Fights

Conor McGregor is too freakin' chicken to step into the ring with Anderson Silva, at least that's what Anderson Silva thinks, saying he'd love to fight Conor, but doubting Conor wants any part of him.

Conor has said back in October that he'd be interested in fighting Silva, saying he was willing to bulk up a little to get into the Octagon with Spider and duke it out.

Since then, Conor has taken a beating at the hands of Khabib, but when we got Silva out, he said he doesn't care about that, telling our guy he still wants the fight.

"I say let’s go do it. 180 is the perfect weight for me, I think it's good for McGregor, and let’s go do it because that’s amazing. That’s for the fans."

One problem ... Anderson isn't sure Conor still wants it, and is using the s-word as the reason why.

"It’s close to happening you know, but McGregor, come on, man. Let’s go do this. Don’t run, man, don’t run. You scared? I don’t believe that you're scared, let’s go."

Here's the thing ... the fight kinda makes sense now. Conor might want to take a tune-up before a Khabib rematch, and who better to fight than a much older opponent with a huge name?

An asst. coach for a WNBA team severed two arteries in his arm while allegedly punching through glass in a domestic violence incident and was rushed to the ICU ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The man at the center of the incident is Todd Troxel -- an assistant coach for the Phoenix Mercury. He's also famously worked with NBA stars like Yao Ming and Marko Jaric.

Todd was hospitalized on Dec. 1 -- and while he was there, he told cops that he accidentally sliced his arm on broken glass while putting up Christmas lights.

But, a nurse at the hospital told cops she had spoken to the fiancee and got a different story -- that he raged out during a fight and punched through a glass window at their home.

Cops spoke with the fiancee who told them the whole thing started after they left the Phoenix Suns game on Nov. 30. She claims they argued because Troxel wanted to smoke weed in their Uber.

Once they got to the home, Todd's fiance essentially broke up with him and he flipped out. She claims he grabbed her and pinned her to the ground and when she got up ... he yanked her hand, dislocating her finger. He then followed her to the front door and punched through a window.

The fiancee called 911 -- and then transported Troxel to a nearby hospital.

When investigators circled back with the fiancee hours later, they told her there was sufficient evidence to support possible criminal charges against Troxel.

But, the fiancee made it clear she did not want to cooperate with investigators -- and just just wanted him to get better.

Troxel required surgery to repair the damage to his arm. Cops documented the bloody scene at the home ... it's nasty.

Troxel has not been arrested or charged with a crime.

We reached out for comment, so far, no word back.

Asante Samuel says he doesn't blame Marcus Peters one bit for going off on a heckler Sunday ... 'cause he used to go hard at trash-talking fans too -- by callin' out their moms!!!

Peters has drawn serious criticism for exploding on a guy during the Rams-Eagles game ... but Asante tells TMZ Sports that kind of fan-player interaction has been going on for years.

In fact ... the ex-Eagles corner says he used to go after dudes in the same fashion -- talking trash about everything from fans' kids to even their moms!!!!

"That was me all day. Somebody would get on my nerves and I would say the most harshest thing. I'd talk about your momma. I don't care. If you talk about me, I'm going to come talk about you!"

Samuel says the incidents were frequent too ... and the only reason people think it's happening even more nowadays is because of social media.

His solution to it all?? "Leave the football players alone!!!"

BTW ... we also asked Samuel for his take on the Eagles' QB situation -- and the former Philly DB tells us which quarterback he'd start if he were in Doug Pederson's shoes.

There's always that one person shouting out song requests at concerts, but one heckler took it too far and totally PISSED OFF Aaron Lewis ... so the singer started lighting up the guy and hitting him where it hurts.

We've obtained video of the Staind frontman going off on a "f*cking rude" guest during his solo set Sunday night at 8 Seconds Saloon in Indianapolis ... and it's a pretty wild scene. You see Aaron onstage, dropping tons of f-bombs and telling the crowd to give the "bald motherf*cker" a taste of his own medicine.

Aaron's performing his solo country set on The Sinner Tour, and we're told the heckler kept interrupting songs by yelling out names of other tracks. As you can see, Aaron had enough and went nuclear after the 3rd interruption.

