UFC

Jake Paul let the verbal jabs fly during his presser with Tommy Fury on Wednesday ... and he did it from the comfort of his pool in Puerto Rico.

Jake tuned in remotely as he took on the whole Fury fam -- including heavyweight champ, Tyson -- and while he looked rested and relaxed while wearing sunglasses, a pineapple print hat and sipping on a coconut, it was far from cozy.

Tommy's dad started it off ... taking serious issue with Jake's wardrobe choice. It got so heated, John squared up with the TV that was showing Paul via live stream.

Jake said he's "pretty much on vacation" leading up to the December 18 bout ... saying he's been training non-stop much before the fight was announced.

Tommy's dad chimes in and tells Jake to take his shades off so he can "see the fear" in his eyes ... but Paul shut him down.

"Hey Tommy, Shut your bitches up for me," he said.

The focus switched to Tyson, as Jake bragged and claimed he made more money than the heavyweight champ this year.

Oscar De La Hoya, one of the greatest boxers ever, has received endless lavish and expensive gifts ... but the best present ever?? The tattoo his GF Holly Sonders just got inked on her shoulder.

TMZ Sports talked to the boxing great and his famous girlfriend ... and asked the couple about the tat.

"It actually tops everything that I've ever been given. Who can top this?" Oscar says, "I've been given everything you could possibly imagine. And a tattoo, a beautiful portrait of me looking up at the sky to my mother. The '94 Olympic Games were just incredible."

What prompted Holly to get the ink ... which she says took 2.5 hours to complete?

"There was no reason for it," Holly says, adding, "I have 3 tattoos. I've wanted a 4th for a while."

So, Sonders just wanted to show her man some love.

FYI, the tattoo was done by Oscar's brother-in-law, Esteban Camacho ... and commemorates the moment De La Hoya became The Golden Boy, winning Olympic gold at the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain.

De La Hoya and Sonders started dating a few months back after they met at a boxing event where Holly was working ... and sparks flew.

They've basically been inseparable since ... hence the tattoo.

There's more ... we also talked to Holly and Oscar about Sonders' NFT drop, featuring 1,000 of her favorite hottest/sexiest photos.

The pics are fire on their own ... but Holly also told us she's raffling off a round of golf. As for Oscar ... he decided to throw in an awesome prize, too (boxing fans will like this).

Kayla Harrison is a wanted woman ... her manager Ali Abdelaziz tells TMZ Sports everyone from the UFC to WWE is gunning to sign his MMA star client.

We talked to Abdelaziz -- who was having dinner with Kamaru Usman and Egyptian actor Mohamed Ramadan in Beverly Hills -- about 31-year-old Harrison's fighting future.

"Everybody trying to sign Kayla. Even Walmart try to sign Kayla. The WWE been calling too but we're interested in real fighting," Ali says.

The 3x PFL tourney winner (12-0) has been DOMINANT in the cage ... and is arguably MMA's hottest free agent.

Of course, Kayla, a 2x Olympic gold medalist, wouldn't be the first MMA star to turn to pro wrestling. Her former Judo teammate, Ronda Rousey, was the WWE Raw Women's Champ.

But, Ali tells us Harrison won't be following in Rowdy Rousey's footsteps ... at least not now.

"[Kayla's] focusing on fighting right now. PFL, it doesn't matter where she gonna be -- whatever Kayla wants," Abdelaziz says.

Her manager continued ... "I think she's happy with PFL, but listen. I got great relationships with UFC, Bellator, but I have to show a little loyalty to PFL."

FYI, neither WWE nor the UFC has publicly said they intend (or don't intend) to make a run at Harrison.

Ali also addressed Twitter-gate, answering whether he was the person who fired off an anti-Justin Gaethje message from Khabib Nurmagomedov's account (he was not).

On the topic of Justin, Abdelaziz also sets the record straight on who deserves the next title shot at 155 pounds ... Islam Makhachev or Gaethje.

We also talked to Kayla, and asked her straight-up ... what's the one fight you want more than anything else?

"I think right now the fight is Cyborg. I think Amanda [Nunes] is the greatest of all time for a reason. To get to that point, I have to continue to climb, and I think Cyborg is a step on that ladder," Harrison said.

"[Cyborg's] also one of the greatest of all time. She's no slouch. And, for me, it'd be an honor for me to share the cage with her."

