Fights

Lira Galore is a liar, and a forgetful one at that, according to Quality Control CEO "Pee" Thomas ... who's firing back at his baby mama's claims he's abusive and an unfit father.

First off, Pee flat-out denies Lira's allegations he was physically abusive to her a handful of times ... including while she was pregnant with their baby girl. Further, he says Lira's motives for suing him and making the abuse claims are suspect ... and he points to his track record of caring for 8-month-old Khaleesi.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Pee says, "It must be questioned as to why she allowed him unsupervised visitation with the parties' daughter and waited so long to file this monetary claim."

Also, in denying the abuse allegations, "Pee" claims he's been the victim of Lira's rage. According to the docs, he claims Lira was "physically violent towards him" when she was abusing various drugs.

TMZ broke the story ... Lira filed a $15 million lawsuit against Thomas, accusing him of the abuse. She included photos of her alleged injuries suffered at his hands.

Lira's not backing down .. in fact, she's also filed a motion of her own, asking the judge to force Pee to pay for her attorney. She says she's already racked up a $19k tab, and wants $20k right now from the record exec behind Migos and Cardi B.

"He must want to die."

That's UFC welterweight champ Kamaru Usman reacting to Conor McGregor after the Irishman suggested the two could fight down the line.

After Kamaru broke Colby Covington's jaw and spirit at UFC 245 on Saturday, Conor tweeted out "145. 155. 170" ... and since he's won belts at 145 and 155, the insinuation is that he wants a crack at Kamaru's title.

So, we asked Kamaru about a possible scrap with McGregor -- and Usman didn't hold back.

"You saw what Khabib did to him," Usman tells TMZ Sports ... "Like, oh my god. It wouldn’t even be fair if I fought Conor."

"Much respect to Conor for what he’s done for this sport and transcended it, but nah, this is not what you want."

"Sit down, little man! Sit down! Learn to walk before you can run because I would hurt that guy."

So, who DOES Kamaru want to fight? Georges St-Pierre.

"If I had to choose, of course, I want Georges ... I want GSP."

Of course, St-Pierre officially retired from MMA earlier this year ... but there are rumblings he's down for one last scrap if the situation is right.

Kamaru says he has tremendous respect for GSP, but if the two get into the Octagon together, Usman tells us, "I think I'll finish him."

And, if you're still reveling in Usman's victory over Colby and wanna see Kamaru talk even more trash ... watch the clip below.

Kamaru says he's super proud for shutting Colby's mouth -- and get this, he explains why he still wants to take the UFC belt to the White House to meet Donald Trump.

Teofimo Lopez says the violence won't end when the bell rings Saturday night ... 'cause he's promising to attack the world's top pound-for-pound boxer -- and he even wrote the TMZ headline for when it goes down.

"Teofimo Slaps The S**t Outta Viva Lomachenko!!"

Yeah, he's probably playin' around ... but you get the point. Teofimo wants to put hands on Lomachenko.

22-year old Lopez is 14-0 with 11 KOs ... and is considered one of the best young prospects in the entire sport.

He's fighting IBF champ Richard Commey Saturday night at Madison Square Garden ... and, while he's super focused on keeping that undefeated record, he admits he's got his eye on a fight with Vasyl Lomachenko.

"I think Saturday night, I kinda put the exclamation point on it, showing everybody that we are ready to take on who they say is the pound-for-pound best. For me, I don't see him as the pound-for-pound best."

If Teofimo wins, a fight with Vasyl is likely to go down in 2020 ... or sooner. As in Saturday night ... 'cause Lopez says VL will be in the building

"He'll be in New York for the fight and everything to watch ringside," Lopez says ...

"So, I get to slap him afterward. It'll be cool."

Amanda Nunes is calling BS on Cris Cyborg ... telling TMZ Sports the former UFC champ NEVER would've left the UFC if she really wanted a rematch with the champ-champ.

Nunes -- the bantamweight and featherweight champion -- came by the office this week with her fiancee (and #5 ranked UFC strawweight) Nina Ansaroff ... and chopped it up about Cyborg.

Remember, Cyborg -- who was KO'd in the 1st round of her December 2018 fight with Nunes -- floated the idea of a UFC-Bellator cross-promotion fight in the future when we saw her at LAX last month.

But, straight up, Nunes ain't buying it.

"Honestly, I love a challenge, but she made a wrong decision. She left [UFC], why? Why? If she really wanted to fight me she should’ve stayed."

