Fights

Alec Baldwin may have a good defense in his assault case, because there is some evidence he did not punch his alleged victim as cops first said ... and what went down might not be a crime at all.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ, Wojciech Cieszowski -- the man who swooped in and took a parking space that Baldwin believed was his -- told cops Baldwin struck him with his hand. That is more consistent with a slap than a punch. True enough, a slap can still be assault, but it's generally less serious.

What's more ... we're told there is surveillance video, but it's super grainy. You see what appears to be a shoving match between the two men but it's hard to make out if Baldwin actually struck him.

Here's the key -- if the 2 men were shoving each other, Baldwin could make the case it was mutual combat and not assault, and therefore not a crime. Cieszowski told cops he suffered face and neck injuries as a result of the alleged attack and was taken to the hospital.

7:11 PM PT -- Alec has denied the allegations on Twitter, stating, "Normally, I would not comment on something as egregiously misstated as today's story. However, the assertion that I punched anyone over a parking spot is false. I wanted to go on the record stating as such." 

1:30 PM PT -- Baldwin was just released and said nothing as he left the police station.

12:56 PM PT -- Baldwin has been charged with misdemeanor assault and harassment. He was given a desk appearance ticket.

Alec Baldwin was arrested in NYC Friday morning ... TMZ has learned.

Witnesses tell us ... the actor got into an argument with another man over a parking spot near 10th Street and 5th Avenue. Our law enforcement sources tell us Alec had a friend holding the spot for him, but the other man swooped in.

We're told Baldwin became irate, an argument ensued, and Baldwin punched the man in the jaw. The alleged victim, a 49-year-old male, was taken to the hospital.

One witness tells us Alec yelled "F**k off" during the fight. Cops were called and Alec was arrested. Baldwin lives in the area.

Of course, he openly detests and mocks President Trump while playing him on 'SNL' -- so, not surprisingly, the Prez weighed in on the arrest. What is shocking is how reserved he was.

UFC star Israel Adesanya is such a big anime freak, he got an INSANE stomach tattoo inspired by his favorite shows ... and he's giving TMZ Sports the breakdown!!

Adesanya -- whose nickname "The Style Bender" comes from the popular Nickelodeon series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" -- says his motivation comes from the characters in the uber-popular "Naruto" and 'Avatar.'

You can see part of Israel's stomach tat is inspired by Naruto's stomach tat from the show.

If you have no idea what the hell any of this means, click here and here and here.

Adesanya has a BUNCH of different cartoon tattoos -- he even has Deadpool!! -- and, together, they make up one unique and interesting collection.

Derrick Lewis is fighting Daniel Cormier at MSG for the UFC heavyweight championship ... but it wouldn't have been possible if he didn't spend over 3 years in prison.

"I think about my past and stuff like that," Lewis tells TMZ Sports.

"I believe that if I didn't go through stuff that I went through in my past, I wouldn't be as successful like I am now here today."

Back when he was in college, Lewis was sent to prison for 3 and a half years after violating probation stemming from a case where he beat the hell out of a Ku Klux Klan member who had a shotgun.

After prison, Lewis got work as a tow truck driver ... before being convinced to take up MMA.

Saturday night, he's fighting to become the baddest man on the planet.

"I'm an optimistic guy. But, I never imagined this was possible," Lewis told us.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports he's really sad about the arrest of UFC Hall of Famer Stephan Bonnar -- saying, "He's a great dude and it's unfortunate."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Bonnar was subdued by concerned citizens in Nevada on Sunday after he was driving like a maniac 10 miles off the Vegas Strip.

When the Highway Patrol arrived, Bonnar was passed out in the front seat of his car -- and reeked of booze. He was booked on a felony DUI charge and the video of the arrest was very disturbing.

"I'm obviously sad about it because he's a guy that I care about," Dana said ... noting that he was a key part of the very first season of "The Ultimate Fighter."

"Bums me out."

We also asked Dana about the long-awaited return of Jon Jones -- who's scheduled to fight at UFC 232 in December against Alexander Gustafsson.

