UFC

Conor McGregor and Michael Chandler ain't happening -- at least not right now -- so, with that fight seemingly on life support, fans have put forth another name -- Justin Gaethje. But, is he interested??

The short answer is yes, according to the 35-year-old fighter's manager, Ali Abdelaziz ... who says the bigger question is whether McGregor would step into an Octagon with Gaethje.

"If this is what [Conor] wants, if this is what the UFC wants, I think Justin Gaethje will like to smash his face. 100%. I would love to see Justin Gaethje smash his face," Ali told TMZ Sports, adding ... "Everybody knows I don't like this guy. None of us like him. But, he brings a lot of unique things to the table. And, Justin is open to it, fighting someone like him."

With antisemitism on the rise, a Jewish organization at Harvard is making sure its members can defend themselves ... bringing one of the most dangerous people in the world to teach self-defense, UFC fighter Natan Levy.

32-year-old Levy, an 8-2 pro-MMA fighter, recently taught students at Harvard Chabad -- a Jewish student organization at the Ivy League School -- amid fears the Jewish students could be in physical danger.

Natan taught a wide range of techniques ... from strikes (jabs, crosses, kicks, etc.) to wrist grabs and more over the course of an hour-long class.

Raul Rosas Jr. says he's ready for a ranked opponent ... as the 19-year-old MMA star hopes to supplant Jon Jones as the youngest-ever UFC champion!

TMZ Sports talked to Rosas Jr. fresh off his unanimous decision victory over Qileng Aori at UFC 306 at the Sphere in Las Vegas ... and RR says he wants a step up in competition.

"I still have to talk to my manager about what's next. Obviously, that's what I would love and that's what I want 'cause I know it would take me a step closer to my dream, which is to become a UFC champion," Raul told us.

Sean O'Malley will have to wait to get back in the win column -- the former bantamweight champion just announced he is scheduled for surgery following his loss at UFC 306.

The 29-year-old made the announcement after hopping on a call with streamer Adin Ross -- saying he suffered a torn labrum in his hip 10 weeks ago -- but still managed to get through fight camp for his title bout against Merab Dvalishvili.

"I tore my left labrum in my hip," O'Malley said. "That's the only reason I'm going to be out for so long. This surgery should only take two months to come back from, then a couple months recovery. A year is a long time, could be six to eight months. You never know."

Canelo Alvarez's strength and punching power may scare some boxers, but not Terence Crawford, who tells TMZ Sports he's absolutely sure he'd get the victory over the Mexican superstar if the two fought.

Of course, at the moment, it's a big "if" ... as even though Crawford's made it clear he wants the scrap -- Canelo doesn't seem so sure.

If you missed it, following his Saturday night victory over Edgar Berlanga -- which Crawford actually attended -- Canelo said straight up "no comment" when asked about a potential tilt with Bud.

Irene Aldana's flaunting her newly fixed face after the bantamweight fighter had her wig split open at UFC 306 ... in what was one of the most gruesome cuts you'll ever see!

The 36-year-old Mexican fighter -- who lost by unanimous decision to Norma Dumont -- provided fans an update following her bout, posting several pics and videos after the doctor sutured her up.

Aldana needed stitches in multiple places, but the worst gash came courtesy of an unintentional clash of heads resulting in a deep, 2-ish-inch cut extending from her hairline to eyebrow.

Terence Crawford ain't m.A.A.d after the UFC broadcast mistook him for Kendrick Lamar on Saturday ... telling TMZ Sports he laughed it all off -- 'cause he's convinced it was done on purpose!!

Bud went viral for his appearance at Noche UFC at the Sphere in Vegas ... when a lower third graphic misidentified him as the "Not Like Us" rapper.

Screengrabs of the goof made rounds on social media ... and it was pretty ironic, as K. Dot name-dropped the boxing superstar on his "euphoria" diss track directed at Drake earlier this year.

Merab Dvalishvili had himself quite the weekend ... he defeated Sean O'Malley for the UFC Bantamweight championship, and celebrated the win deep into the night at a Sin City hotspot!

We're told the 33-year-old Georgian hit up XS Nightclub inside Wynn Las Vegas around 1:30 AM ... rolling up to the joint with around 70 people to celebrate the massive moment -- and of course was showing off his new hardware!

MD received a welcome worthy of a champ -- he was greeted with illuminated LED marquees, massive photos, and an LED drumline as confetti flew in the air.

