Exclusive

Booker T thinks WWE joining forces with UFC's parent company will pay enormous dividends for both sides -- telling TMZ Sports, "It's going to be good for everybody."

We spoke with Booker -- a commentator on WrestleMania 39's kickoff show this past weekend -- at LAX fresh off Endeavor and WWE merging to create a new, publicly traded company valued at $21.4 billion ... and asked him if he could see any crossover happening with the superstars between the two respective sports entertainment brands.

"Of course," Booker said. "I think the UFC always needed a little more entertainment in their life. I think WWE will definitely add to that flavor. It's going to be good for everybody."

"UFC fans already gravitate to WWE. Daniel Cormier was at the NXT show a couple [of] days ago. Those guys and WWE, they go together. Great tag team."

As we previously reported, Vince McMahon sold WWE -- the business he purchased from his father in 1982 -- to Endeavor ... after serving as the chairman and CEO of the sports entertainment conglomerate for over 40 years.

McMahon will now serve as the executive chairman of the board with Endeavor. Meanwhile, Dana White will continue in his current role as UFC President, with Ari Emanuel as the new group's CEO.

Booker told us UFC legends like Tito Ortiz and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, with their larger-than-life personalities, gave UFC the flare it needed ... adding he could see guys Colby Covington and Conor McGregor crossing over to the WWE.

"You look at a guy like Colby Covington, who's very controversial and chaotic. I think he'll fit in perfectly," the WWE Hall of Famer said.

The five-time World Heavyweight Champion says athletes like Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle are anomalies ... but he's predicting that with the new joint deal in place, we'll see some guys from UFC working with the WWE.

Bu Thiam's role as EVP at Columbia Records has him scoping for new artists from all walks of life ... and he's looking to add NCAA champ Flau'jae Johnson to his roster!!!

We caught up with Bu at LAX and he had nothing but praise for Flau'jae, who recently helped the LSU Tigers win their first women's basketball national championship ... in controversial fashion at that.

Bu says he looked into Flau'jae's credentials and everything checked out, as it should have. The 19-year-old's been rapping long before it became trendy on the Internet ... going viral through appearances on "The Rap Game," "America's Got Talent," and her 2020 "Sway In The Morning" freestyle.

She inked a deal with Roc Nation management last year ... so, at least Bu knows who he needs to convince for a joint venture.

As a music exec, Bu also has to be mindful of the industry's changing landscape ... and he's surprisingly open to the idea of artificial intelligence artists, unlike some of his counterparts, like Swizz Beatz, who's expressed concern.

AI recordings mimicking the likes of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and Kanye West are littered all over YouTube ... but Bu thinks the industry needs to be more open-minded and embrace the technology.

Donald Trump is doing what he tends to do best in times of crisis -- hitting the links to blow off some steam ... with this weekend being no different for him amid his criminal case.

The ex-Prez was playing a round Saturday morning at his hotel in Miami ... the Trump National Doral, which has four full-blown golf courses to choose from. Unclear which one DT was on in this instance, but he was out there with some pals ... and his MAGA hat to boot.

Dude looks pretty relaxed ... which makes sense, we suppose. This is sorta his happy place, even during the worst of times -- as we've witnessed throughout these past several years.

The only difference now, of course, is that he's under criminal prosecution by the Manhattan D.A.'s Office on 34 felony counts -- most of which stem from the Stormy Daniels hush money incident ... which law enforcement now alleges was directed to be paid at the behest of DT.

He's looked/sounded defiant in the wake of those charges -- especially when he was in NYC this past week to plead not guilty and get processed by cops ... putting on a brave face.

Here, the Don's more mellow, it seems, and there's another thing to consider with this appearance -- namely, the fact that it's Passover right now for Jewish folks ... and not just that, but his hotel there is actually hosting a whole slate of Passover events this weekend.

"Jersey Shore" stars Ronnie and Sammi were in one of reality TV's most toxic relationships, one that forced her away from the cast for years ... and now the two are shockingly back under the same roof.

We got pics of Ronnie at Margaritaville Resort in Orlando Friday -- the same hotel Sammi, Snooki, The Situation, JWoww, Pauly D, Vinny and Deena are all shacked up to shoot the new season of "Jersey Shore: Family Vacation."

Ronnie's presence is surprising for a multitude of reasons, including the fact Ronnie hasn't been a full-time cast member for several years after stepping away from the show following a string of arrests and domestic violence issues with his ex-girlfriend and mother of his child, Jenn Harley.

Of course, it's also surprising to see him reuniting with everyone while Sammi is around, as she's chosen to steer clear of him for years. Sammi was the only OG cast member who did not return for 'Family Vacation' in 2018 and many speculated she only returned now because Ronnie was no longer in the picture.