Conor McGregor wins again ...

The UFC superstar appeared in an Irish court Monday morning to deal with charges stemming from a July 10, 2018 incident when he was pulled over by cops in Dublin.

Unclear why McGregor was initially pulled over, but during the stop officials say McGregor failed to produce a valid driver's license and proof of insurance ... so he was cited and ordered to appear in court.

The good news for the 30-year-old ... Conor was able to get his ducks in a row and presented all the documentation he needed during the Dec. 17 hearing -- so the charges were dropped.

McGregor's court appearance was a big event in Dublin -- he rolled up to court in a blacked out BMW surrounded by a team of bodyguards ... while wearing one of his trademark slick suits.

Conor reportedly didn't have much to say inside the courtroom other than, "Thank you, Judge."

Conor's no stranger to the Irish legal system -- he appeared in court just last month to deal with a 2017 speeding charge. He got a 6-month driving ban in that incident.

"Hi, Mr. White ... the President was hoping to reach you by phone when you're available."

That's a real voicemail that Donald Trump's office left for UFC boss Dana White last week ... all because POTUS wanted to shoot the sh*t about the Max Holloway vs. Brian Ortega fight!!!!

"He calls me on Tuesday," White said on Barstool Sports' "Pardon My Take" podcast ... "For 15 minutes he couldn't stop talking about the fight."

By the way, Tuesday was the same day Trump sparred with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi about possibly shutting down the government during a debate over his border wall.

Unclear if the conversation with White took place before or after the meeting -- but it sure sounded like Trump was in a good mood.

White said Trump praised both fighters for their toughness and called the bout at UFC 231, "The greatest fight I've ever seen."

White and Trump have been friends for decades -- with Dana even giving a campaign speech for Donald at the Republican National Convention.

Bernard Hopkins doesn't seem to care that Michael B. Jordan and Roy Jones Jr. squashed their beef ... 'cause the legendary boxer says he wants to train the actor to whoop Roy's ass!!

ICYMI ... Michael B. previously told us his boxing skills were so good after filming "Creed II," he wanted a scrap with Roy -- and then the 49-year-old boxer told him to set it up!!

But, when we got Roy out at LAX last week ... he said the beef has been squashed -- and it doesn't look like a fight will go down.

Enter B-Hop ... who says not only should the fight still happen -- he wants to train MBJ to beat that ass!!!

"I'd love to be his trainer. I'd love to be Michael B.'s trainer. ... Michael cannot beat Roy Jones unless he has B-Hop's assistance!"

Of course, Bernard and Roy have history ... the two fought in 1993 and in 2010 -- and Bernard says that most recent bout (the one Hopkins actually won) is the key for MBJ.

"You know what the first lesson I would show him? I wouldn't show him the first fight, I would show him the second one when I won!!"

10:00 AM PT -- Ariana's ex, Pete Davidson, has jumped into the conversation, saying ... "Bravo Kanye West for standing up for yourself and speaking out against mental health. I can't explain to you enough how difficult and scary it is to be honest about stuff like this."

He adds ... "We need people like Kanye. No one should ever point fingers at you for your bravery in speaking about mental health. I'm seriously disgusted."

Before Pete posted his message, Ariana tweeted ... "last thing. stop weaponizing mental health. everyone."

Damn.

9:15 AM PT -- Ariana's replied to Kanye on Twitter, saying ... "with all due respect, i don't need to use anyone to promote anything. period." She adds it was just a joke comparing men and women, but did apologize for being insensitive and sent her well wishes to him.

Some fans were quick to say Ariana needs to retract her apology since she didn't owe him one ... to which she replied, "potentially triggering him? nah regardless of how i feel about a situation, i can also care about their mental health."

Kanye West is jumping all over Ariana Grande for making fun of his war with Drake and adversely affecting his mental illness.

Ariana did indeed make fun of the Kanye and Drake feud Friday, minimizing what Kanye says was a physical threat by Drake to him and his family. Ariana joked about "grown men arguing online," grousing it was taking attention away from her new single.

