UFC

Dillon Danis, after nearly two years away, is returning to the cage ... and the polarizing fighter says he plans to stay active -- with the ultimate goal being a scrap with UFC star Islam Makhachev!

TMZ Sports talked to 32-year-old Danis ahead of his Misfits 22 MMA scrap vs. Warren Spencer on Saturday (the fight's streaming on DAZN) ... where Dillon walked us through his reasoning for fighting a fairly unknown opp.

"Since the Logan fight, we had a bunch of fights, and I was trying to go, trying to go. Eventually, I'm just like, 'Alright if I'm just gonna be sitting around, I'm gonna fight'. Me taking a fight like this, getting my record up, getting more experience, people see me fighting, it'll help me get those bigger fights."

Dana White's Contender Series has become such a big deal, "Suga" Sean O'Malley says after the UFC, it's the biggest force in all of Mixed Martial Arts.

"The Contender Series is the second biggest promotion in the world. UFC and then Contender Series. There's nothing really that's competing with it," the show alum told Babcock this week.

Not PFL, nor ONE FC.

Khamzat Chimaev is back in the UAE after securing the UFC middleweight belt less than 48 hours ago ... and the folks at home are already treating him like the champ by rushing to greet him at the airport!!

Footage of the 31-year-old arriving in the country started making the rounds on social media Monday ... showing a ton of people waiting to get a glimpse of the big winner as soon as he touched down.

Rocking the belt on one shoulder with a flag draped over him, Chimaev took time to pose for photos and sign some autographs for those in attendance.

Mixed martial arts was BANNED in many places around the world not long ago ... but the sport has grown at an electric pace, and Henry Cejudo predicts it'll soon be the biggest sport in the world!

Triple C joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... where the former champ-champ was asked about the UFC's historic (and massive) $7.7 BILLION media rights deal with Paramount, and whether he could've ever imagined the sport reaching these heights.

"No, I didn't [imagine MMA could get this big]," the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer said.

7:53 AM PT -- While Jon Jones' leaving the scene of an accident case was dismissed on Wednesday, it turns out the UFC superstar is still facing charges related to the incident.

Bernalillo County prosecutors tell TMZ Sports ... "The officer filed the complaint in Metro Court twice, which generated a duplicate case." Only the duplicate has been dismissed.

The second case, though, remains ongoing. He's actually facing two charges there -- one count of leaving the scene of an accident, and one count of use of telephone to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend.

Jones is due for a hearing next month.

Big win in court this week for Jon Jones ... the UFC star's leaving the scene of an accident charge was dismissed.

Dricus Du Plessis has taken over two dozen UFC fights and countless others outside of the promotion, but he tells TMZ Sports his toughest match ever will come on Saturday night against Khamzat Chimaev.

The current middleweight champ made no bones about it during a sitdown with Michael Babcock earlier this month ... explaining the UFC 319 main event tilt will not only be "the hardest," but "the biggest fight of my life."

"This is the best opponent -- to date," he said ... adding, "Up until now, this is the best guy. He is the No. 1 contender in the world. He is the best guy without a title in the world."

Dana White and the UFC will have a new streaming home beginning in 2026 ... Paramount has acquired the U.S. rights to the MMA organization in a massive $7.7 BILLION deal!

TKO announced the pact Monday morning ... revealing the agreement with the Skydance Corporation is a seven-year one that's worth an annual price tag of $1.1 billion.

"The historic deal with Paramount and CBS is incredible for UFC fans and our athletes," White said. "For the first time ever, fans in the US will have access to all UFC content without a Pay-Per-View model, making it more affordable and accessible to view the greatest fights on a massive platform."

Khamzat Chimaev is calling BS on Paulo Costa's claim that he slid into his girlfriend's direct messages ... telling TMZ Sports that's just not how it went down!

"Why should I DM somebody's wife, bro?" the 31-year-old UFC star said Wednesday from a pre-fight workout in SoCal.

"She DM'ed before the fight, when I announced the fight like, 'Khamzat, please don't take it seriously. We're just trying to make money and hype'," Chimaev recounted, before revealing what he said back.

