Fights

He said he would and now he has ...

Logan Paul has officially filed an appeal with the California State Athletic Commission, TMZ Sports has learned ... claiming he got screwed by the ref in his fight with KSI.

Paul's beef is with the 2-point deduction the ref issued against him in the 4th round of the Nov. 9 fight at Staples Center in L.A. ... when Paul threw a shot at KSI's head after he was knocked down to the canvas.

"The 2 point deduction was the reason I full out split decision lost the fight," Paul said.

Now, a rep for CSAC tells TMZ Sports ... they received Logan's appeal this week and will begin looking at his case immediately.

"The executive director Andy Foster is evaluating. If there’s sufficient grounds, it’ll go to a hearing at a commission meeting," a CSAC spokesperson tells us.

Paul initially said he wasn't going to appeal the decision or make excuses for the loss -- but after thinking about it and rewatching the fight, he believes it's the right thing to do.

"My team and I have decided to file an official appeal for the fight because we just don't believe that the outcome was right," Paul says.

"By no means am I afraid of losing, but I truthfully 100% believe I did not lose this fight."

Paul says TONS of people -- including pro fighters -- have told him he got screwed by the judges and the ref ... and now he's in complete agreement.

Now, it's in the hands of the Athletic Commission -- which will ultimately decide if the official outcome should be changed.

Stay tuned ...

Myles Garrett made sure he LOOKED GOOD when meeting with NFL officials in NYC to appeal his helmet attack suspension ... rockin' a pretty sweet blue suit and turtleneck combo!

Will the fashion statement help get his suspension reduced? Probably not ... but man, Garrett looked stylish as hell!

Of course, the Cleveland Browns star is begging for mercy from the NFL after officials suspended him for the remainder of the 2019 season for swinging a helmet at Steelers QB Mason Rudolph on Thursday.

Garrett believes the punishment is too harsh -- especially since other NFL helmet swingers got much lighter sentences in the past.

In fact, ESPN's Dan Graziano says Garrett referenced Antonio Smith when making his case -- pointing out Smith only got a 3-game suspension when he used a helmet to attack Richie Incognito during a game in 2013.

The other side of the argument ... Garrett has a history of dirty play in 2019 -- he punched Delanie Walker and got fined $50k and racked up 2 bad roughing the passer penalties, including a season-ending hit on Jets QB Trevor Siemian.

Boxing superstar Devin Haney just made $1 MILLION bucks in his last fight -- so he hit the streets of L.A. to share the wealth with people in need ... WE'RE TALKING CASH MONEY!

The 21-year-old WBC lightweight champ loaded up his SUV with everything from shrimp to crab legs and other delicious stuff to serve up some quality meals to people on Skid Row.

"Today, I gave out food on Skid Row," Haney said ... "And, when I ran out of food, I gave money to the ones that didn’t get a plate."

We're told Haney was in town celebrating his birthday -- but instead of accepting gifts, he decided it was more important to help out other people.

Haney is one of hottest young fighters in boxing -- he's 24-0 and coming off a straight beatdown of Alfredo Santiago on the undercard of the KSI vs. Logan Paul fight.

He's got big things in his future ... including a possible superfight with fellow rising superstar Ryan Garcia ... which would be HUGE!

But, in the meantime, good to see Haney giving back to the community ... just because he felt like it.

UFC star Ben Askren is calling it a career -- the 35-year-old is officially retiring from MMA after revealing his hip is shot.

Askren broke the news on Ariel Helwani's MMA Show on Monday saying, "I'm retiring from the sport of MMA. Frankly, I'm retiring from everything."

The biggest issue for Askren -- widely considered one of the best grapplers in the world -- is his jacked-up hip ... which he's been dealing with for the past few years.

In fact, Askren says his doctor is recommending a full hip replacement -- and since he's already 35, it ain't exactly a recipe for a comeback.

"I got really emotional the other day because I just started thinking about all the great experiences I've had and how lucky I've been to have the amount of success I've had," Askren said.

Ben was famously included in the blockbuster UFC, ONE Championship trade back in 2018 involving MMA legend Demetrious Johnson.

Askren raised eyebrows right away -- defeating Robbie Lawler in his first UFC fight -- but things went south in 2019 when he was knocked out by Jorge Masvidal in 5 seconds.