Dana says he just spoke with Jones the other day and he sounds focused and ready to go. Dana says he understands the concerns surrounding JJ based on his previous outside-the-Octagon problems but feels like his head is in the right place this time around.

As for Nate Diaz, we asked if he's working on scheduling another fight for him since Dustin Poirier pulled out of their scheduled UFC 230 bout with an injury.

Farrah Abraham will not step into the ring for the celebrity boxing match she's been talking up for months, and her camp says it's because the promoter screwed her ... on the deal, that is.

The ex-'Teen Mom' star was supposed to go toe-to-toe with Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander November 10 in Atlantic City. Sources close to Farrah tell us when she signed the contract ... the promoter, Damon Feldman, agreed hotel, travel and fight tickets would be included for her friends and family.

We're told there was never a concrete number of rooms, tickets or flights specified in the contract -- but Feldman made promises to Farrah and her team as planning continued. In total, Farrah was supposed to get 32 hotel rooms, 6 plane tickets and a couple dozen fight night tickets.

Feldman recently informed Farrah's team he can't deliver those numbers ... according to our sources, so she won't deliver on the fight. We're told she's standing firm -- no gloves, if there's no love for her friends and fam.

We spoke with Feldman and fight investor Samantha Goldberg who tell us the fight contract never specified Farrah would get accommodations for friends and family. Goldberg says Farrah's team made the outlandish demands just last week, and there will be severe consequences if she backs out.

Feldman provided us proof he's booked first-class flights for Farrah and her daughter ... and says he's got the hotel rooms locked down too.

It wouldn't be a total loss for her. Farrah's been training for months, so she'll still have the killer bod -- which can definitely help her make a few bucks.

We reached out to Abraham's manager, David Weintraub, who had no comment.

Hulk Hogan is back -- the wrestling star has returned to the WWE ring for the first time since his n-word scandal ... and it all went down in Saudi Arabia.

Hogan stormed the ring at the 'Crown Jewel' pay-per-view event in Riyadh on Friday wearing his signature bandana and a Hulkamania shirt -- with his red and yellow boa.

Hulk -- who's hosting the event -- told the crowd, "It's good to be back!"

"It's awesome to be here back in the WWE," Hulk said ... noting how excited he was to get on a plane and fly across the world to make his return.

"So, whatcha gonna do when the power of Hulkamania and the 'Crown Jewel' run wild on you, brother?!"

The crowd went wild -- cheering Hogan on.

WWE had been looking to bring Hulk back into the fold since May -- but officials were just waiting for the right opportunity.

Unclear if the plan was to make Hulk a part of 'Crown Jewel' all along -- or if he was a last-minute Plan B after John Cena and Daniel Bryan refused to participate over the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Of course, Hulk got the axe from WWE in 2015 after a racist n-word rant went public. Hulk apologized and several African-American wrestlers publicly offered their support for Hogan.

Our sources have told us WWE was paying close attention to Hulk's philanthropic work -- such as his speech at the Boys & Girls Club back in May -- because they wanted to see how he was received.

Question now -- is this a one-time thing or will Hulk be a reoccurring character in future WWE storylines?

Story developing ...

UFC star Jimmie Rivera says he's dying to fight Cody Garbrandt -- if "No Love" would just get his balls back from Urijah Faber's purse.

Rivera is a stud -- he's the #5 ranked bantamweight who once had a crazy 20-fight win streak with victories over guys like UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber.

Now, Rivera is trying to claw his way back into a title shot and knows he's probably gotta go through Cody for a chance to face champ T.J. Dillashaw.

"You know, what's on my list is Cody," Jimmie says ... "If he finally answers my tweets or gets his balls from Urijah Faber's purse, we can make a fight happen early next year and I can whoop his ass and give him his 3rd loss and end his career just I like did Faber."

Rivera fought -- and beat -- Faber back in 2016, the 2nd to last fight of Faber's career.

Now, Garbrandt trains with Faber -- the two are very close friends.

DJ Paul's jumping on the Tekashi69 train -- calling him a genius -- and if the final destination is an East Coast-West Coast war ... DJP ain't sweating it.

