UFC

Luke Rockhold has been one of the biggest Alex Pereira critics, but the former middleweight champ is ready to give Poatan his flowers ... declaring the Light Heavyweight strap holder one of the all-time greats!

TMZ Sports ran into the UFC legend leaving On The Rox at The Roxy in West Hollywood this week -- not long after 38-year-old Pereira decimated then-champ Magomed Ankalaev in the main event at UFC 320 -- when we asked Rockhold about the performance.

"I used to hate on Alex Pereira but motherf***er's a gangster. It's all about confidence. It's all about balls. He has it. He f***ing has it. I'm not gonna lie. I can't hate on the motherf***er anymore. He's one of the GOATs," Luke said.

Ronda Rousey says she's back getting after it in the gym ... but she's still not telling if she's got plans on making a UFC return.

TMZ Sports caught up with the former bantamweight champion out in Los Angeles earlier this week, and after she told us she's training hard these days ... we naturally asked, is a comeback to the Octagon on the horizon?!?

Rousey, though, remained tight-lipped ... insisting she couldn't expound on her plans because she was late for a session with her trainer.

Former UFC fighter Suman Mokhtarian has died at the age of 33 after being shot and killed in an alleged targeted attack in Australia.

According to The Daily Telegraph, New South Wales officials believe Mokhtarian was out for a walk when the fatal encounter happened. Witnesses told police shots rang out of a red Audi around 6 PM local time before the car sped off.

Mokhtarian was shot in the upper torso ... and paramedics tried to revive him, but efforts were unsuccessful.

Conor McGregor's going to be spending a bit more time outside of the octagon ... because he just got hit with an 18-month suspension through Combat Sports Anti-Doping, which is affiliated with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

The mixed-martial-arts (MMA) promotion company shared an announcement about The Notorious' time off through its official website on Tuesday, and it was revealed his suspension was due to "whereabouts failures" under its anti-doping policy -- in other words, he no-showed for an important test several times.

Athletes in the UFC are required to give the company accurate location information at all times so they can get tested -- at random intervals, of course.

Conor missed three tests, which were all scheduled to take place in June and September 2024. He apparently accepted responsibility for the no-shows, and he ended up having his suspension reduced by six months.

We should also note the professional fighter claims he was recovering from an injury and wasn't preparing for a match when the tests were supposed to have been taken.

Conor's period of ineligibility kicked off on September 20, 2024, when he was supposed to have his third of three tests, and it'll continue until March 20, 2026.

The athlete most recently fought in 2021, when he lost to Dustin Poirier. He was set to get back to the octagon in 2024, although he pulled out of his scheduled bout after suffering an injury during training.

The most anticipated card in UFC history -- the massive event at the White House -- officially has a date ... June 14, 2026, President Trump's 80th birthday!

How's that for a bday bash?!

POTUS made the announcement on Sunday while speaking at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, saying ... "On June 14th next year, we're going to have a big UFC fight at the White House, right at the White House grounds."

Merab Dvalishvili isn't going anywhere anytime soon ... the UFC bantamweight champ says he plans to fight well beyond the point fighters normally lay down their glaves -- until his 50th birthday!

TMZ Sports talked to the 34-year-old fighter about his UFC 320 co-main event scrap against Cory Sanhagen in Las Vegas, as well as his standing in the pound-for-pound rankings, and much more.

"I'm grateful. I'm number three now [pound-for-pound], and I'm good here. If [number one] happens, then I will become number one. That's good. If not, I'm good here. I'm a champion of my division, and there are a lot of good guys here [at bantamweight]."

3:40 PM PT -- It's still unclear how Arthur Jones passed ... but according to new police audio TMZ Sports has obtained, it appears he might have suffered an issue with his heart on Friday morning.

An official can be heard in the audio stating a 39-year-old male's "defibrillator went off" and "he received a shock and now he's not answering the phone."

Former NFL star Arthur Jones -- the brother of UFC legend Jon Jones and football player Chandler Jones -- has died, the Baltimore Ravens announced Friday.

He was 39 years old.

Details surrounding his death have not been announced.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is smashing expectations with his boldest role yet -- stepping away from blockbuster bravado to deliver a raw, unflinching turn in "The Smashing Machine."

It’s another week, another episode of "TMZ Movie Tea" with Jabeen Waheed... and she’s serving up a must-see: Dwayne as real-life MMA legend Mark Kerr -- a fighter battling way more than opponents in the ring!

