Fights

UFC fighter T.J. Dillashaw has broken his silence on his cheating scandal -- finally admitting, "I messed up."

The former bantamweight champ tested positive for EPO -- a banned substance -- before his January title fight with Henry Cejudo. He's accepted a 2-year ban and won't be eligible to fight until Jan. 2021.

"I'm having a hard time trying to forgive myself for this," 33-year-old Dillashaw said ... "Which I SHOULD have a hard time."

"But, I got to man up to what I did."

Dillashaw initially played dumb about the positive test -- saying he would look into how the positive test came about.

But, now he's admitting he knowingly cheated -- and says he understands all of the criticism and scrutiny that comes his way.

Dillashaw says he vows to return to the sport and wants to prove to his 15-month-old son that he can come back after making a tremendous "mistake."

"This is who I am. I'm a fighter ... and I'm gonna have to fight my way through this one."

While he's on the bench, Dillashaw has already had surgery on one shoulder and will get surgery on the other soon.

Whoa!!!!!

UFC fighter Anthony Smith HATES Luke Rockhold's guts. Like REALLY hates him.

And, moments ago, Smith issued a threat to Rockhold, despite the fact they don't even have a fight on the books.

"That guy’s a f*cking piece of sh*t," Smith said at the UFC press conference in Atlanta moments ago.

"F*ck Luke Rockhold."

So, why the hostility?

It stems back to a radio interview Rockhold did earlier this year when he called Smith a "sloppy bum" who wasn't worthy of a fight with Jon Jones at UFC 235.

Smith was clearly offended -- and used his opportunity Friday to lash back at Rockhold.

"The first opportunity I get I’m gonna drill a hole through Luke Rockhold’s f*cking face. I promise you guys that.”

“The first opportunity I get after this fight, doesn’t matter what happens. I’ll fight Luke Rockhold on one f*cking leg. I’m gonna beat that dude's f*cking ass.”

UFC star Israel Adesanya says a fight with Jon Jones "does tickle my loins" -- and he's warning the light heavyweight champ, "I already killed one G.O.A.T. and I'm hunting the next."

Of course, before Israel can fight Jones, he's gotta get through Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 on Saturday (on ESPN+ PPV) in a huge middleweight interim title bout.

But, if he beats Kelvin, there's a path to Jon Jones -- who's already told TMZ Sports he's very "excited" about a matchup with "The Last Stylebender."

When we spoke with Jon back in March, Israel was already on his radar -- and he told us, "I've got a feeling me and him will eventually fight each other."

Israel says he doesn't want to think TOO much about Jones because he's gotta stay focused on Gastelum ... who's chalked up some pretty impressive victories over guys like Michael Bisping, Johnny Hendricks and Tim Kennedy.

Israel's resume ain't too shabby either -- back in February, he defeated UFC legend Anderson Silva, the "G.O.A.T." he was referring to earlier.

By the way, the fight's going down in Atlanta -- home to one of the most famous strip clubs on the planet ... and if Israel beats Kelvin, he's already got a plan to celebrate!!

The UFC 236 card is insane -- it also features Max Holloway vs. Dustin Poirier ... but you can only watch it on ESPN+ PPV, which you can order by clicking this link.

If Conor McGregor wants another boxing superfight, Vasyl Lomachenko says he'll be his huckleberry ... telling TMZ Sports, "I can beat him easy."

Lomachenko is widely considered one of the best boxers on the planet -- he's the unified lightweight champion of the world ... and hasn't lost a fight since 2014.

Loma has a fight this Friday against Anthony Crolla on ESPN+ -- but he's an OVERWHELMING favorite and expected to beat the ever-loving dog snot out of the 32-year-old Englishman.

So, once he rolls through Crolla, ya gotta think Vasyl is looking for a payday fight -- and Conor McGregor would definitely get him the millions of dollars he wants.

And, the good news for Vasyl ... he thinks it'll be the easiest work of his career -- essentially saying Conor's boxing skills are "amateur" at best.

"I enjoy this fight," Loma said about possible McGregor matchup ... "I will go through this guy. No problem."

The big question ... what does Conor want? He "retired" from MMA but nobody believes he's done fighting for good. And, he seems to want another shot at a pro boxing match after losing to Floyd Mayweather.

TMZ Sports has obtained new footage showing Conor McGregor swatting and smashing a cell phone in front of the Fontainebleau hotel in Miami ... right after doing his famous "Billionaire Strut."

The footage is being used in the criminal case against the UFC star stemming from a March 11 incident.

