Fights

MMA fighter Josh Copeland pled guilty to felony 2nd-degree assault in his domestic violence case -- stemming from allegations he punched his wife in the face during a heated altercation.

As we previously reported, Copeland -- 6'1", 265 lbs -- was arrested in Colorado on Feb. 2 after his wife told police he hit her so hard, her face was bloodied and bruised when cops arrived.

The woman had admitted she slapped Copeland in the face multiple times during the altercation -- but said he took things to another level of violence ... and then stole her phone so she couldn't call for help.

Copeland was originally hit with 4 criminal charges including felony assault, domestic violence, obstruction of telephone and child abuse (because the altercation allegedly took place in front of their son).

But now, a court official tells TMZ Sports ... Copeland appeared in court on Tuesday and cut a plea deal with prosecutors.

Long story short ... Copeland pled guilty to 2nd and 3rd-degree assault and in exchange, the other charges were dropped.

As for the sentence, Copeland was given 2 years probation -- and the judge noted he could be locked up if he doesn't stay out of trouble for the next 24 months.

Copeland is allowed to travel for work (he's a pro-MMA fighter) -- but he'll have to check in with the court in 2021 to make sure he's kept his nose clean.

Copeland is 18 and 6 as a pro-MMA fighter -- and even had a stint in the UFC in 2014 and 2015.

Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias is back -- the 22-year-old is officially off administrative leave following last week's domestic violence arrest, Major League Baseball has announced.

MLB issued a statement saying, "Urías has been reinstated from Administrative Leave while the investigation into a matter governed by the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy continues."

MLB says they are still investigating the matter.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Urias -- one of the hottest young pitchers in baseball -- was arrested May 13 after he allegedly got physical with his girlfriend in the parking lot of the Beverly Center.

Officials reviewed video of the incident and determined there was enough evidence to make an arrest. He was hauled to a nearby station and spent the night behind bars.

As we previously reported, prosecutors feel the case against Urias is "weak" based on the evidence -- which doesn't appear to show Urias had an "intent to injure" when he put his hands the women.

Instead, we're told it seems like Urias was trying to prevent his GF from leaving the parking lot -- and she went to the ground as a result ... but it did not appear as though he wanted to hurt her.

MLB officials launched their own investigation but according to the L.A. Times, they weren't able to get their hands on the video.

Urias had been placed on a 7-day administrative leave by MLB -- but now that's over and Urias can return to the mound.

The criminal case against Urias is still technically active ... but we're told that should wrap up shortly.

Watch out Ali vs. Frazier ... your status as the biggest heavyweight fight of all time is in jeopardy ... that's according to George Foreman, who says there's one fight that could be bigger.

Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua.

Wilder nuked Dominic Breazeale's face via 1st-round knockout this weekend -- and immediately, ring reporter Jim Gray began pressuring Deontay about when he'll fight Joshua, the most decorated active heavyweight.

We talked to Foreman, who says he doesn't know when the fight will happen, but he DOES know it'll be HUGE when it does.

"If Joshua and Wilder fight, it would be the biggest heavyweight fight of all time!"

Just so you guys know, historically all the biggest fights have been between heavyweights ... until Floyd Mayweather came along and changed the landscape.

We asked George again, and he doubled down saying the fight would be "bigger than anything."

Question is ... will it ever happen? Wilder didn't seem convinced after destroying Breazeale and Joshua is busy preparing to fight another dude no one's really ever heard of.

But, if George is right, we're talking about maybe a $300 million dollar event ... SO GET TO IT GUYS.

Sage Northcutt's fight injuries were worse than initially reported -- he didn't just suffer 8 fractures in his face, but his cheek shattered into 30 different pieces ... according to his coach, Urijah Faber.

As we previously reported, Northcutt suffered major damage Friday when he was knocked out by Cosmo Alexandre during his ONE Championship debut in Singapore ... and was rushed to a hospital for treatment.

"Dude got his face blasted, man," Faber said ... "His cheek shattered like an eggshell."

Faber says Northcutt described the pain as "40 times worse than any pain I've ever felt."

Sage went under the knife over the weekend -- requiring doctors to access the wound through 4 entry points ... including his hairline, mouth and eye.

You gotta listen to Faber describe the procedure -- it's gnarly.

The good news ... Sage is in good spirits and he's already talking about setting up his next fight.

