UFC

Belal Muhammad's responding to Conor McGregor ... days after the UFC superstar said he'd love to smash his skull. The current welterweight champ has some violent thoughts of his own!!

It all started earlier this week ... when 36-year-old McGregor went to X in a now-deleted tweet, writing, "I'd love to crush my left hook into belal's temple and take down the triple crown. I'd do it easily. And fast! I'd cave his skully heavy! The hurdles I face getting back to the octagon are just harrowing."

Conor continued ... "I am so sad over my June 29th fight cancellation. To think this bum is now a UFC champion with zero knockdowns on his resume whatsoever is so bad. The UFC's most abysmal zero revenue generating fighter in modern history."

Jake Paul has a massive fight with Mike Tyson next month, but the Problem Child's also got wieners on his mind ... 'cause when the opportunity arose to team up with a popular hot dog chain, he pounced and invested in 25 locations!!

TMZ Sports recently caught up with the 27-year-old boxer and Dog Haus CEO Michael Montagano ... and Paul explained how the partnership started with one tube steak after dining at one of MM's restaurants, which also has items like burgers, chicken, sides and ice cream on the menu.

"On my Instagram I was like, 'Does anyone know the owners?" Paul said.

Merab Dvalishvili vs. Umar Nurmagomedov makes all the sense in the world, especially to the MMA purists, BUT ... Khabib's cousin says, for some reason, the newly crowned UFC champ seems scurred to take the fight.

"It's looking like he's avoiding [me]. He's scared [of] someone who can defend takedowns, who can stop him," Umar told TMZ Sports on Friday, adding ... "I just want to fight."

Of course, on paper, it's the match to make.

Khalil Rountree is still feeling the effects of his loss to Alex Pereira ... as the 34-year-old revealed he's in "pure pain" after undergoing successful surgery on his nose following UFC 307.

The eighth-ranked light heavyweight went under the knife for a septoplasty on Monday -- which is a procedure that corrects a deviated septum.

It's not shocking Rountree needed some work done to his schnozz ... as he was involved in an absolute war with Poatan -- which left him bloodied up following his fourth-round TKO loss.

Fight camp was anything but smooth for Kayla Harrison ... the UFC star tells us she was hospitalized and "peeing blood" the week before UFC 307!

The 34-year-old bantamweight joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) on Monday ... where she revealed the lead-up to the Ketlen Vieira scrap didn't exactly go as planned.

"I'm still learning. I'm still growing. I feel like there's a lot of room for improvement for me. It definitely wasn't my best night in the cage," Kayla says, adding ... "There were a lot of things that happened."

Boyz II Men will be keeping an extra close eye on UFC 307 on Saturday night ... 'cause the legendary R&B group has a special and tragic connection to Khalil Rountree.

Shawn Stockman and Nathan Morris, two-thirds of the 4x Grammy Award-winning group, joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week where they talked about the Rountrees.

Back in 1992, Khalil's dad, Roderick "Khalil" Rountree, was Boyz II Men's road manager. After a May 1992 show in the Chicago area, Khalil was gunned down by three men who'd been caught trying to break into his hotel room, according to reports.

Kayla Harrison is locked in on her UFC 307 opp Ketlen Vieira ... but the 2x Olympic gold medalist tells TMZ Sports she's SO prepared, she's ready to also kick both Julianna Peña and Raquel Pennington's asses, too -- same night!

We caught up with the UFC bantamweight contender this week ... ahead of what'll almost surely be a title eliminator when she squares off with Vieira in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.

While she is not scheduled to face Pennington or Peña ... Harrison said she's heard that if either the champ or challenger drops out of the title fight, she could be called upon to step in.

Pro Bowl defensive end today ... UFC heavyweight champ down the road?!?

Maxx Crosby sure seems to think that's possible ... telling TMZ Sports he could see himself stepping into Dana White's Octagon at some point in the future.

