Fights

Ric Flair told us he wasn't gonna let his medical scare slow him down ... and he's proving it -- because the WWE legend ordered up a beer this weekend during an outing with his family.

Sporting a shirt with his own face on it (legendary stuff), the 70-year-old strolled into Hamilton's On Magnolia in Alabama (right near Auburn) flanked by his wife, Wendy Barlow.

Inside the restaurant, Flair was all smiles ... toasting his wife with a pint of beer.

Yeah, sippin' on brew may not be exactly what the doctor recommends just one month after undergoing heart surgery ... but Flair has told us he wants to live life to the fullest while he's still here on earth.

As we previously reported, Flair had a procedure to change up his pacemaker after a medical emergency in May.

When we spoke with Ric on the "TMZ Sports" TV show earlier this month, he told us he plans on living another 25 years ... AT LEAST!

The Justin Bieber vs. Tom Cruise hype train has left the station ... with UFC honcho Dana White saying the celebrity superfight would probably be the biggest Pay-Per-View event in combat sports history!!!

TMZ Sports broke the story ... White said he is seriously interested in putting together the Bieber vs. Cruise fight ... after hearing from two "serious people" with connections to the stars that they'd be down to scrap.

And, we're also told Bieber's rep, Scooter Braun, spoke with William Morris Endeavor co-owner Ari Emanuel and Dana White on a secret phone call and said Bieber is "100%" down with it.

So, when White was leaving Craig's in West Hollywood on Sunday night, he told TMZ Sports he thinks there's a real shot this fight goes down.

"Weirder things have happened, let's put it that way," White said.

"I think it would be the biggest purse ever and I think it would be the biggest Pay-Per-View ever too."

White says the situation is still developing and he hasn't heard anything official from Tom's camp yet -- but he's hopeful he'll have more info in the coming days.

Until then, White seems excited to make it happen ... though he's keeping it real when asked about the actual combat.

UFC champ Daniel Cormier is keeping it all the way real when talking about Brock Lesnar -- telling TMZ Sports he's genuinely "disappointed" the guy pulled out of fight negotiations.

"I wanted to fight Brock," DC tells us ... "but you can only really worry about things that you can control. I can't control that he doesn't want to fight anymore. He's done."

Cormier says he appreciates the UFC and Lesnar for trying to make a deal -- but at the end of the day, Daniel thinks the WWE offered Lesnar too much money to stay out of the Octagon.

"I just think the WWE gave him such a great deal, they really always take care of this guy."

"Ultimately, you get paid that much money to go and wrestle as opposed to fighting me? There's no predetermined outcome there. I'm gonna try to kick your ass. So, I think he made the smart decision."

Cormier says he was friends with Lesnar before the fight talks began in July 2018 -- and says now that Brock's not a potential opponent anymore, they can go back to texting and talking on the phone.

"Maybe I can start going to watch him wrestle and do all that other stuff again."

If Hollywood decided to green-light a movie about heavyweight boxing champ Andy Ruiz -- there's another huge star who's already making his pitch for the role ... Gabriel Iglesias!!!

The superstar comic is a big-time boxing fan -- and says he was STOKED when Ruiz put a beating on Anthony Joshua in the upset of the decade.

In fact, Ruiz says he REALLY wants to see Joshua sign on for the rematch so Ruiz can prove to the world it wasn't a fluke, and he's the real deal.

"It wasn't a lucky punch," Fluffy says ... "He got dealt with that night!"

Ruiz's story is pretty amazing ... he was a massive underdog who took the fight on short notice and put on the performance of his life to upset the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world.

Iglesias says he'd LOVE to play Ruiz on the big screen ... but he knows he'd have to drop a few lbs before getting in front of the camera.

"Every actor says they gotta gain weight ... I gotta lose weight to play Ruiz!"

He's 41-years-old ... but MMA legend Lyoto "The Dragon" Machida says he ain't ready to stop fighting any time soon!!!

In fact, Machida says he's got another 3 to 4 years left ... at least!!!

Of course, Lyoto just beat up Chael Sonnen at Bellator 222 -- extending his win streak to 4.

Now, Machida is gunning for a fight with Bellator champ Ryan Bader -- who holds TWO belts -- the heavyweight and light heavyweight titles.

"I'll be ready for him," Machida told us in Beverly Hills ... "I feel so good and so athletic."