The footage begins at 5:21 AM showing Conor leaving the hotel with an entourage while Ahmed Abdirzak follows him out while recording McGregor on his cell phone.

At one point, McGregor reaches out to Ahmed as if he was going to shake his hand -- but then pulls back and violently smacks the phone out of the guy's hand.

Conor then stomps on the phone a couple of times before picking it up and walking away.

McGregor was arrested later that day and has since been charged with felony robbery and misdemeanor criminal mischief. If convicted on all counts, Conor faces up to 6 years in prison.

Conor has pled not guilty on all charges. A trial is scheduled to begin in May.

Ahmed Abdirzak filed a lawsuit against Conor over the incident -- but later struck a settlement with the UFC fighter and dropped his suit.

Could you imagine Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov as FRIENDS?!?!

Max Holloway can ... telling TMZ Sports the UFC's most bitter rivals need to end their war and team up for good.

First off, Max is FIRED UP to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 236 this Saturday on ESPN+ PPV -- he's seeking to avenge a 2012 loss to Dustin when Max was making his UFC debut.

And, while Max was freezing his butt off promoting the fight, he had the perfect solution to fix one of the most bitter rivalries in the history of combat sports.

Of course, Conor and Khabib have been trashing the hell out of each other for MONTHS -- with Conor recently insulting Khabib's family and religion ... and Khabib firing back with insults of his own.

Yeah, it's bad.

In fact, things have gotten so bad between the two, UFC honcho Dana White says he got involved and called for the fighters to cut it out already.

Enter Holloway ... who says Conor and Khabib need to take all of that energy and use it FOR GOOD.

"These guys got a big platform, they should talk about more important stuff ... like the climate change."

He's not joking -- Holloway believes climate change is a serious issue that affects EVERYONE ... and if CM and KN teamed up, they could make a real impact.

As for Holloway vs. Poirier II, Max says things will be much different this time around -- telling TMZ Sports he's got a game plan built for success.

Jim Ross is channeling his inner Justin Bieber when talking his future with his old employer ... telling TMZ Sports he'll "never say never" to a reunion with WWE.

The legendary commentator just signed a fat, 3-year deal with All Elite Wrestling after 26 years with the WWE ... which has been deemed "the most lucrative deal in pro wrestling commentary history."

While the exact amount has not been released ... it was enough for Ross to say "Yes" ... and he's excited to start fresh with the new company.

"26 years, great run. 26 years, wouldn't trade it for anything," Ross says. "To be out there and do something new with AEW and the Khan family, too good to pass up."

"They have a strong belief that I can still do my storytelling job ringside in this wrestling business. So, we're gonna give it another run and have some fun."

Ross says he wasn't being used enough with WWE, and he's still got gas left in the tank ... so why not??

As for whether Ross would return to his old employer ... he's open to the idea, but makes it clear he's not waiting by the phone for a call from Vince McMahon.

"I'm committed for 3 years at AEW, hopefully for longer ... I'm not thinking that far ahead. I'm ready to get to work today, tomorrow, or whatever."

The NHL has just suspended Slava Voynov for the entire 2019-20 season over a domestic violence incident from 2014 ... the league has announced.

As we previously reported, Voynov pled no contest to misdemeanor corporal injury to a spouse -- stemming from a 2014 altercation with his wife at their Redondo Beach, CA home.

Cops said Voynov's wife told them the hockey player kicked, punched and choked her -- and also slammed her head into a TV. Cops said she was bleeding when they arrived to the scene.

Voynov was ultimately sentenced to 90 days in jail and 3 years probation, which he completed last year.

The L.A. Kings terminated Slava's $25 million contract in 2015 -- and he moved back to his native Russia where he resumed his hockey career.

But, now that his probation is over, he wants to play in the NHL again -- and recently met with NHL officials to discuss possible reinstatement.

Enter NHL Commish Gary Bettman ... who says if Slava wants to return, he needs to be punished by the league for his actions -- even if those actions are almost 5 years old.

Bettman decided a 1-year suspension was sufficient and made the announcement on Tuesday.

"I have determined that Player Slava Voynov engaged in acts of domestic violence directed at his wife,” Commissioner Bettman said.

"Today’s ruling, while tailored to the specific facts of this case and the individuals involved, is necessary and consistent with the NHL’s strongly-held policy that it cannot and will not tolerate this and similar types of conduct, particularly as directed at a spouse, domestic partner or family member."

Cincinnati Reds star Yasiel Puig and Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Chris Archer have both been hit with suspensions for their roles in a crazy bench-clearing brawl ... MLB announced.

