls."

"He's not enough of a man to fight anything like Kamaru . He’s not enough of a man to even look him in his face."

Ali added, "The Internet creates a lot of heroes. Everybody can talk s**t. But realistically, if you put these two guys in a cage, in a street fight, in the trunk of a car, in a jail cell ,... you know who’s gonna be whose daddy."

"Kamaru Usman will be Conor's daddy every day of the week."

Abdelaziz also broke down why he's 100% convinced Usman will DESTROY Masvidal when they step into the octagon on April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida.

Francis Ngannou's Hit List:

- Stipe Miocic ✅

- Jon Jones

- TYSON FURY ?!

That's exactly right ... the newly crowned UFC champ tells TMZ Sports he's DEAD SERIOUS about boxing Fury -- the man many pugilism experts believe is the greatest heavyweight alive.

Why boxing? Why Fury? Here's the deal.

Before UFC 260, Stipe told us he was very interested in boxing 32-year-old Fury or 31-year-old Anthony Joshua.

Welp, his title defense didn't go as planned (lost via 2nd rd. KO) ... so, while Francis is taking things from Miocic -- we asked if he wanted to take Stipe's place vs. the Gypsy King.

"Absolutely. I'm open to that. Remember boxing was my primary dream and I still have the fire, the dream inside me and I believe at some point, I'm gonna make a step."

Of course, UFC honcho Dana White is currently working on a massive fight between Jones and Ngannou ... and Fury is set to take on Joshua later this year -- so any boxing match between the 2 giants would have to be in the future.

We also asked Francis about 54-year-old Mike Tyson ... who is looking to find an opponent after talks with forever rival Evander Holyfield fell apart at the negotiating table.

And not even 6'4", 263 pound Francis Ngannou wants a piece of "Iron" Mike ... despite a 20 year age difference!

"I don't want to fight Mike Tyson but I would like to fight another heavyweight boxer as such as Tyson Fury."

Vicente Luque wants all the smoke after his UFC 260 victory over Tyron Woodley -- telling TMZ Sports he's begging for a shot at the winner of Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards!

Luque jumped to #6 in the UFC's welterweight division after his impressive performance last weekend -- and badly wants to put himself in a position for a title fight as soon as possible.

Remember, VL called out Nate Diaz in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan -- but days later, Diaz agreed to take on Edwards at UFC 262, spoiling Luque's plans.

But, he's not losing hope of a possible showdown with Diaz down the line.

"I'm interested in any of those two guys so whatever goes down with that fight, maybe one of them can be my opponent after they fight."

FYI, Luque has fought against Edwards before -- losing by unanimous decision in a 3-round scrap in 2017.

"Since then, I've changed a lot. I know that he has evolved a lot as well. We both have been on a great winning streak and yeah, I think that right now it would make a lot of sense to have that rematch. It would be a hell of a fight."

Luque has ripped off 3 straight wins and Edwards had won 8 straight before an accidental eye poke led to a "no contest" against Belal Muhammad in March.

In the meantime, Luque says he's down to be the backup fighter for Diaz vs. Edwards -- willing to step in if one of the guys has to drop out for some reason.

The negotiating is underway ... but Jon Jones says $10 MILLION is simply not enough cash to get him in the Octagon with Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou became the UFC heavyweight champ after demolishing Stipe Miocic in a violent 2nd round victory at UFC 260 on Saturday.

Immediately after the fight, all eyes were on Jones -- widely considered the greatest UFC fighter of all time -- who tweeted, "Show me the money."

The good news ... Jones says he's been in touch with the UFC's top business guy, Hunter Campbell, and they're already discussing money.

The bad news ... Jones says the two sides are very far apart.

"I had a brief phone meeting with UFC‘s lawyer Hunter a few days ago. As of right now, I expressed to him that anywhere around eight to $10 million would be way too low for a fight of this magnitude. That’s all that has been discussed so far."

Unclear how much Jones is looking to pocket for the Ngannou fight -- but it would undoubtedly be one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history.

Michael Chandler vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov?!?!

It's not completely out of the question, according to Chandler who tells TMZ Sports he wouldn't be surprised if Khabib eventually changed his mind about the whole retirement thing.

Chandler is currently set to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 on May 15 for the vacant UFC lightweight belt ... but he's EXTREMELY confident he'll smash his way to the title -- which begs the question, who's next!?

Conor McGregor? Tony Ferguson? Justin Gaethje?

