Fights

Claressa Shields' brother has just been sentenced to 1 year behind bars for attacking a man at the boxing superstar's weigh-in event back in October.

As you'll recall ... the scene was wild at the Shields-Ivana Habazin pre-fight ceremony in Flint, Mi. -- with Habazin's trainer needing to be rushed to the hospital after witnesses say he was sucker-punched.

The guy -- 68-year-old James Ali Bashir -- was seriously hurt in the attack ... with his face and mouth both swollen and bloodied.

Authorities eventually said the attacker was Artis Mack -- Shields' 28-year-old brother -- and charged him with felony assault with intent to do great bodily harm.

The charge, if convicted, carried a maximum of 10 YEARS in prison.

But, Mack cut a deal with prosecutors last month to avoid that fate ... agreeing to plea to a lesser charge of misdemeanor aggravated assault in the case.

And, according to court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, a judge ordered Mack on Tuesday to serve 365 days behind bars ... but gave him 158 days credit for time served.

We reached out to Mack's attorney for comment ... but so far, no word back yet.

Joe Biden's fighting for every vote in Michigan ... even if it means going toe-to-toe in a heated exchange with a Detroit autoworker accusing him of trying to violate the 2nd Amendment.

The current Democratic frontrunner met with employees at an auto plant -- as Michigan and 5 other states are holding primaries Tuesday -- and at least one of Biden's meet and greets didn't go as planned. Surrounded by workers in hardhats, Biden ended up telling one of 'em ... he's "full of s**t!"

The worker claimed Joe's against the right to bear arms, but the former VP didn't let the statement go unchecked. He also quickly shushed an aide who tried to pull him away from the confrontation.

Biden told the autoworker he supports the 2nd Amendment and owns many guns himself, but points out that gun rights don't equate to owning any weapon you want ... like assault rifles.

The worker fired back saying there's a "viral video" proving him right, but Biden said it's a lie.

The exchange didn't end on a friendly note either -- the worker told Biden he works for him, but Biden shot that down ... then it sounded like he told him to stop being a "horse's ass."

Evander Holyfield's son is proving he's also "The Real Deal" -- scoring another decisive victory in the boxing ring ... while his dad watched from the stands.

22-year-old Evan Holyfield -- aka "Young Holy" -- took on Dylan Carlson at the Ring of Hope fundraiser at the Toyota Music Factory in Irving, Texas over the weekend ... and he looks good!

Holyfield opened up the fight by throwing some effective combos -- and essentially landed at will for the rest of the fight.

Ultimately, Evan won by unanimous decision ... and his Hall Of Fame dad was super-proud.

Evan is now 4-0 as a pro, with 3 KOs on his record. When we spoke with him recently, Young Holy told us the goal was to become a better fighter than his father.

Of course, Evander is one of the all-time greats ... he's the only boxer in history to be the undisputed champion in TWO weight classes.

He also famously beat legends like Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Michael Moorer, Buster Douglas, Riddick Bowe, Ray Mercer and more.

Great news for Stipe Miocic ... the UFC heavyweight champ says his injured eye is healing up really well ... and he expects to fight Daniel Cormier in just a few months!

"Eye is really good actually," Stipe told us in NYC while promoting his Fire Dept. Coffee brand ... "Getting healed up. Getting better every day. Getting back in the gym slowly."

Remember, 37-year-old Miocic suffered a torn retina in his August 2019 victory over Cormier -- and while both Stipe and DC are down to run it back, everyone's waiting on the eye to heal up first.

Stipe says he's still battling some issues with the eye -- he sometimes sees "spots" -- but overall, Miocic says the injury has "not really messed with my vision, so I'm happy about that."

As for the 3rd fight between the two heavyweight stars, Stipe says it's "looking like summer" ... since the UFC is already booked up with a bunch of sick PPV fights in April and May.

Stipe definitely ain't lacking confidence -- telling us when the guys do face-off, it'll "suck" for Cormier because "he's gonna lose again!"

Cormier beat Stipe the first time they fought back in 2018 -- but Miocic got his belt back when they clashed in the rematch at UFC 241.

DC says the rubber match with Stipe will be the last fight of his UFC career -- win or lose.

