UFC

Forget the Secret Service, the "Baddest MF" on the planet has Donald Trump's back in Miami ... Jorge Masvidal.

The UFC superstar (and reigning "BMF" titleholder) was waiting for POTUS at Miami International Airport on Thursday to personally greet Trump as he arrived for his NBC Town Hall event at the Perez Art Museum.

Masvidal was wearing a mask. Trump -- who recently tested positive for COVID-19 -- was not. But, Jorge didn't seem too concerned.

While at the airport, Trump told reporters, "Don't ever fight him!"

Trump and Masvidal have become close over the past few weeks -- with Jorge even campaigning for Donald at a recent "Fighters Against Socialism" rally.

Earlier this week, Trump tweeted at Masvidal, "Jorge, you’re really tough and really smart. My Great Honor to have your support!"

Masvidal -- whose father was born in Cuba -- responded, "My honor and duty to the country my father risked his life escaping to from the hands of communists. Said it before and I’ll say it again, you a bmf sir."

Earlier this week, Masvidal had a fast-food lunch with Donald Jr. -- and said they had a lot in common ... including "good hair."

Trump has won over several UFC fighters over the past few months -- including Justin Gaethje and Henry Cejudo.

Conor McGregor is back!!

The Irish superstar claims he IS fighting Dustin Poirier on January 23 ... and he says he wants the mega event to go down at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

The Notorious made the announcement on Twitter, writing ... "I accept, Jan 23rd is on!"

McGregor continued ... "My goal is to see this fight take place in Cowboy stadium. Proper Style! Jerry Jones is a friend and the stadium can hold our crowd. I will be ready for Texas and Texas will be ready for my fans!"

FYI, the UFC has not confirmed the news.

Remember, last week Conor expressed interest in fighting the 31-year-old, #2 ranked UFC Lightweight ... but with 1 very important caveat.

The fight had to be in 2020 ... which presented a problem 'cause it's already mid-October and most of the UFC's cards are already set.

Our UFC sources told us Dana White was willing to make the fight ... but it'd have to go down in January -- and it seems that's exactly what's going to happen.

Conor and Dustin have history ... the 2 men fought at UFC 178 in 2014. McGregor knocked out Poirier in the 1st round.

But, Dustin isn't the only guy Conor wants to put his hands on ... 'cause The Notorious says after Poirier, "Then Manny [Pacquiao]"

UFC fighter Edmen Shahbazyan says the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has a California connection -- with several of his Armenian friends in Glendale flying back to fight in the war.

... and he's praying they all make it out alive.

FYI, Glendale reportedly has the largest concentration of Armenians outside of Armenia. It's also where Edmen lives and trains.

The 22-year-old prodigy -- who's 11-1 as an MMA pro -- points out the war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has already claimed many lives. According to reports, between 300 and 500 people have been killed over the past month.

"I'm just praying every day for the best for my Armenian soldiers," Shahbazyan says.

"A lot of young kids, a lot of young soldiers are dying, younger than me. They're like 18, 19 years old! They're going to war and they're not coming back."

Shahbazyan says he's been participating in protests and demonstrations in Glendale -- hoping the world will support his people and help to achieve peace.

Conor McGregor just added a pretty sick toy to his collection -- A LAMBORGHINI YACHT!!!

It's called the Lamborghini 63 Yacht By Tecnomar -- which was only revealed to the public a few months ago.

The boat was designed by the people at Lamborghini -- in collaboration with the Italian Sea Group, a company that specializes in custom yachts.

But, let's get to the fun stuff -- it's 63 feet long, weighs 24 tons, has a top speed of 60 knots (roughly 70 mph) and has a 4,000 horsepower engine.

Starting price on this baby ... $3.9 MILLION.

Each boat can be customized and upgraded -- so it's possible Conor's yacht could cost a lot more.

The UFC star says it's the "Supercar of the Sea."

"I am honoured to secure the Number 12 edition of just 63 to be made," McGregor said.