Amanda says if Cyborg truly wanted the fight, she would've done anything -- including staying with the UFC -- to make the fight happen.

"If [Cyborg] really wanted [the fight], [she'd say] 'I’ll fight Amanda, give me $10,000 dollars. I'll fight her for $10,000. I’m better than her, I want that belt back.'”

So, Amanda thinks Cyborg's lying ... but it probably doesn't even matter.

The UFC hasn't done a cross-promotion in over 15 years ... and then there's the whole issue of Dana White despising Cyborg.

Warning to all of Deontay Wilder's future opponents -- the dude's got The Holy One on his side now ... 'cause the Bronze Bomber met Pope Francis!!

The WBC heavyweight champ and his fiancee, Telli Swift, -- who runs the Boxing WAGS Association -- hit up the Vatican after visiting a children's hospital in Rome on Friday -- flying all the way across the world to see the Pope -- and they got the VIP treatment!!

"What a honor it was to meet the #Pope @franciscus today," Wilder said of the visit. "He’s truly a remarkable man that represents True Love, Happiness and World Peace for all human race."

What's even cooler -- Wilder brought a pair of boxing gloves for Francis to sign ... and he happily obliged!!

It appears the 2 really hit it off, 'cause Wilder revealed they talked pizza and boxing ... and it turns out Francis is a fan!!

"you know he’s apart of the #BombZquad Family Baby."

"Much love from me Pope Francis and I’m wishing you many many blessings your way"

Pope Francis has turned into a bit of a sports fanatic recently ... he was also gifted a signed Lamar Jackson jersey last week!!

UFC champ Amanda Nunes says it would be "impossible" for Claressa Shields to beat her in an MMA fight ... and she's warning the boxing star to back down before she gets hurt.

Shields is the biggest star in women's boxing by far -- she's undefeated, holds multiple belts and Olympic gold medals. But, she REALLY wants to fight Amanda and recently started MMA training in hopes of making it happen.

The good news for Shields ... Dana White told us he's interested.

The bad news for Shields ... Amanda says she would SQUASH Claressa like a bug.

In fact, Amanda's fiancee Nina Ansaroff -- the #5 ranked UFC women's strawweight fighter -- thinks Shields is in for a rude awakening about the difference between MMA and boxing.

"She would have to win enough fights to even get into the UFC to even see Amanda. I don’t think that’s possible. Because there’s girls now that are coming from a wrestling background."

Amanda added, "We can get a girl from low rank right now in 135 and put her to fight. [Shields] wouldn’t pass the 1st round."

More bad news for Shields ... if an MMA fight doesn't happen, Nunes says she has ZERO interest in taking a boxing match with Claressa.

"I'm not a boxer, I’m an MMA fighter. If I wanted to be a boxer, I would be."

Boxing legend Leon Spinks -- who famously beat Muhammad Ali in 1978 -- is fighting for his life in a Vegas hospital, TMZ Sports has learned ... and his wife is asking for prayers.

Details surrounding the 66-year-old's condition are unclear -- but we know his family and friends are very concerned.

In fact, Leon's wife, Brenda, went to social media saying, "Reaching out to ask you to kindly send some prayers out for my Beautiful Husband Leon so that he may overcome the obstacles that have crossed his path."

Spinks has fought back from serious medical situations in the past -- he was hospitalized in 2014 after a piece of bone from a chicken wing caused major damage to his intestines.

The boxer underwent several surgeries and spent weeks recovering at a rehabilitation center.

Spinks is a boxing legend -- he was inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.

His 1978 victory over Muhammad Ali to win the heavyweight championship of the world is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in boxing history.

Spinks is also a military veteran who served in the U.S. Marines from 1973 to 1976.

LL Cool J says Andy Ruiz broke the golden rule when it comes to STAYING successful -- he got comfortable.

If you know LL, you know he's a HUGE boxing fan (see: "Mama Said Knock You Out") ... and it's obvious he was disappointed to see Ruiz blow his run as heavyweight champ.

Ruiz told TMZ Sports he didn't take training camp seriously and "ate everything" -- which is why he showed up to the Anthony Joshua rematch 15 pounds heavier than their first fight.

"At the end of the day when you step in the ring you gotta be ready. And, if you’re not ready for whatever reason it doesn’t matter, you win or you lose," LL said ... "And he wasn’t ready."

"I got respect for [Ruiz]," the rap legend explained -- but he noted, "You can’t come into the ring 16 pounds heavier!"