After the Sonnen fight, Chael announced his retirement from Mixed Martial Arts -- and Machida tells us it was an honor to share the cage with such a "legend" in the sport.

Machida is a legend himself -- dude's got a 26-8 pro record with wins over some of the best fighters of all time ... including B.J. Penn, Tito Ortiz, Rashad Evans, Randy Couture, Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua.

Cardi B has been indicted by a grand jury on multiple charges -- including 2 felonies -- in connection with a brawl at a New York strip club ... TMZ has confirmed.

TMZ broke the story ... Cardi was arrested in October for allegedly ordering an attack on 2 strip club bartenders -- Jade and Baddie G. The 2 women claim they were injured during the brawl when Cardi's people began throwing bottles and chairs.

The incident, which went down in August, was allegedly triggered after Cardi accused Jade of sleeping with Offset.

The grand jury has indicted Cardi on 12, charges including 2 counts of felony attempted assault with intent to cause serious physical injury. Other charges include misdemeanor reckless endangerment, assault, criminal solicitation, conspiracy and harassment.

She was initially charged with 2 misdemeanors ... assault and reckless endangerment, but that's all superseded by the grand jury indictment.

Cardi rejected a plea deal, which would have given her a conditional discharge in return for pleading guilty to a single misdemeanor. The problem ... if she misstepped during the conditional period, she'd be in big trouble.

Prosecution sources told TMZ last month they decided to take the matter to the grand jury because of information they discovered during their investigation. They would not be specific.

Fake Ivan Drago tried to pick a fight with Justin Bieber in front of Craig's last night -- showing up to the restaurant in FULL BOXING GEAR ... and we got the whole thing on video!!!

The wannabe Russian was SERIOUS about trying to fight Justin -- he's the same guy who showed up to Logan Paul's home a few weeks ago to challenge the YouTube star to a fight.

Remember, Logan actually AGREED and the two threw down right in Paul's back yard.

The fake-Drago is an aspiring social media star ... but it's clear he'll do ANYTHING for clout.

So with Justin trying to get an MMA fight with Tom Cruise. the imposter-Ivan planned to call out Bieber first at Craig's where he waited for JB at the front door, pounding his chest and talking trash.

Bieber blew him off ... so, he stuck around for a few hours waiting for a second crack at the pop star -- but that didn't pan out either.

Bieber clearly knows his worth (and his weight class) ... he could make MILLIONS if the Tom Cruise fight comes to fruition -- so why give out hands for free on the street?!

As for doppelganger-Drago ... he'll continue to seek out other famous people to fight.

We hear Mike Tyson's in town!!!

Conor McGregor is helping his boy Artem Lobov beat the hell outta Paulie Malignaggi... by hooking his friend up with a scouting report on how to kick the boxers ass.

Lobov and Malignaggi are fighting Saturday night at Bare Knuckle FC 6 in Florida ... and the lead up to the fight has included spitting, slapping and death threats.

They HATE each other.

Malignaggi -- a former 2 weight class world champ -- is the betting favorite, and most pick him to win the fight ... but Artem has at least 1 advantage.

The Notorious.

Remember, Paulie was Conor's sparring partner back in '17 while he prepped for his Floyd Mayweather fight ... and there was big beef between the 2 guys when Conor released footage of the men sparring.

Malignaggi said the footage was edited to make him look bad, and Conor said he knocked PM around ... but 1 thing's for sure -- the bad blood is genuine.

Fast-forward to now ... Artem tells us he consulted with his good friend and strategized on just how to pick apart Paulie.

"We broke down the whole spar, so I know everything. I know his weaknesses, and I know his strengths. I was getting ready for the best version of Paulie, even though I knew a fat mess is gonna show up."

What's Artem's message for the man who promised to put him in a body bag?

"This whole thing started from what? It all started from Paulie getting his ass whooped, and then crying like a little bitch."

Justin Bieber wants to fight Tom Cruise in the Octagon, and we know this because of a secret phone call laying the groundwork for what could be the biggest fight in UFC history.

As you know, Justin tweeted earlier this month that he would like to take Tom on MMA style. We were initially told it was a joke and that Justin -- who never met Tom -- revered him. That's all true, but turns out there was truth behind the tweet.

We've learned last Friday, Ari Emanuel, the co-CEO of the William Morris Endeavor agency that owns UFC -- called Justin's manager, Scooter Braun, and then conferenced in Dana White. Ari said this would be an epic fight that needed to happen, and Dana chimed in that he was "100%" down with it.