It's still unclear if Ronnie and Sammi will shoot any scenes face-to-face or if they'll do parts separately with the other cast, but we do know Sammi's boyfriend is also on the trip ... so it's absolutely not a rekindling type of thing.

Ronnie and Sammi dated off and on through the first 6 seasons of "Jersey Shore" and their fights were explosive -- with furniture thrown from balconies, and one instance where Sammi punched Ronnie in the face.

Harvey Weinstein took a trip from L.A. to New York after his conviction on the West Coast ... and he was flown out in first class on the D.A.'s dime.

Sources connected to the case tell TMZ ... Weinstein flew on a commercial airline Wednesday ... with investigators and medical personnel aboard. We're told he was seated in first, and the L.A. County D.A. is picking up the tab.

The D.A.'s Office tells us, "[Weinstein] was returned to New York via a method we typically use pursuant to our extradition agreement with New York."

For context -- the NY Department of Corrections and Community Supervision tells us he's been assigned to the Mohawk Correctional Facility to continue serving his sentence. He was originally at Wende Correctional, but after a review of his treatment needs, they made the switch.

According to its website, Mohawk specializes in sex offender treatment ... among other things.

As for having medical personnel on his flight, HW’s rep Juda Engelmayer tells us he received treatment prior to getting on the flight for medical issues he's had over the years.

Jorge Masvidal vs. Leon Edwards is the fight fans badly want ... and while they're almost certainly not gonna get it next, Dana White says it's closer than you might think.

The UFC honcho joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... when we asked Dana whether Gamebred could do enough to jump Colby Covington and earn the next title shot.

"Let me tell you what's going to happen, if [Masvidal] goes in and does that against a guy like Gilbert Burns, who I have a ton of respect for, Gilbert Burns is an absolute badass. Then you have Colby Covington vs. Leon Edwards, and if Leon Edwards beats Colby Covington, the history between Leon Edwards and Masvidal, then they both win these fights, that fight will be so huge people will be dying to see that fight."

White then added ... "it will be absolutely massive, and maybe we do it back in Miami."

FYI, Masvidal told us earlier in the week he felt he could impress enough vs. Burns at UFC 287 to garner the Edwards scrap.

Of course, White declared Covington next in line after Rocky beat Kamaru Usman at UFC 286, but many fans want Jorge and Leon to scrap because the men have serious beef.

The two fighters were involved in a backstage altercation in 2019 after Edwards yelled something at Masvidal as he was being interviewed backstage after beating Darren Till.

It's not Masvidal's personality to take something like that lying down ... so he walked up to Rocky and punched him in the face, now known as a "3-piece and a soda."

Hoping to ruin Jorge-Leon is 36-year-old Burns ... the number 5 ranked UFC welterweight.

We recently talked to Burns, coming off a dominating win over Neil Magny, before he headed out for fight week ...

There's a bunch more with Dana ... we asked him if this was Israel Adesanya's last shot to beat his rival, Alex Pereira. We also talked to White about the new UFC-WWE deal ... and whether we could now see stars like Conor McGregor cross over to professional wrestling.

Tony Yayo -- the rapper who inspired John Cena's famous "You Can't See Me" gesture -- is speaking out against those criticizing LSU hoops star Angel Reese for waving her hand toward Iowa star Caitlin Clark ... saying, "When a Black girl do it, it's a problem, but when a white girl do it, it's not a problem."

TMZ Sports spoke with the G-Unit MC -- who was trending this past week after Reese's celebration during last Sunday's NCAA championship game -- and he told us the criticism she's been receiving is "kind of crazy."

Yayo said trash-talking in sports is part of the game ... adding he understands the emotions athletes experience when competing, especially for a national championship.

Yayo -- who recently wrapped up a tour with 50 Cent and is gearing up to release new music this summer -- said Reese is popularizing women's basketball ... and she's elevating the sport to newer heights.

"You got Lil Wayne calling her phone," Yayo said. "You got Boosie excited over LSU. This championship was big. Everybody knows who Angel Reese is now, as well as Caitlin Clark."

Tony said he's proud of how Reese has handled herself during the controversy ... and doesn't want it to diminish what the LSU Tigers accomplished, winning the program's first NCAA women's basketball national championship.

"I just don't want all this stuff to overshadow the win," Yayo said. "There are other people on the team. There's a great coach [Kim Mulkey] over there. I'm definitely looking up to anybody that's a role model to Black women in this world."

Beyonce's mom, Tina Knowles, had an unwelcome visitor at her Los Angeles home -- cops say they took a man into custody for causing a disturbance and damaging her property.

Law enforcement tells TMZ ... LAPD rushed to Tina's pad last Saturday after getting a call that a man was at the front of the house throwing rocks at her mailbox.

We're told units arrived, including a helicopter, but the suspect immediately booked it -- thing is, the chopper kept an eagle eye on him. Cops zeroed in on him and, after a short foot pursuit, he was taken into custody.

