UFC

Two former Jake Paul opponents, Anderson Silva and Tyron Woodley, are setting their sights on one another ... the UFC legends were just added to the El Gallo-Anthony Joshua card, where they'll duke it out in the ring!

Paul's Most Valuable Promotions announced the news Friday morning, calling Silva, who is 50, the "greatest MMA fighter of all time and Brazilian legend," announcing he'd square off against "combat sports icon" Woodley, who is 43.

The bout will be fought at 195 lbs., and will feature six, three-minute rounds.

Dillion Danis better keep his head on a swivel ... 'cause the beef with Team Islam Makhachev is anything but squashed, according to the newly crowned welterweight champ's manager, Ali Abdelaziz.

"This is not over. This is not over," Abdelaziz told TMZ Sports on Monday.

"This guy is not safe. Whole Foods, the airport at a terminal, if people catch this guy, he's gonna have problems. He's not done, these people are not done with him. For the rest of his life. [Dillon] or Conor, they're not safe. Or they have to come out and say, 'Know what, we're sorry, we give up. We're done.' Then after that you'll get mercy."

Dillon Danis just got himself blacklisted from the UFC ... because Dana White says the fighter is banned forever after igniting a wild brawl cageside at UFC 322.

The chaos exploded Saturday night inside Madison Square Garden in NYC ... moments before the main card kicked off when Danis got into it with several members of Islam Makhachev's squad.

Videos captured the scene ... showing Danis mixing it up with Abubakar Nurmagomedov and Magomed Zaynukov as security rushed in to break things up.

Dana addressed the melee during the post-fight presser and didn't mince words ... telling reporters he won't press charges, but Danis will never step foot at another UFC event again.

"I was on the other side of the Octagon and go, 'F---, I know exactly what this is,'" White said. "You will never see Dillon Danis at a UFC fight ever again."

Danis, of course, isn't a stranger to Nurmagomedov drama. He was in Conor McGregor's corner during their infamous 2018 title fight in Las Vegas ... the same night Khabib Nurmagomedov choked out McGregor and then leapt out of the cage to attack Conor's corner.

UFC 322 is a kick-ass card from top to bottom, and TMZ Sports is breaking it down with the man in charge, Dana White!

"Islam [Makhachev] is on a 15-fight win streak, and Jack [Della Maddalena] is on an 18-fight win streak. These guys haven't lost a fight in years," the UFC president and CEO told Babcock, setting up the main event.

"Jack bursts onto the scene, coming off the Contender Series. Goes all the way up and beats Belal Muhammad, which is not easy to do. He just beat Belal. Now, if he can beat Islam. Jack Della Maddalena is a bad dude."

Kamaru Usman has an idea of how he wants his legendary UFC career to come to a close ... and he let TMZ Sports in on the blueprint -- and it all starts with the winner of this weekend's UFC 322 main event!

We chopped it up with the 38-year-old former welterweight champion ahead of the promotion's return to Madison Square Garden in NYC on Saturday, and Usman says he's got an eye on the title scrap between champ Jack Della Maddalena and Islam Makhachev, who surrendered his lightweight belt to go for gold in the 170 lb. division.

"I think [the fight is] a toss-up, but I do think Islam has the grappling edge when it goes down to the ground," Usman said. "I think he's just done it longer. We'll see what happens. But of course, I'm looking to get in there and potentially test myself against the winner."

It's almost certainly a pipe dream ... but if the UFC wants the biggest fight in the world for the White House event, it's Jon Jones vs. Francis Ngannou, according to the Predator himself!

TMZ Sports spoke to 39-year-old Ngannou -- in the midst of his online spat with Jake Paul -- and asked the former UFC heavyweight champ which bout he thought bigger at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Jones vs. Alex Pereira, or Jones vs. himself.

"You know the answer. You don't need me for that," Francis said with a smile, implying the answer was him.

Just months after Ben Askren was hospitalized with a severe staph infection that led to life-threatening pneumonia and ultimately a double lung transplant ... the former UFC star is back doing what he loves, posting a video of himself hitting the wrestling mats!

Askren shared the video to his social media on Thursday, showing him lacing up a fresh pair of wrestling shoes and getting some training in.

"4 months ago I was on my deathbed," Askren wrote. "3 months ago I couldn't stand unassisted, 2 months ago I was still using a walker."

