Fights

"I'ma f**kin' eat this man alive."

That's what "Platinum" Mike Perry promises to do to Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone when they square off at UFC Fight Night 139 Saturday night.

Perry didn't stop there ... telling TMZ Sports, "I'm gonna knock this man the f**k out, period. That's all there is to it."

"I gotta take over. I'm gonna go forward, push him in the wall. Grind my elbows in his face. Slice his face open, and knock him out cold."

Cerrone ain't the only one feelin' Platinum Mike's wrath ... Perry also had harsh words for the UFC's newest fighter, Ben Askren -- an NCAA champ and Olympic wrestler.

George Lopez will have to answer for allegedly getting handsy with a fan who trolled him with a Trump joke and a camera in his face, 'cause he's been charged with a crime ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us George will have to appear in court next month on a misdemeanor battery charge for allegedly roughing up a guy who tried filming him at a Hooters in October ... as the comedian was leaving the restaurant.

We broke the story ... George grabbed the back of the young man's neck ... a guy who had previously asked to take a pic with the comedian. The guy jabbed George with a Trump joke, and then all hell broke loose as George was on his way out.

According to the police report, obtained by TMZ, cops tracked George down the next day at a golf course and asked for his side of the story. Basically, George told cops he didn't want to be filmed, and that's why he tried grabbing the guy's phone away.

George also told cops he believes the guy was trying to bait him by lying in wait at the front door and by throwing out "MAGA" jokes, knowing George is vehemently anti-Trump.

UFC star Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone is so obsessed with "Red Dead Redemption 2" -- he's even dressing like the characters for a little fight week inspiration.

Cerrone is fighting "Platinum" Mike Perry at UFC Fight Night 139 in Denver on Saturday -- and if he seems extra violent this week, it's because he's been murdering everyone in New Hanover.

Cowboy doesn't even consider himself a "gamer" -- but said he HAD to buy 'RDR2' because it seemed to be right up his alley ... and he was right.

The game is already a massive hit -- earning a record $750 MILLION in the first 3 days of sales. In fact, one of the plot points in this week's "South Park" episode is how everyone is obsessed with the game.

Right before we started the interview with Cerrone, he told us his outfit was inspired by Arthur Morgan -- the main character in the game.

"Not only have I been playing the game, but I pre-purchased the $100 package with the horses and the guns."

"It's Cowboy all the way. So, I love it. Yeah. It's so cool. Just how you can just kill everybody. Whatever you want. I can't go into any town without being harassed by everyone, 'cause I just murder everybody."

No days off for Tyson Fury -- the boxer took over a section at one of the bougiest gyms in L.A. to drill down on his footwork ... right next to a buncha normies!

With just 23 days until his massive fight with Deontay Wilder, the Gypsy King hit up Equinox in L.A. -- a private gym where some of the richest people in town get a workout.

So, while regular, non-global boxing superstars were trying to knock out some pull-ups and elliptical work (good job, btw) ... Fury's trainers were cracking the whip to get him ready for Dec. 1.

What's more impressive ... this is Fury's 3rd fight since his life went into a drug and booze-fueled tailspin a few years ago. The comeback story is truly inspiring.

Tyson opened up about his struggles on "The Joe Rogan Experience" podcast recently saying things got so bad, he blew up to 400 pounds and thought about quitting boxing forever.

But, Fury got his life together now -- he's quit the vices, lost the weight and won his last 2 comeback fights.

Hours after bailing on his New Year's Eve fight in Japan, Floyd Mayweather didn't go into hiding ... he went to the Lakers game!

Earlier in the day, Mayweather put out a bizarre statement saying he was duped into participating in a press conference for RIZIN 14 where he was billed as the main event in a fight against kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.

Floyd was clowned by stars like 50 Cent and others who were baffled by Mayweather's claim that he didn't agree to participate in the fight he was promoting.

But, was he embarrassed? Apparently not, because there he was in the front row at Staples Center on Wednesday night ... along with a ton of HUGE stars like Miles Teller, Denzel Washington, Larsa Pippen, Todd Gurley, LaVar Ball and his high school basketball-playing son, LaMelo.

