UFC

17 million people tuned in to Jake Paul's MVP MMA 1 card Saturday night, and co-founder and CEO Nakisa Bidarian is giving a State Of The Promotion after the event ... addressing everything from whether Gina Carano should've been in the cage with Ronda Rousey to the UFC's decision to drop big Conor McGregor return news during the event!

"Tremendous success. Unprecedented for someone to come into a sport that has an endemic reference brand like the UFC and to perform the way that we did," Bidarian told Babcock Wednesday afternoon.

"It speaks to obviously our partner in being Netflix, speaks to the fighters on the card, but also speaks to MVP, Jake Paul, who is the biggest brand in combat sports under the age of 30, unequivocally, and all of that magic coming together and our ability to execute. So very, very happy with the outcome."

Nakisa believes it was a smash hit ... begging the question, will MVP do MMA again?

Ex-UFC star Diego Sanchez and his wife, Teresa Tapia, divorced weeks before he avoided prison time in his criminal case, TMZ has learned.

Teresa filed a petition for divorce on February 16, 2026, citing “irreconcilable differences” and said there was no hope for a reconciliation.

The paperwork listed the date of marriage as December 20, 2024. The exes reached a settlement agreement, which stated they started to live separately in April 2025.

Freedom 250 is the most exclusive ticket in the sports world right now. The fights ain't goin' down in big arena -- and the White House lawn doesn't have unlimited space ... begging the question, how many tickets does Dana White himself have? Or, how about President Trump?

TMZ Sports asked him.

"There's a lot of people who hit me up for tickets. We did invites," the UFC honcho told us recently in New York City.

Ronda Rousey made quick work of Gina Carano in their highly anticipated mixed martial arts fight, forcing her tap out in just 17 seconds.

Rousey returned to the Octagon at L.A.'s Inuit Dome Saturday night after a nearly 10-year hiatus and came storming out of the gate in the first round, tackling Carano to the canvas. 

The MMA star then put Carano in her signature armbar, and that was it, folks. Carano immediately tapped out. After the match, Rousey said she's headed back into retirement to be with her family, ending her 13-2 MMA career on a high note.

Dana White is the opposite of frightened leading up to the HEATED UFC 328 main event matchup between Khamzat Chimaev and Sean Strickland, telling TMZ Sports ... "It's exciting!"

"It doesn't scare me," the UFC honcho said Friday in Manhattan, referencing all the insane trash talk leading up to Saturday's fight card.

"It's been a minute since I've had a fight that's had this much heat on it. Ya know, it's exciting."

Luke Rockhold has a face for the camera ... but don't expect him to get in front of one any time soon ... the former UFC star says he HATES the idea of being anyone but himself.

TMZ Sports caught up with Rockhold at Santos Studios in Newport this week ... and asked him all about his life outside of the Octagon ... his last fight was a boxing match against Darren Till in 2025, and his last MMA bout was all the way back in 2022.

Of course, he's not too far removed from the fight game -- he is helping Khamzat Chimaev train for his big fight with Sean Strickland at UFC 328 next weekend -- and LR admitted with the way that's going, he's not unretiring unless he gets an astronomical payday.

So, what does he want to do if not fight?? He explained he's got his hands tied with several business ventures like Santos, Gameday Men's Health and Protein Candy.

Khamzat Chimaev has a huge title fight in exactly one week, but the MMA superstar is also interested in taking a detour to the boxing ring ... and he wants to fight Conor McGregor!

TMZ Sports was in SoCal this week for a workout sesh and media event with the 32-year-old middleweight champion ... when Chimaev was asked what currently excited him.

"I don't know, probably it would be Zuffa boxing with Conor. Maybe that. We will just box 12 rounds."

Andrew Tate is calling Guy Fieri a "bitch ass n*****" for a total switch up after their friendly UFC meetup that quickly turned into online backlash.

We caught up with Tate in Beverly Hills Tuesday, and he made it clear he’s not buying Guy’s explanation for distancing himself after the viral moment.

As we reported ... Fieri was seen greeting Tate and his brother at the fight in April, but the brief interaction sparked backlash online, with fans dragging Guy for being seen with the controversial influencer. He later claimed he didn’t know them and doesn’t support them.

UFC star Rose Namajunas just shared the most disturbing clip of the week on this lovely Monday afternoon ... showing her getting a silicone tube removed from her eye.

We saw it ... so now you do, too.