"1963 being the year Lamborghini first began, and 12 being, well you know Twelve!  Proper F*cking Twelve baby!"

Conor ordered his vessel with his family at the Italian Sea Group headquarters in Marina di Carrara, Italy.

His yacht is expected to be ready for action by next summer.

"Excited to see the finished result during next seasons yachting season," Conor said.

Of course, Conor has a ton of issues in his life right now -- from criminal allegations in Corsica to drama with the UFC.

Cris Cyborg's no longer in the UFC ... but she's got her sights set on champ-champ Amanda Nunes ... telling TMZ Sports she still wants a rematch!!

We talked to the 35-year-old Bellator star about the only woman to beat her over the last 15 years ... Nunes, the UFC's featherweight and bantamweight champ.

And, Cyborg says she's VERY INTERESTED in running the fight back.

"I know everybody wants to see [Cyborg-Nunes rematch] fight. Let's make this fight happen. Ya know? I don't have opportunity to do the rematch before. But, for sure in the future, if Dana White would like to do, I'd like to do."

Of course, Justino and Nunes fought at UFC 232 in December 2018 ... in one of the most anticipated women's MMA fights ever. Nunes TKO'd Cyborg in 51 seconds ... only the 2nd loss of Cris' career.

Cyborg clearly has revenge on her mind.

But, before she could ever step foot in the cage with Nunes again ... Cyborg has to take on 37-year-old Arlene Blencowe -- who's won 6 of her last 7 -- at Bellator 249 on Thursday.

After that, Cris says the ball's in Dana's court.

Conor McGregor says he's "accepted" a UFC offer to fight Dustin Poirier -- and now it's all about finalizing a date.

The Irishman tweeted out to Poirier Thursday -- saying, "Hello Dustin! I accepted the @UFC offer to fight you, but told them it must happen in 2020."

"I’m ready for Nov 21st, given that cards recent injury issues, as well as any of the December dates, the 12th and the 19th. I’ll also still donate the $500k to The Good Fight Foundation."

Our UFC sources tell us Conor was, in fact, offered the fight -- but it would be scheduled for January.

Obviously, Conor has made it clear he doesn't want to wait that long and he's trying to convince the UFC to fast-track it.

Look, the good news is there seems to be progress -- hopefully, everyone can come to an agreement soon.

Conor has been at the center of a LOT of drama lately -- from an alleged attempted sexual assault in Corsica (which he denies) to beefing with UFC boss Dana White.

McGregor also shaved off his trademark beard recently and has been training like a maniac.

Conor and Dustin have fought before -- they clashed at UFC 178 back in 2014 with McGregor getting the victory with a 1st-round knockout.

Poirier has long wanted a shot at redemption -- and now he could finally get that chance.

UFC star Colby Covington says he's COVID-Free -- despite being in the room last week for the Donald Trump vs. Joe Biden debate.

Covington -- who's become close with Trump over the past few years -- was invited to the debate in Cleveland on Sept. 29 as a special guest of POTUS.

Now, after Trump and several people close to him have tested positive for coronavirus ... many people were wondering about Colby's health.

Covington responded over the weekend saying he's healthy -- and used the announcement to take a few shots at Trump's critics.

"For the people who constantly slander my name, but are all of a sudden concerned with my health and well being: I’m COVID free," Covington said.

"I’ve been tested 7 times in the past 3 weeks, including prior to and after meeting with the POTUS. I was also tested during fight week, as well as before and after the debate. ALL NEGATIVE."

"Speaking of ALL NEGATIVE," Colby said, "How about all the slime in Hollywood and woke sports wishing harm on a 74 year old grandfather!?! How tolerant! Unfortunately for them and fortunately for America, @realdonaldtrump is a fighter!!! "

"He KO’s the fake news media daily. He KO’d Slow Joe and Chris Wallace at the same time on Tuesday! Now it’s time for a casual weekend KO of COVID! Here’s to a speedy recovery and 4 MORE YEARS!!!"