12:49 PM PT -- The guy who saved Zeke's ass ... is the victim, according to cops.

A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. tells TMZ Sports ... the main reason Zeke wasn't arrested is because the victim didn't want to push forward with charges.

"On Sunday, May 19, 2019 at approximately 3 a.m. LVMPD officers working at EDC observed from a distance an adult male, later identified as Elliott, push a security officer to the ground."

"Two officers approached and placed Elliott into handcuffs while they investigated the incident. The security guard who was the victim of the misdemeanor battery, refused to press charges and officers escorted Elliott a short distance away and he was released."

If you're a Cowboys fan, might wanna buy this dude a beer the next time you're in Vegas.

Ezekiel Elliott was handcuffed at the EDC music festival in Las Vegas over the weekend after he shoved a security guard to the ground and TMZ Sports has the video.

... but the NFL star's attorney says Zeke was NOT formally arrested (only detained) and claims the whole thing is much ado about nothing.

Here's the deal ... the Dallas Cowboys superstar running back had been spotted in the parking lot at the Electric Daisy Carnival around 3 AM on Saturday morning arguing with his girlfriend.

Zeke never puts his hands on the woman but he uses his body to block her from walking away several times during the argument.

A short time later, Zeke and the woman are seen speaking with event staffers -- when suddenly Elliott confronts one them and says, "You got something to say!?"

Zeke gets in the staffer's face and uses his body to shove the guy backward until the staffer hits a metal gate -- that's when Zeke uses his forearm to shove the guy to the ground.

Zeke immediately throws his hands up and says, "I didn't do anything!"

Event security -- along with Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. officers rush over and eventually put Zeke in handcuffs and escort him away from the scene.

We spoke with Zeke's attorney, Frank Salzano, who says Elliott was released shortly after our video ends and he was not formally arrested or charged with a crime.

Salzano says Elliott was just having a normal discussion with his girlfriend and blames event security for "overreacting."

"Security misconstrued and overreacted to the situation," Salzano tells TMZ Sports.

"He was cuffed as a precautionary measure. He was released with no charges. He left Vegas that night and went to his [youth football camp in Dallas] on Sunday."

Even without an official arrest, Elliott could face discipline from the NFL if they find his actions violated the league's personal conduct policy.

Remember, the league had investigated Zeke in 2017 over allegations he physically abused an ex-girlfriend -- and even though he wasn't arrested, the league believed there was enough evidence to warrant a 6-game suspension.

Zeke has always maintained he did not attack the accuser in that situation.

DaBaby's security team is in big trouble because the man they viciously beat Friday night could die ... according to his mother.

The victim -- whose performing name in Don Trag -- is currently in the hospital and in a coma, according to his mother. The mother tells us, her son was actually performing in Lawrence, Massachusetts the night he was beaten. Don Trag's brother, who's also a rapper, says all Don Trag wanted was to take a photo with DaBaby when his security went nuts on him with a ferocious pounding.

Don Trag's brother says he has significant brain and neck swelling and "is not doing well." His mom says things are even more ominous. She says 22-year-old Don Trag was at her home outside Boston Saturday -- hours after the attack -- when he collapsed.

As we reported, Don Trag had been taken to the hospital right after the attack, but released and went to his mom's home.

As we reported, the incident went down at Centro Nightclub, just before DaBaby was about to take the stage. Our DaBaby sources told us Don Trag got aggressive and that's when his security stepped in. DaBaby looked on as Don Trag got thrashed.

Police showed up after the attack, but none of the witnesses wanted to cooperate.

Sage Northcutt was destroyed way more than anyone thought after a 29-second, first-round knockout in his ONE Championship debut -- turns out he suffered 8 fractures and was in surgery for 9 hours to repair the damage.

Northcutt posted a horrific pic of the aftermath ... hooked up to all sorts of stuff post-op in the hospital.

Sage's debut was a disaster ... the 23-year-old took a devastating punch at the hands of Cosmo Alexandre to the face, sending him to the canvas with a thunderous face plant. Clearly, the punch did damage, but the face plant may have exacerbated things.

He posted the hospital pic, saying, "Fresh out of surgery ... I had 8 fractures and a nine hour intense operation. Feeling blessed for the amazing care and all the support from ONE championship, my family/friends and fans!"

It's surprising ... because Sage got up under his own power and stood there as the ref raised Alexandre's hand and declared him the winner.