Thug -- who underwent surgery after her loss to Natalia Silva at UFC 324 in January -- says she's back to 100% after a recent trip to the doctor ... where he pulled the medical device right from her socket.

Freedom 250 at the White House will be one of the most secure places on the planet, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to an official from the Department of Homeland Security, Freedom 250, going down on the South Lawn on June 14, has been designated a Level 1 Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) ... meaning multiple federal law enforcement agencies will be involved in keeping fighters, teams, and throngs of fans safe.

Officials take importance, attendance, visibility, and risk assessment into account when designating an event ... and level 1 is reserved for events like the Super Bowl and major marathons.

The Indianapolis 500 and Kentucky Derby have traditionally been SEAR 2, while the Masters is SEAR 3.

Daniel Rodriguez spent eight months in a Mexican prison, but no one laid a finger on him ... 'cause the UFC star says he had some very powerful people watching over him while behind bars!

"I've been in jail before. It's not my first rodeo, but this was a whole different monster," 39-year-old D-Rod told Babcock. "Surrounded by the lowest of the low. You can imagine jail, then you can imagine jail in Mexico."

"Fortunately for me, word kind of got around who I was and I had people in high places take care of me and stuff. I guess you can say for the most part I was put in probably the best living situation."

"I was expecting Herb to pick my hand up."

Curtis Blaydes wholeheartedly believes he beat Josh Hokit during their insane UFC 327 fight ... a bloody, action-packed scrap that's been described as the greatest heavyweight bout ever.

"When they gave us the judgment, I was in a little bit of shock. I was like, 'Dang, I thought I did enough,'" Curtis told Babcock.

Officially, the 35-year-old heavyweight lost by unanimous decision, with all three judges' scorecards reading the same ... 29-28 (2 rounds to 1 for Hokit).

More trouble for Mark Hunt -- one of the most beloved UFC fighters ever -- the heavy-hitting heavyweight was arrested after he was accused of threatening to kill a female acquaintance.

"I'm just going to murder you in the end anyway," the 52-year-old MMA legend allegedly texted the woman after a dispute this week in South Wales, Australia, which prompted cops to rush to the scene and take Hunt into custody Tuesday night.

He is facing one count of stalking or intimidation with intent to cause physical harm.

Hunt was initially refused bail before his first court appearance on Wednesday, but was ultimately allowed to bond out after agreeing to abide by a series of strict conditions.

The Super Samoan was a fan favorite during his run with the UFC, beloved for his devastating power, and his signature walk-offs.

In the Octagon, Mark mixed it up with some of the best heavyweights ever, including Stipe Miocic, Brock Lesnar, Alistair Overeem, Junior dos Santos, Curtis Blaydes, and Derrick Lewis, among others.

Hunt last fought in December 2018 in a losing effort.

Mark has faced significant challenges since walking away from fighting, including health, financial, and legal troubles that have severely impacted his life.

While Hunt has not addressed the claim, his legal team disputed the charge in court.

Guy Fieri was caught on camera shaking Andrew Tate's hand at UFC 327 over the weekend ... and has been getting dragged on social media for it.

On Saturday, the Food Network star was filmed dapping up the red-pill podcaster and hand-hugging with Andrew's brother, Tristan Tate.

Fans expressed their disgust over the interaction ... slamming the celeb for playing nice with the brothers, who have been accused of allegedly committing some pretty heinous sex crimes.

President Trump took a break from the conflict in Iran to enjoy some UFC battles here at home Saturday night -- and, as usual, 47 made a grand entrance inside the arena.

The Commander in Chief walked out of a tunnel with UFC boss Dana White to massive applause from the crowd at UFC 327 in Miami's Kaseya Center.

Check out the video that shows Trump waving at fans who are cheering him on while taking cell phone videos.

The UFC shared some behind-the-scenes photos from its collab with the FBI earlier this month at the agency's headquarters in Quantico, Virginia ... showing off some of the work accomplished during the combat seminar.

Jorge Masvidal, Chris Weidman, Justin Gaethje, Claudia Gadelha, Manel Kape, and Michael Chandler all helped out in the event that FBI Director Kash Patel lobbied for months prior.

In one of the photos, you see Patel watching as Weidman and Gaethje give recruits pointers on moves they can break out on bad guys. Another photo shows Gadelha -- a former contender in the UFC strawweight division -- going with a more hands-on approach in her lesson.