We're told Scooter then made it clear ... Justin would absolutely fight if Tom wanted to do it.

And, there's more. During the call, Ari said he strongly believed the 56-year-old actor would agree to enter the Octagon and take on the 25-year-old singer.

Dana White told TMZ Sports earlier this week the fight's a no brainer ... the easiest event he's ever promoted in his career.

The Colorado youth baseball brawl just took a disturbing twist -- we've now obtained footage showing a very pregnant woman brandishing a bat as a weapon and telling other parents, "I don't give a f*ck!"

The new footage shows heated parents from both youth baseball teams on the field at Westgate Elementary School arguing with the 13-year-old umpire about rules involving the number of players on each team.

You can hear people from the stands screaming for the parents to back down ... saying, "He's a kid!"

As the situation grows more intense, the pregnant woman runs on the field and grabs a metal baseball bat and begins to wave it around screaming, "F*ck you b*tch. I don't give a f*ck!"

One of the male parents tries to pry the bat away from the woman -- and that's when other men on the field attack him ... throwing him down to the ground and firing off punches.

The pregnant woman is forced back into the dugout -- where the fighting continues right in front of her.

It doesn't appear she was harmed in the melee ... but wow, it's close.

Other parents continue to brawl ... including a group of women throwing haymakers at each other down the 1st baseline.

All the while, the 7-year-old players are watching the violence in shock.

As we previously reported, cops eventually arrived and handed out citations for disorderly conduct and fighting in public.

Cops are still looking for at least one of the combatants who knocked a man out with a sucker punch.

TMZ Sports has obtained the full, unedited video of that terrifying brawl at a youth baseball game in Colorado ... and it's even worse than we thought.

The person who shot the June 15 footage at Westgate Elementary School in Lakewood tells us the violence began when a woman walked onto the field brandishing a baseball bat as a weapon ... and a male parent tried to take it away from her.

During the struggle over the bat (captured on video), some parents began attacking the man, beating him down to the ground.

The violence continued for several minutes while little kids -- terrified -- tried to run off the field for safety.

The parents continued to attack each other ... while scared parents in the stands begged the combatants to stand down.

At one point, the woman recording the brawl begins to pray to Jesus to send angels down from the heavens to stop the violence.

Eventually, the fighting stops -- but the arguing continues -- with parents from both teams screaming at each other to leave the field.

Other parents are shouting that the police have been called ... but it doesn't seem to scare anyone.

You can see other parents pacing around the field holding bats while they wait for cops to arrive.

Eventually, police did show up and issue citations to multiple people. They're still on the hunt for the man who threw a violent sucker punch to an unsuspecting parent, sending him down to the ground.

We're told from witnesses that the whole thing exploded from a dispute over the rules.

Long story short, one team showed up with 13 players -- the other with 8 ... and parents were unhappy with how the game was playing out.

Arguments broke out in the stands and, eventually, parents asked the 13-year-old umpire to put a stop to foul language being thrown around. It was NOT over a bad call by the ump.

But, things only got more heated from there ... and we're told when the woman walked onto the field with the bat, all hell broke loose.

Cops say between 15 and 20 adults were involved in the incident.

The Lakewood Police Dept. is especially upset at the dude in the white shirt and teal shorts who blindsided a man with a pretty violent shot to the head.

Cops say several people have already been cited in this fight for disorderly conduct and fighting in public -- but they're clearly not done yet.

Officials also say at least one of the injuries is being classified as "serious."

So far, it doesn't appear any children were injured in the fight.

Heavyweight boxer Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller says the failed drug test that forced him out of his fight against Anthony Joshua cost him around $30 MILLION!!!!

... and yeah, he still thinks about it all the time!!

Remember, Miller was the guy ORIGINALLY slated to fight AJ on June 1 at Madison Square Garden -- but when "Big Baby" failed the test, Joshua's people signed Andy Ruiz as a last-minute replacement.

And, we all know what happened next -- Ruiz beat the dog snot out of Joshua ... and now Andy is trying to lock up a $50 million rematch deal.

So, when "Big Baby" joined the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) -- we asked if he ever thinks to himself, "That shoulda been me!"

"It was gonna be a massacre," Miller says ... "But, sometimes God has plans for you."

Miller ain't mad at Ruiz -- in fact, it's the opposite -- the two have been good friends for years and Miller says he couldn't be happier for the boxer.