A fight with Cris would likely mean signing with Bellator ... where Cyborg currently fights.

Harrison is technically not a free agent yet (but she will be in a matter of days) ... question is, who will land the MMA star?

Kamaru Usman doesn't care who doubts him ... telling TMZ Sports he STILL wants to box Canelo Alvarez, and wholeheartedly believes he can beat the world's best pound-for-pound boxer.

We shot the UFC welterweight champ Thursday night at Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills, and we asked the 34-year-old fighter ... "who's a name that interests you?"

"I've already said the name that interests me. Canelo. That's what interests me."

We then asked Usman about Dana White's recent comments, following Canelo's latest KO win over Caleb Plant, where the UFC president said "[Kamaru] doesn't want to fight Canelo" -- because Alvarez is so damn dangerous in the ring.

But, Usman isn't letting that stop him.

"That's Dana, but I'm fighting. Dana's boss man, but I'm the one who's fighting," Kamaru says.

Prior to that Plant fight, we recently talked to the 31-year-old, and asked the boxing superstar if he was interested in boxing the top pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world.

Canelo didn't exactly slam the door ... but told us he was focused on solidifying his resume as one of the greatest fighters ever.

If the men do fight ... make no mistake, Kamaru isn't doing it just for a paycheck. He straight up believes he can beat Alvarez.

Conor McGregor claims it wasn't Dustin Poirier who gruesomely broke his leg during their trilogy fight ... 'cause the limb was "severely damaged" heading into the scrap.

The 33-year-old former UFC double champ made the declaration in a series of tweets on Wednesday ... saying he knew the leg may give out, but he decided to continue with the fight despite the serious injury.

"In my last camp I’d a severely damaged left leg. Many of my sessions consisted of starting in open guard bottom. And staying there. Full rounds remaining on bottom. I was beating people up until they backed away from me. It then translated to the fight. True story," McGregor fired on Twitter.

In fact, Conor says he didn't have a big reaction to the painful break -- unlike Chris Weidman and Anderson Silva -- because he was well aware the leg may snap during the UFC 264 fight on July 10.

"Same leg, same spot. I attribute it to why I wasn’t in as much shock as Chris/Anderson where. I knew something may happen in advance. Chris was upset with my quote. Felt I was aiming at him. I was not. If any constellation to my reaction, It was because id a heads up it may snap."

McGregor is very much down the road to recovery ... and it's evident he's beginning to plot his return to the Octagon.

But, who will he fight?? Poirier for a 4th time? Max Holloway rematch (McGregor beat him in 2013)? Nate Diaz trilogy?

Whoever it is ... The Notorious says he'll be back and better than ever!

Khaos Williams -- rising UFC star -- says there's no (legit) controversy surrounding his UFC Fight Night KO win ... which some have argued was stopped early by the ref.

"I'm glad that he's alright, but he was asleep. It was a good stoppage. It was a good stoppage. Live to fight another day," Khaos tells TMZ Sports.

He added ... "Definitely wasn't no early stoppage."

27-year-old Williams floored Miguel Baeza in the 3rd round with a perfectly placed right hook to the chin, sending the fighter crumbling to the Octagon floor. Khaos jumped on top of Miguel, raining down a few heavy ground and pound shots before the fight was stopped.

Baeza immediately protested, and he wasn't the only one.

Even Henry Cejudo said the stoppage was early, writing on social media ... "These refs really have to get checked. If someone gets dropped it doesn't mean you call the fight off! Too many refs calling the fights early @danawhite"

FYI, Dana White said the stoppage was good.

As for what's next for the rising star, Khaos is now 13-2 (and controversy aside, just beat a guy who only has 2 career losses) ... and is looking to fight a ranked opponent.

And if/when he does, Williams tells us he'd LOVE for hip-hop star Meek Mill -- a guy he's admired for many years -- to be by his side as he walks in the Octagon.

Sorry, Tyron Woodley -- that "I love Jake Paul" tattoo was all for naught ... 'cause Jake Paul tells TMZ Sports he's officially slamming the door on giving the former UFC champ a rematch.

Of course, Woodley held up his end of a tattoo bet he made with Paul after losing the Aug. 29 bout ... getting the phrase etched on the side of his middle finger nearly a month later, but clearly, Jake thought he was too slow to getting it done.

