Fights

George Foreman counseled Deontay Wilder after his crushing loss to Tyson Fury ... telling TMZ Sports he's the only man who understands what the Bronze Bomber's feeling -- 'cause Muhammad Ali humbled him the same way during "The Rumble in the Jungle."

We were talking to the 71-year-old boxing legend when he revealed he recently talked to Wilder following his devastating February 22 TKO loss at the hands of the Gypsy King.

"I had a nice conversation with Wilder, nice conversation with him."

Why, you ask?

Well, Foreman says he knows EXACTLY how Deontay feels ... 'cause like with Fury, Ali handed George his 1st L and took his belt in Zaire in 1974 -- the "Rumble in the Jungle" -- one of the most famous sporting events in the history of the world.

"We talked because I was in a position where I lost unexpectedly with the title in Africa. Only I know what he's going through," Foreman tells us.

The Hall of Famer continued, saying ... "He's gonna have to live with [the Fury loss] but I can show him how to live with that and come back better. We talked a lot on those lines."

FYI -- Foreman was 40-0 when he lost to Ali. DW was 42-0-1 when he lost to Fury. Both boxers were champs.

Shortly after the loss, Wilder exercised a rematch clause in his contract ... setting the fighters up for a trilogy fight later this year.

Despite clearly wanting revenge, many experts say taking the fight is a terrible career move for Deontay -- as they don't think he can beat the slick-moving 6'9", 273-lb. heavyweight.

Straight nonsense in Foreman's mind, 'cause he says Wilder can 100% beat Fury ... and it'll actually be pretty simple.

"Not only beat him, [Wilder] can do it easily," George says, adding ... "Give him another chance. He'll show you."

Foreman's living proof a comeback's possible (although he never got a shot at running it back with Ali) ... he became heavyweight champ again 20 years later.

With Big George's help, Deontay will attempt to do the same ... but he ain't trying to wait 2 decades.

This is awesome -- UFC star Dominick Reyes teaching us exactly how he landed those CRUSHING uppercuts on Jon Jones ... WELCOME TO FIGHT SCHOOL!!!

Dom hit up the secret gym at the TMZ offices recently -- where he told us straight up, "I definitely won" that fight.

Remember, 30-year-old Reyes took Jones the distance in their Feb. 8 matchup at UFC 247 -- a lot of people think he deserved to win that fight and got screwed on the judge's cards.

So, when Reyes hit up our gym -- he took our resident punching bag, Lucas, to class (with the help of "Fight School" host Paige VanZant!).

Ya gotta watch the whole ep on Snapchat -- Dom shows us how he baited Jones during the fight so he could land those devastating shots.

Francis Ngannou says if Dana White can lock down a location for UFC 249 -- the epic Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Tony Ferguson card -- he will be there ... ready to beat the hell outta Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

The 33-year-old, 6'4", 260 lb. monster was scheduled to fight Rozenstruik -- a 32-year-old, undefeated heavyweight -- Saturday in Columbus, Ohio.

Then, Coronavirus screwed everything up ... and the highly anticipated March 28th fight was put on ice.

But, that doesn't mean the men ain't gonna scrap ... 'cause Ngannou tells TMZ Sports that he is 100% fighting -- assuming the UFC honcho can find a place that's down to host the event.

"[Dana] said if they find a location, we will be on the card," Francis says.

Ngannou has even found a facility where he can lift and train with his coaches ... 'cause he's planning to step in the Octagon in less than 3 weeks.

"Since we are expecting some potential fight for April 18th, so we have to stay ready. So, we have a closed-door training. Just me and Eric Nicksick, my coach. So, we keep working out."

There's been a crazy amount of speculation about where 249 could take place ... Khabib's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, recently told us the UFC was looking at locations in Africa.

Francis says even he doesn't know where it'll happen ... but if there's a place that's safe, you bet your ass he'll be there.

"I don't know exactly where the fight will take place," Ngannou says, "However, what I do know is wherever it is gonna be, I'm gonna be there."

Please, please, PLEASE, Dana ... lock down a spot for these fights!!

