Fights

Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis ... get ready -- 'cause Greg Hardy says he's coming!!!

"They're not in my mind," the ex-NFL star says of the UFC heavyweight beasts ... "They're in my sights, brother. They're locked in."

Of course, Hardy ain't sure exactly when those fights will go down ... he tells TMZ Sports, after being DQ'd in his first-ever UFC fight -- he's got a lot to learn before he steps in the Octagon with the superstars.

But, he says guys like Stipe and The Black Beast are still the goal ... telling us, "When I go there and I do fight these guys -- hopefully soon enough when I do elevate and graduate -- it's going to be Goliath vs. Goliath."

Hardy's first step in that plan? A bout with Dmitrii Smoliakov in the co-main event of Saturday night's ESPN+ Fight Night 150.

Greg says he's more prepared for this UFC tilt than his first one -- the one he lost after he illegally kneed Allen Crowder back in January.

Hardy tells us he was "overwhelmed" by the stage in that fight ... but he's learned from it -- and says he's ready to kick some ass Saturday!!!

The woman Remy Ma allegedly punched at a concert in NYC wants the venue and police to preserve surveillance footage of the incident ... a sure sign she's about to sue the rapper.

'Love & Hip Hop' star Brittney Taylor filed legal docs this week asking the Irving Plaza and NYPD to hold on to video, photographs, investigative reports and all other evidence in connection to her alleged altercation with Remy ... during the Pretty Lou's Benefit Concert on April 16.

As we reported, Taylor claims Remy punched her in the right eye after the 2 had an argument in the backstage area. Brittney went to the hospital for treatment and filed a police report.

So far, there have been no arrests or charges filed, and sources close to Remy say there's no validity to the story.

Taylor's sticking to it, though. According to the legal docs ... she says she suffered serious personal injuries and believes there's surveillance of the incident.

The man Conor McGregor boxed in an exhibition match in Ireland last week tells TMZ Sports ... Conor started off the fight with the WORST cheap shot he's ever seen ... and we got the video!!!

"It was the cheapest shot I ever caught in me life, man," Michael McGrane tells us.

Here's the deal ... McGrane took on McGregor in a 4-round fight in Dublin on Friday, April 19. Conor is in the red trunks, Michael is sporting blue.

When officials rang the bell to start the match, McGrane says he expected Conor to touch gloves ... but instead, the UFC superstar unleashed a left hook that caught him flush in the eye.

"You're meant to go back to your corner, but Conor never went back to his corner," McGrane says ... "Conor leaped at me with a left hook."

You can see the damage McGrane says he took from the shot -- still visible days after the fight.

"Conor McGregor hit me a cheap shot in his own hometown!!!"

McGrane says he got no help from the ref that day -- because even the official was obviously rooting for Conor.

"The ref was on his side. There's no way I would have won that fight unless I knocked him out."

By the way, we're told the fight ended in a DRAW.

Despite the controversy, McGrane says he's greatly appreciative of the opportunity to fight someone as HUGE as Conor McGregor and hopes the experience will make him better in the long run.

McGrane -- an electrician by trade -- says he's hoping to give up the electric game to focus on boxing full-time because he thinks he has potential to be a world champ!!!

Canelo Alvarez has some BIG fans in his corner -- LeBron James and Maverick Carter -- and to show their support, they just hooked the boxer up with some SUPER HOT kicks!!!

LeBron's business partner just took a trip to Canelo's training camp in San Diego where Alvarez is gearing up to fight Daniel Jacobs on May 4. And, you better believe he didn't come empty-handed.

Carter presented Canelo with a pair of the new LeBron 16 "Martin" shoes -- which have already become some of the most coveted shoes on the market.

"You like sneakers?" Carter asks ... "These just came out. Very special."

Canelo is stoked -- and tells Carter to give his thanks to LeBron.

As we previously reported, Bron and Carter are producing a docuseries on the fight for DAZN called "40 Days" which premieres Tuesday night ... and will show how Canelo is preparing for the bout.

The series also features Canelo's promoter Oscar De La Hoya -- but if he wants a pair of LeBrons, he's gonna have to pay for 'em!!!