You've seen the Octagon on the beach. You've seen the insane fights.

But, you've never seen exactly HOW the UFC transformed Yas Island in Abu Dhabi into "Fight Island" in the thick of a global pandemic ... until now!!

It's all part of "UFC Fight Island: Declassified" -- a 4-part series on ESPN+ (premieres today) featuring some incredible behind the scenes footage showing how Dana White and his team successfully built a secure city to keep MMA alive while every other major sport was shut down.

Remember, Dana first revealed "Fight Island" to TMZ Sports back in April (we actually suggested the name "Fight Island").

From there, Dana and the UFC spent a fortune on buildings, medical personnel and more to ensure a bubble-style environment to host major fights consistently while the rest of the world was shut down.

In total, the UFC claims it took 400,000 man-hours and 350 tons of metal to get Fight Island up and running.

"There's no other thing on Earth like this," Dana says in the docuseries ... "Their platforms come up once in a blue moon."

The doc also features UFC superstars like Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal going through all of the COVID testing leading up to their fight.

The UFC faced a ton of criticism leading up to the opening of Fight Island at UFC 251 in July ... but ultimately, they executed several major events without a hitch.

In fact, the UFC has already RETURNED to Fight Island for another series of fights including the highly anticipated UFC 254 card featuring Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje on Oct. 24.

Dana White says Fight Island was such a hit, it will be a regular fight location for the UFC for years to come.

"I'm telling you right now, Abu Dhabi is gonna become the fight capital of the world," White told us recently.

Tough break for Cody Garbrandt -- who's officially out of his flyweight championship fight at UFC 255 after suffering a freak injury to his arm.

"No Love" was initially scheduled to take on flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event on Nov. 21.

It was supposed to be Cody's first fight in the flyweight division. He had previously held the title in the bantamweight division.

"I tore my bicep on Monday," Garbrandt said on his Facebook page.

"The UFC decided to replace me but told me I’ll face the winner."

Figueiredo will now face #4 ranked flyweight fighter Alex Perez instead. Perez is on a 3-fight win streak, including a victory over Jussier Formiga at UFC 250 back in June.

Garbrandt added, "Time to heal and stay ready. Control what you can control in this life. I always count my blessings when negative things arise. #gratitude."

No word on when Garbrandt will be cleared to return to action -- but we're hoping for a speedy recovery.

Big day for UFC champ Jan Blachowicz ... who was invited to sit down with the Prime Minister of Poland after winning the light heavyweight title!!!

Check out the pics of Jan with Mateusz Morawiecki choppin' it up in Warsaw on Wednesday ... to celebrate Jan's big victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 253.

37-year-old Jan flew back to Poland right after the insane 2nd round knockout and he's been treated like a ROCKSTAR ever since ... with a hero's welcome at the airport and now an invite to hang with the PM.

"Thank you for the invitation from the Prime Minister," Jan said on social media.

"Both for me and the MMA community, it proves that our discipline is not only popular, but also noticeable by the most important people in Poland."

"It is an honor to be an ambassador of this amazing sport."

The two seemed to enjoy the hang out -- sipping coffee and eating snacks while talking about the fight.

Jan is on an impressive 4-fight win streak at the moment -- with victories over  Reyes, Corey Anderson, Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold.

Jan is hoping to fight Jon Jones next ... but so is everyone.

If you're keeping track ... seems UFC's biggest stars are more connected than ever with world leaders.

Conor McGregor is making some major changes in his life ... he shaved his beard!

The UFC superstar has been sporting his trademark facial hair for years -- the last time he fought without a beard was in 2012 in a Cage Warriors match against Dave Hill (Conor won that fight by rear-naked choke).

He grew out the beard for his next fight ... and rocked it in the cage every time since -- including for his 2017 boxing match with Floyd Mayweather.

So, why the new look? Maybe it's one of the "turn the page" things?