Sage was cut from the UFC after a lackluster run ... UFC honcho Dana White said Northcutt just didn't cut muster and needed to work on his game.

Blac Chyna insists she was the victim, not the aggressor, in an altercation with her hairdresser -- which means exactly what you think it does ... Chyna's gearing up to sue her ass.

Sources close to BC tell TMZ ... her team has spoken to detectives about last weekend's hairdresser brouhaha and told authorities the woman "pulled a Jussie Smollett" by filing a false police report.

We're told BC's adamant she was the victim of an attack and not the other way around. She claims she suffered damage to her home and her Rolls-Royce when the hairdresser hurled soda cans. The house damage is a window ledge, we're told -- and the car damage is a banged-up bumper.

Might sound like much, but remember ...we're talking about a Rolls.

Chyna also denies pulling a knife during the incident, and as we've told you ... there's no video evidence so far showing she wielded a weapon.

Our sources say once Chyna is back from NYC -- where she's been hanging out with Wendy Williams -- she plans on getting with her legal team and filing a lawsuit against the hairdresser. She also has an appointment to get an estimate on the damage to her car and home.

As we reported ... Chyna is listed as a suspect in the police report for assault with a deadly weapon, and because her 6-year-old son, King, was at the house during the fracas, the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services got involved.

Here's video of one of the stars of HBO's "Ballers" being fed to the wolves by Jay Glazer ... and in this case the wolf is one of the best boxers in the world Ava Knight, who pounded the poor guy silly.

The poor guy is Carl McDowell, he plays TTD on "Ballers," and from everything we've heard (and of course, we hear a lot) he's a pretty solid dude that everybody likes.

So why Glazer decided to unleash Knight on him at his Unbreakable Gym is beyond us, but Jay did, and we're now doing the same thing you are, watching the video, and being happy it's not us.

In case you were wondering, Ava is a WBC World female Flyweight champ who just joined Floyd Mayweather's Money Team, so basically, she's a killer.

We gotta say, Carl took the shots pretty well -- at first -- then Jay had to intervene and do what Duke should've done in "Rocky IV" ... THROW THE DAMN TOWEL.

Hope you're okay Carl ... shame on you Jay (not really, it was hilarious).

DaBaby bailed on a concert he was supposed to perform at because of an overzealous fan -- who allegedly became confrontational and handsy ... and, thus, got the crap beat of him by the rapper's crew.

The North Carolina-bred MC was all set to take the stage Friday night at Centro Nightclub in Lawrence, MA -- where he was headlining.  DB never made it in the building 'cause his security team and entourage were too busy beating some guy to a pulp outside ... according to Derek Lemire, who was promoting the event for NTS Entertainment.

We're told the fan wanted a photo with DaBaby, but got turned down. When the dude persisted by asking again, Lemire says he got swarmed by DB's posse ... and took a severe beating.

You can see DaBaby looking on nearby as the dude gets thrashed. He's wearing his signature "KIRK" chain that he's always wearing on stage and social media. We're told the fan was carried away by stretcher and taken to the hospital.

To make matters worse, Lemire tells us that DaBaby completely flaked on the gig ... bouncing after the altercation and allegedly taking the money he was paid with him. Lemire says NTS shelled out $22k for DaBaby, and he's working on getting it back.

A police spokesperson tells us cops responded to the scene early Saturday morning -- but when officers arrived, none of the witnesses would cooperate.

As far as how this went down from the DaBaby's point of view, we're told it was a classic case of look-but-don't-touch. The fan persisted on getting a photo, and when he was repeatedly denied ... the guy allegedly started talking smack and getting handsy with Baby's security. Our sources say the dude touched the hand of the rapper's bodyguard ... and then it was on.

The sister of LA Chargers linebacker Tre'Von Johnson was arrested back in March after cops say she choked the NFL player in a fight over laundry ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to police documents, Tre'Von and his sister, Tkeyah Johnson, got into a scrap when she wanted to wash her clothes at Tre'Von's Denton County, Texas home ... but he prevented her.

Cops say Tkeyah grabbed Tre'Von by his neck in a rage over not being allowed access to the washing machine ... and when he had trouble breathing -- he pushed her, causing her to fall to the floor.

Cops say marks were visible on Tre'Von ... and when they determined on the scene that Tkeyah was the primary aggressor in the altercation -- they arrested her.

