Fights

Gym members who beat the hell out of each other with exercise equipment are now in serious trouble ... they've been banned from the facility for life and cops say they're now investigating.

The wild fight all went down shortly after noon on Nov. 7 at Ab Salute Gym in England ... and video of the scene -- which just surfaced this week -- shows a violent affair.

Unclear what kicked off the skirmish ... but several members grabbed gym equipment and weaponized it, swinging it at each other wildly.

You can see in the footage ... one man hits another guy on the ground with a metal bar -- while later in the brawl, a man swings a long horizontal bar.

The person who posted the footage didn't offer very many details on the fight, writing only, "so man are fighting in the gym now wow."

But, cops in Essex say two guys were hurt in the fracas ... saying, "A 17-year-old boy suffered bruising and cuts and a 27-year-old man suffered a cut above his eye."

Cops add they are investigating the fight.

As for the gym members' futures at the facility, an Ab Salute Gym spokesperson told The Sun, "The individuals concerned have been banned from our gyms for life."

Woah Vicky is so serious about taking a real boxing match with arch-nemesis Danielle Bregoli -- she's already started training with a legit boxing superstar, Jermell Charlo.

19-year-old Vicky and 16-year-old Bregoli -- two social media superstars -- already scrapped at a recording studio back in October (the video was crazy BTW) but Bhad Bhabie has been calling for a rematch ... in a boxing ring.

"1 million and I'll fight that horse toothed hoe in the ring," Bregoli tweeted.

Vicky got the message -- and SHE'S DOWN! In fact, she already teamed up with the former WBC super welterweight champ to kickstart her training!!

Check out the training video ... Vicky's already hitting the pads and the heavy bag at Charlo's Lions Only gym alongside Friends On The Internet in Houston like she wants all the smoke!

FYI, 29-year-old Charlo is a MONSTER in the ring -- he's 32-1 and defended the WBC light middleweight title 3 times before a controversial loss to Tony Harrison (they're fighting again next month).

Sources close to Vicky tell us she's taking the training seriously and she's eyeing a June 2020 fight date ... and wants it to go down at AT&T Stadium!!

Fresh off his controversial loss to KSI, Logan Paul tells TMZ Sports he's already thinking about his next opponent -- and it could be CM Punk or Dillon Danis!!

Of course, the 24-year-old YouTube superstar is coming off an impressive 6-round slugfest against KSI at Staples Center on Saturday ... and it's obvious he's not ready to hang up his gloves just yet.

Remember, KSI said he's NOT down for a 3rd fight with Logan -- but suggested Paul move to MMA to fight CM Punk next ... so naturally, we asked LP if he was down.

"I am ... I think I would destroy CM Punk if I'm being honest," Logan says. "I don't know if anyone would disagree with that."

41-year-old Punk is 0-2 in his pro MMA career -- he was choked out by Mickey Gall at UFC 203 in 2016 and got beat up badly by Mike Jackson at UFC 225 in 2018.

Paul tells us ... he would consider other opponents if he couldn't work out a deal with Punk.

As for Bellator fighter Dillon Danis -- Conor McGregor's good friend -- he's publicly called for a boxing match with either Logan or his little bro, Jake Paul. Logan says DD might get his wish.

UFC star Paige VanZant flew all the way to Israel to watch her husband fight this weekend -- but don't worry, she brought her bikinis!

Paige's husband, Austin Vanderford, is taking on Grachik Bozinyan at Bellator 234 on Friday in Tel Aviv ... and they touched down late last week to get all settled in.

During the trip, MMA couple hit the beach for work and for play -- with some training sessions in the sand ... before switching into relaxation mode.

They hit up the Dead Sea along with seeing the sites in Tel Aviv -- good times all around.

As for Vandeford, he's 8-0 as a pro fighter and has been wrecking people -- in fact, none of his last 5 fights have made it past the 2nd round.

As for Paige, the 25-year-old recently told TMZ Sports she's dying to get back in the Octagon and fight again ASAP but so far, there's nothing in the works.

Terrible news in the case of Aniah Blanchard -- stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris.

Officials say they found blood in Blanchard's recovered vehicle that's "indicative of someone suffering a life-threatening injury," according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Montgomery Advertiser.

Officials also say they found a witness who observed kidnapping suspect Ibraheem Yazeed forcing the 19-year-old woman "into [her] vehicle against her will and then leaving with her in the vehicle."

According to the document, the blood in the vehicle was tested and came back as a match for Blanchard.

As we previously reported, law enforcement tracked down Yazeed in Florida on Friday after a nationwide manhunt.

Officials say they chased Yazeed on foot before apprehending him -- and he suffered an eye injury that required medical attention.