Maybe ... but Khabib is only 32 years old and still VERY involved in MMA, coaching stars like Luke Rockhold and recently serving as a cornerman for his brother Abubakar Nurmagomedov at UFC 260.

Chandler tells TMZ Sports ... he thinks Khabib will be paying very close attention to the lightweight division to see if he gets the urge to step back in the Octagon.

"He's gonna be very intertwined with the UFC for decades to come and especially the lightweight division. He's still very young so we'll see what happens in the future."

Chandler says he considers Khabib to be the greatest of all time -- and would respect whatever decision he makes regarding his fighting future.

But, for now, Chandler says his focus is on Oliveira -- the #3 ranked lightweight.

"Charles Oliveira poses a lot of threats on the ground but I've never even come close to really getting submitted," Chandler says.

"I have a kind of a 6th sense when it comes to the ground game to not be submitted."

So, how does Chandler see the fight going? He wants to overwhelm his opponent with brute violence.

"Hit him. Hit him as hard as I can numerous times on the feet. Keep the fight standing, put him in panic mode, knock him out in the 1st round."

Anderson Silva is back ... to boxing!!!

The 45-year-old MMA legend has signed a contract to fight 35-year-old Julio César Chávez Jr. on June 19, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Silva was released from UFC contract back in Nov. 2020 following a loss to Uriah Hall -- but he was adamant he wanted to continue his combat sports career elsewhere ... and now, he's making it happen in a boxing ring.

"When I look back at my journey, I see that nothing has been in vain," Silva says ... "I am extremely happy for the opportunity to test my boxing skills with Julio César Chávez Jr."

"I train continuously, always striving for resilience and to overcome obstacles. Fighting is my everlasting breath."

We're told the event -- titled "Tribute to the Kings" -- will take place at Jalisco Stadium in  Guadalajara, Mexico and will be available live on Pay-Per-View.

The event will also include a special exhibition match featuring Julio's legendary father, Julio César Chávez Sr. -- widely considered one of the greatest boxers of all time.

The 58-year-old Hall of Famer will take on Hector Camacho Jr. -- son of his former opponent Hector "Macho" Camacho, who passed away in 2012.

42-year-old Hector Jr. is also a pro boxer with a record of 58-6-1.

Julio Jr. issued a statement about the fight with Silva -- saying, "I have rededicated myself to the sport that I love and I will be ready to face anyone in the Light Heavyweight division starting with Silva"

"I will be prepared to be victorious on June 19."

The fight was put together by Keith Schoen of Schoen Entertainment along with Armando Bareno of Global Sports Streaming -- with Jorge Toscano and Saul Rios serving as the official fight promoters.

"This promises to be an epic battle between two superior fighters with a global fan base," Schoen tells us ... "Everyone associated with this Pay-Per-View promotion and fighting fans around the globe are super enthusiastic to see these two great fighters meet in the ring."

Chavez Jr. is 52-5-1 as a pro and coming off a 4th round TKO victory over Jeyson Minda in Nov. 2020.

Silva -- repped by ICM Partners and managed by Talize Sayegh -- is a former UFC Middleweight champ with wins over guys like Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin and more.

The Spider has also dabbled in boxing -- he's 1-1 as a pro -- and was known during his heyday for being one of the best strikers in MMA.

A trained MMA fighter who personally witnessed the death of George Floyd testified that officer Derek Chauvin used a "blood choke" during the arrest ... referring to the move as "torture."

33-year-old Donald Williams is a fighter out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Brooklyn Center ... and has a 6-6 record, according to Tapology.

Williams appeared on the stand in a Minnesota courtroom to testify about what he saw on the day Floyd died ... and his explanation was almost identical to the analysis of UFC superstar Jon Jones, who spoke out in the days following the incident.

"One, the neck was diagonal across the throat, which on a blood choke you attack the side of the neck," Williams said.

"To get the choke tighter, you hit different shimmies, which I felt the officer on top was shimmying to actually get the final choke in while he was on top to get the kill choke."

"Because a side choke or a blood choke can ultimately turn into death, which is what we've seen here."

In fact, Williams is shown in body cam footage of Tou Thao -- one of the other officers involved in the incident -- where he begs them to check Floyd's pulse ... and says point-blank Chauvin is using a "blood choke."

As we previously reported, Jones described the move in detail ... saying, "I wouldn't wish the way George Floyd was murdered on my worst enemy. That officer applied just enough pressure to keep him alive for almost six minutes in that chokehold."

"In all my years of fighting, I can honestly say I’ve never experienced anything close to that level of torture."