Chael Sonnen says he's straight up "baffled" by Jon Jones' recent DWI arrest -- telling TMZ Sports it's about time he STOP DRIVING once and for all.

The two have history -- Chael famously fought Jon back in 2013 (Jon won in a 1st round stoppage) ... and they've had a cordial relationship ever since.

So, we asked "The Bad Guy" for his thoughts and he didn't hold back.

"It's baffling. You look at this guy, and this guy is blessed in so many ways. Great family, not just mom and dad, but the brothers and his own internal family, his kids, his career, he’s a handsome guy, charming guy."

"You look at him, there’s nobody that can beat him except for him. Every wound he has is just self-inflicted and that’s just hard. It's to the point where you just grab him and go 'hey man, there's people that care, there’s another way.'"

Of course, Jon has had multiple issues with the law over the years -- including a previous DUI arrest in 2012, a hit-and-run in 2015, a drag-racing stop in 2016 and the newest DWI in 2020.

"Man I gotta tell ya, it just seems like if he would just get the Uber app, it just seems like so many of his problems would go away," Sonnen says.

"I sit back like anybody else and read, Jon and I don't have the best relationship, but I've known Jon for a number of years, I've competed with Jon, I've done stuff with Jon. But I observe Jon, more than anything I can observe him from the outside. And I'll just tell you, it would just seem like if he didn't just get behind the wheel."

"So many of his problems, which are self-inflicted by the way, would not exist."

As for Chael, he's staying REAL busy during the pandemic -- in fact, he's promoting a HUGE Submission Underground event on March 29th, live on UFC Fight Pass.

UFC star Aljamain Sterling -- the #2 ranked bantamweight in the world -- says he's sick and tired of shadowboxing during quarantine ... so he's turning his house into an MMA gym!

It's actually pretty dope ... Funk Master has a bunch of handy roommates and they're all teaming up to renovate their Long Island pad into a prime training center.

The 30-year-old busted out (and disinfected) a bunch of old mats and equipment -- and even installed insulation in the walls -- so they can get back to doing what they love to do ... fighting.

"MMA training and working out, it's my life, it's my sanity ... if we can have somewhere where it's the same training partners training and that would be our quarantine training partners, so be it."

Sterling also wants to set the record straight about rumors he accepted a fight with Cory Sandhagen in May -- saying it's absolutely NOT TRUE.

Alja says it all has to do with his limited training resources. In other words, he wants to make sure he's in the absolute best shape to fight a tough opponent like Cory ... and with the pandemic in full swing, it limits his ability to level up.

"For me to take a fight against a guy ranked #4 in the world and not have the proper training is like a guy going to work doing construction without all of his tools. Like, how do you expect to get the job done?"

He added, "I would love to fight ... but right now's not the time. I want a proper training camp so I can really f**k somebody up."

Boxing superstar Claressa Shields says Laila Ali is being RIDICULOUS in their fight negotiations -- saying Ali wants $5 MILLION despite the fact she "is not relevant in today's time!"

Remember, back in January ... 43-year-old Laila (24-0) went on 'Sway in the Morning' and said she would destroy Shields if they ever fought because Claressa isn't talented enough to hang with her.

Of course, undefeated Shields (10-0) -- the reigning WBO and WBC light middleweight champ -- disagrees ... and offered to settle things in the ring.

Now, 25-year-old Shields says she's still all the way down -- but it's Laila who's holding up the deal.

"I’ll do whatever to get a fight made with me and Laila Ali," Shields said on Twitter.

"She is the one asking for [$5 million] and also wants to be the A-side if we fight knowing damn well she is not relevant in today’s time!"

"I’m the current reigning world champion. So if she really wanted to fight, be Fair! Stop asking for insane split. It’s ridiculous."

Once wasn't enough for Alex Volkanovski ... the UFC champion wants to beat Max Holloway TWICE, and establish himself as the GREATEST featherweight fighter EVER!!

Volkanovski snatched Holloway's belt in a close fight back in December ... so when the new champ recently came by the TMZ office, we asked him who he wants to scrap with next.