Amir Khan quit in the ring ... and he needs to man the hell up and apologize to boxing fans, so says boxing legend Roy Jones Jr.

Khan bowed out in the 6th round of his fight with Terence Crawford this weekend after getting hit below the belt ... insisting he was seriously hurt, and couldn't continue.

But, fans felt cheated by the ending ... and they were pissed.

And, they damn sure should be, according to Roy ... who says Khan flat out waved the white flag.

"Amir Khan quit."

Jones Jr. -- a multiple time world champ across 4 weight classes -- says he would NEVER quit inside the ring.

"When I go in the ring. Carry me out. I don't wanna go out on my feet if I lost. Carry me out. I rather give it all, or get it all taken away from me."

Still, RJJ says all ain't lost for Khan -- a fighter he likes and respects -- as long as he gets real about what happened.

"Amir, I love you as a fighter. I respect you since you were an amateur fighter. You went up 2 weight classes, took on Canelo. You did a lot of beautiful things to show that you have courage," Jones Jr. says.

"This time you were in a no-win situation, and you refused to continue," Jones tells us ... "You stopped at a time we know you could've given more. You didn't give it to us, the fans, your all."

The Internet-famous Easter Bunny vigilante says he sprung into action without thinking twice about the fact he was rocking a furry suit ... because he'd spotted a damsel in distress.

The hero-bunny is Antoine McDonald and he tells TMZ ... he saw a guy spit on a woman Sunday outside the Underground Public House bar in downtown Orlando. Antoine says he saw it from across the street and quickly ran over to help her.

It all happened so fast, Antoine says he didn't even have time to unzip his suit or even bother to look for cars as he scrambled to get across the street and to the woman's defense. The video of him -- fully furred out -- going HAM has, naturally, gone viral. When's the last time you saw an Easter bunny open a can of whoop-ass??

The video of Antoine breaking down the brawl is almost as entertaining as the fight itself. Our fave parts? When the boxing bunny went from throwing haymakers to shadow boxing ... much to the crowd's delight.

Also, you gotta see Antoine revealing what cops told him immediately after they broke up the fight. Amazingly, nobody got arrested.

Terence Crawford tells TMZ Sports ... Amir Khan was SMART to quit in the 6th round -- because the beating was only gonna get WORSE for the fighter.

We spoke with "Bud" about that smackdown he put on Khan on Saturday -- in a fight where Khan quit after taking an accidental low blow.

Crawford says Amir essentially "took the easy way out" -- because Terence was finally starting to open up and the beating was only going to get worse.

"I honestly feel like [Amir's trainer] stopped him before anything bad happened to him."

Crawford says Amir will have to live with his decision to quit for years because it's "something people will talk about for ages."

We also spoke with Crawford about the next big fight ... a potential matchup with superstar Errol Spence.

EVERYONE wants to see it -- but a behind-the-scenes feud between Crawford's promoter Bob Arum and Errol's promoter Al Haymon could prevent the fight from going down.

Crawford says he hopes everybody can be "adults" about the situation -- and if they are, he's confident the fight can get made.

#FingersCrossed

Getchya popcorn ready for the biggest boxing match in women's history ... 'cause Cecilia Braekhus tells TMZ Sports she's down for a superfight with Claressa Shields!!!

"I wanna be in a ring with that," Braekhus says.

Of course, Cecilia and Claressa are considered the two best female boxers on the planet -- Cecilia is 35-0 while Claressa is 9-0 -- and Cecilia says she's willing to duke it out in the ring to see who's No. 1.

The only problem??? The two are in totally different weight classes -- Claressa has about 13 pounds on Cecilia -- but Braekhus tells us she'll come up in weight if Claressa will go down.

"It's three weight divisions between us," Cecilia says ... "So, that issue needs to be resolved."

The good news??? Claressa says she's willing to meet Cecilia in the middle ... 'cause she just told us this week she'll fight the boxing superstar at 154!!!

So ... LET'S GET IT ON!!!!!

Paging Floyd Mayweather ... Conor McGregor is boxing again!!!

