Fights

Seems Colin Farrell is taking Conor McGregor at his word -- saying he supports his fellow Irishman's decision to retire from MMA ... and wishes him well in his future outside the Octagon.

Farrell was leaving "Good Morning America" where he was promoting the new "Dumbo" flick when we asked if he REALLY believes we've seen the last of The Notorious in the UFC.

"Everyone can do what they want, man," Farrell said ... "Everyone's gotta follow their hearts."

Colin's been a huge McGregor supporter for years -- raving about Conor back in 2015 as one of the most "phenomenal" athletes on the planet ... and saying he's brought great pride to Ireland.

Not everyone is buying Conor's retirement statement he posted on Twitter late Monday night -- some people believe it's all a negotiating tactic to pressure Dana White into giving him an ownership stake in the UFC.

Stop us if you've heard this one before ... Conor McGregor just tweeted that he's retiring from MMA forever.

Yeah, just like he did in 2016.

It happened in the middle of the night ... McGregor tweeted:

"Hey guys quick announcement, I’ve decided to retire from the sport formally known as 'Mixed Martial Art' today. I wish all my old colleagues well going forward in competition. I now join my former partners on this venture, already in retirement. Proper Pina Coladas on me fellas!"

Is he serious? UFC honcho Dana White thinks so ... telling ESPN, "He has the money to retire and his whiskey is KILLIN it. It totally makes sense. If I was him I would retire too."

White added, "He's retiring from fighting. Not from working. The Whiskey will keep him busy and I'm sure he has other things he's working on."

"He has been so fun to watch!!! He has accomplished incredible things in this sport. I am so happy for him and I look forward to seeing him be as successful outside of the octagon as he was in it."

The issue ... McGregor was on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" -- which aired Monday night -- and he told Fallon he was in active negotiations with the UFC to fight in July.

So, what went sideways between the time he taped the show and his retirement tweet??

We're trying to figure it out ...

McGregor has tweeted about retiring before ... back in April 2016, he wrote, "I have decided to retire young. Thanks for the cheese. Catch ya's later."

Of course, he didn't REALLY retire -- he went on to fight Nate Diaz (and won) a few months later.

The difference between now and then -- Proper 12.

Conor's Irish whiskey company is reportedly doing REALLY well. Conor and Dana White have said the UFC star is making a fortune off liquor sales.

Of course, just a few days ago ... McGregor was telling fans how much he LOVES fighting and how he's got big fighting plans in his future ... including rematches with Nate Diaz and Khabib Nurmagomedov.

So, has Conor had a change of heart??? Or, is this all one big joke?

We'll find out ...

Oh, and Khabib -- who beat Conor in October -- has also weighed in with a statement of his own.

"There can be only one king in the jungle," Khabib said ... "Only one."

Major League Baseball has suspended San Francisco Giants CEO Larry Baer -- without pay -- until July 1, 2019 for stemming from a March 1 incident with his wife, TMZ Sports has learned.

He must also undergo counseling.

MLB commish Rob Manfred says the unpaid suspension will be backdated to March 4, 2019 -- the day Baer took a leave of absence from the team.

"During the period of his suspension, Baer shall have no involvement in the operations of the Giants," Manfred says.

"The Club shall be operated by an interim control person appointed by the ownership group in consultation with the Commissioner. Baer will be required to undergo an evaluation by an expert to determine an appropriate treatment and counseling plan."

Manfred says, "At my direction, the Department of Investigations conducted an investigation into the March 1, 2019 video-recorded incident involving Larry Baer. I also personally met with Mr. Baer."

"Based on my review of the results of the investigation, I have concluded that Mr. Baer’s conduct was unacceptable under MLB policies and warrants discipline."

"In determining the appropriate level of discipline, I find that Mr. Baer should be held to a higher standard because as a leader he is expected to be a role model for others in his organization and community."

"Based on my conversation with Mr. Baer, it is clear that he regrets what transpired and takes responsibility for his conduct."

TMZ Sports posted video showing Baer in a physical altercation with his wife in a public park -- ultimately knocking her to the ground in a struggle to pry a phone out of her hands. You can hear her screaming, "Oh my god. Help!"

Baer's wife has publicly supported Larry after the incident -- chalking the whole thing up to an ordinary marital spat.

Larry has also issued a statement on the suspension ... saying, "I respect and accept the Commissioner's decision, and I respect and accept the Commissioner's decision, and appreciate the fair and thorough process undertaken by MLB and the Giants."

"I made a serious mistake that I sincerely regret and I am truly sorry for my actions. My unacceptable behavior fell well short of what must be demanded of every person, particularly someone in my position and role in the community."

Some good news, bad news ...

The Good News ... Deontay Wilder says he's in talks with Tyson Fury's camp and he's VERY confident the two sides will get a deal done for a rematch.