Ye fired back that he knew Ariana "said this to be cool and didn't mean no harm," but he still felt it was shading him. Fair point.

He goes on to say, "All of this foolishness weighed on my mental health so @arianagrande ..." In another post, he says, "No one would ever choose to end up in a mental hospital and diagnosed with a mental disorder but god chose me to publicly go through this journey and it is beautiful."

If we dare to interpret ... Kanye seems to be saying Ariana -- for whom he says he has love -- knows full well he's bipolar yet she jumped into the fray for pure self-promotion and in the process upset him.

It's interesting ... Kanye never called out Miley Cyrus. Ariana not only tweeted the guy fight was a distraction for the release of her single, but it also did the same for Miley. And, Miley was quick to respond by also making light of Kanye's fight with Drake. Yet Ye was silent on Miley.

We got Kanye in New York City Friday and asked him about the nature of the threat Drake leveled against him and his fam, but he was mum. We tried finding out from various Kim and Kanye sources all day long exactly what Drake said, but everyone is locked up tight as a drum.

Floyd Mayweather is wrong when he calls himself THE BEST EVER ... because, according to Sugar Ray Leonard, there's only one guy in that discussion ... the great Muhammad Ali.

A little backstory here ... Mayweather and Leonard ain't exactly the best of friends, having exchanged several barbs over the years over boxing, and the fact the Sugar Ray KO'd Floyd Sr.

The two men even reportedly traded insults IN PERSON once ... with Floyd reminding Leonard he's TBE, and Leonard telling Floyd he'd KO him just like he did his father.

Even still ... Sugar Ray has always been complimentary of Floyd as a boxer, so when we got him out in NYC we thought it was fair to ask him if Money has a legit claim to calling himself TBE.

"Muhammad Ali. Without question."

Sorry, Deontay Wilder ... Clubber Lang's son should not be the star of the next 'Creed' movie ... so says Dolph Lundgren, who tells TMZ Sports he's got a WAY better idea.

"What if Drago has a daughter?!"

Of course, all this Rocky talk kicked off last week when Deontay told us straight-up he wants a piece of the next 'Creed III' film as Lang's kid.

Dolph tells us he doesn't think the boxer's idea is the worst one ever ... he just doesn't seem ready to give up the Drago bloodline yet.

But, bad news for Dolph ... we got Sylvester Stallone out in Los Angeles just a couple days ago -- and he already seems all in on Wilder's vision for Adonnis' next foe.

It all begs the question ... why can't the next movie have both Drago's daughter AND Lang's boy???

Dog the Bounty Hunter will not face any charges after a confrontation with an angry teen at the Denver Airport.

Dog got into it with a 17-year-old last month at the Denver airport who claimed Dog roughed him up after asking for a photo, and the teen filed an assault report with cops. Our Dog sources said that claim was BS ... and the kid was the one who instigated things by saying, "I have a bounty on my head, what are you going to do about it motherf***er."

Our sources say the teen also made a remark about Beth Chapman -- who was in a wheelchair at the time -- saying, "Tell that fat bitch to get out of her chair."

Dog filed a report for harassment against the teen and his father a few days after the incident.

Law enforcement sources tell us the police department sent its case to the Denver District and City Attorney's Office who both declined to press any charges.

Dog's attorney, Andrew Brettler, tells us, "We're grateful to the Denver PD and City Attorney for investigating the matter and recognizing that Duane was innocent. His focus continues to be on Beth's health and recovery."

Shane Mosley has some friendly advice for Dana White -- DON'T ACCEPT OSCAR DE LA HOYA'S BOXING CHALLENGE ... fight him in the Octagon instead!

Remember, Oscar and Dana have been beefing hard lately -- with Dana calling Oscar all sorts of nasty names on ESPN.

So, Oscar issued a challenge of his own -- going on SiriusXM's 'Luke Thomas Show' and saying, "Let's get in the ring. Three rounds. Let's do this."

De La Hoya also told TMZ Sports that he would beat Dana's ass if things actually came to blows.