Tkeyah was charged with domestic assault involving choking -- a felony in Texas -- and later posted bond.

Tre'Von has bounced around the NFL since signing with the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent out of Weber State in 2017 ... playing for the Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks and Chargers the past 2 years.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD ...

... a lot of it when Rafael dos Anjos and Kevin Lee go to war this weekend at UFC Fight Night 152.

Lee -- the 7th ranked lightweight in the UFC -- is going up to 170 pounds to fight former welterweight champ RDA ... and "The Motown Phenom" says it's gonna get violent.

"I think this might be one of the fights that I really get to showcase everything. I haven't given that barn burner of a fight to UFC fans yet, and this might be the one," ... Lee tells TMZ Sports.

"I'm expecting it to be a blood bath. That's all I'll say."

It's a massive fight for both guys. Lee's coming off a loss to Al Iaquinta ... and Kamaru Usman handed dos Anjos an L ... so both guys are dangerous, and need to win.

The result? Blood. Bath.

UFC rising star "Platinum" Mike Perry is making a HARD push to step in and fight Robbie Lawler next month ... telling Dana White, "It's my time, bro!"

Perry is coming off a VERY impressive victory over "Cowboy" Alex Oliveira on April 27 -- and says he's already looking for another high-profile fight!!!

And, now with Tyron Woodley pulling out of his June 29 scrap with Lawler -- Perry says he's ready, willing and able to replace T-Wood at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

"Yo Dana, everybody wants to see me beat up Robbie Lawler," Perry tells TMZ Sports ... "Let's go, man!"

Perry knows Lawler will get to sign off on his opponent -- and says, "I wouldn't blame him for not accepting because I'm gonna whoop everybody's ass! It's my f*cking time!"

Perry says he respects Lawler -- but vows to put a serious hurtin' on the guy ... saying, "It will hurt my hands if he takes it. He'll be having headaches for weeks after the fight!"

He's even got a message for Robbie -- "If you wanna give the fans something fun to watch, that's you and me bro!"

Rough day at the office for ex-UFC star Sage Northcutt -- who just got his face obliterated 30 seconds into his ONE Championship debut.

The 23-year-old was taking on Brazilian fighter Cosmo Alexandre in Singapore ... when just 25 seconds into the fight, things went bad for Sage.

Cosmo cracked the kid with a solid right -- immediately turning off Sage's lights and sending him crashing to the floor face first.

The ref stopped the fight and the announcer said Sage was out cold.

Don't worry, he got up and appears to be okay.

Disappointing debut for Sage to say the least ... he left the UFC after his contract was up last year and was hoping to become a massive superstar with ONE.

In fact, Sage previously told us he was hoping to parlay his MMA success into a movie career -- but it's always harder to do that following a crushing loss.

The estranged husband of UFC fighter Rachael Ostovich just got 4 years probation in his domestic violence case ... stemming from a violent attack back in November.

Arnold Berdon -- who's also an MMA fighter -- was initially arrested for attempted murder after Ostovich claimed he beat the hell out of her and fractured her eye socket.

Ostovich initially pulled out of a high-profile UFC fight with Paige VanZant due to the injury -- but was later cleared by a different doctor. Ostovich ultimately lost the fight.

As for Berdon ... after his initial arrest, prosecutors downgraded the charge to 2nd-degree assault -- and he pled no contest back in March.

Berdon was sentenced on Thursday to 4 years probation -- which appears to be a good deal for Berdon considering he was facing up to 5 years in prison.

UFC legend Anderson Silva says he's already made up his mind about his fighting future -- telling TMZ Sports, "I'm not stopping, I'm not retiring."

The 44-year-old was in pretty good spirits Thursday returning to the United States following his UFC 237 loss to Jared Cannonier this past weekend ... but says his knee is still jacked up.

Silva badly injured his right knee in the fight -- and couldn't make it out of the first round.

After the fight, Silva went to social media and posted a statement that made it seem as if he was pondering retirement.

But now, Anderson says his mind is made up -- he wants to get healthy and get back in the Octagon.

In fact, Silva says he's already spoken with Dana White about a possible rematch with Cannonier ... but White told him to take some time to heal before talking about another fight.

So, how is Anderson's knee?

"It's not good but it's not too bad. The good thing is I start physical therapy," Silva told us.