Dana White is opening up on the betting scandal embroiling one of his now former fighters, Isaac Dulgarian, telling TMZ Sports what caused the UFC to actually reach out to the FBI!

Dulgarian, 29, was a sizeable betting favorite (-250) over Yadier Del Valle at Saturday's UFC Fight Night, but ultimately lost by rear-naked choke in the first round.

The result, combined with something that happened hours earlier, has raised serious alarm bells for the UFC honcho ... and that's why Dana decided to loop in the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Ex-UFC star BJ Penn was arrested again this week -- this time, he's accused of punching and kicking a 45-year-old man in Hawaii.

Hawaii Island Police say the 46-year-old former fighter was arrested and charged with third-degree assault stemming from an incident early Tuesday morning.

Cops were called to a residence in Hilo around 1 AM ... when the man said Penn hit him several times before he was able to flee the scene.

Former UFC flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo was in a scary car accident in Brazil on Thursday ... documenting the aftermath in a social media video -- but thankfully, it sounds like he's all good.

The sixth-ranked bantamweight contender in Dana White's promotion said he was going on a local street in the city of Belém when the collision occurred ... claiming a woman was seemingly "on the run" and driving "at a high speed" prior to impact.

Figueiredo said "thank god we're fine" ... and the other party involved is okay as well. It is unclear if anyone was in the car with him.

A brutal knee injury clearly hasn't derailed Mark Zuckerberg's MMA career ... 'cause the Meta honcho was just seen mixing it up on the mats with none other than UFC champ Alex Pereira!

Check out some vids the light heavyweight strap holder posted on his Instagram page on Thursday ... he and Zuck really got after one another in an intense training session.

The guys poured sweat during grappling drills, and Zuckerberg even threw hands at the star fighter in stand-up work.

Jon Jones may tune in to UFC 321 for the hugely consequential heavyweight fight, but Tom Aspinall ain't at all concerned with Bones' Saturday night plans ... telling TMZ Sports he doesn't give a s*** about the UFC legend!

We talked to the 32-year-old heavyweight champ before his highly anticipated main event fight against 35-year-old Ciryl Gane ... where we talked about everything from his top-ranked opp, to his rival, Jon.

"I couldn't care less [if Jon Jones' wateches], to be honest," Tom told us. "Honestly, he's the last person on my mind this week."

Brendan Allen isn't mincing his words after pulling off a short-notice upset win against Reinier de Ridder ... telling TMZ Sports his opponent's team wasn't responsible for calling it quits, but the fighter himself!!

We chopped it up with Allen following his massive performance at UFC Vancouver over the weekend ... which ended when RDR failed to answer the bell to start the fifth round.

Allen said he watched back the moment RDR's corner threw in the towel ... and while Reinier's coaches swore it was their call, he had a different view.

Umar Nurmagomedov -- Khabib's cousin -- tells TMZ Sports those who tune to UFC 321 next weekend are going to see exactly "how Nurmagomedovs come back" from adversity.

The 29-year-old is slated to fight Mario Bautista on the loaded card ... and while he recorded his first-ever loss the last time he was in an Octagon (vs. Merab Dvalishvili in January), he's still as confident as ever.

In fact, he told us fans will see exactly how those with his famous last name return from setbacks once he steps foot in Abu Dhabi for the big Oct. 25 tilt.

Maycee Barber is gearing up for her UFC return after suffering a medical emergency minutes before making the walk to the Octagon back in May ... and she tells TMZ Sports she's "doing great" and is excited to get back to fighting.

Barber chopped it up with us after it was announced she will be squaring off against the ninth-ranked contender in the UFC's women's flyweight division, Karine Silva, at UFC 323 on Dec. 6 ... and her excitement for her comeback was noticeable.

"I feel good, I'm excited," Barber told us. "It's been definitely a process of mental battles, and then also the physical battle of recovering and just being back to training, and there's a lot to go through."

Reinier De Ridder may have a new opponent thanks to an injury last month, but there's still a ton on the line for the UFC middleweight contender ... including a massive title fight against Khamzat Chimaev!

RDR says whether he gets to fight for the strap will largely depend on his performance against Brendan Allen in the main event at UFC Fight Night in Vancouver on Saturday.

TMZ Sports spoke with the 4th-ranked 185-pounder about his prospects of fighting Chimaev for the strap ... with a win over the 9th-ranked Allen.