Conor McGregor is taking matters into his own hands in his quest to become Ireland's next president -- launching a petition to land on the ballot without nominations from other politicians.

Notorious went live with the campaign minutes ago ... penning a letter to the citizens of Ireland and the Irish diaspora.

"I, Conor McGregor hereby declare my intention to seek the esteemed office of President of Ireland," the UFC superstar said Monday. "The current constitutional framework however presents a significant barrier to democratic participation."

Brock Lesnar made a shocking return to WWE Sunday night at SummerSlam-- hitting John Cena with his F5 finisher to close the show.

MetLife Stadium erupted when the former WWE Champion's music hit the speakers. Lesnar stared down Cena as he made his way to the ring ... setting up a showdown between the two amid Cena's retirement tour.

His appearance came as a shock to many ... as the 48-year-old was named in the lawsuit filed by Janel Grant against Vince McMahon in 2024.

Welp, that's awkward ... the cop who arrested Diego Sanchez last month told the UFC legend he was a longtime fan of the fighter ... admitting he watched him scrap since he was "a little kid!"

TMZ Sports obtained body camera footage of the arrest ... after cops alleged the 43-year-old shot a gun out of a moving car while officers were working an incident on I-40 in Albuquerque, NM.

Cops initially spoke to the driver of the car Sanchez was in ... and after they identified him, the cop responded, "As in the Diego Sanchez?"

Conor McGregor has lost his appeal in his civil sexual assault case.

A Court of Appeal in Dublin, Ireland, rejected the UFC superstar's appeal on Thursday morning ... with a three-judge panel reportedly dismissing his claim "in its entirety."

McGregor was sued by Nikita Hand several years ago, alleging the famed fighter forced himself on her at a hotel following a 2018 Christmas party.

Even though he's got a new pair of lungs, Ben Askren says doctors have assured him he's fully capable of living a lengthy, healthy life.

The former UFC star sat with TMZ Sports just days after he returned home from his weekslong battle with a horrific case of pneumonia ... and while he's down a ton of weight and fresh off major lung transplant surgery -- he told us his long-term prognosis is very good.

"They say people run marathons and all this other stuff," he said of those who have been in similar situations to him.

Robert Whittaker is only 34 years old and still a top 5-ranked UFC middleweight, but the former champion revealed he can see the finish line of his fighting career!

TMZ Sports spoke to Bobby Knuckles just days before his UFC on ABC 9 main event scrap against Reinier de Ridder -- slated to go down from Abu Dhabi on Saturday -- when we asked him for a State of the Union on his career.

"I definitely feel the tenure like that I've had. I've been blessed to have been in this game for so long, but I feel like I'm right at the point where I can see the end is near, but I have all the experience and the body still to do what needs to be done," Robert said.

And his new single with Central Cee, "Which One," a dance jam that arrives just in time for the peak of summer!!!

Drake is all set to fire the gun on long-rumored 9th studio album "Iceman" tonight -- confirmed by Drizzy himself on Instagram!!!

In an IG post with a graphic that said "9PM," Drake clarified the project would be released Eastern Standard Time tonight (BTW, we're on Daylight Saving Time right now, not Standard ... just sayin').

Drake has been dropping Easter Eggs that "Iceman" would be a cold album through photos of iced-out jewelry as well as NBA HOF'er George Gervin and UFC legend Chuck Liddell, both of whom carved out legendary careers under the "Iceman" nickname.

Iceman is also an OG member of the X-Men within the Marvel universe; a superhero known not to bite his tongue ... which Drake did not do on the album's first single, "What Did I Miss?" which hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 last week.

He's currently in Europe for his "$ome $pecial $hows 4 U" tour run alongside PARTYNEXTDOOR, but he clearly wants the world to hear some new tunes.

Ilia Topuria just gave Nelk Boys haters an absolute treat -- the current UFC lightweight champion didn't pull any punches in sparring sessions with the YouTubers ... resulting in some hilarious content!!

The group posted their workout with the champ to their YouTube channel Wednesday ... and as you would expect, they got their asses handed to them.

The first victim was Steiny. Topuria backed him into a corner and laid some light hits before he fell. He did get back up ... but then Topuria landed a right that sent him to the mat.