The UFC did not disappoint with the first-ever sporting event at The Sphere in Vegas ... and Jeff Bezos' fiancée, Lauren Sánchez, was right there chronicling the whole amazing night.

Lots of celebs hit up UFC 306, including Chris Brown, Taylor Lewan, Andrew Schulz, Bob Iger and Shannon Sharpe.

Of course, Jeff and Lauren sat cage-side -- seats were SUPER expensive, but they scraped up enough dough -- as she pulled out her cell phone and sprayed the venue with video for her followers.

Brian Ortega is one of the twenty fighters who will scrap on the UFC's one and ONLY Noche event at the Sphere ... something the veteran MMA star describes as an "honor."

"Bro, it's another level. We get to fight on a historic event by a promotion that's already known for making history. So it's an honor to be chosen to go in there, a featured fight and kind of kick off the night for both co-main and main event," T-City told TMZ Sports earlier this week, just days before his clash with 29-year-old Diego Lopes.

Remember, Ortega, 33, and Lopes were supposed to fight in June at UFC 303 ... but the fight was scrapped the same day the men were due in the Octagon after Brian, who was coming off a win over Yair Rodriguez, got sick and couldn't fight.

Dana White and the UFC are hosting one of their most ambitious cards ever at the Sphere on Saturday -- and that's saying something for a guy who built an entire "Fight Island" -- an event the UFC honcho tells us wouldn't be happening without Tom Brady!

White joined Babcock on TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week ... where he revealed TB12 was the inspo behind the first-ever Sphere sporting event.

"I went to the Sphere with Tom Brady. He invited me to come to U2 with him. Had Brady not invited me, I wouldn't even have been to the Sphere yet. It's almost like this was meant to be," the UFC CEO said of the mega event.

Think Merab Dvalishvili is a bad stylistic matchup for Sean O'Malley?! Suga couldn't see it anymore differently ... telling TMZ Sports he's a "nightmare matchup" for his UFC 306 opp!

"It's a big fight feel being at the Sphere," the 29-year-old bantamweight champ told Babcock of the UFC Noche event, going down Mexican Independence Day weekend at the amazing venue.

33-year-old Merab, the top 135 lb. contender, hasn't lost since 2018 ... and good matchup or not, Sean understands he can be a "dangerous" dude.

Jorge Masvidal is ready to get back in a UFC Octagon ... telling TMZ Sports he's eyeing fights with none other than Leon Edwards and Michael Chandler -- and one of the two has already responded!!

Masvidal spoke about his impending return to Dana White's org this week after being away from it all since April 2023 -- and he told us he's itching to get back.

For now, no firm return date has been set ... but he said he's hoping to be on a card sometime either at the end of this year or the start of 2025.

Travis Pastrana says Dana White wants to take "the best, most chaotic, craziest, short-attention span racing in the world" to new heights ... telling TMZ Sports the UFC honcho's vision for Nitrocross is like music to his ears!!

We spoke with the action sports legend ahead of Nitrocross' upcoming season -- which kicks off in Richmond, VA this weekend -- and he said it's gonna be a party the whole family can enjoy.

Nitrocross is pretty intense -- as Pastrana explains, the vehicles have more than 1,000 horsepower (more than any form of rallycross in the world), the courses have massive jumps and cars are flying all over the place.

Jeremy Stephens is gunning to improve his Bare Knuckle Fighting record to a perfect 2-0 next Saturday ... and the big question is, could a win propel him to a fight with former foe turned BKFC owner, Conor McGregor?!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 38-year-old fighter ahead of his second scrap with the promotion, against 6-2 Bobby Taylor. While Taylor has more experience fighting without gloves, Stephens doesn't anticipate much of a challenge.

"Body bag, not worried about the opponent, man," he said. "Just [going to] put him in a f****** bag. We're here to f****** hurt him, this is the hurt business. He's just an opponent, go in there and do my thing."

Machine Gun Kelly knew Sean Strickland wasn't about to "shut the f*** up," and the UFC fighter proved him right on Tuesday ... firing back at the musician with a wild social media post.

The former middleweight champion got wind of the Cleveland rocker/rapper's comments on the "Impaulsive" podcast episode released on Tuesday ... and despite MGK telling the controversial figure to kick rocks, he's not ready to tap out of their feud just yet.

"Getting lectured by a guy who drinks blood and wears a purse," Strickland said on X. "Dawg you had a mid life crisis and tattooed your entire body. The 'the x community of intolerance' yall I'd hang out with you toxic trolls any day over this c***."