Alex was crystal clear ... he wants to run it back with "Blessed," 'cause Holloway's the biggest threat and best fighter (besides himself, of course) in the 145 lb. division.

"I want that fight [with Max], cause there's no clear #1 contenders, and I just think that he's a great champion. And, for me, the biggest fight in my career right now to solidify myself as the best featherweight of all-time, and one of the greatest of all-time," Alex says.

"I go and take out Max twice in [his] prime, ya know, people are gonna give me the respect I deserve."

Volkanovski's already got a helluva resume ... he's got a pro record of 21-1 and hasn't lost since 2013 -- nearly 7 years ago.

As for when the rematch would go down ... Alex broke his hand during the Holloway fight, but says he was just cleared for combat, and he's ready to rock ... and he already has a date circled on the calendar.

"I don't want to sit on the sidelines too long, and I wanna defend my belt in Australia. That Perth card is June 6. We're gonna make it happen, I reckon."

Kamaru Usman tells TMZ Sports ... he was all set to fight Jorge Masvidal in July -- until the coronavirus killed those plans. But he's still ready to hand out another ass-whooping, stat!

So, while the UFC tries to line up the next fight for the UFC welterweight champ -- he's talking mad trash to Masvidal, Colby Covington and of course ... Conor McGregor.

First ... Masvidal.

"Honestly, if I'm being honest, do I believe that he deserves the fight next? No, I don't think that he deserves the fight. But at the same time, he's got the hype right now."

"He seriously thinks he's a superstar. He's talking about how I'm the most famous fighter, I'm more famous than Conor and this and that. You are drinking your own Kool-Aid right now. He forgets that literally less than a year ago or two years ago he was just 'Journeyman George.'"

"Now you lost some weight, did a little Spanish reality show and came back and now he thinks he's just Jacques Cousteau or something. My man, relax!"

Next ... Colby.

Remember, Kamaru beat Colby's ass back at UFC 245 in December. Covington wants a rematch.

"Colby I'll be more than happy to put another cannon to your face. Easy as that."

And Conor?

"I'd be crazy if I said I didn't want that fight because Conor is one of those guys that's transcended the sport."

"And of course, I think people would love to see me go in there and spank him any way that I want. So, that's a fight that I always want."

"So, if Conor's feeling froggy that fight could happen anytime. So, that's a wild card right there, that could happen any time. If he's feeling froggy, if he wakes up on the right side of the bed and is like 'You know what? I want to get my ass beat today!' ... that fight could happen any time."

Mike Tyson isn't scared of dying -- not even a little bit -- explaining, "living might be more complicated than dying to me."

Yeah ... Mike opened up about life and death during a very candid interview with "The Sportsman" -- where the boxing legend was asked if he was afraid of dying in the ring.

"I knew there was a possibility that I could die during training, during a fight. I knew that. But I wasn’t scared, because I thought if anybody was going to die, I would do the killing."

TERRIFIED YET!?

There's more ... 53-year-old Tyson got super deep about the concept of life and death -- and explained why he's not worried about what happens after his time on Earth runs out.

"Life is pretty interesting. We’re born not knowing, we die not knowing where we came from. But our life prepares us for our death. We still don’t know sh*t about it, but when we get to a certain age, we’re not scared of dying no more, like it was when we were young."

In fact, when Tyson was asked if he looks forward to death -- here's what he said.

"Yeah. I don’t fear it. Living might be more complicated than dying to me. The belief of it. I don’t know if it’s true. Because living takes a lot of courage. Without the courage, you can’t handle living."

Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager, Ali Abdelaziz, says the UFC is considering moving the Khabib vs. Tony Ferguson fight to another country ... and if that happens, Khabib is IN!!

As we previously reported, Dana White is adamant UFC 249 will take place come hell or high water on April 18 ... and they're currently on the hunt for a venue.

Ali tells us Khabib is currently training at AKA in San Jose, CA  along with other fighters on that UFC 249 card -- and he's down to travel to any location to brawl with Tony.

"I talked to Dana White white last night. He said there's a possibility the fight is gonna be out of the country. We discussed about going to Zaire or Manila or some distant places. I said hey, Muhammad Ali did it, I'm sure Dana White can do it."