The Bad News ... it probably ain't happening until 2020.

"I think that's something that is definitely gonna happen, but it's gonna take a little time now," Wilder tells TMZ Sports.

"Fury didn't want the rematch and I don't blame him. To be getting up off your ass like he did and to get a concussion, I wouldn't want to go again either!"

Of course, the two did battle back in December -- and even though Wilder knocked Fury down TWICE, Fury fought like hell and the bout was eventually scored a draw.

The two had initially talked about locking in a rematch right away -- but negotiations hit a wall and they both have since booked fights with other opponents in May and in June.

Wilder -- who was in L.A. to support his fiance Telli Swift's clothing brand Imperium -- is set to take on Dominic Breazeale in New York while Fury will fight Tom Schwarz in Las Vegas.

Wilder says the plan is to make sure Breazeale leaves the ring in a body bag. Yeesh.

As for the rematch, Wilder says ... it will "probably" go down in 2020 -- but it's possible that could be moved up to 2019 if the two sides can reach an agreement.

Wilder says "all parties are in conversation" ... and advises fans, "Good things come to those who wait."

What's cooler than having the BEST knockdown of the week??

How about getting props from Odell Beckham after the fight?

That's what happened to Lorenzo "Truck" Simpson -- who floored his opponent with a crushing left hook during his nationally televised fight on FS1 this weekend ... making just about every single highlight reel.

Simpson -- one of Floyd Mayweather's prodigies -- was fighting Jaime Meza on Sunday ... and when Mezza threw a stupid, wild spinning punch, Truck timed it perfectly and smashed the dude's face in.

"I caught him real good," Simpson told TMZ Sports with a victorious grin on his face ... "I knew I caught him with a nice shot."

After the fight, Simpson got all sorts of love from big stars including boxing champ Caleb Plant, Gervonta Davis and NFL superstar Odell Beckham Jr. ... who's also a big fight fan.

"It's going nuts right now," Simpson said.

Keep your eye on this dude -- Simpson is 3-0 as a pro ... but he's got BIG power and is on track to be a future superstar in the sport.

Forget the trilogy with Conor McGregor ... Nate Diaz wants a crack at Khabib.

Just days after TMZ Sports posted footage of Conor saying he "owes" Nate a 3rd fight out of respect -- Nate seems to be poopooing the idea ... and is now setting his sights on The Eagle.

"Kabibs hiding scared cause I slapped the sh*t out of him," Nate posted ... "Conor already got his ass beat twice."

"Where the f*ck you at kabib?"

Nate and Conor fought TWICE back in 2016. Nate won the first fight, choking McGregor out in the 2nd round.

When they ran it back a few months later, Conor won a majority decision after 5 bloody rounds. Some people, including Nate, believe the judges blew the decision.

The fans have been calling for a rubbermatch ever since -- and Conor finally addressed the issue in Chicago ... while standing on top of a bar.

"He fought me, he beat me. He gave me a rematch at the exact same weight, there was no hesitation, that's a true fighter right there," McGregor said.

"I have nothing but respect ... I owe him the trilogy now and the trilogy will happen."

Diaz made $10 MILLION for the 2nd fight -- so you 'd think he'd be motivated for a 3rd scrap.

But, he feels the Khabib fight is a higher priority.

Diaz has talked about slapping Khabib and embarrassing Conor before -- telling TMZ Sports in August 2018, "I whipped one's ass and I slapped the f*ck out of the other one so they're both my little bitches."

Diaz then told us about an incident in which he smacked Khabib in the face in front of "all his Russian friends" and they "didn't do sh*t."

Of course, Nate was supposed to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 230 back in November -- but Poirier pulled out after suffering an injury.

Diaz just issued a statement to him as well -- "Ps porier is a pussy."

Forget Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga ... here are two WWE superstars performing the smash hit "Shallow" IN THE WRESTLING RING -- and it's pretty amazing!!

The guy with the guitar is Elias -- who's a pretty talented musician when he's not bodyslamming people.

Dude teamed up with Finn Balor at a WWE live event over the weekend where they put on a musical show for the crowd ... and they loved it!!

Elias took the Bradley Cooper part of the song from "A Star Is Born." He sounded great.

Finn, on the other hand, is no Lady Gaga. Good effort though!

Of course, Bradley and Gaga's version of "Shallow" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 2019 Oscars ... where the movie stars performed the song live.

It's been covered by a TON of people since the movie came out ... from Alicia Keys to Kelly Clarkson.

WHOAAA!!!!!

Two pro motorcycle racers just got hit with 2-year suspensions over one of the CRAZIEST fights we've ever seen on a race track!!

It all went down at the National Motorbike Championship in February in Costa Rica -- where racer Marion Calvo got pissed after Jorge Martinez bumped him during the race and caused him to lose control of his bike.