So far, Blanchard has not been located. Unclear if Yazeed is cooperating with officials.

Auburn Police Chief Paul Register said Thursday there may be other suspects in the case.

Complete strangers did everything they possibly could to try to save Pernell "Sweet Pea" Whitaker's life after the ex-boxing champ was struck by a car ... and the frantic scene was all caught on 911 audio.

The 55-year-old was tragically hit by a vehicle while he was crossing a busy street in Virginia Beach on July 14 ... and in 911 recording of the incident, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can hear a woman rallying pedestrians to try to help Whitaker.

The woman says she didn't know Whitaker -- but saw he desperately needed help and vowed to do everything in her power to try and save him.

In the audio, you can hear the woman describe the dire scene, saying, "He is on the ground right now ... I'm not sure if he is alive."

But, when dispatch asks the woman if she's willing to administer CPR ... she doesn't think twice -- and tries to get others at the scene to help her.

"He's not alive. Okay, we have to roll him over," she says in the recording. "I want to do it!"

You can hear in the audio ... the woman and others try to get Whitaker on his back -- but the scene the woman paints is grisly.

"Oh, there's a lot of blood!" she says, while another man in the audio adds, "There's a whole bunch of f**king blood!"

Even still, the woman presses forward, saying, "Okay, let's do it. Come on! Let's just try it! If there's any way we can help him!"

Despite heroic efforts, the pedestrians were unable to save Whitaker ... and after emergency medical officials arrived, they pronounced the former boxer dead at the scene.

The tragedy hit the boxing world deeply, with Floyd Mayweather paying tribute to Pernell on social media saying, "R I P champ, one of the best fighters to ever do it."

Tory Lanez wasn't liking what he was hearing from a guy he swung on shortly before taking the stage at a Florida club this weekend -- a guy who's allegedly on 'Love & Hip Hop.'

The Canadian rapper-singer was LIV Miami Friday night, where he was booked to do a show. Prior to taking the stage, however, he got into a little dust-up with someone who must've said something truly out of pocket ... 'cause Tory tried punching him near the VIP area.

TMZ got a hold of this video in the moments Tory swung -- it's unclear if he connected with the guy cleanly, but the dude fell back and Tory charged after him. Eyewitnesses tell us that the rest of Tory's security team and entourage allegedly joined in on the beat down too.

As for who the alleged victim is, a rep for LIV Mimai tells TMZ it's Prince Michael Harty ... a rapper/promoter on 'L&HH: Miami'. The club tells us, "Last night our security broke up an altercation between Love and Hip Hop’s Prince and Tory Lanez. We have a zero tolerance policy towards violence and both parties were immediately asked to leave the venue."

Either way, it doesn't seem Tory let the fight get to him. We're told after his initial swing and charge, he allegedly let his team handle the rest and went back to his table ... later even performing on stage. As you can see, he also had some cheeky company nearby.

UFC superstar Israel Adesanya says he will "eventually" brawl with Jon Jones ... and he's spelling out the situation to TMZ Sports.

"He will face me eventually, but I'm gonna respect the game," the UFC middleweight champ told us.

"I'm gonna honor the game and defend my belt. I mean, he didn't jump up to heavyweight right after he won the belt. I want to do the work. If he wants to come down, come see me. But if not, shut the f**k up and wait 'til I come see you."

BOOM.

Seems Israel and Jon are on a collision course ... but first, Israel wants to continue to wreck everyone in the middleweight division, starting with Yoel Romero.

"I've called the guy out. I've said I want to fight him. The UFC don't think it's gonna sell, but f**k records, I just want to fight," Adesanya tells us.

Israel says he's got a plan B in case the Romero fight doesn't come together, but it's clear Yoel is the priority.

"I said I want Yoel. F**k records, he's a great fighter. I want to beat all the greatest of this era. I've taken Whittaker, I've taken Gastelum, I've taken Silva."

"I've said I've wanted to fight [Romero]. I've never backed down. I'll see you soon, boy."

And, get this ... Adesanya -- who put together one of the greatest ring walkouts EVER for the Robert Whittaker fight -- says he's already planning to TOP IT!!

"Expect the unexpected. I might f**king fly from the rafters like Shawn Michaels right into the Octagon!"

Vladimir Putin, you up?

Greg Hardy says he's got one wish for his UFC fight in Moscow this weekend -- AND IT'S FOR THE RUSSIAN PRESIDENT TO SHOW UP FOR IT!!!

"I been hoping to meet him since I got here," Hardy says. "I'm a big fan. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's going to be super hyped."

Of course, Hardy's fillin' in for the injured Junior Dos Santos this weekend against #7 ranked UFC heavyweight Alexander Volkov ... and GH tells TMZ Sports he's STOKED for the bout.