Paul -- who's fighting Tommy Fury on Dec. 18 -- says there's no need for Woodley to wait around in hopes of getting another shot at the YouTube superstar after he's done with TNT ... and has a pretty good reason why.

"I don't think people really wanna see Tyron vs Jake Paul again," Jake tells us. "He had his chance."

As for his upcoming fight, Paul admits the 7-0 brother of Tyson Fury is his toughest opponent to date ... but he's expecting the same outcome from his first 4 fights.

"Definitely the toughest guy, but I'm coming for his head," Jake added. "He has a lot a lot to deal with and he chose the wrong time to fight me because I'm not playing around this time."

"I feel like we are in grade school and Conor McGregor is following me around trying to pick up my sloppy seconds."

That's Justin Gaethje blasting The Notorious, telling TMZ Sports Conor McGregor is attempting to fight all the dudes he's already beaten, and the UFC star thinks it's pretty comical.

"I hate to say it because it's disrespectful to the opponents that I beat," Justin says.

"I fought Cowboy [Cerrone]. Then he wants to fight Cowboy. I just beat up Chandler. Now he wants to fight Chandler. He'll never say my name. And, Ferguson is on the list now too."

Of course, Gaethje -- the #2 ranked lightweight -- beat Chandler via unanimous decision at UFC 268 ... in one of the greatest fights of all time.

And, just last year, Justin beat Tony Ferguson by unanimous decision ... which earned him a title shot against Khabib.

Over the last few weeks, Conor expressed interest in fighting both men ... Chandler and Ferguson.

Someone the Irish superstar hasn't called out (lately, at least) ... is Justin.

So, we asked Gaethje -- who has previously made it clear he wanted to mess up McGregor -- if he was still interested in the fight.

"Do I want to make [Conor's] face look like Tony Ferguson and Michael Chandler's? Absolutely. Will he ever allow that? No! He has way too many smart people around this dude and he's not a dumbass."

"He might knock me out. Olivera might knock me out, Poirier might knock me out but they have to pray to God that they land that shot."

We also talked to Justin about his beef with Colby Covington (Gaethje trains with CC's rival, Kamaru Usman) ... and JG makes it known, he ain't looking for a fight in the Octagon with "Chaos."

Yair Rodriguez is literally willing to risk it all in his fight against UFC star Max Holloway ... telling TMZ Sports he's ready to die in the Octagon -- seriously.

"You gotta understand this sport is so dangerous and things can happen. You gotta accept that before you go in there," the 29-year-old, #3 ranked fighter says.

"El Pantera" is fighting the #1 ranked contender at UFC Fight Night Saturday night in Vegas ... and the winner will likely face champion Alex Volkanovski.

And, Yair knows how dangerous the sport can potentially be ... and he's okay with that.

"I just accept that it can happen," Rodriguez says.

"I'm fine with my family before the fight. I tell everybody that I love them. I try to get everything ready if anything happens. Hopefully, nothing like that happens to me or any of my co-workers."

As far as the fight ... Max vs. Yair -- who are both electric in the cage -- has the potential to be an awesome fight. Rodriguez even believes it could actually be better than Justin Gaethje and Michael Chandler's UFC 268 scrap.

"I know we had pretty good fights last weekend, and I'm sure people excepting a show, so I'm expecting to bring fireworks Saturday."

Whether or not it tops Justin and Michael ... fans are all but guaranteed a kick-ass bout when these men step in the Octagon.

UFC fighter Marlon "Chito" Vera isn't mincing his words, telling TMZ Sports he can "beat any-f***ing-body" ... and that very much includes interim champ, Petr Yan.

28-year-old Vera is coming off a 3rd round knockout win over UFC great Frankie Edgar at UFC 268 on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Chito is ranked 11th in the bantamweight division.

Speaking of the rankings ... Vera has big beef with his place on the list. He beat the #8 fighter, but only jumped up 2 spots.

"Whoever makes the rankings are a bunch of morons. They don't know s***. They're just as bad as the judges," Marlon tells us.

All the way at the top of those rankings are champ Aljamain Sterling and interim champ Yan.

28-year-old Yan beat contender Cory Sandhagen at UFC 267 ... and looked all but unbeatable.

But, Chito says he's absolutely certain he can beat the 16-2 fighter (and 1 of those losses is a DQ loss to Aljo for an illegal knee).