Law enforcement says the suspect was behaving erratically and was placed on a 5150 psych hold. We're told there was minor damage to Tina's mailbox, but she declined to press charges or even file a report.

The two women accusing George Foreman of sexual abuse 45 years ago -- when they were minors -- want to hook him up to a polygraph ... challenging him to a lie detector test.

The boxer's alleged victims, Gwen Hunter and Denise Shipes, say George made them out to be liars and villains when he countersued them and accused them of extortion ... and they say they passed their own lie detector tests.

The accusers' attorney, Samuel Dordulian, tells TMZ ... Hunter and Shipes took their polygraph tests with one of the world's preeminent experts in the field, an examiner they believe George's legal team has routinely used for past cases, and they want Foreman to use the same person.

TMZ broke the story ... the women sued George back in August, claiming the pugilist was in his 20s when he groomed, and eventually sexually abused them when they were still underage. They say it all happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Hunter detailed her allegations in a news conference three months after filing suit, saying ... "He asked me to remove my clothes, and if I didn't then my father would be fired, so I complied."

As we first reported ... George then filed a countersuit against Hunter, claiming she was intentionally dragging his name through the mud and flat-out lying to score a payday.

The accusers say they wanted to clear their names after George's countersuit, and they claim their lie detector tests show they're telling the truth ... and now they want Foreman to take one.

What's more, their attorney tells us he's in the process of bringing a separate defamation countersuit against George in response to what they say are baseless and harmful claims of extortion.

The timing of this all is worth noting ... in a few weeks, the "Big George Foreman" biopic is set for release.

Diamond Dallas Page says he was overcome with emotion watching Cody Rhodes fight Roman Reigns for the WWE Undisputed Universal Championship at WrestleMania ... and tells TMZ Sports despite Cody coming up short, he knows he'll eventually win the title.

We spoke to DDP at LAX on Wednesday ... and the king of the Diamond Cutter told us he thinks Cody losing to Roman on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" will make him even more popular amongst WWE fans.

"When you're really over ... When it's done right [and] when the people are behind it, it doesn't matter who wins or loses," Page said. "He went and made AEW. Came back to here [WWE]. They were so happy to have him back because they knew what a talent he was."

"I couldn't be any prouder of the cat," Page added. "Very emotional for me."

Of course, some wrestling fans were confused by WWE's decision to keep the title on Reigns instead of giving it to Cody, who won the Royal Rumble in January -- but Page believes it's inevitable Rhodes becomes WWE champ ... explaining this is a part of the process.

Page feels Cody has no reason to be disappointed he didn't win Sunday. DDP said Cody's father, Dusty Rhodes, is proud of his performance in the main event against Reigns, who needed help from The Bloodline and Paul Heyman to defeat the American Nightmare.

DDP praised Cody for how he responded after tearing his pectoral muscle last summer before a match against Seth Rollins ... and for rehabbing as hard as possible to put himself in a position to be in the main event at WrestleMania.

Jorge Masvidal apparently doesn't want to wait 'til Saturday night to fight ... 'cause he nearly came to blows with someone on the streets of Miami on Friday morning.

TMZ Sports has obtained video of the UFC star outside of the UFC 287 weigh-ins at the event's host hotel ... and you can see in the footage, he was clearly enraged at someone.

It's unclear exactly who the 38-year-old was quarreling with -- but one witness tells us the person yelled at Masvidal, "You're a clown."

The video shows Masvidal repeatedly trying to go after his heckler ... although he was constantly held back from exploding on the person. He eventually walked away from the scene before things got physical.

Masvidal tipped the scales at 171 pounds at the Friday morning weigh-in in preparation for his Saturday fight with Gilbert Burns. It's not known yet if this video was taken before or after the ceremonies.

Of course, this is not the first altercation Masvidal has been involved in this week in the leadup to the Burns fight ... he and Kevin Holland got into a heated spat on Wednesday at the UFC 287 host hotel as well.

Olivia Culpo and Christian McCaffrey are ready to spend the rest of their lives together ... TMZ Sports has learned they're engaged!!!

The 26-year-old NFL star popped the question to the 30-year-old supermodel while the two were on a recent road trip vacation ... and we're told Culpo said "yes."

Of course, her answer should surprise no one ... 'cause the two have been absolutely inseparable since they began dating back in 2019.

Despite his busy football career -- which featured a trade from the Carolina Panthers to the San Francisco 49ers this past season -- Culpo was spotted with McCaffrey often ... attending plenty of his games and hanging with him and their families in offseasons.

Our sources say McCaffrey had been planning to propose to Culpo for the last couple months -- hitting up a jeweler in New York back earlier this year to get the ring.

No word on a wedding date just yet ... but you can bet it'll be star-studded -- and lavish -- when the two eventually say "I Do."