But, Greg says there's one thing that could make him EVEN HAPPIER to step in the Octagon on Saturday ... and that'd be if Putin himself is sitting cageside for it!!!

Hardy says he's bummed he didn't get to fight in front of Donald Trump at the last UFC event ... and says a Putin appearance would DEFINITELY help make up for it.

"It would be a big deal for me," Hardy says. "That's royalty for me, man. And, you know, I'm the Prince of War. I'm all about the royalty!"

As for how Hardy's enjoying his time in Russia so far, he says he's actually loving it, telling us he feels like he's treated better over there than in the US!!!

Hardy also talked with us about his disdain for Derrick Lewis ... and he broke down how he sees the fight with Volkov ending on Saturday.

O.J. Simpson has belatedly fired back at the Cosmopolitan in Vegas ... suing the hotel claiming it defamed him by banning him in 2017 after falsely accusing him of being drunk and disruptive.

The incident in question went down just weeks after Simpson was released from prison. Simpson -- who had been frequenting the hotel in the days prior -- allegedly got into an altercation on Nov. 8 at Clique Bar after flying into a drunken rage.

Sources told us ... glasses were broken during the melee and the ex-NFL star was eventually told to leave, given a trespass notice and told to never come back.

But, in his lawsuit, Simpson is adamant he was NOT drunk, he was NOT belligerent and did NOT break any glasses. In fact, he says earlier in the evening a manager at the steakhouse in the hotel actually thanked him for being a gracious guest.

O.J. says when he was leaving for the night ... someone from the hotel handed him a trespass notice and repeatedly said it was private property and he was not welcome back ... ever.

Simpson says he was shocked by the move, claiming he was never involved in an incident that night that could warrant a permanent ban.

Simpson says his parole officer saw our story and visited him at his residence the next day and gave him a drug and alcohol test ... which both turned up clean.

Simpson claims the PO also went to the Cosmo to investigate and told Simpson there was no evidence he did anything that would violate his parole.

In fact, in his suit, Simpson refers to himself as a "model parolee with perfect performance."

Reality is ... Simpson is WELCOMED at many famous spots all over town and regularly poses for pics and signs autographs. In a way, he's become a draw.

Shortly after the incident, Simpson spoke on camera and he said he had no clue what happened.

Simpson was released from prison on Oct. 1, 2017, after spending years behind bars for an armed robbery conviction.

Since he's been out, O.J. has been a regular on Vegas golf courses and fancy restaurants. He's also joined social media where he often talks about fantasy football topics.

KSI vs. Justin Bieber?

Maybe ... because the YouTube superstar tells TMZ Sports he's 100% down and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, says it all comes down to getting the money right.

KSI, Hearn and boxing champ Billy Joe Saunders sat down for a special TMZ Sports roundtable ... and talked about their fighting futures -- and that's when Bieber came up.

"I don't know what weight Justin Bieber can get up to but I think that's a natural fight," Hearn joked.

KSI laughed and told us he's certain he would beat the pop star -- but that's when Hearn started telling us he thinks there's a legit chance the two could end up in the ring together.

"It's only about money and actually ambition of actually achieving something different," Hearn said. "People love boxing."

We know Bieber loves the sport -- he used to train with Floyd Mayweather. Plus, JB was ringside when his pal Lil Za took an amateur fight in 2015.

In fact, KSI says he's expecting Bieber to be in the house on the weekend when he fights Logan Paul (Nov. 9 on DAZN) ... so maybe a chance at some early negotiations?

There's a lot of good stuff in the video ...

-- Eddie Hearn says he's projecting more than 2 MILLION buys/views for KSI vs. Logan Paul.

-- Hearn says KSI will earn 7-figures, but wouldn't get any more specific about his pay.

-- KSI explains why the hatred for Paul is real and why he thinks Logan will move to MMA after he loses on Saturday.

-- We asked Billy Joe Saunders (the reigning WBO super middleweight champ) if he was upset or jealous to be fighting on KSI's undercard, considering his decorated boxing career. You gotta hear his answer.

So much for a BMF2 ...

Seems Nate Diaz has changed his mind about running it back with Jorge Masvidal -- saying, "F*ck a rematch."

Remember, Diaz lost the first-ever Bad Mother F*cker match at Madison Square Garden on Saturday ... when the doctor stopped the fight after the 3rd round due to bad cuts on Nate's face.

At the time, both Nate and Jorge declared a rematch WOULD happen -- with Nate saying, "I would love to run it back. That's the only thing I want to do."

But, Diaz has had a change of heart ... and posted the update on IG on Wednesday night.

"F*ck a rematch this shit was over before it started. I’m goin on out on tour. Peace out fight game."