We got the Three 6 Mafia rapper Thursday at LAX and had to ask about the tug-of-war between Tekashi's NY crew and his Cali record label. As we first reported, cops fear the worst is yet to come between the factions after last week's NYC shootout where one of 6ix9ine's guys was hit.

Heather Locklear was vicious, violent and wished death by AIDS on the children of an EMT that was placing her on a gurney during her June arrest ... so says the EMT in a newly filed lawsuit.

Jennifer Hayn-Hiton -- a single mother of 3 -- was working as an EMT on June 24 when she was dispatched to Locklear's L.A. home for a disturbance call. Hayn-Hiton claims Locklear became verbally and physically abusive during the incident, kicking her and causing injury.

According to the docs -- filed Thursday and obtained by TMZ -- Locklear also wished death on the EMT's 3 minor children from AIDS.

Hayn-Hiton says the injuries at the hands and feet of Locklear caused her to miss work and, as a result, her paycheck shrunk.

TMZ broke the story -- Locklear was charged with interfering with law enforcement and battery. She was hospitalized 24 hours after her release from jail for an apparent overdose ... and she's been in rehab ever since.

Hayn-Hiton's attorney, Kevin Flahavan, tells us, "This has taken a tremendous toll on our client and her children. When Ms. Locklear went to rehab, we had hoped that she would learn about making amends to those she had harmed."

He continues, "We have reached out to her and she ignored us time and time again. It became apparent that Ms. Locklear wasn't going to accept responsibility for her actions on her own."

As for the lawsuit ... Hayn-Hiton is asking for unspecified damages to cover medical costs, pain and suffering and lost wages.

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

File Under: "Shade????"

Seems like Randy Orton threw some John Cena's way before boarding the plane to Saudi Arabia ... 'cause when we asked how he felt about JC pulling out of the trip, Orton replied, "Does he still wrestle?"

Orton continued, "I didn't know he pulled out."

WWE had promoted Cena as one of the major participants at the 'Crown Jewel' pay-per-view event in Riyadh on Friday, but recently announced he'll be replaced by Bobby Lashley.

Cena is reportedly boycotting the trip over Saudi Arabia's alleged role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Orton had previously told us he feels the WWE should push forward with the event to help make a positive change in the region and "make things better everywhere."

But Wednesday, he admitted money is also a factor -- "I've got 5 kids. I gotta go make that dollar. If they want me in Saudi, I'm going to Saudi."

Orton was joined at Washington Dulles International Airport by stars like Sheamus, The Miz and Big Show.

Sheamus told us he's not worried about the political drama -- he's focused on putting smiles on people's faces.

Similar message from The Miz -- who told us traveling all over the world and entertaining people is his dream come true.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is a bigger star than Conor McGregor -- so says his manager -- and therefore deserves MORE MONEY than Conor ... which he why he wants at least $50 mil for his next fight.

We spoke with Ali Abdelaziz who argues Khabib has become a "global superstar" -- who's met with some of the most powerful leaders in the world.

Ali says Khabib's reach is bigger than ever -- and he wants UFC to come to the table with a paycheck that reflects how big of a star he's become.

"Come on, man! You have a guy meeting with Putin, [President of Turkey] Erdogan. And, the other guy selling liquor on the corner store. It's not even in the f**king same planet."

Ali says Khabib would consider a rematch with McGregor if the price is right -- but, this time, Conor will get an even worse beating.

"I really want to see [Conor] drink his own blood," Ali says ... "He talked a lot of sh*t. He didn't back it up. Embarrassed himself in front of his whole beautiful country of Ireland, his father, his mother, his wife."

Linda McMahon says she didn't make the call for the WWE to move forward with the Pay-Per-View event in Saudi Arabia on Friday ... saying she's no longer responsible for WWE's business moves.

Besides being married to WWE honcho Vince McMahon -- Linda also served as a high ranking executive in the organization from 1980 through 2009.

She's now part of the Trump administration -- serving as the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, based in Washington D.C.

So, when we saw her out at Reagan Airport on Tuesday, we had to ask how she felt about WWE not canceling the 'Crown Jewel' event, despite pressure from politicians and other powerful people in the wake of the Jamal Khashoggi murder.