Somehow, Martinez clung to Calvo's bike and forced Calvo to pull over, while Martinez was hanging off the back of his opponent's bike.

When the bike finally came to a stop, Martinez reached back and threw a HAYMAKER shot right at Calvo's face -- knocking the racer on his ass!!

But, kudos to Calvo ... who got up ... and ran back after Martinez, trying to continue the fight ON THE TRACK while other racers zoomed by.

Eventually, things broke up ... but wow. Insane.

Both racers were disqualified on the spot -- but now the Latin American Motorcycle Association has doled out the bigger punishment -- and it's 2-year suspensions for both fighters.

TMZ Sports has obtained a 911 call made by Tony Ferguson's wife during an incident in February -- and the way she handled the call may have saved Tony's life ... and the lives of several cops.

As we've previously reported, Tony's wife, Cristina, called police to their Santa Ana, California home several times over the past couple months when the UFC star was having manic episodes and acting erratically.

Cristina has made it clear she loves Tony and wants him to get treatment -- but during a Feb. 16 incident, things got to a point where she was scared and needed police to intervene.

During the call, Cristina says she needs help -- but warns police that Tony is a professional fighter. She notes, "I don't want no cops to get injured."

The operator responds, "We don't want anyone to get hurt."

Of course, Tony is not just a pro UFC fighter, he's one of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world ... currently, the #1 ranked contender in the UFC's lightweight division.

When cops arrived to Ferguson's home, officers used the information from the call to help diffuse the situation ... and according to the police report, Tony told officers he would seek help.

Unfortunately, cops were called back to the house a few days later -- but the good news, Tony has since agreed to get serious about treatment and appears to be doing better.

In fact, just last week, Tony posted on social media that he's seen a psychologist and that it "went well."

Adrien Broner got in trouble with the law again .... and he ended up in cuffs.

Eyewitnesses tell TMZ the former boxing champ was in South Beach at around 9 PM Saturday, walking with fellow boxer Gervonta Davis, when he jaywalked on busy Collins Avenue and a driver honked at him. We're told Adrien got angry and smacked the hood of the car and began yelling at the driver.

Cops were already out in force because it's Spring Break, they heard the commotion and warned him to calm down or else he'd be arrested. We're told Broner then started yelling at the police so they cuffed him for a time but did not arrest him.

Broner didn't let the incident dampen his night. He went to Exchange Miami nightclub where he did the Bust Down dance and even jumped onstage.

Earlier this week Broner threatened to attack and even shoot gay people in a vile video posted to his social media account. He said, "If I got my gun on me, I'm shooting you in the f***ing face, and that's on God and them ... I don't like gay sh*t." The comments were directed at social media star Andrew C. Caldwell, the famous "I'm Delivert" guy. Caldwell had said Broner was flirting with him. Broner's response was to "punch the testosterone out you GAY ASS."

Colby Covington better watch his mouth around Todd Gurley ... 'cause Kamaru Usman tells TMZ Sports the NFL superstar would whoop his ass if they ever scrapped!!!

"Todd Gurley would maul him," Usman says ... "He would maul him. He'd maul him."

Of course, Kamaru's talking about this 'cause he says he saw the Rams RB get into a spat with Covington seconds before his championship fight with Tyron Woodley at UFC 235.

So, we had to ask ... who'd win if Gurley and Covington were NOT separated that night?!

His answer -- Gurley ... and he ain't just sayin' that 'cause he HATES Covington ...

"These running backs, they have low centers of gravity, big butts, strong legs. All they have to do is -- it's not going to take them long, once they learn the technique, they're throwing hammers."

"So, yeah, I think he could take him."

The tale of the tape IS interesting ... Gurley outweighs Covington by over 60 pounds and is two inches taller -- so, is Kamaru right??

CM Punk ain't lettin' his 2 UFC ass-whoopings stop him from training to fight ... 'cause his teammate and UFC star, Anthony Pettis, says Punk is STILL hitting the gym hard.

TMZ Sports talked to Pettis -- the former UFC lightweight champ who's moving up to welterweight to fight #2-ranked Stephen "Wonderboy" Thompson on Saturday at Fight Night 148 -- about his Roufusport gym mate's fighting future.

"He is still training. I don't know what his plan is. I know he's doing some movies and a couple other things, but I'm not sure if he plans on fighting again or what. But, I know he's still training ... That dude's a hard worker."

Remember, Punk was dominated and choked out by Mickey Gall in September 2016 ... before returning to face Mike "The Truth" Jackson.

Punk lost to Jackson via a unanimous decision ... but looked like a much-improved fighter.

Pettis says he respects the hell outta CM Punk ... even with an 0-2 record.

"Not many people in the world can do what he did. I mean, it's on the biggest stage, and he fought some good guys too. It's not like he was fighting scrubs. He's fighting good guys in the UFC."