"We both walk people down. We both go forward. We both throw heat, and we both have a pretty good gas tank," Chito said of how he matches up against Petr.

He continued ... "If the UFC gives me that opportunity, I'm gonna come in hard. I'm gonna come ready. And I will say what I always say, I don't come in there just to barely win. I come in there to finish because I know I can do that. I would love to get that fight."

We asked ... can you beat Yan?

"100%. I don't have to fake any quote or anything, I know 100% I can beat him. I can beat any-f***ing-body."

Yan and Sterling will all but certainly fight sometime over the next few months to unify the belts ... and Vera will need at least another dub (he wants someone top 5) before he's in the title picture.

Wonder what a face looks like after getting punched 86 times by Justin Gaethje?! Look no further ... 'cause TMZ Sports has obtained video and photos of UFC badass Michael Chandler after his epic scrap with JG.

Chandler tells us he received 4 stitches inside his lip, 12 stitches above his right eye, and 6 stitches above his left eye ... for a grand total of 22, done by a doc at an NYC hospital.

If you missed the fight (what were you thinking?) ... it was absolutely insane. 32-year-old Gaethje -- the #1 ranked lightweight contender -- went at it for 25 straight minutes with 35-year-old Chandler, the #4 ranked 155 pounder.

Justin won the fight by unanimous decision ... but it was the fans who truly won -- 'cause both guys were beat the hell up.

Gaethje landed 116 total significant strikes ... while Chandler pieced up JG with 103 significant strikes.

Michael and Justin were both transported to the hospital after the UFC 268 fight.

Still think ya wanna be a fighter?!

Who will Conor McGregor fight when he returns to the Octagon after snapping his leg against Dustin Poirier???

Well, Max Holloway tells TMZ Sports it very well could be him ... 'cause he's on a "short list" to fight The Notorious.

We talked to Holloway -- the 29-year-old, #1 ranked featherweight contender -- just days before he's set to battle #3 ranked Yair Rodriguez ... in what in all likelihood will be a ridiculously awesome fight.

Question is, Blessed technically (it was controversial) lost to Alex Volkanovski twice ... so a win might not necessarily set him up for another crack at the current champ.

So, what's next? Here's what Max told us.

"I got 5 titles wins. 5 title fight wins. I want that 6 title fight win. And, if it can be Alex, then so be it. But, at the end of the day, UFC discussed with us a bunch of things, a bunch of possibilities. I got a win over the 155 champ in their division."

Then Holloway dropped this bit of news sure to get MMA fans juiced.

"I'm on a short list for Conor McGregor. Always on a short list for that fight. I'm the best boxer in the UFC."

Of course, it wouldn't be the first time the men have shared the cage. Back in August 2013, Holloway -- only 21-years-old at the time -- lost a unanimous decision to McGregor.

Fast forward ... Max is considered by most the greatest 145 lb. MMA fighter of all-time, and is coming off a historically dominating win over Calvin Kattar.

Meanwhile, 33-year-old Conor has lost 3 of his last 4 fights (Khabib L, "Cowboy" Cerrone W, Poirier L, Poirier L), and suffered a devastating leg injury against Dustin on July 10.

McGregor is likely to return to the cage in 2022 ... and Max, who's super focused on Rodriguez, knows it'll be huuuge fight.

"I think Conor, he's always talking about Nate [Diaz], always talking about Dustin [Poirier] now. But if you go call Hunter [Campbell] at the UFC, one of the guys here, and ask him who is the guy gonna sell pay-per-views at 45 or 55," Max said.

Holloway even has a venue in mind for the superfight.

Dana White -- an absolute Las Vegas legend -- tells TMZ Sports moving to Sin City is not the reason for the Raiders' off-field woes ... explaining bad things happen in every major city.

The UFC honcho -- who's called Vegas home for years -- told us out in NYC this week he does not believe moving from Oakland to Nevada has contributed to the problems with the Raiders.

"People are going to make mistakes," White said, "and bad things happen every day, no matter what city you're in."

Dana's not wrong -- but the Raiders have had more notable issues than any team since they made the trek from NorCal to Vegas before the 2020 season.

Star running back, Josh Jacobs, was arrested and charged with DUI in January. Star receiver, Henry Ruggs, was hit with a DUI charge after a fatal car crash this week. And, cornerback, Damon Arnette, has been accused of injuring a woman in a 2020 car crash as well.