As for Stipe, seems he'll keep fighting as long as he's healthy. And, then it's likely to the UFC Hall of Fame for both guys.

Sean O'Malley beat the hell outta Jose Quinonez this weekend ... dropping him with a devastating head-kick that Suga compares to being SMASHED in the dome with a solid wood bat.

TMZ Sports talked to O'Malley -- fresh off a 1st round TKO at UFC 248 -- and the 25-year-old star walked us through the combination that left Quinonez in the fetal position on the Octagon floor.

"That head-kick ... that was a powerful and heavy head-kick! It's pretty much like if I had a baseball bat. I swung as hard as I could at him. Kind of lifted him off, threw him to the back of the cage."

The finish was super impressive ... not only did Sean land the heavy head-kick, he also crushed Jose with an uppercut ... before raining down a flurry of hammer fists -- before the fight was stopped.

It was O'Malley's first fight in over 2 years ... so while the MMA world mighta been shocked at how quick he took Quinonez out, Suga wasn't.

"I knew going into any of my fights, the 1st round finish is always an option. Especially that first five minutes. I mean, I feel superhuman in there. I'm so fast, I'm so accurate. I put on some size, ya know, so I'm just more powerful," Sean says.

"So, I knew a first-round finish, I knew that could happen and honestly I kinda saw it going like that."

That's not all, as we previously reported, O'Malley told us the post-fight celly was gonna include a lot of medicine (the green kind) ... and Suga, who says he hadn't smoked in 3 weeks, had a bad case of the munchies.

TMZ Sports has obtained video moments after UFC star Brian Ortega allegedly slapped a Korean man at UFC 248 ... and you can hear Ortega say, "I told you I'd slap you like a bitch."

It all went down in the stands at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas on Saturday -- when 29-year-old Ortega approached Jay Park, a Korean musician who recently served as a translator for Korean UFC fighter Jung Chan Sung (known as "Korean Zombie").

Ortega was reportedly upset with Park over comments he made while translating for Korean Zombie during a recent appearance on "Ariel Helwani's MMA Show." Park had claimed Ortega "ducked" a fight with Zombie, which Ortega has adamantly denied.

Things came to a head on Saturday. At 4 seconds into our video, you can hear a slap sound -- followed by commotion and Brian bragging that he slapped Park.

Ortega was escorted out of the arena. Security checked in with Park, who appears to be okay.

After the incident, Park told media he filed a police report with local officials. Unclear if Ortega will be charged with a crime.

Here's one of the most insane hockey brawls EVER ... courtesy of players AND coaches in the Federal Prospects Hockey League.

The Columbus River Dragons were getting blown out 7-3 in the 3rd period of a heated game Sunday against the Carolina Thunderbirds in Winston-Salem, N.C. ... when a fight broke out that escalated QUICKLY.

You can see in footage ... the whole thing starts when Thunderbirds coach Andre Niec and River Dragons manager Jerome Bechard challenged each other at center ice.

Shortly after ... players got involved -- and it all eventually led to punches and wrestling matches ALL OVER the ice.

At one point, a River Dragons player even left the penalty box and bum-rushed a Thunderbird standing and watching the brawl at the red line!!! Oh, and Niec had his shirt ripped off in the fracas too!!

But, the best part of the entire fight? The play-by-play announcer CRUSHED his breakdown of the brawl ...

"Oh, I have never seen this in all my years of covering hockey!" the guy said ... "It's a melee! Everybody from the bench to the ice has a dance partner!!!"

Eventually, refs were able to get everything under control ... with AT LEAST 8 dudes getting ejected.

DaBaby brutally assaulted a fan Saturday night as he made his way to the stage, and the crowd was so enraged at him the show ended before it began.

The rapper was at Whiskey North in Tampa for his "Up Close N Personal" tour when a woman waved her phone in his direction, presumably to get a pic. Check out the video ... you see DaBaby unload on her.

Folks at the concert tell TMZ ... after the initial shock subsided, the crowd started booing the rapper. DaBaby and his crew left without performing a single song. Check out the strike from a different angle too, BTW. It's a straight up open palm slap across the face.

You can hear people shriek in horror as DB calmly walks away, and the crowd around the woman bend over to help her. Eerily to similar to another incident DaBaby's bodyguard was involved in back in September ... when the guy KO'd a girl, whom he thought was a guy.