After all, Conor is going through a LOT at the moment -- from legal issues in Corsica (where he's accused of attempted sexual assault and indecent exposure) to his beef with the UFC and Dana White.

One thing's for sure ... McGregor is still in insane shape and fans across want to see him fight again ASAP.

Conor has teased a boxing match with Manny Pacquiao and a charity with Dustin Poirier, but it's unlikely either of those will take place without the UFC's blessing, since Conor is still under contract.

Jorge Masvidal is going to battle for Donald Trump in Florida -- campaigning with Donald Jr. this upcoming weekend in the hopes of winning the battleground state.

The 35-year-old UFC star from Miami is scheduled to link up with Don Jr. on Saturday. The plan is to hop on a bus and travel to 3 different rallies.

According to ESPN, the events will go down in Tampa, Orlando and Miami ... with the last rally taking place at the American Top Team (ATT) gym where Jorge trains.

Several other fighters are reportedly planning to attend (ATT is one of the top MMA gyms in the country) -- but so far, it's unclear who's on the guest list.

The rallies are being dubbed, "Fighters Against Socialism" -- and with Mavidal being of Cuban descent, it's a personal issue for him.

Masvidal's father reportedly fled from Cuba in a homemade raft when he was only a young teen to escape communism.

FYI -- Florida -- with 29 electoral college votes -- is a critical state for Trump ... where he is currently down a few points to Joe Biden in the latest polls.

Trump recently praised Jorge at a campaign event last week for his epic knockout of Ben Askren -- and Masvidal was PUMPED the President knew his name.

Masvidal isn't the 1st UFC fighter to campaign for the Prez ... Henry Cejudo, Justin Gaethje AND Colby Covington -- Jorge's former friend-turned-enemy -- recently showed up to a rally for Trump in Nevada.

Khabib Nurmagomedov wants NOTHING to do with Conor McGregor -- turning down a rematch AND a chance to coach against the Irishman on an upcoming season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

It's all according to Khabib's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, who tells TMZ Sports his client thinks Conor is nothing more than "human trash" and never wants to work with him in any capacity ever again.

Here's the deal ... Khabib is set to fight Justin Gaethje for the lightweight championship on Oct. 24 at UFC 254.

Ali -- who reps both Khabib and Justin -- says Dana White called him up recently to discuss post-fight plans, including the next season of the reality-style competition show, "The Ultimate Fighter."

"Last week, Dana White called me, said Ali what do you think about if Khabib wins, him and Conor will do the 'Ultimate Fighter' on ESPN?"

Ali says the plan would be for Khabib and Conor to coach separate teams of aspiring MMA fighters on the show, which would ultimately lead up to a Khabib vs. Conor rematch in the Octagon.

But, Ali says Khabib wouldn't even consider the idea ...

"Khabib turned it down," Ali said ... "He said, 'This man is a human trash. He’s garbage.'"

"When you touch sh*t, you smell like sh*t. [Conor] hasn’t earned the fight."

Ali says Dana made the same 'Ultimate Fighter' offer to Justin Gaethje if he beats Khabib.

There's more ... Ali also ripped Conor for posting private direct messages between Conor and Dana White on social media.

FYI, last week Conor posted messages from February asking Dana to set up a fight with Justin Gaethje.

Ali says Justin had been gunning for a fight with Conor for YEARS -- but Conor repeatedly turned him down.

By the time Conor finally called for Gaethje, Ali says Justin was already prepping for a fight with Tony Ferguson in May in hopes of earning a title shot with Khabib.

Justin won that fight and got his wish. Ali essentially says Conor missed his window.

Meanwhile, Conor "retired" from MMA back in June -- though nobody really believes the 32-year-old is done.

In fact, Conor has claimed to be putting together a boxing match with Manny Pacquiao in Saudi Arabia in Winter 2020 -- AND he's talking with Dustin Poirier about an exhibition match in Ireland in December.

Since Conor is still under contract with UFC, it seems he would need the organization's blessing to participate in either event ... and from what we're being told, Conor shouldn't hold his breath.