Addiction, fame, and a rocky marriage to Dawn (Emily Blunt!!) fuel this brutal personal drama -- with Benny Safdie in the director’s chair.

Alex Pereira says Magomed Ankalaev's day of reckoning is coming ... where the UFC champ will be forced to pay for running his mouth!

"There's definitely a rivalry. [Ankalaev's] said a lot and now he's got to face it," Poatan told us this week, adding ... "And yeah, he definitely looks like he's a little bit scared."

Pereira and Ankalaev's UFC 320 rematch, which is exactly one week away, already had fans pumped ... but things were ratcheted up even more this week when the fighters got into a verbal dust-up at the UFC's Performance Institute.

Conor McGregor is tapping out of his presidential campaign in Ireland ... saying after talking to his family and reflecting on the situation, it's simply not the right thing for him to pursue at this time.

The UFC superstar released a long statement on his social media page on Sunday ... making it clear that even though he will not be running this time around, it is by no means the end of his political career.

"I will continue to serve my people by using my international platform to promote Irish interests abroad, to strengthen our economic opportunities, and to advocate for transparency and responsibility in public life at home."

The UFC will honor the late Charlie Kirk on Saturday at "Noche UFC" ... days after the beloved activist was assassinated on a college campus in Utah.

TMZ Sports has learned the fight promotion will pay tribute to Kirk near the top of the main event at 6 PM ET ... going down in front of a packed crowd at Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.

The specifics of the tribute aren't known.

Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford goes down Saturday night, and Dana White, the bout's promoter, says it's ALREADY one of the top-selling fights in boxing history!

TMZ Sports ran into White in Los Angeles this week -- just a few days before the historic scrap -- when we asked about the magnitude of the event.

"[Canelo-Crawford] is already the third biggest fight of all time as far as gate. It's number one all-time in stadiums. It's the number one gate of all time at Allegiant Stadium," White told us.

Conor McGregor has a new cornerman in one of his business pursuits ... it's none other than Donald Trump Jr.!!

Mixed Martial Arts Group (MMA.Inc) -- a company backed by the UFC superstar -- announced POTUS' son as its newest strategic advisor on Tuesday ... a move that has Notorious stoked.

"Don is a globally recognized business leader with a deep passion for martial arts and for the coaches and small business owners who are the backbone of this sport," McGregor -- the company's key investor -- said.

Conor McGregor has taken to the streets to campaign for change in Ireland ... giving a passionate speech outside the government buildings and pleading with his fans to help him get on the presidential ballot.

Notorious released the nearly two-and-a-half-minute-long monologue in Dublin on Thursday ... bashing the current officials for, in his eyes, dropping the ball.

"In these times, this government has cost us our peace of mind, our security, our hope for the future and the general well-being of Irish citizens nationwide has decreased dramatically," McGregor said.

1:24 PM PT -- Jon Jones addressed the news in a statement on Tuesday ... thanking the district attorney's office for "ultimately vindicating me completely."

"I have always believed in the importance of truth and fairness, and I am grateful that the evidence spoke for itself. The simple fact is this: I was never there. I never even left my house that night, and all the evidence proved that."

Jones went on to say there was a "rush to judgment" before all the real evidence was presented ... and once the allegations went public, his retirement announcement moment was "stolen from me by someone who made false accusations to avoid a DWI and any real accountability."

"I sincerely hope that this individual is held responsible by Albuquerque’s law enforcement," Jones continued. "They not only disrupted my retirement but also made our police department appear negligent in the process. It is deeply troubling that, in today’s world, a single false accusation can take so much away from someone before any evidence is even considered."

Jon Jones is officially in the clear in his leaving the scene of an accident case ... prosecutors have dismissed all charges against the UFC superstar.

Court documents TMZ Sports has obtained show New Mexico officials dropped the matter after they found "reason to believe [Jones'] alibi defense is credible."

Jones, as you know, was hit with two charges -- one count of leaving the scene of an accident, and one count of use of telephone to terrify, intimidate, threaten, harass, annoy or offend -- after he allegedly bolted from the scene of a wreck on Feb. 21 in Albuquerque.

Frankie Edgar's coming out of retirement ... but not everyone is thrilled with the decision!

TMZ Sports talked to the 43-year-old MMA legend ahead of his bare knuckle boxing debut against fellow former UFC star Jimmie Rivera at BKFC 82 ... after almost 3 years away from fighting.

We asked Frankie how his family felt about his decision to once again make the walk.

"Not too good," Edgar said while laughing. "They definitely did not want me to do this. But we had a serious talk, and I got the okay from my wife."