LL knows a little something about sustained greatness -- he's been famous for almost 4 decades -- and he had a little advice for Ruiz moving forward.

"It’s the things you do in the valley that gets you to the peaks. And, it’s the things you do at the peaks that extend the peaks. Part of being great at anything is having the discipline to stay focused when you’re successful."

Deontay Wilder just WENT OFF on Anthony Joshua -- saying he fought Andy Ruiz like a COWARD ... and says AJ will get "demolished" if they ever get in the ring together.

"He didn't want no engagement," Wilder said about the Ruiz fight ... "He was just scared."

"You got a 6-inch height advantage, you got an 8-inch reach advantage. Why is you running from the smaller guy?"

Wilder says Joshua's style was boring as hell -- "Punch, hold and grab like you scared of confrontation!"

"When you're dealing with Deontay Wilder ... I woulda came in and demolished him!"

AJ has said his plan is to eventually fight Wilder to unite the heavyweight belts, but Deontay says AJ is full of crap ... claiming Joshua wants absolutely NO SMOKE.

"He definitely don't want me, for sure. I live in his dreams, I'm his worst nightmare."

"A lot of people read into [Joshua's] bulls**t and we can understand and identify and we know it's bulls**t coming out of his mouth. We just don't have enough toilet paper to wipe it as it comes."

Bottom line ... Wilder says he's ready to destroy Joshua whenever AJ is willing to sign the contract -- but he ain't holding his breath.

In the meantime, Wilder is gearing up for his own rematch against Tyson Fury in what could be the best fight of 2020.

It's time to play "SPOT THE G.O.A.T." -- and if you picked any of those farm animals in the background, YOU LOSE!!!

Here's the UFC's G.O.A.T. Amanda Nunes -- living up to her G.O.A.T. nickname with actual goats on a farm in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

We're told 31-year-old Nunes -- widely considered the greatest female fighter of all time --  posed with the goats as part of a promo shoot for UFC 245. She's set to defend her bantamweight title against ex-UFC featherweight champ Germaine de Randamie.

Besides holding TWO belts at the same time (champ, champ!) -- Nunes is currently #5 on the UFC's pound-for-pound rankings list ... above male stars like Daniel Cormier and Max Holloway.

Also, she happens to be on a 9-fight win streak -- with victories over some of the toughest women to ever fight in MMA ... women like Ronda Rousey, Cris Cyborg, Holly Holm and Valentina Shevchenko.

"I think I ate everything ... EVERYTHING ... that's why I gained so much weight."

That's Andy Ruiz keeping it all the way real about his loss to Anthony Joshua -- admitting to TMZ Sports he just let himself go leading up to the rematch.

"I was having too much fun, I was celebrating too much," the former heavyweight champ told us at LAX.

Ruiz says his partying was also out of control leading to the Dec. 7 fight in Saudi Arabia -- "Just being with my friends and just celebrating. Drinking a few more Coronas than I should have."

FYI, Ruiz weighed in at 284 lbs for the rematch -- 15 pounds heavier than his weight for the June 1 fight, when he shocked the world with a 7th round TKO over the British superstar.

Still, Andy tells us he was impressed with his performance despite being out of championship shape.

"Even out of shape, even the way that I was training back and forth (between Mexico and California) ... f**king, I did pretty good, dude! I did pretty good! But, I wish I had taken it more serious."

Ruiz lost via unanimous decision -- and even though he suffered a gnarly cut over his eye in the fight, he's in pretty good spirits. He also showed us the cut and it's already all stitched up.

Now, Ruiz says he plans to take some time off and hang with his family before trying to lock down a 3rd fight with Joshua ... a fight Andy says he'll PROPERLY train for.

NCAA Div. 2 basketball player Isaiah Hill has been suspended indefinitely after he LEVELED his opponent with a violent cheap shot elbow to the face ... and the video will piss you off.

The disgusting play went down when Hill's Saint Leo University team faced off with Nova Southeastern in Florida on Saturday ... when Hill cut to the perimeter and cracked Nick Smith with a nasty elbow.

Smith fell right to the floor ... and somehow, the ref standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF IT did not call Hill for a foul.

Video of the play -- captured by Post-Gazette reporter Mike White -- has gone viral ... and Saint Leo has since punished its player for at least the remainder of the 2019 calendar year.

"Isaiah's conduct on the court is not an accurate representation of Saint Leo's core values," the school's athletic director said in a statement.