Archer intentionally threw at Reds infielder Derek Dietrich after he had previously homered off him earlier in the game. The pitch went behind Dietrich, pissing off Reds players who stormed the field.

The angriest Reds player was Puig -- who jogged right over to Archer and got in his face. Several players restrained Puig as things escalated. He continued to run after Pirates players like a wild man until he was eventually pulled back into the Reds dugout.

Now, Joe Torre, Chief Baseball Officer for Major League Baseball, says Puig will be suspended for 2 games starting Tuesday night. He will also be fined an undisclosed amount.

Archer was hit with a 5-game suspension. He was also fined. Archer will be allowed to appeal his suspension.

Reds manager David Bell was also suspended 1 game for running on the field after the wild pitch. His suspension will also begin Tuesday night.

UFC superstar Daniel Cormier says he wants to fight Brock Lesnar in the Octagon ASAP -- telling Dana White, "What are you waiting for?! Get this sh*t on the books!!!"

Of course, Brock got destroyed by Seth Rollins at WrestleMania Sunday -- a storyline many people think was written with the intention of freeing Lesnar up to go fight in the UFC again.

Which brings us to Cormier ... who had previously talked about retiring on his 40th birthday (which happened a couple of weeks ago) -- but now that Brock's in the picture, DC says he wants all the smoke.

"It’s the fight I want," Cormier tells TMZ Sports ... "I think everyone wants to fight Brock. We all want to fight Brock."

Cormier is the reigning UFC heavyweight champion -- and recently relinquished the light heavyweight championship.

He added, "It's the fight. That’s the fight that needs to happen. You know, he’s a former UFC champ, All-American in college. This guy's very, very deserving of a fight, and he’s gonna get it. Hopefully."

Dana White has previously told us he wants to make the fight happen -- but so far, nothing's official.

Cormier is trying to light a fire under White's ass to get the deal done.

"Dana get on the phone right now. If you haven’t called him yet, do it today!! What are you waiting for?! Get this sh*t on the books. Let’s get this on the books!!"

As for Brock, Cormier has a message for him too after his defeat at WrestleMania -- "Lick those wounds ... 'cause I got some brand new ones waiting for ya."

41-year-old Lesnar was a beast during his UFC heyday -- winning the heavyweight title in 2008 with a victory over Randy Couture.

But, he hasn't fought in the UFC since 2016 -- when he beat Mark Hunt in a fight that was later overturned after Brock flunked a drug test.

Will Lesnar take one last fight before riding off into the sunset??? Stay tuned.

Bret "The Hitman" Hart is speaking out about that crazy attack during his WWE Hall of Fame ceremony Saturday ... saying, " I want to let everyone know that I am okay and was not injured."

GREAT NEWS!!!

Of course, the 61-year-old legend was blindsided by a violent idiot who snuck on stage and tackled Bret while he was delivering his induction speech alongside Natalya Neidhart ... the daughter of Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim was also part of the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame class.

"What a wild weekend to say the least," Bret posted on social media Monday.

"If there’s one thing I want everyone to take away from the Hall of Fame ceremony is not so much what happened, but how I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from completing my tribute to my best friend and our team."

Bret added, "Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and words."

As for the attacker, cops arrested Zachary Madsen -- who's since been charged with assault and criminal trespassing. He was held on $1,500 bond.

Madsen was also pummeled by ex-UFC star Travis Browne -- who happened to be ringside with his wife Ronda Rousey during the attack.

After the incident, Madsen told police he decided to tackle Hart because "I just felt like it was the right moment."

Offset's gonna have to pay up since he's ignoring the hell out of a lawsuit ... at least, according to the guy suing him after allegedly getting beaten up by his hired muscle.

You'll recall Giovanni Arnold sued the Migos rapper and Cardi B in May 2018 ... claiming their bodyguards violently assaulted him outside The Mark Hotel following a Met Gala after-party. As we reported ... Arnold tried getting Cardi's autograph but she told him to scram. Then the alleged beating went down.

Problem is ... Arnold says Offset's completely ignored the lawsuit ... so he's filed new docs, obtained by TMZ, asking the judge to enter a default judgment. Worth noting ... Arnold's only asking for the default against Offset. We checked ... and it appears Cardi's been responding to the suit.

Conor McGregor is reportedly under investigation in Ireland -- again -- after allegedly punching a man Saturday in a pub in Dublin.

The UFC superstar was at the Marble Arch pub in Drimnagh (a suburb of Dublin) when he was approached by another patron who thought Conor was acting like a jerk, according to the Irish Mirror.