"If you wanna talk WWE, you're talking to the wrong McMahon," Linda told us.

When we pointed out that WWE is essentially a family-run business, she replied -- "I don't run it and I'm not responsible for it ... ya gotta talk to Vince."

Message received -- loud and clear!

10:30 AM PT – Maury tells us he’s been trying to get Cardi on his show for 6 months to talk about Offset, but now he’s certain a show with CB and Nicki would be worthy of a primetime special.

Although the rivals tweeted Tuesday morning about being "all love" ... Maury ain’t buying it. As for who would come out on top in the lie detector test -- he thinks there's plenty of guilt to go around.

He also told us he and his staff security guards are prepared for the worst ... should the ladies agree to the polygraph showdown.

If Cardi B and Nicki Minaj really want THE TRUTH, one man is prepared to give them THE TRUTH ... and his name is Maury Povich.

Maury stepped squarely into the middle of hip-hop's biggest feud with an offer to hook both rappers up to a polygraph machine ... on his show, of course. We're thinking he'd have to make it a 2-hour special though, because there's a ton of beef to slice up:

-- Did Cardi stop Offset from doing the "No Flag" video with Nicki?
-- Did Nicki's pal Rah Ali really hit Cardi instead of security at the NYFW event?
-- Did Cardi block 21 Savage from doing "Krippy Kush" with Nicki?
-- Did Nicki leak Cardi's phone number after the NYFW fight?

And, that's just scratching the surface.

After Nicki dropped a ton of accusations on her "Queen Radio" show, she immediately offered to pay for a lie detector to prove she's in the right -- but as Maury put it, "Why pay for a Lie Detector Test @NICKIMINAJ ... when mine is FREE!"

For her part, Cardi fired back at Nicki with a ton of her own tea ... so, MP saw a huge opportunity and he pounced. Shoot your shot, Maury!

So, will they accept? Nicki SAYS she's down ... no word from Cardi yet.

Of course, with so much on the line, ya gotta wonder ... can they handle THE TRUTH?

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro suffered a nasty black eye after his baby mama allegedly hit him with a phone and punched him in the face, and this is a DIFFERENT incident from the one last week where cops came rushing to his home.

TMZ broke the story ... cops were called to the 'Jersey Shore' star's Vegas home Thursday night for a custody dispute over the couple's 6-month-old daughter. Law enforcement sources tell us during their visit, Ronnie told cops about Jen's history of violence toward him.

Now we find out ... this was just the latest incident of strife and violence. Back on October 5, Ronnie was allegedly brutalized by Jen ... he says she punched him and struck him in the head with a phone.

As we reported ... Ronnie posted a pic of his injuries on Instagram, but never disclosed what caused the shiner.

We're told officers in Vegas informed Ronnie he needed to file a police report in New Jersey -- where the alleged attack went down -- if he wanted Jen arrested. Sources close to Ronnie say he has not reported the incident ... at least not yet.

Daniel Cormier says Brock Lesnar better not try to pull any cage-storming antics at UFC 230 ... because he ain't gonna be so nice this time around.

D.C. fights Derrick Lewis at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night -- and if Cormier wins, it sets up a possible superfight with Lesnar ... a fight they've been unofficially promoting for months.

Remember, after Cormier beat Stipe Miocic for the heavyweight title at UFC 226 back in July, Brock walked into the cage and shoved Daniel HARD -- and threatened to beat his ass if they ever fought.

"Brock Lesnar can come ringside," Daniel tells TMZ Sports ... "but he better not come in there because this time, it might be problem for him."

Might be tough for Brock considering he's headlining the "WWE Crown Jewel" event in Saudi Arabia on Friday night ... but it's theoretically possible for him to make it to MSG in time for D.C.'s fight.

As for Lewis, Cormier says he respects him as a fighter -- but at the end of the day, he's gonna beat Derrick's ass.

We also spoke with D.C. about a possible 3rd fight with Jon Jones and who he thinks Ben Askren should face when he makes his UFC debut.