The UFC superstar competed in an exhibition match late Friday night at his OG gym in Crumlin, Ireland. Sure, Conor's wearing headgear so already you know it's basically a sparring sesh. But, he looked great and, in typical Conor fashion, he showboated throughout the match.

Check out the video ... Conor squares off against amateur Michael McGrane, reportedly an electrician who competes in Dublin. The Irishmen put on a show for the packed crowd with a four-round bout.

McGrane was no match for Conor, obviously ... as the superstar smothered his opponent with jabs while deftly switching stances -- from Orthodox to Southpaw -- throughout the match. He did a great job cutting the ring too.

The match was reportedly a secret ... cause McGrane was listed on the "Good Friday Show" card but his opponent was marked as "A. Another." After the fight ... McGregor mugged for the cameras with fans while showing off his Proper 12 whiskey.

The event helped raise money for the boxing club ... with the money going to help young fighters cover their travel expenses as they set out to compete throughout the year.

Boxing superstar Terence Crawford says he's confident Claressa Shields wouldn't just hold her own in a boxing match with Conor McGregor ... "she would do well!!!"

Of course, Shields sent shockwaves through the boxing world when she called out several MALE fighters by name ... Keith Thurman, Shawn Porter and Gennady Golovkin.

Crawford says Shields is a BEAST -- but he's not super confident she'd beat a top-level pro male fighter.

A lesser pro -- like Conor McGregor, perhaps? Crawford's got some thoughts ...

Remember that insane video of Amir Khan chugging a protein shake and then juggling the bottle in midair with punches???

Yeah ... dude says it was 100 percent real -- telling TMZ Sports it took AN HOUR of practicing before he got it right!!!

The trick is wild ... Khan tosses a plastic bottle in the air, hits it just right so it stays spinning ... and then he keeps it in the air with punch after punch until he's bored with it.

Khan tells us the trick ain't easy to do ... saying, "I was standing there for about an hour until I got it right!!"

In fact, Amir says it's SO difficult, he's only been able to do it twice since!!!

As for his upcoming mega-fight with Terence Crawford on Saturday night ... Khan says he's feeling extra motivated to get the win because he's such a huge underdog.

Matt Barnes is FED UP with the Derek Fisher jokes ... going scorched earth on an internet troll for heckling him about his old enemy, saying, "He already caught these hands. You can be nxt."

Here's the backstory -- Barnes went to Twitter on Thursday to talk about the Warriors and Clippers game, saying "Hopefully y’all will stop w this PatBev locking up or shutting down KD.. Only person that can stop KD is Westbrook."

Harmless tweet, right? Except, of course, someone had to disagree. After all, this *is* the internet we're talking about ... and the troll had to reference Barnes' infamous incident with the then-Knicks coach.

"This exactly why Derek Fisher be f*cking ya baby momma you slow corny motherf*cker f*ck you for ruining all those Lob City squads with your sh*tty defense," the troll said to Barnes.

Anyone who knows Barnes knows the dude ain't gonna ignore that, so he hit the troll back with "After you done being mad go wash that green off your neck from that fake ass chain B*tch!"

The troll's response is a bit too NSFW to post word-for-word ... so we'll just say he mentioned Fisher and Barnes' ex-wife, Gloria Govan, again ... as well as calling him out for not being in the league anymore.

Barnes' response?? "I retired d*ckhead.. 15yrs & still being paid until November 2020! You gotta do better than DFish jokes. He already caught these hands. You can be nxt "

A Brazilian MMA fighter says she was forced to stop a sexy beach photoshoot this month -- when she saw some creepo rear-naked chokin' his own chicken while watching her from the bushes.

Oh, and then she proceeded to BEAT HIS ASS!!

The woman is Joyce Vieira -- a 27-year-old amateur fighter and swimsuit enthusiast from Brazil. Her IG page is FIRE.

Vieira claims she was posing for pics with her photog crew when noticed a guy watching her nearby -- and when she approached him, Joyce claims his penis was out and it was obvious he was pleasuring himself.