It got worse when Askren fought Demian Maia in Oct. 2019 and lost by submission in the 3rd round. It became clear to Ben he couldn't continue to compete at the highest levels.

Asken (19-2) wasn't just a stud fighter -- he's also one of the most entertaining personalities in the sport and will surely find a career in broadcasting now that he's done in the Octagon.

Remember when Dwight Gooden charged the mound and PUNCHED PAT COMBS IN THE FACE?!

Doc sure does ... and tells TMZ Sports if there's anyone questioning his fighting ability, they need to watch that video!

Of course, the 55-year-old MLB legend is gearing up for a celebrity boxing match against 29-year-old comic Catfish Cooley on March 7 in Atlantic City.

Some people are concerned for Gooden since Cooley is a big dude who squats 600 pounds -- but Doc tells us HE CAN SWING, BRO!!

In fact, Gooden brings up that crazy brawl from August 1990 -- when Phillies pitcher Pat Combs threw at Doc and he charged the mound with bad intentions!

We found the clip -- and yeah, Doc's right ... he hit Combs with a solid right to the face that ignited a bench-clearing brawl! Good stuff!

Now, Doc says he's been training for his next fight and even hit up his old pal, Mike Tyson, for advice.

Turns out, Doc and Mike have been friends for decades -- remember when they kicked it together with Darryl Strawberry at Shea Stadium back in '86?

As for why Doc's fighting again, it's all about raising awareness for causes dear to his heart.

"I'm trying to do something positive to bring awareness to mental health as well as sobriety," Doc says.

Back before Terence Crawford became a world champion boxer, he used to whoop people's asses for free on the streets ... telling TMZ Sports, "I used to stay getting in fights."

We love a good origin story ... so when Bud came to the TMZ offices, we asked the undefeated 32-year-old superstar when he KNEW he had a knack for fighting.

"I always knew I could fight," Crawford says ... "I was 4'11" in the 9th grade. I was a little guy ... I think I had that little man complex."

Now, Crawford is 5'8", 147 pounds and arguably the best pound-for-pound boxer alive -- so yeah, he doesn't hand out ass-whoopings for free anymore!

In fact, he's facing undefeated Lithuanian star Egidijus Kavaliauskas (AKA The Mean Machine) on Dec. 14 at Madison Square Garden and says he's ready to show the world why he's the best.

We also spoke with Crawford about Errol Spence -- who was a potential opponent before Errol's bad car crash last month.

Aaron Carter's mom was caught on video brutally smacking one of his dogs ... and now the singer is at war with PETA.

Aaron is trading blows the animal org after it called out Aaron and his mother, saying, "Dogs are family -- not for IG likes. SLAPPING them or SELLING THEM for a profit when millions are homeless in shelters is cruelty."

The whole incident went down Wednesday night while Aaron was on Instagram Live as he and his mom were driving across the state. At one point, you can see the pug make its way onto the middle console from the back seat when, out of nowhere, Jane violently slaps the dog ... sending it to the backseat.

After PETA put Aaron on blast, the singer responded with an expletive-laced tirade saying, "My message is f*** you, PETA. F*** you, PETA. F*** you, PETA. Whoever is running your f***ing organizations and campaigns, you can f***ing suck my d***." Classy.

Aaron -- who was briefly hospitalized the day after the dog-slapping incident -- also threatened, "I'm gonna sue the s*** out of PETA. I'm gonna take htem for millions of dollars, and then I'm gonna give back money to a community that actually does help animals."

The Cleveland Police Dept. is NOT investigating Myles Garrett for assault stemming from the helmet attack on Steelers QB Mason Rudolph, a spokesperson tells TMZ Sports.

We asked if the CPD was planning to arrest the 23-year-old and we were told quite simply, "No."

"The person who was hit would have to file a report. There is no criminal complaint filed," Cleveland PD Public Information Officer Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia tells us.

The incident went down in the final seconds of the game at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland -- when Garrett and Rudolph tussled after a play ... followed by Garrett ripping off Mason's helmet and swinging it at his head.

After the game Garrett spoke about the incident -- "What I did was foolish, and I shouldn’t have allowed myself to slip like that," Garrett said ... "It’s out of character."

"I lost my cool and I regret it," he added ... "It’s going to come back to hurt our team. The guys who jumped into the scrum, I appreciate my team having my back, but it never should have gotten to that point."