Crosby, of course, is fully dedicated to his NFL career at the moment ... but he says he trains to be a beast on Sundays with daily boxing exercises -- and it's clear, it all could lead to a professional tilt later on.

Terence Crawford is confirming he was, in fact, offered a two-fight deal with UFC superstar Conor McGregor ... but the boxing champ ultimately turned the offer down -- 'cause there was no chance in hell he was about to step in the Octagon.

McGregor previously claimed the two combat greats were positioned to make "hundreds of millions" in an epic boxing/MMA showdown ... an ordeal that was pitched by the chairman of Saudia Arabia's General Entertainment Authority.

In an interview with Bernie Tha Boxer, Bud said the whole thing was legitimately on the table ... but he was the one to decline the lucrative possibility.

Diddy accusers are coming forward now that he's behind bars, Taylor Swift's guitar smasher is clearing the air and a UFC star saved a man's life in Hawaii ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles explain why the feds are seeing an uptick in Diddy accusers now that he's in custody.

Power Slap's going international for the first time, and they're doin' it with some star power, 'cause TMZ Sports has learned Paige VanZant will compete on October 24 in Abu Dhabi!

30-year-old VanZant, one of the biggest stars in combat sports, will be one of the athletes holding down the Power Slap 9 card at Space 42 Arena in Abu Dhabi.

PS9 goes down the same week as UFC 308, headlined by Max Holloway vs. Ilia Topuria, all happening on "Fight Island."

Dana White dug deep into his wallet, but it wasn't to pay a UFC fighter bonus, or buy something extravagant ... the UFC honcho donated $100K to help people whose lives were turned upside down by Hurricane Helene.

White made the donation online Monday afternoon, using the GoFundMe that says it was launched by his good friend Donald Trump.

"President Donald J. Trump has launched this GoFundMe campaign as an official response for MAGA supporters to offer their financial assistance to their fellow Americans impacted by Hurricane Helene," DT's team wrote, adding, "All donations will be directed to help those most affected by Hurricane Helene. Any level of generosity will go a long way for your fellow Americans who are suffering."

Pro boxer Mylik Birdsong -- a 15-1-1 pugilist who was slated to step in the ring as part of a UFC Fight Pass card in just a few weeks -- was killed on Sunday ... during a shooting in Los Angeles.

The LAPD says the incident took place at around 4:50 PM near Watts -- just a few miles south of downtown -- when several men inside of a dark-colored SUV drove up on the fighter and opened fire.

Cops say as Birdsong attempted to flee -- two men got out of the car, chased him down, and shot at him further.

Ailin Pérez may not have gotten her opponent in a rear naked choke during her UFC fight Saturday ... but, she certainly got her own rear working -- twerking in her opponent's face after winning by submission.

The bantamweight fighter hopped in the Octagon at UFC Paris against Daria Zhelezniakova ... and, she quickly dominated her opponent -- getting DZ to tap out in the first round.

Perez jumped to her feet ... and, ya gotta watch as she swished her booty back and forth right in front of her red-faced opponent, still gasping for breath.

Renato Moicano is not overlooking the skills of his UFC Paris opponent Benoit Saint-Denis ... saying he may one day sit atop the division -- but it ain't happening on his watch!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 11th-ranked lightweight contender ... days before he's set to take on 12th-ranked Saint-Denis in his home country of France, and while Moicano sees a bright future for the 28-year-old Frenchman, he's looking to derail his rise to the top.

"I'm here to stop him," Moicano said. "I'm here to get the W in Paris and to keep climbing the rankings."

UFC fighter Colby Covington showed off his moves Saturday by putting Lil Pump in a choke hold, and you see the rapper gasping for air as CC continues to hold his grip.

At a point, you see Lil Pump's body go limp, but Colby doesn't let go. Pump struggles at first to free himself, but at a point, his body fails and his eyes widen.

It's unclear how long Colby had Pump in the hold. The video starts with Covington choking Pump, and you see the UFC fighter tighten his grip. That lasted for around 10 seconds before Covington released the hold.