But, one fan deserves her own paragraph ... and that's Emily Ratajkowski, who proudly cheered on her "boo" LeBron James while looking absolutely incredible in the process.

Obviously, LBJ loves his wife ... but having a cheerleader like EmRata proves it's great to be the king.

Former boxing Jermain Taylor was arrested and hauled to jail Wednesday morning ... and it all stems from an incident where he allegedly KO'd and threatened to kill his GF.

Back in August, Taylor was arrested in Arkansas for allegedly knocking a woman unconscious ... and holding a knife to her throat.

At the time, he was booked into the county jail ... but released on $15k bond.

Now prosecutors are moving forward with the case ... indicting the former middleweight champ on felony aggravated assault, felony terroristic threats and misdemeanor domestic battery.

The indictment triggered an arrest warrant ... so cops went and picked up Taylor.

JT's currently in the Pulaski County jail.

FYI -- this ain't the first time Taylor's been in trouble with the law ... he's previously been arrested for allegedly shooting his own cousin, allegedly making terroristic threats and firing a handgun at an MLK Jr. parade, and allegedly brutally beating a fellow patient at a rehab facility.

Taylor is set to appear before a judge Thursday morning.

10:13 AM PT -- Taylor has been released from county jail on $10K bail.

Conor McGregor felt Conor McGregor needed a little confidence boost Thursday morning -- so, he looked in the mirror and told himself how great he is.

Over and over and over.

With his Versace robe hanging on his bathroom door, Conor pointed at himself and repeated, "You the man. You the man. YOU are the man!"

He then cackled like a maniac.

So, why? He's Conor McGregor, that's why.

Seems to be getting over his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov -- you remember, Conor was smashed up at UFC 229 in Vegas on October 6.

It was Conor's first MMA fight in nearly 2 years -- and he didn't exactly look like the world-beater we got used to seeing against guys like Jose Aldo and Eddie Alvarez.

Conor has said he wants a rematch with Khabib -- but has told Dana White he's willing to fight whoever it takes to get it.

It was just a matter of time but 50 Cent is now mocking Floyd Mayweather for pulling out of the New Year's Eve fight with Tenshin Nasukawa he had just announced on Sunday.

"Ok cool they tricked him," 50 said ... "Was trying to kick him in the head and sh*t. He fell for it because its time to get some money."

Remember, Floyd pulled out on Wednesday, saying he never agreed to an official bout -- just a 3 round exhibition -- and only participated in the press conference because he didn't want to "create a disturbance."

But, 50 implied that Floyd only took the fight because he ain't as wealthy as he leads on -- saying, "The money low."

50 then mocked Floyd for the way the head of "The Money Team" handled this deal from the beginning.

"The biggest fighter in the world don't announce a fight with out a contract. He did a press conference ... now he saying there was no deal. LOL."

50 has since deleted the IG post ... but he's just saying what everyone else is thinking -- how does the most powerful athlete on the planet get duped in such a massive and embarrassing way??

The whole thing is weird.

Reggaeton sensation Karol G's Hollywood performance was allegedly a serious smash for one of her fans, who claims Karol's hired muscle roughed her up backstage.

Karol played at Avalon Hollywood Tuesday night, and sources tell us, afterward a female fan was invited backstage with friends. At some point, they spotted Karol and her BF, rapper Anuel AA, leaving the club.

We're told the fan lined up for a chance encounter, but that's when -- out of nowhere -- a security guard rushed at her and allegedly grabbed her arm and started shaking it aggressively.

The guard kept telling the fan no photos or video were allowed backstage, and the fan said she hadn't taken any. During the scuffle, she claims the security guard twisted her wrist until her phone fell ... at which point, security started scrolling through it. We're told he found nothing.

We're told the security guard left with the phone, but the fan got it back hours later. Law enforcement sources tell us the fan filed a report with LAPD for simple battery.

We've reached out to Karol G's team ... so far, no word back.

Mike Tyson tells TMZ Sports he's rooting for another Floyd Mayweather comeback fight -- as long as it ain't in the Octagon!

After that whole Japan fight debacle, Floyd insists he's retired (again) ... but Iron Mike says he hopes he reconsiders because he likes watching Mayweather fight ... as a boxer.