White does admit Vegas "is a rough city" to try to keep your nose clean in ... but he still believes there are more places in the U.S. that players can find similar trouble in.

"Listen, Vegas is a tough city and so is L.A.," White said. "Go spend a weekend in L.A. It's the same thing. It is what it is."

Canelo Alvarez says this fight is different than his previous 59 ... 'cause he's got legit bad blood with Caleb Plant, and he tells TMZ Sports he's gunning to really hurt his undefeated opponent.

We talked to the 31-year-old top pound-for-pound fighter in the world just days before his fight against the 29-year-old, 21-0 boxer ... and asked him if he had anger or animosity towards Plant after the men got into it at a recent media event.

“Yes, for sure it's more personal for me. But, I'm gonna use that in my favor. I'm gonna put all my skills, my experience to win this fight in a good way.”

We asked ... do you want to hurt him more after what went down?

"Yes, I'm gonna enjoy that,” Canelo responded.

We also asked how Alvarez predicted the fight would turn out.

"What I see is that it's gonna be difficult the first few rounds, then I'm gonna start doing my fight like always."

In case you missed it, Canelo and Caleb literally came to blows at a Beverly Hills promotional event in September ... with Alvarez opening up a substantial cut on Plants' face.

So yeah, the beef's real for Alvarez.

We also talked to Plant ... and we asked him a similar question.

Caleb tried to downplay the incident ... but eventually admitted he might want to put Canelo down just a bit more after the scrap in L.A.

Dana White believes Kamaru Usman will cement himself as the greatest welterweight of all time ... with one more win over Colby Covington.

TMZ Sports talked to the UFC honcho just days before UFC 268 ... headlined by Usman vs. Covington, a rematch of their incredible 2019 scrap -- a fight Kamaru won via 5th round knockout.

"Usman is in a place right now where he's the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world. He's arguably right now the greatest welterweight of all time. He's already lapping guys, he's coming back and fighting guys for a second time," White said of Usman's legacy.

A few of the career attributes Dana listed ... undefeated in the UFC (14-0), won The Ultimate Fighter, longest win streak in welterweight history, least time on the bottom in UFC history, highest takedown defense in UFC history, to name a few.

And, Dana believes Usman could actually go down as the greatest MMA fighter ever.

"Colby Covington is a badass. He's very, very good. And, Usman beating him again will probably solidify him as the greatest welterweight ever, and yes, creeping up on G.O.A.T. status."

But, in order to do that, Kamaru must first beat Colby, the #1 contender, at UFC 268 Saturday night.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Kamaru Usman is the boxing match combat sports fans will NOT be seeing ... 'cause the world's top pound for pound pugilist tells TMZ Sports he just ain't interested in the fight.

"I don't see. It doesn't make sense for me. I want to make history in boxing, and I don't see anything right there," Canelo says.

Of course, 34-year-old Usman made news this week when he said he was interested in boxing 31-year-old Alvarez down the line ... something his manager Ali Abdelaziz has previously told us. Kamaru also talked to Joe Rogan about the possible fight last year.

"I think that's something that [would be] the biggest ever in history," Usman said of a fight with Canelo at UFC 268 media day.

"That's what I'm looking to do. That's something that scares me. That's something that gets me up in the morning. That's something that I might risk leaving my daughter for another 12 weeks for."

FYI, both men will be in action this Saturday night. Usman is rematching Colby Covington at UFC 268 (there first fight was legendary) ... and Alvarez is fighting undefeated boxer Caleb Plant. Alvarez and Plant literally came to blows at a media event a few weeks ago.

Now, this isn't Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather ... in that there isn't any trash talk or bad blood between the two top fighters.

In fact, the Nigerian Nightmare was very complimentary of the Mexican champ.

"He's a master of his craft," Usman said.

"[Canelo's] used to these boxers. He's used to the boxing speed and the boxing movements and things like that. We're different. Sometimes different can be good. What's wrong with giving him a different look? Of course, it's a tall tree to climb, but we saw what happened the last time I was the underdog."

As for the legacy that Alvarez is building ... we asked him if he believed he could do enough to one day go down as the greatest boxer of all-time.

"I don't know, we'll see. We'll look at my number, and we'll see."