We reached out to a rep for Olivia .. so far no word back.

Congrats!!!

Aldon Smith has just been ordered to spend the next 12 months in jail ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The former NFL star was sentenced Friday inside a Northern California courtroom ... after he pleaded no contest to a felony DUI charge stemming from a 2021 incident in Redwood City.

Prosecutors tell us the ex-Dallas Cowboys pass rusher was remanded into custody after the hearing ... and will begin his year-long sentence right away.

Smith was also given five years of supervised probation, prosecutors say.

The 33-year-old football player, who was last with the Seahawks prior to the '21 season, was initially arrested in the case on Dec. 6, 2021 ... after authorities claim he rear-ended a truck that was stopped at a stop sign on a freeway off-ramp.

Cops say when they arrived on the scene to investigate the accident, Smith appeared intoxicated. They also claim he had marijuana in his pocket, and empty bottles of rum and vodka in his car.

Authorities say the person he hit suffered injuries to their back, wrist, knee, leg and foot in the crash.

Smith was eventually charged with one felony count of drunk driving causing injury -- but he cut a deal with prosecutors on Jan. 19 to close out the case. He had been facing a sentence of up to 16 months in prison following his plea agreement.

Bam Margera allegedly threatened to use brass knuckles to kill a man ... and the man thinks loud sex might be the reason why.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, a 28-year-old man named Daniel Cardenas claims Bam burst into his home in the middle of the night last month, waking him from his sleep and getting in his face to make a death threat.

Cardenas claims Bam told him something along the lines of, "You have 12 hours to leave the house or I will kill you with my brass knuckles."

The guy claims his roommate heard the alleged threat, came in the room and forced Bam to leave ... but he says Bam came back 90 minutes later and again slammed his door open, waking him and telling him, "You have 12 seconds to leave," while shoving a clenched fist with a handful of rings in his face in another perceived threat.

For context, Cardenas claims he lives in an Oceanside, CA home where Bam's girlfriend, Jessica, and her 8-year-old daughter have been staying in the wake of Bam's domestic violence arrest.

TMZ broke the story ... Bam was arrested for domestic violence after a woman told police the former "Jackass" star kicked her ... and our sources said the woman was Bam's current girlfriend.

In the docs, Cardenas claims Jessica and her daughter have been staying in his home since Bam's arrest, and he says the folks living in the home got mad at him a couple days after Bam's arrest because he says he was having "some very loud sex in the house" and Jessica's kid may have overheard.

In seeking court-ordered protection from Bam, Cardenas says ... "All I can figure is Jessica told Bam about the loud sex which her daughter overheard and this is why he was so upset, although it of course gives him no right to attack me, threaten my life, or kick me out of a home he has no rights to."

Cardenas also claims Bam told him, "That girl will have PTSD for the rest of her life," when making the alleged threats.

The judge signed off on a temporary restraining order ... and now Bam has to stay 100 yards away from Cardenas and the home.

Jimmy Buffett, meet "Jersey Shore" ... the MTV reality stars are descending on the singer's Margaritaville resort, with a film crew in tow.

TMZ obtained these photos of 'JS' stars Vinny Guadagnino, Sammi 'Sweetheart' Giancola and Deena Cortese in the lobby of the Margaritaville Resort and Spa in Orlando this week ... and it looks like this is the latest stop on their 'Family Vacation.'

As you can see, camera crews are capturing the Guidos' every move ... and the cast has matching pink shirts that say "Family Fun Trip."

Folks who are staying on the property tell us MTV camera crews have been filming all over the resort ... with the 'JS' cast even renting out a pool for a private party.

There's also video floating around social media showing Pauly D walking through the pool area with Vinny, Sammi and Deena ... but so far there's been no sign of JWoww, Snooki or The Situation.

Florida's been the setting for a lot of filming for the upcoming season ... we previously saw the cast out to dinner in Celebration, FL, shooting a scene at a restaurant.

The thousands of Californians who've fled to Tennessee, Florida and Texas are having second thoughts ... and many are, as they say, going back to Cali ... so says L.A. real estate mogul Kurt Rappaport.

Kurt joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to fill us in on the slow reversal of the west coast exodus -- spurred by things like the loss of abortion rights, the "don't say gay" bill, drag show bans and the reheated battle over gun laws.

The celebrity realtor says most who left pointed to rising taxes and cost of living in CA, but now political moves in their new home states are creating deep regrets.

The school shooting in Nashville sparked protests in Tennessee's state capitol, leading to Thursday's astounding expulsion of 2 state legislators -- a move many see as a death knell for democracy.

Kurt admits the Golden State has its issues -- the high taxes are no joke -- but he adds, it's also a big melting pot of cultures, ideas, ethnicities and opinions ... which you won't find in some parts of the country.