"He's training with killers. He's training with me, Woodley. He comes in day and day, and he's getting his butt kicked, and coming back, showing up, so I give him props, man. No matter what, he did it."

We also talked to Wonderboy -- who hasn't fought in 10 months after sustaining an injury fighting Darren Till -- about exactly how he plans to become champ by the end of 2019.

Mike Tyson says Conor McGregor needs to quit talkin' UFC ownership and focus on what made him a superstar to begin with ... telling TMZ Sports the fighter should do just that -- FIGHT!!!

As we previously reported ... The Notorious demanded a piece of the UFC in a rant at a Chicago bar last week ... following up on what he's been saying for YEARS.

"Give me my rightful shares in the UFC company. That’s all I ask," Conor said at the time.

Tyson says Conor's WRONG ... 'cause ownership is a whole different kinda game ... and Mike seems to think McGregor should get his money the ol' fashioned way -- by kickin' ass.

Jussie Smollett's fighting to stay outta prison, but one of the brothers who allegedly helped him stage the infamous "attack" is fighting his ass off in the boxing ring -- and just rung up another W.

Abel Osundairo competed again Thursday night in the semifinals of the prestigious Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament at Cicero Stadium. He didn't score a first-round knockout like he did in the quarterfinals, but Abel still secured a unanimous decision -- and he's moving on to the finals, slated to go down next month.

After the match ... Abel was met by a horde of reporters. Abel didn't say much with his mouth but he did let his eyes do a lot of talking. Just ask this reporter who got a bit of a death stare.

Nevertheless ... Abel -- who wore a white robe with the American flag emblazoned on the back -- has proven he's got potential as a powerful southpaw. His vicious jabs set up a brutal knockdown in the first round. As we first said after his win last weekend ... pretty clear that Abel held back a LOT during the "attack."

As for Jussie's fight -- he's pled not guilty on the 16-count indictment, and is awaiting trial.

BTW ... the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament is arguably the most elite amateur tournament in the country. It's been around since 1923 and some of its past champions include Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis and Sonny Liston.

3:59 PM PT -- Victim Giovanni Arnold's attorney, Daniel Szalkiewicz, tells us, "Our office was deeply upset to learn that the NYPD has decided not to prosecute Cardi B, Offset, or any of their body guards following their actions last year after the Met Gala."

He continues, "Both my office and my client cooperated with the NYPD at every opportunity but had not heard from them since the weeks immediately following the incident ... We hoped that those responsible for Mr. Arnold’s injuries would be charged accordingly. It appears that was wishful thinking."

"What the NYPD did today was endorse violence. They have given Cardi B, Offset, and all celebrities a license to assault people who say things they don’t like; and that is a dangerous precedent to set."

The security team for Cardi B and Migos is off the hook in an alleged assault on an autograph seeker at last year's Met Gala.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the rappers' security guards won't face any charges, and the assault case has been closed. We're told the alleged victim refused to be interviewed by NYPD detectives. That's despite the fact he was clearly seen on video catching a beatdown.

TMZ broke the story ... Cardi, Offset and Quavo were all leaving a Met Gala party when the melee began. The rappers were accused of ordering their security team to put hands on an overzealous fan.

None of the security guards was ever arrested, and it was only CB and the Migos rappers who were facing potential criminal charges -- but now, everybody's walking away scot-free.

There's still a civil lawsuit, though. The fan's lawyer, Daniel Szalkiewicz, filed last May claiming he suffered injuries to his face, neck, back and body.

Tyron Woodley is calling out Conor McGregor because he feels it's the only fight that makes sense for BOTH guys ... and he's "dead ass serious."

"I want to fight Conor," Tyron said on "The Hollywood Beatdown."

"I'll fight him in Ireland. I'll fight him in the f*cking back alley of a White Castle ... want to go to Russia? Want to go to the TMZ newsroom?"

"Quit being a bitch ... let's fight."

So, why would Conor take that fight?

Woodley points out that both guys are coming off losses in world title fights -- and since they're close in weight, it makes sense for them to battle while they wait for their shot to get their belts back.

Of course, Conor has said he wants fights with Nate Diaz and Cowboy Cerrone in addition to a rematch with Khabib Nurmagomedov ... but Tyron says none of those fights are happening any time soon.

"Looks like we dangling around Conor ... come get this smoke."

Woodley's last fight was 3 weeks ago when he lost the welterweight belt to Kamaru Usman, who seems to be on a collision course to fight Colby Covington next.

Tyron says it doesn't make sense to refight other contenders he already washed in the welterweight division ... so Conor is the next best thing to a rematch with Usman.

In fact, Tyron says he's healthy and hungry and ready to fight right now ... as long as Dana White can get Conor to sign a contract.

Tyron and Conor have had beef before -- when they got into an altercation behind-the-scenes at the UFC 205 press conference back in 2016.