Now, DaBaby has spoken on this. He went on his Instagram story to share a video of the incident, saying, "who know shawty government name so my lawyer can get active."

Cops showed up -- responding to a 911 assault call -- but no arrests were made.

DaBaby's had his share of problems recently. He was recently accused of beating up and robbing a guy in Miami. The battery charges were dropped but he's still under the microscope for robbery -- he allegedly jacked the guy's cellphone, credit card and cash.

Boxing legend Evander Holyfield wants everyone to PUMP THE BRAKES on calling Tyson Fury the G.O.A.T. ... telling TMZ Sports the dude has a lot more to prove before getting that title.

The Gypsy King has entered the debate after dominating Deontay Wilder last month ... with some folks saying it's time to consider Fury as one of the best heavyweights of all time.

We spoke with The Real Deal -- who's on everyone's list of best heavyweights ever -- about Fury getting consideration for the G.O.A.T. ... and he's not with it.

"That's an opinion," Holyfield tells us at the World Values Network's Champion of Jewish Values Gala.

"The thing is, you gotta beat more than one guy. He did beat Klitschko and fell off ... He beat him, but he gotta do a bit more than that, though."

Holyfield ain't saying Fury will NEVER be the G.O.A.T. ... he's just saying the discussion is simply way too premature.

"He definitely got the potential ... He made mistakes just like people do. All people make mistakes. (He) overcame it and when he fought Wilder, he said he was gonna take it to him and he took it to him and he won the fight."

Pro-wrestling star Robert Stone -- f.k.a. as Robbie E -- has a message for Conor McGregor ... LET ME MANAGE YOUR WRESTLING CAREER!!

Stone -- currently signed to WWE -- has been in the wrestling game for 20 years ... but recently retired from bustin' asses in the ring, so he could make bank outside it.

Rob's now a talent manager who represents NXT star Chelsea Green ... but he's looking to expand his roster in a very big (and Irish) way.

"Conor McGregor was meant to be part of sports entertainment. I think everyone kinda already knows that. It's just a waiting game."

"His entrance, the way he talks, the way he walks, the way he fights. This guy would be perfect for the Robert Strauss brand. there's a lot of money for him to make in this."

McGregor ain't the only star athlete who has expressed interest in wrestling. Tyson Fury made a cameo in the squared circle a few months ago ... taking out Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel in Saudi Arabia.

"When you think of those guys, you think of money and that's why I'm doing this. I wanna make money. And, of course, they wanna be part of WWE."

Rob says he's heard from a lot of stars who want to get into the industry ... but they don't know how where to start.

"I've talked to so many people, heard so many things over the years. Big names like that want to get into sports entertainment, they just don't know how to."

But, with the right guidance ... Stone says he can produce mega-stars that transcend the wrestling ring.

"If you really think about it, there's John Cena, there's [Dave] Bautista, there's The Rock. These guys are so big right now in movies and commercials and talk shows," Stone says.

"I think more sports entertainers can be doing those things they just don't know that they could be and I'm going to help them get those opportunities."

Billy Joe Saunders has called his shot ... he wanted Canelo -- and now he's getting Canelo!

Sources tell TMZ Sports the undefeated 30-year-old British champion is all set to do battle with Canelo Alvarez on May 2nd at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas (as first reported by ESPN's Salvador Rodriguez) ... and it's a fight Billy Joe has wanted for months!!

In fact, the reigning WBO super middleweight champion came into the TMZ office back in November to shoot an episode of "TMZ Sports: Roundtable" ... and told us why he's supremely confident he can beat the Mexican superstar.

"He's a real good fighter, he's done brilliant things for boxing," Saunders told us ... "I just think I've got the keys to his locker."

"If he beats me, I'll shake his hand and say you're the better man, but I know I'll beat him."

At the time, Saunders -- who was sitting with his promoter, Eddie Hearn -- said he doesn't care about the money, he's a competitor who wants to prove he's the best in the world.

"Let me win and keep the money," Saunders said ... "You let me win and keep the money. That's how much I want to beat him."

Canelo is one of the top fighters in all of combat sports and arguably the biggest draw -- coming off a spectacular violent KO of Russian stud Sergey Kovalev back in Nov.