And, since "Sugar" Shane Mosley knows exactly what it's like to fight the Golden Boy -- he beat Oscar twice -- we asked if he had any advice for the UFC boss.

"Don't take the challenge," Mosley joked at the Smash Global MMA party in L.A. ... "I wouldn't do that. That wouldn't be a smart move."

Mosley's fiancee suggested the boxer give Dana some 1-on-1 personal training ... but Mosely replied, "It's not gonna help."

But, get this, Shane DOES think the guys should fight -- but he wants MMA rules since Oscar would have too big of an advantage in a boxing match.

BTW -- Mosley also reminded us that he and Oscar BOTH fought Shaquille O'Neal back in the day ... and we found the video.

And, it's AMAZING!!!

MMA fighters are terrified of Khabib ... that is, except UFC star Kevin Lee who says he's dyin' to square up with the undefeated champ ... and he's confident he'll kick his ass.

Lee -- the #4 ranked lightweight -- tells TMZ Sports he knows exactly who he wants next after beating up Al Iaquinta at UFC on FOX 31 Saturday night.

Khabib "The Eagle" Nurmagomedov.

Why does Kevin think he'd fare any different than the 27 fighters who were all handed an L from Khabib?

"Everybody's afraid to wrestle with the man and that's what kinda lets him shine through. All of the sudden he thinks he's a good boxer cause he kinda clipped Conor a little bit, but it was really the wrestling threat. Conor was so afraid to wrestle with him."

"I'm bigger, stronger and I ain't afraid to wrestle with no man."

Them fightin' words.

Jermall and Jermell Charlo are already seein' Money before their huge title fights next weekend ... 'cause Floyd Mayweather was a special guest at their open workouts in Houston!!

The undefeated Charlo twins hosted the training sesh/toy drive in their hometown leading up to their big event in Brooklyn ... and anyone who brought a gift got to check out their workout for free.

But, the guests weren't the only people in the giving spirit ... celeb jeweler Johnny Dang dropped by to hand-deliver a custom diamond grill for Jermall!!

Both Charlos are fighting at Barclays Center next Saturday -- both attempting to keep their undefeated streaks alive.

Jermall is 27-0 and Jermell is 31-0.

And, since they're both fighting on the same card -- how did they determine which fight would be the main event? Coin flip.

Jermall won -- so his fight will get top billing when he defends his interim middleweight title against Willie Monroe Jr.

Jermell is defending his junior middleweight title against Tony Harrison.

Floyd's got his own fight comin' up ... with his New Year's Eve exhibition in Tokyo with Tenshin Nasukawa right around the corner.

Mike Tyson says he had smoked marijuana in the hours before his famous 2000 fight against Andrew Golota ... but claims it was the ONLY time he was ever high on weed during a bout.

The boxing legend appeared on "The Dan Patrick Show" to talk about his new pot business when Dan asked him how long he'd been using cannabis.

"All my life basically," Tyson said ... before admitting he got high before the "Showdown in Motown."

Tyson said he had smoked before he got in the locker room and when Patrick asked how it affected him during the fight, Mike had a pretty classic answer ...

"It didn't affect me. It affected Golota."

Remember, Tyson famously dominated that fight -- with Golota refusing to get off his stool and continue the match after taking a beating in the first 3 rounds.

After the match, Tyson tested positive for marijuana and was fined $200,000.

He later blamed the failed test on the fact he couldn't find his "whizzer" -- a fake penis loaded with clean urine that helps people beat drug tests.

Tyson was eventually stripped of the victory because of the dirty test -- and it was officially put on his boxing record as a "no contest."

The Dana White vs. Oscar De La Hoya feud is exploding -- but how would things go down if they settled their differences in the ring?

Oscar has some thoughts ... "I would beat his ass."'

The two have been at each other's throats ever since White announced the Mayweather vs. McGregor fight back in June 2017.

Oscar put out a statement calling it a "circus" and said it would hurt the sport of boxing. Dana didn't appreciate that and blasted him as a lying, stupid "cokehead."

In fact, White went on ESPN's "First Take" on Thursday and went scorched Earth on the boxing legend -- even challenging him to a face-to-face showdown.