Also worth noting ... Mike Tyson is stoned to the bejeezus in this clip.

How do we know? 'Cause Mike's out promoting his new Tyson Ranch weed brand -- and his business partner, BigMike, told us they just lit up.

In fact, Mike recently smoked out Conor McGregor -- and got the UFC star's marijuana seal of approval.

"Hey, McGregor's a good guy," Mike said ... "He liked our kush. I'm very grateful for that."

Mike's marijuana ranch is huge -- 400 acres right in the Coachella Valley in Southern California ... and Tyson tells us his goal is to take over the whole THC industry.

12:24 PM PT -- Floyd had already made up his mind to back out of the fight by Tuesday night -- because he was telling people at an L.A. nightclub that it was off.

In fact, Floyd's friend Michael Blackson -- the famous comedian -- came on "TMZ Live" on Wednesday and told us when he saw Floyd at Murano Nightclub, the boxer made it clear it wasn't happening.

Floyd Mayweather is making it clear his massive New Year's Eve fight with Tenshin Nasukawa is off -- and claims it's because he was misled by fight promoters.

It's strange considering the press conference Floyd participated in on Sunday night -- promoting the fight at RIZIN 14 in Japan -- but alas, here we are.

In short, Floyd claims he only ever agreed to fight Tenshin in a private, closed door, 3-round exhibition fight "for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee."

But, when he got to the press conference (weird that he would even agree to do a press conference for a small private event) the RIZIN promoters told the media it would be a globally televised superfight.

Floyd says he went along with the press conference because he was blindsided and didn't want to "create a disturbance."

During the press conference, Floyd was PRAISING the fight promoters and said the goal was to create a longterm relationship with RIZIN to promote more fights together in the future.

Whatever the case, seems the fight's off for good. Here's Floyd's statement in its entirety.

"Now that I am back on U.S. soil after a long and disappointing trip to Tokyo, I now have the time to address you, my fans and the media in regards to the upcoming event on December 31st that was recently announced."

"First and foremost, I want it to be clear that I, Floyd Mayweather, never agreed to an official bout with Tenshin Nasukawa. In fact (with all due respect) I have never heard of him until this recent trip to Japan. Ultimately, I was asked to participate in a 9 minute exhibition of 3 rounds with an opponent selected by the 'Rizen Fighting Federation.'"

"What I was originally informed of by Brent Johnson of 'One Entertainment' was that this was to be an exhibition put on for a small group of wealthy spectators for a very large fee. This exhibition was previously arranged as a "Special Bout" purely for entertainment purposes with no intentions of being represented as an official fight card nor televised worldwide."

"Once I arrived to the press conference, my team and I were completely derailed by the new direction this event was going and we should have put a stop to it immediately."

"I want to sincerely apologize to my fans for the very misleading information that was announced during this press conference and I can assure you that I too was completely blindsided by the arrangements that were being made without my consent nor approval."

"For the sake of the several fans and attendees that flew in from all parts of the world to attend this past press conference, I was hesitant to create a huge disturbance by combating what was being said and for that I am truly sorry."

"I am a retired boxer that earns an unprecedented amount of money, globally, for appearances, speaking engagements and occasional small exhibitions."

Farrah Abraham is on the verge of having a real fight on her hands -- a legal one, anyway -- if she keeps talking smack.

A lawyer repping celeb boxing promoter Damon Feldman has fired off a cease and desist letter to Farrah threatening to sue her ass if she continues trash talking him and the event ... slated to go down Saturday in Atlantic City.

The lawyer, John A. Gallagher of the Gallagher Law Group, calls Farrah's bashing defamatory. In the letter, obtained by TMZ, Gallagher says Feldman kept his end of the deal ... which included paying Farrah's fees up front, providing training and equipment.

What's more ... the law firm says it was Farrah who bullied promoters with unreasonable and unnecessary demands. Promoters gave in ... with a suite of rooms for her posse, but did so as a courtesy to maintain the relationship. It was NEVER part of the deal.

Farrah's manager, David Weintraub, tells us, "This letter is utterly hilarious coming from these "janky promoters" pretending to be a boxing organization. We wish them lots of luck trying to enforce our rights and ability to speak freely about the absurd way they handled their amateur business over the course of this deal."