Also, Ali tells us he's been talking with high-powered friends in Saudi Arabia who say Conor would NEVER get the green light to fight there because of the things he's said about Muslims in the past.

Ali even tweeted to Conor calling BS -- saying, "Who the hell advising you you saying you fighting in Saudi Arabia and promoting your proper 12 trash drink Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country they don’t allow alcohol dumb ass."

Meanwhile, Conor is still dealing with legal issues in Corsica stemming from a September incident. He's accused of attempted sexual assault and indecent exposure -- though McGregor insists he's innocent.

Bottom line ... Conor is all over the place with his career. It's unclear exactly what he wants and why he's so out of step with Dana White and the UFC.

UFC middleweight Paulo Costa wants another crack at Israel Adesanya ... calling the champ "human trash" for air humping him after Saturday's fight.

The Last Stylebender easily handled Costa with a 2nd-round TKO ... and promptly hit him with an NSFW celebration by getting on top of him and thrusting.

Costa says he had no idea what Izzy was doing at the time ... but now that he was able to see the footage, he's demanding revenge in a vicious video with the caption, "Adesanya is human trash. This has become a grave situation !"

"I disapprove 100%," Costa said in the video. "To me, this is mortal now. Nobody can stop me.

"I want my rematch and you know I will wait for you."

Costa goes on to say "something happened" before their big fight ... and he will be fully prepared the next time around.

"I'm not [making an] excuse here to my people, to my fans. but I will be 100% to fight him and to make him pay. That's my words. Save my words."

Mike Tyson says if he would've gone into mixed martial arts -- instead of boxing as a teenager -- he would've been a helluva MMA fighter ... as long as no one stepped on his feet!!

Yes, one of the most ferocious men the world has ever seen has a weakness ... and it's having his feet stomped.

TMZ Sports talked to 54-year-old "Iron Mike" -- a huge UFC fan -- about how he would've fared if he dedicated his life to a different combat sport.

"I could of done all that stuff," Tyson says.

"I could of done all that stuff but once someone stepped on my foot, I would of tapped out. My feet are my weak spot! You step on my feet, I'm gonna tap out!"

FYI, if you're not familiar with MMA rules ... stomping on your opponent's feet IS allowed.

Tyson -- who has recently worked with fighters like Francis Ngannou and Rashad Evans -- started boxing at an early age ... and became the youngest heavyweight champion of all-time at 20 years, 4 months when he beat Trevor Berbick in 1986.

UFC 1 didn't take place until late-1993 ... while Tyson was in prison.

Dana White says Jon Jones and Israel Adesanya may still fight -- despite Jon saying he's going to heavyweight -- meaning the dream matchup is still alive!!

TMZ Sports talked to White from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi, where the UFC honcho is gearing up for UFC 253 ... which Dana says will be one of the best selling cards ever.

We asked Dana -- with all signs pointing to Jones moving to heavyweight -- does that mean the chance of a JJ and Izzy super-fight is over?

His answer ... nope.

"Jon hasn't moved up to heavyweight yet. We don't know what Jon's gonna do," White told us.

"If you're Jon Jones right now, you probably sit back and watch what happens this weekend, see who wins, how they win, and maybe make them defend the title and then you come back and try to regain it."

Dana continued ... "Or you move up to heavyweight. Or if Adesanya wins this weekend, you fight Adesanya, I don't know. Jon Jones is in a really good position right now."

Of course, beef between the fighters was ignited last April when Izzy -- talking about Jon -- told us, "I already killed one G.O.A.T. and I'm hunting the next."

The G.O.A.T. he "already killed" was Anderson Silva ... who Israel beat in February 2019.

Since then, the fighters have gone back-and-forth ... promising to beat the hell out of each other.

So, Jon has a ton of options ... but before Izzy can think about Jones or anyone else ... he has to deal with 29-year-old undefeated Paulo Costa.