But, when we asked how much cash he thinks the drug test ultimately cost him, Miller dropped some REALLY BIG numbers ... and explained, "You know how many cheeseburgers that is just now!?!!

Don't worry, Miller says he's getting his career back on track and plans on fighting later this year as soon as his suspension is up.

Don't rule out a Justin Bieber vs. Tom Cruise fight in the UFC ... so says Dana White who tells TMZ Sports there's a very REAL chance the two could actually throw down in the Octagon.

After 25-year-old Bieber tagged the UFC president in a twitter post last week calling out 56-year-old Tom Cruise, White says he blew it off initially ... until he got some phone calls from "real guys" connected to the superstars.

Dana wouldn't say who he spoke with but was clear they're legit -- and they told Dana both Tom and Justin "really wanna do this fight and they believe that Tom Cruise would do the fight."

"I told them that if that's true -- and everybody involved really wants to do it -- we can talk."

In fact, White says if there's real interest from both stars "I'd be an IDIOT not to make this fight!"

And, to all the doubters, Dana says he didn't think there was a chance Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor would ever evolve into a real fight ... but that happened, right?!

Remember, Justin Bieber has trained with Floyd -- who once said the singer has enough fighting talent to be a pro boxer.

And, Tom Cruise was a star wrestler in high school -- and has a reputation for being one of the toughest actors in Hollywood who's been doing his own stunts for decades.

So, if they do agree to a fight ... it could be very interesting.

White adds, "That would be the easiest fight to promote in the history of my career."

After sending the tweet, Bieber said the whole thing was a joke ... but hey, people can change their minds.

Adam Silver is vouching for Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri -- saying the guy is a good dude ... but the NBA commish tells TMZ Sports he's still investigating Ujiri like he would anyone else.

Of course, Ujiri is facing some stiff allegations after shoving a cop after Game 6 of the NBA Finals ... with the officer's attorney saying his client suffered a concussion and a jaw injury in the altercation.

In fact, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office says it's pursuing a criminal misdemeanor battery charge against Ujiri ... saying it's set to meet with prosecutors this week.

When we got Silver out in NYC on Tuesday ... he told us he's known Ujiri for years -- but has still launched a full investigation into the allegations nonetheless.

"I've known Masai Ujiri for a long time," Silver says ... "I know he's a very decent person. But, at the same time, we of course respect law enforcement that does a great job protecting our fans in the arena."

"So, there's been an allegation here, so it's our job to look into the facts and make sure that everything's handled appropriately."

The cop who says he was attacked by Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri after Game 6 of the NBA Finals now claims he suffered a concussion during the incident ... and he's threatening to sue.

"He has a serious concussion; a templar mandibular joint injury, which is a serious jaw injury,” the officer's attorney David Mastagni told KPIX 5.

The incident went down Thursday in the moments after the Raptors beat the Golden State Warriors at Oracle Arena in Oakland ... the cop says Ujiri got violent over a dispute over credentials.

Alameda County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Ray Kelly said the officer claims Ujiri struck him in the chest and head. Ujiri is being investigated for misdemeanor battery.

"It’s an unprovoked significant hit to the jaw of the law enforcement officer," Mastagni said.

Officials have told TMZ Sports they are hunting for more video of the incident -- so far, the only footage that's surfaced publicly shows the direct aftermath ... NOT the alleged blow to the face.

The officer -- whose identity has not been made public -- has not filed a lawsuit yet ... but it seems it's only a matter of time at this point.

"All options are on the table. No options are off the table," Mastagni said ... adding, "No options are being ruled out as to how to rectify the situation."

Michael Pena has played everyone from Cesar Chavez to Luis in "Ant-Man" ... but the one role you WON'T see him in is heavyweight boxing champ, Andy Ruiz.

... and why?

"Because I'd have to gain a lot of weight, my wife would kill me!"

Don't get it twisted, Pena has a ton of respect for Ruiz and thinks he has a great story to tell ... but Ruiz is 270 lbs -- and Pena is wayyyyy smaller.

Of course, Ruiz shot to superstardom by knocking out undefeated heavyweight superstar Anthony Joshua -- despite being a HEAVY betting underdog.

What's interesting ... Pena -- who's been in a TON of movies -- says he doesn't think Ruiz's story is ready for the big screen yet because he'd like to see the guy win a few more fights first.

So, who SHOULD play the new champ?