He continues, "Bottom line, they have no money, they have no pay-per-view deal, they aren't selling tickets and couldn't even afford proper travel, accommodations or security for my clients, hence that's why they are in breach and she isn't fighting. Enjoy your flop fight Saturday."

Paige VanZant says she's got a lot of pent up "anger and aggression" to unload on Rachael Ostovich when they fight in Jan. ... telling TMZ Sports her nasty arm injury has made her BETTER!

Remember, Paige broke her arm throwing a spinning back fist at Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC Fight Night 124 back in Jan. 2018 -- and she needed TWO surgeries to fix the injury.

But, despite the 10-month layoff, the 24-year-old star says she's been working on other parts of her game and truly feels she's a more well-rounded fighter.

"I'm gonna be so much better," Paige told us while out in Portugal ... "'I've been able to focus on so many other things while the arm was healing."

Paige says she's been champing at the bit to get the fight deal done -- explaining how UFC has been trying to make it happen for a while.

The problem ... Paige's first surgery on the arm failed -- despite doctors using a titanium plate to try and stabilize the bone -- so she needed to go under the knife for the second time.

That surgery worked and Paige says she's been training her ass off ever since.

Paige and Rachael will face off Jan. 19 in Brooklyn -- Paige says she expects it to be a helluva fight.

Florian Munteanu -- the guy who plays Ivan Drago's son in "Creed 2" -- says training for the flick got him in the best shape of his life ... and he's got the abs to prove it.

First off, count the abs ... 8.

Ridiculous.

A few other things -- Florian talks about the movie plot without spoiling it noting there won't be a Vladimir Putin look-alike character in this movie to replace the Mikhail Gorbachev spoof in "Rocky IV."

"We didn't aim for that," Florian said while strolling through Reagan National Airport with the film's director, Steven Caple Jr.

"It's about family and loyalty, a lot of father/son relationships going on on the Creed side ... but no political issues."

28-year-old Florian -- a pro boxer who hails from Romania -- also says he hopes this movie propels him into being a Hollywood star ... but it's up to the audience to decide if he's good enough.

"The audience have to decide if they like my performance or not but I'm pretty happy with it."

Neither Drita D'Avanzo nor Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander will get to be in the ring with Farrah Abraham for a celebrity boxing match ... but that didn't stop the duo from laying a serious smackdown on the ex-"Teen Mom" star.

We spoke to Drita ... who says Farrah backed out of a charity boxing match at the last minute because she was straight-up scared. As you know ... Farrah quit claiming she got screwed out of her deal.

Alas, that won't be the case ... and the ex-"Mob Wives" star thinks it was less about her (remember, there's no love lost between them) and more about Hoopz' skills in the ring.

Hoopz is also trashing Farrah after she threw in the towel ... saying this is typical Farrah crying wolf. Hoopz even has a word to describe her behavior ... making it crystal clear how she feels about Farrah.

UFC star Israel Adesanya says Floyd Mayweather needs to "grow some f*cking cajones" and make his upcoming fight MMA-style ... otherwise, Israel ain't gonna watch it.

"What's all this, 'Yeah, man, we gonna f*cking fight! What's up! Oh, but, nah, um, you can't touch -- no legs, no knees, no grappling,'" Israel tells TMZ Sports.

"I mean, what the f*ck are we doing?!"

Of course ... Floyd just announced he's gonna fight 20-year-old kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Toyko on NYE -- but no word yet on whether it will be boxing rules or a legit MMA bout.

Israel -- fresh off his dominating performance at UFC 230 -- says there better be knees, feet and legs involved ... 'cause he says he's tired of hearing Floyd talk without backing it up with a REAL fight.

As for Floyd's chances in a scrap like that ... Israel says he'd actually give Mayweather a shot -- especially if the legendary boxer was willing to take some time off to train for it.

"Take a chance! He could take a year off and just learn grappling. Learn wrestling ... but f*cking stay in your little bubble then if you want to be that bitch."

As for all the talk about what an MMA loss would do to Floyd's legacy ... Israel says Money needs to read up on James Toney's fight career to see why that's really not an issue.