Former NHL star Matthew Barnaby was arrested Thursday ... he allegedly choked a bouncer during a brawl at a bar -- and the mug shot he took afterward is pretty crazy.

Here's the deal ... cops say they responded to Nashville Crossroads bar in downtown Nashville, Tenn. after they received a call about an altercation with patrons.

Once officers arrived on scene ... they say witnesses told them 46-year-old Barnaby, his girlfriend and other bar-goers had gotten into a scrap, when Matthew began choking a bouncer.

Cops say they noticed "a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage" on Barnaby's breath when they went to talk to him and say he had watery eyes and slurred speech.

Cops add the bouncer wished to press charges against the former Dallas Stars winger for the alleged choking incident ... so they arrested Matthew.

Barnaby was booked and charged with assault and public intoxication. He has a court date to face the charges set for later this month.

Of course, Barnaby was no stranger to altercations in his NHL career ... he was in dozens of on-ice fights and is known as one of the league's best all-time enforcers.

This also isn't Barnaby's first brush with the law ... ESPN famously fired the hockey analyst after he was arrested for drunk driving in 2011.

Tottenham star Eric Dier nearly went full-on Ron Artest in a game Wednesday -- charging at a fan in the stands who was allegedly talking trash about the player and his family.

The wild scene all went down during the Tottenham vs. Norwich City game in England ... where Hotspur star Dier had allegedly heard about some insults hurled his brother's way in the stands.

You can see in footage of the altercation ... 26-year-old Dier jogged along the sideline, jumped over the railing and beelined over more than a dozen rows of chairs to get to the fan to police everything himself.

Fortunately for all parties ... Dier was intercepted by security and other spectators before he could get his hands on his target.

After Dier and the altercation had calmed down ... Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho told reporters he didn't necessarily blame Dier for his actions.

"I cannot run away from the question and I think Eric Dier did something that we professionals cannot but, in these circumstances, something that every one of us would do."

Mourinhio added, "When someone insults you and your family is there, and your family gets involved with the person that is insulting you, in this case your younger brother, I think Eric did what we professionals cannot but, I repeat, did what we professionals cannot do, but did something that probably we would do."

UFC superstar Henry Cejudo says he wants to pull a Royce Gracie -- and fight TWICE in the same night -- and he's dead serious.

Triple C -- the reigning UFC bantamweight and flyweight champ -- is set to take on Jose Aldo at UFC 250 in May ... but he wants Dana White to add another fight to his workload.

"I would like to get [Deiveson Figueiredo] and Jose Aldo on the same night. Co-main event and main event! Allow me to make history!"

FYI, Figueiredo just defeated Joseph Benavidez at UFC Norfolk -- but since Figueiredo didn't make weight for the fight, he was not awarded the vacant flyweight belt.

And, since the belt didn't change hands ... Cejudo is bragging that he's "the only fighter in human history to defend my belt on the couch!"

Cejudo thinks the whole situation was "unfortunate" since the missed weight kind of throws a wrench in the division ... but Henry says there's one way to fix the problem -- set up a fight!

FYI, way back in the day ... UFC would allow fighters to scrap multiple times on the same night. Royce Gracie famously fought THREE TIMES at UFC 1 back in 1993.

UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell -- one of the greatest MMA fighters of all time -- says he's finally "officially retired" from fighting ... for now.

The 50-year-old legend has been undecided about his fighting career for a while -- despite losing to Tito Ortiz in his last performance in Nov. 2018.

In fact, as recently as October 2019, Liddell told ESPN he was "undecided" about his future as a fighter.

But when we saw Liddell at LAX, he told us straight up, "I'm officially retired right now ... for now."

The former UFC lightweight champ had an amazing career -- with a 21-9 pro record ... including two historic wins over Tito Ortiz and two wins over Randy Couture.

Chuck was a pioneer in the world of MMA and is widely credited with helping to grow the UFC into the juggernaut it is today.

So, what's next for The Iceman?! Chuck says he's always been interested in the WWE ... and has tremendous respect for pro wrestlers ... "That would be a lot of fun!"

In the meantime, Liddell is still training like a maniac at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable Gym in West Hollywood where he works out with the likes of Wiz Khalifa and Demi Lovato!