Vieira reportedly told Brazilian news outlets the guy was making noises and groaning -- and when she told him to cut it out he replied, "Why? You don't like it? Come here!"

So, she punched him.

Vieira reportedly filed a police report -- and when cops spoke with the alleged whackjob, he claimed he was NOT doing the ol' 5-knuckle shuffle ... but rather innocently peeing in the bushes.

The case is reportedly still open and cops are continuing the investigation.

Cardi B is in NO mood to make a deal with prosecutors in her strip club beatdown case -- at least not the one she was offered Friday morning in court.

She was all business -- decked out in white -- as she walked through the rain, and into an NYC courthouse. As you know, Cardi's accused of ordering an attack on 2 strip club bartenders -- Jade and Baddie Gi -- last August. Cardi allegedly thought Jade had slept with her man, Offset.

Inside, prosecutors tried to play let's make a deal. The offer -- plead guilty to a misdemeanor, and get a conditional discharge. That would mean no jail time, but Cardi would have to stay out of trouble for some period of time.

That didn't appeal to her, and she rejected the deal before they could even discuss how long she'd have to keep her nose clean. The hearing didn't take long, and Cardi strolled back out ... silent as fans and photogs showed her love.

Cardi was arrested and booked in October for her alleged role in the strip club fight. She's facing charges of assault and reckless endangerment ... both misdemeanors.

Boxing sensation Claressa Shields will have to find another male challenger to fight -- because Shawn Porter says he's NOT down to get in the ring with the female superstar.

Porter appeared on the "TMZ Sports" TV show after Shields told us this week she's 100% confident she could BEAT top male fighters like Porter, Keith Thurman and Gennady Golovkin.

So, we asked Porter for his reaction -- to which he smiled and replied, "It's cute!"

Make no mistake -- Porter says he has nothing but respect for Shields as a fighter, but claims boxing a top male fighter is simply "an animal that she's not really prepared for."

Porter says Shields would obviously be outmatched when it comes to strength and power -- but also explains that speed and movement in men's boxing is on a different level than what she's faced in the women's division.

When asked if he'd be down for a 3-round exhibition with Shields to let their fists do the talking -- Porter shot that down ... telling us he's just not interested.

In the full interview, Porter says if Shields is serious about fighting men she needs to start at the bottom and work her way up the rankings ladder like everyone else -- she just can't skip the line and fight a champ.

In the meantime, Shields is working on setting up a fight with the only other reigning undisputed female boxing champ, Cecilia Braekhus.

7:37 PM PT -- Law enforcement says Brittney told cops she was attacked by Remy after she entered the backstage area at Irving Plaza.

Brittney claims they "exchanged words" in the greenroom -- relating to an attack on Remy's stepdaughter, Dejanae, that happened a few weeks ago -- and Remy threw the punch. Brittney claims Remy accused her of knowing about the attack on Dejanae.

Brittney went to the hospital for treatment, and then filed a police report.

On Remy's side, sources close to her say there's no validity to this story.

Remy Ma is being investigated by police for allegedly punching another woman at a concert in New York ... law enforcement sources confirmed to TMZ.

'Love & Hip Hop' star Brittney Taylor claims Remy Ma punched her right eye Tuesday night during the Pretty Lou Benefit Concert at Irving Plaza near Union Square. Brittney and Remy have beefed on the show in the past.

Remy Ma was scheduled to perform at the event, which featured a set from Fat Joe.

Our law enforcement sources say there's an open assault investigation stemming from an altercation at the event, which included a female being punched. No charges have been filed and no arrests have been made.

Britney posted a picture of her black eye on Instagram and said ... "So, here am I on my way to a very important meeting and it’s hard to even focus because of what occurred last night. I didn’t wanna bring it to social media because Its pretty embarrassing and not a good look tbh. I tried my best to cover it up with make up and move on but that still didn’t work. My Question is @remyma why did you really do this?”

Remy Ma has been in trouble with the law before ... she was arrested on an attempted murder charge in 2007 and served six years in prison. She is currently on parole.

We've reached out to Remy Ma's team ... So far, no word back.