The patron reportedly talked trash to Conor about his loss to Khabib Nurmagomedov saying, "The Russian battered you" ... and that's when Conor snapped and punched.

We called Ireland's Garda Síochána -- the country's police force -- who wouldn't identify Conor by name but did confirm an investigation of an alleged April 6 incident at the Marble Arch.

"No arrests, matter under investigation."

We also called the pub -- but an employee hung up on us as soon as we asked about Conor.

Calls to McGregor's rep have not been returned.

It's just the latest in a long list of legal problems for Conor ... who's also facing criminal charges for an alleged incident at a Miami hotel last month.

He's also reportedly being investigated in a rape probe in Dublin stemming from an alleged incident at a hotel in Ireland back in December. Conor's rep has called the report a "rumor."

Conor McGregor has one less legal issue ... the man suing him in the Miami phone smashing incident has dropped his lawsuit against the UFC star and all signs point to settlement.

As we previously reported, 22-year-old Ahmed Abdirzak sued Conor for battery, assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress over the March 11 incident at the Fontainebleau hotel.

Abdirzak claims Conor "flew into a rage and punched [Abdirzak's] smart phone out of his hand" before "stomping on the phone repeatedly." Abdirzak was demanding north of $15,000.

Part of the incident was captured on video and posted by TMZ Sports.

Now, court records show Abdirzak has filed new documents to dismiss his suit against McGregor with prejudice -- which likely means the two reached a settlement agreement.

It's smart money for Conor considering he's worth a fortune and could easily cut a check to put the matter behind him.

McGregor is still facing criminal charges for the incident -- including felony robbery and misdemeanor criminal mischief. If convicted on all counts, Conor faces up to 6 years in prison.

His case is due back in front of the judge later this week.

McGregor doesn't seem too bothered by the situation -- he's been partying all over the world, feuding with his UFC rivals and watching WrestleMania.

Before he filed his lawsuit, Abdirzak appeared on "TMZ Live" in March and told us he hadn't decided if he was going to sue, insisting he just wants "justice."

Conor McGregor was so impressed with Becky Lynch's victory over Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania ... he might be one step closer to joining her in the ring.

Lynch defeated Rousey and Charlotte Flair in the main event Sunday night -- earning both the WWE Raw AND Smackdown belts ... leading Conor to dub her the sport's first "Champ Champ."

"Congrats to Irelands Becky Lynch, the WWE’s first Champ Champ," McGregor wrote.

"Wow! What a match these ladies put on! Ronda Rousey is something special in that ring, as is Charlotte Flair of the Flair dynasty!"

That's when the tease came ...

"Stephanie McMahon you are right, I could not do what these athletes do. Or could I... "

McGregor hasn't exactly had the best relationship with WWE -- in 2016, he went off on a bunch of the wrestlers as "p**sies" who could never win a real fist fight.

"For the most part, those WWE guys are p**sies," McGregor said at the time ... "They're messed up p**sies if you ask me."

He did, however, praise Vince McMahon and Triple H at the time.

So, will he or won't he???

We recently shot Steph McMahon who told us she would love to sign Conor to a WWE contract ... if he's serious about wanting to get in the ring.

Conor's future seems to be a mystery -- he "retired" from MMA in a tweet last month ... but then told Khabib Nurmagomedov he would see him back in the Octagon.

It's all over for Batista!!!!

The WWE superstar -- turned movie star -- announced his retirement from "Sports Entertainment" just hours after losing an insane match to Triple H at WrestleMania 35.

First off, the match was crazy ... the 50-year-old -- who was a 6-TIME champ in the WWE -- battled his face-off with Triple H on Sunday. Triple H even used pliers to rip out Batista's nose ring during the match.

Then, after being hit with everything from a steel chair to steel steps ... Triple H hit Batista with his signature Pedigree move to end the match -- and Batista's career.

Afterward, Dave Bautista went to social media to say goodbye to the fans ...

"To all the @wwe fans across the world that gave me the opportunity to suspend your disbelief, thank you. From the biggest part of my heart thank you for letting me entertain you."

"Tonight was my story book ending and I wanted to leave you with all I had to give. I’ll miss this theater of violence more than I can express in words but I am officially retiring from Sports Entertainment."

"I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished, I leave in great health, and without a doubt the show will go on. I had a hell of a run. Thank you for the journey."

Don't worry, Dave will be fine ... he's become a massive movie star thanks to his role as Drax the Destroyer in 'Guardians of the Galaxy.'

He's also got a TON of new movies on the way.