Jon Jones says he's FINALLY decided on his next opponent -- revealing his sights are now set on Dominick Reyes instead of Corey Anderson ... and he's looking to make a statement.

"Just finished a coaches meeting studying Dominick and Cory‘s careers. Established Dominicks definitely the more dangerous fighter. Beating his ass next."

Jones had been debating between the two UFC fighters after they both SHOWED OUT in recent fights -- Reyes KO'd Chris Weidman and Anderson beat up Johnny Walker.

Both men have been calling for a fight with Jon for a while -- with Reyes telling us Jones was ducking him.

"I got these hands. I got this heart. I'm Mexican. He's never fought a Mexican. I'm tough as s**t and I'm never gonna stop!"

32-year-old Jones tweeted that he just wasn't interested in 29-year-old Reyes ... but clearly, something's changed.

Recently Dana White told us Reyes was the fight to make but the deal wasn't done yet.

Now, it seems Jones is laser-focused on Reyes ... and barring an injury, this one looks like it'll happen soon.

So, where does this leave Corey Anderson? Great question ... dude's been on a tear lately and recently cracked the Top 5 rankings in the UFC's light heavyweight division.

UFC star Francis Ngannou is finally responding to Tyson Fury -- telling TMZ Sports if Fury is serious about competing in MMA, Francis is "200% down!"

Remember, Fury -- one of the top heavyweight boxers on the planet -- says he's dead serious about trying his luck in the Octagon ... and plans to train with Conor McGregor.

Fury also said he's eyeing Stipe Miocic and Francis Ngannou and possible opponents.

So, we reached out to Francis to see if he was game -- and man, HE'S ALL IN!!!

In fact, the 6'4", 258-pound heavyweight says he'll make a 2-fight deal with Tyson -- if Fury agrees to meet him in the Octagon, he'll do a SECOND match in the boxing ring.

Ngannou tells us ... long before he became an MMA fighter, he had dreams of becoming a boxing champ -- and he believes he has the skill set to compete with a champ like Fury.

Ngannou says he's already instructed his management team to reach out to Fury to see if there's a way to make it happen ... and thinks the UFC would be on board.

We recently spoke to UFC honcho Dana White who told us he's a huge Fury fan and would love to get in business with him ... but advised Tyson to focus on boxing instead of trying to transition to MMA.

But, if there was a 2-fight deal including a boxing match, you gotta wonder if White -- who's launching a boxing promotion in 2020 -- would be more open to getting a deal done.

Ngannou has already gotten some pointers on how to fight Fury from Mike Tyson -- and Francis says Iron Mike has offered to train him if Fury accepts the fight.

Popeyes' wildly popular chicken sandwich will remain on menus nationwide, despite the chaos it's causing at several locations ... including a fatal stabbing.

A rep for the fried chicken fast-food chain tells TMZ the sandwich is still available ... meaning it's not being pulled in the wake of scattered mayhem erupting across the country since its return to the menu this week.

As we've reported ... fights have broken out all over the place as customers are heading to Popeyes in droves to wait in long lines for a taste of the chicken sandwich, and one altercation in Prince George's County, Maryland Monday night left a 28-year-old dead from a stab wound.

A Popeyes spokesperson tells us the Maryland incident "is a tragedy and we are saddened to hear about this senseless act of violence," adding ... "We, along with the franchisee, are fully cooperating with local authorities and actively working to gather more information."

Some other violent incidents include a rowdy kitchen brawl in Edgewood, Maryland (above) ... and a drive-thru beatdown in Ellenton, Florida (below). But, there are many, many more examples online.

The chicken chain says the safety of its employees and customers is always a priority, and franchisees have worked to boost staffing during this craze to be ready to serve guests quickly and safely.

It adds that most Popeyes restaurants are franchised and "additional onsite security matters are handled by the franchisees."

So, there you have it -- Popeyes customers can expect long lines and potential fights to continue ... 'cause the delicious chicken sandwich isn't going anywhere.

Fights have erupted all over the place with the reintroduction of the Popeyes chicken sandwich, and one altercation left a 28-year-old man dead.

The man waiting in line at Popeyes in Prince George's County, Maryland Monday night was involved in an altercation when either someone cut in front of him or he cut in front of someone else. They started fighting and it ended outside the chicken joint with the 28-year-old getting stabbed. He died at the hospital.

The video (above) is of another fight ... this one in Edgewood, Maryland. You see people going nuts in the video ... all over the sandwich which has become the biggest thing since the cronut.

And, there have been other fights around the country where people seemed to be competing rather than just standing in line for a chicken sandwich. The video (above) is in Ellenton, Florida, where some guys in the drive-thru got into a wild fistfight.