Rudolph also commented ... saying, "I thought it was pretty cowardly and bush league."

"I’m not going to back down from any bully. I felt like I had a bone to pick with him. I appreciate the line always having my back, but I was angry."

We spoke with "Friday Night Lights" director Peter Berg after the game -- and he told us the scene looked like something out of "Game of Thrones."

As for punishment, Berg says a 4-game suspension is probably fair.

Other stars, like ex-NFL linebacker James Harrison, seem to be calling for harsher punishment.

"That’s assault at the least... 6 months in jail on the street.. now add the weapon and that’s at least a year right?!"

Popeyes is no longer a breeding ground for violence over its chicken sandwich ... the mania's finally died down at many locations.

We hit up the store on world-famous Hollywood Blvd., which is normally swarmed just because of tourists ... but there was only a small line of customers. Also, everyone was cool as a cucumber.

It's a far cry from the scenes we saw across the country earlier this month when the fast food chicken joint brought back its massively popular chicken sando, causing insane lines and wild moments of mayhem.

As we reported ... there was a fatal stabbing at a Popeyes in Maryland, and there was a rash of videos showing brawls between employees and customers alike ... all dealing with lines out the door and at the drive-thru.

Question is ... is the bloom off the rose, or are hungry customers just too fearful of potential violence?

We're not trying to start another rush, but if you're spicy chicken curious ... looks like the coast is clear.

Guess George Lopez struck a chord when he told us some fried chicken stuffed between a bun ain't worth risking your life.

Just when you thought Taylor Swift's beef with Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta from Big Machine couldn't get any more bitter ... she now says they're blocking her from performing her own songs at the upcoming American Music Awards ... but sources connected to Big Machine tell TMZ they have tried to reach a compromise with Taylor, but she's rejected everything and is out for blood.

Taylor says she planned to do a medley of her hits throughout the decade at the AMAs -- which is presenting her with the Artist of the Decade Award -- but says Scooter and Scott claim that would be rerecording her music ... something she's not allowed to do until November 2020, because Big Machine owns the masters.

On top of that, Swift revealed Netflix is making a documentary about her life, but she says Scooter and Scott have declined the use of her older music and performance footage for that project too ... UNLESS she bows down to their demands.

Our Big Machine sources say Taylor has admitted she owes the label more than $7 million and hasn't paid for more than a year. The sources add she also owes BM masters and video content. The sources say Scott and Scooter have extended an olive branch to Taylor, asking her to sit down with them and try to bury the hatchet, but she flatly refused, threatening if they didn't give her exactly what she wanted she'd go public and tell people to attack Big Machine as well as Scott and Scooter.

Taylor says BM demanded she NOT rerecord copycat versions of her songs next year like she's planning ... and to stop talking about them. Or as she puts is ... "be a good little girl and shut up. Or you'll be punished."

Swift says she's at wit's end and doesn't know what else to do, so she's asking her fans to speak out and let Scooter and Scott know how they feel about this.

Ultimately, she says she hopes other artists Scooter manages "can talk some sense into the men who are exercising tyrannical control over someone who just wants to play the music she wrote."

Our Big Machine sources say Taylor's lawyer told them he couldn't contain what she does or what she says publicly about them.

File under: Things You Should NEVER Do!

YouTube superstar Jake Paul WILLINGLY got in the ring with boxing phenom Ryan Garcia -- and let the dude BLAST AWAY on him ... and it's all on video!!!

The 22-year-old vlogger made the trip down to San Diego for some one-on-one gym time with the Flash ... and threw on some padding to do the #BodyShotChallenge.

Yeah, he's wearing padding ... but watch the video -- Ryan hits so damn hard, Jake gets rocked back around the ring and looks like he's in real pain.

At one point, it looks like Jake tries to get Ryan to stop, but the 19-0 fighter keeps throwing bombs!

"This is stupid," Jake said to the camera before taking the beating ... and we agree. V stupid.

Of course, Jake beat Deji in his first-ever fight last year in Manchester ... and has been BEGGING Eddie Hearn to let him take a pro fight like his big bro, Logan Paul.

Speaking of Logan, he also did the #BodyShotChallenge with Garcia a while back -- and it went about the same way!

Ryan 2, Paul Bros 0.

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.