Ali says Khabib isn't worried about coronavirus -- but he IS worried that "this dumb motherf**ker" Tony Ferguson could hurt himself before the fight and ruin the whole thing.

Tony has an unusual training style -- and recently posted video throwing heavy bags around a gym while wearing denim jeans. Khabib and Ali think it's not just weird, it's dangerous.

WELCOME TO FIGHT SCHOOL!!

Paige VanZant welcomes UFC superstars like Yoel Romero, Henry Cejudo, Brian Ortega, Dominick Reyes and more into the secret MMA gym at the TMZ office where they're teaching legendary moves to our TMZ Sports producer, Lucas.

We're talking everything from flying knees to crazy chokes -- and even a human pretzel!!

Of course, the point of the show is to educate fight fans on the art behind these complex moves. But, it's also entertaining as hell to watch.

Episode 1 drops today on Snapchat and it's awesome!!

TMZ Sports has obtained new footage of Gervonta Davis' attack on his ex-girlfriend ... and it appears to show the boxing superstar taking a swing at the woman.

As we previously reported, Davis was arrested last month ... after a woman told cops she was roughed up by the 25-year-old at a celeb basketball event on Feb. 1 in Coral Gables, FL.

Now, we've obtained new footage from the altercation ... and you can see, Davis CLEARLY gets violent with the woman.

Davis walks the baseline at the Watsco Center, immediately puts his hands on the woman's shoulder and neck area ... and pulls and pushes her into the arena's locker room area.

While in there, new footage shows Davis cocking back his left hand and appearing to fire it at the woman. You can see moments later, the woman charges right back at the boxer.

Eventually, the two are separated ... but the drama doesn't end there -- because Davis appears to get in ANOTHER altercation with another man.

The footage shows Davis confronting a man who appeared to be filming the incident ... and at one point, it looked like they were going to square off for a fight.

Ultimately, everyone was separated ... and Davis was locked up 3 days later on a charge of simple battery/domestic violence.

Davis has denied ever hitting the woman, saying in a statement, "I never once hit her ... yeah I was aggressive and told her come on. That's the mother of my child. I would never hurt her."

Cops say the woman suffered injuries to her lip and left jaw in the altercation.

Bellator star Ryan Bader says he wants to avenge his loss to Jon Jones -- the guy he calls the GREATEST MMA fighter ever -- 'cause he's got what it takes to beat Bones' ass.

TMZ Sports talked to the Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight champ at a Bellator media event in NYC this week ... and the 36-year-old star says he'd LOVE another crack at fighting Jones.

"That's one fight I'd love to get back," Bader tells us.

"It was 2011 when that happened. I've grown and changed so much since then. Physically, mentally. We'd love to be able to do some cross-promotion deal."

Remember, Jones submitted Bader via a guillotine choke at UFC 126 in February 2011. It was Bader's first loss of his career.

Fast forward to current day ... RB's a double champ, and hasn't taken an L since 2016.

So, Ryan's got revenge on his mind ... and he's dead serious about getting payback.

DaBaby is vehemently denying a woman's claim she was on the receiving end of his vicious slap -- the rapper admits hitting someone, but says alleged victims are coming outta the woodwork.

We broke the story ... DaBaby brutally assaulted a fan before his Saturday night gig in Tampa while walking through the crowd. Tyronesha Laws claims she's the one DaBaby slapped, but his legal team says not so fast.

DaBaby's attorney, Drew Findling, tells TMZ ... enhanced video shows DaBaby slapping an individual who struck his left eye with what appears to be a phone with the flashlight on -- NOT the person standing to the left or the right of the individual shoving the phone in his face.

That's interesting because Tyronesha told us she was standing next to a young lady who reached with a phone -- flashlight activated -- toward DaBaby right before he allegedly smacked her in the face.

Findling says his law firm has been contacted by multiple people claiming to be the victim, but they haven't been able to establish the real identity.

DaBaby's already apologized to the woman he struck, saying he thought he was hitting a guy and couldn't tell the difference because of the light in his face.

Clearly not the greatest explanation for the violence