"Saint Leo University holds its students to high standards of moral and ethical conduct as a reflection of Benedictine values."

"Upon review of Isaiah's actions this past Saturday, he will not represent Saint Leo University in competition for the remainder of 2019."

We're told cops were present at the game, but it's unclear if Smith plans to pursue criminal charges. We're told the Pasco Sheriff's Office has not received a formal complaint.

First they boo'd the team ... then Pats fans FOUGHT EACH OTHER after Tom Brady's squad lost to the Chiefs -- and it's all on video.

It was peak embarrassment at Gillette Stadium where even the TV announcers calling the game clowned Pats fans for having the audacity to BOO while the team was down at halftime.

But, it got even worse AFTER the game, when a couple of Pats fans in the disappointed crowd turned on each other and began throwing punches right in the stands.

At one point, one of the combatants took TWO left-handed bombs to the face ... and you can hear in the audio, people were pretty disgusted by the scrap.

Unclear how the issues were resolved ... we're still waiting to hear back from the Foxborough Police Dept.

As for the Pats on the field ... it's understandable why some fans are going crazy after their games these days -- Brady and the guys look NOTHING like future Super Bowl champs.

Still, 10 Super Bowl appearances in 20 years with 6 NFL titles ... oh, and they're 10-3 this season, heading to the playoffs AGAIN! Calm down, Beantown!!!!!

Meanwhile, Tom's already claimed the team is focusing on next week's game against Cincinnati ... so, sorry, Andy Dalton.

If Floyd Mayweather is serious about boxing a UFC fighter, Max Holloway says he's ALL THE WAY DOWN!!

The reigning UFC Featherweight champ has a solid stand up striking game -- and sources tell us that's exactly what Floyd is looking for in his UFC opponent.

So, when Max rolled through the TMZ Sports office ... we asked if that was something he would seriously consider.

"I want a Money Belt! Why not?!"

He added, "I would love to do that. He's one of the best guys to ever do it. And, to share the boxing ring with him, it would be a checklist for sure."

Holloway says he's already in INSANE shape -- and 12 rounds in a boxing ring would be "easy work" since he's already a cardio machine!

But, even if the Mayweather fight doesn't work out, Max says he's still interested in taking a boxing match ... especially with Dana White gunning to launch Zuffa Boxing in 2020.

Max says he's always wanted to box -- and brags that he's got a pretty solid Philly Shell ... but first, his focus is on beating Alexander Volkanovski on Dec. 14 at UFC 245.

Brother Nature sure seemed ready to fight -- at least that's how the moments leading up to his dual-threat beatdown appear to have unfolded on surveillance footage.

TMZ got a hold of surveillance video taken at the Miami-based sandwich shop where BN was later pummeled twice over ... once in the parking lot, and again inside the restaurant. In this new footage, you can see Brother Nature initially confronting his two attackers.

As we reported ... Brother Nature was allegedly upset that he couldn't be served at his table, and tried griping about it to the shop's staff. We're told he then got in the face of one of his attackers -- who was supposedly filming him -- and you can see that interaction here.

Brother Nature is asked to leave by someone who works there, but not before some words are exchanged between him and these 2 guys who were also more than willing to brawl.

Fast-forward to the parking lot stomp-out ... which then spilled back into the eatery, where we're told BN stormed back in and allegedly socked somebody. It appears you can see that here in the surveillance video as well ... Brother Nature comes in and rushes the slimmer dude, seemingly trying to hit him, before his buddy scurries over and they team up.

The rest is pretty much history -- Brother Nature got walloped by the two dudes ... and by the time cops showed up, everybody had gone their separate ways.

Alistair Overeem is cracking jokes about it Sunday, but he couldn't even crack a smile after a sudden and bloody ending to his UFC fight, where his lip was nearly knocked clean off.

Overeem went down late in the 5th and final round of his UFC on ESPN 7 heavyweight match with Jairzinho Rozenstruik -- he was winning handily, really ... until then.

You gotta see the video of the shot Jairzinho uncorked right to Alistair's upper lip -- it's almost like his face exploded.

He managed to get back up, and attempt to grin, but the referee called the fight with just a few seconds left in the round. The attempted grin didn't work either, due to the horrific damage to Overeem's face.

A few hours later, Overeem joked on Twitter about his lip not looking too sexy.

If nothing else, the heavyweights made history -- Jairzinho's KO is the latest ever in a UFC heavyweight division fight.