Fights

Mike Tyson showed some big-time wrestling stars who's boss Saturday night, and even a snake couldn't intimidate him.

Iron Mike was supposed to do the honors at the AEW "Double or Nothing" pay-per-view by handing the winners of the title match the championship belt -- he ended up doing a lot more.

The match -- Cody with Arn Anderson by his aide vs Lance Archer w/ Jake the Snake Roberts -- was back and forth. At one point Arn and Jake were hurled out of the ring and Jake was trying to make his way back inside with the ominous bag containing a snake.

That's all the former boxing champ needed to see, because Mike ripped off his shirt, revealing his amazing physique, and blocked Jack with intimidating force. It worked, because Jake and the snake retreated, giving Cody and Archer the win.

Mike then flexed for the viewers and then bestowed the honor on Cody by handing him the belt. He didn't have to throw a punch but he sealed the deal on the match -- Mike's THAT daunting.

Mike told us at "TMZ Live" he's open to fighting Evander Holyfield again.

Conor McGregor was chased by alligators, before he went on the attack against a runner, people in a crowd and then, of all people, Dana White -- but obviously, there's a catch.

The UFC honcho posted the parody, and it's hilarious!!! Conor glides across a river as a gator gives chase, but the UFC star is unfazed.

Cut to Conor going on a tear ... attacking runners, spectators and even a bullfighter, before turning on Dana himself and opening a can of whup-ass.

It's a little life imitating art ... what with Conor's past hijinks where he threw dollies into tour buses, smashed cell phones and even punched an old guy who didn't want to drink his whiskey.

Tyron Woodley says he's not just looking for a win on May 30 -- he wants to make a violent statement to the UFC that he's ready for his title shot.

The former welterweight champ is taking on Gilbert Burns at UFC Fight Night ... and says he's in a very "violent headspace."

"I'm willing to do some sh**ty stuff to people, put them in compromising positions, hurt them -- like literally hurt them."

"I don't know if I've ever been this focused," Woodley said this week on "The Hollywood Beatdown."

Tyron says he considers his fight with Burns to be a "real war" -- one that Gilbert will wish he never asked for in the first place.

"This is going to be a clear case of someone asking for something they didn't really know what they were asking for."

You gotta watch the clip ... Tyron says he can't wait to fight in an empty arena so the fans at home can hear him "talk sh*t" to Burns while he beats his ass.

"People are gonna feel bad for him."

Burns is on a 5-fight win streak -- including a win over Demian Maia back in March.

Mike Tyson says he's seriously considering a rematch with Evander Holyfield -- but only because it would raise MILLIONS for people in need.

"That would be awesome for charity," Tyson said on "TMZ Live" ... "Can you imagine me and him going in the ring together?"

Of course, 53-year-old Tyson has been training like a maniac recently and looks absolutely terrifying -- something he credits to the stem cell treatments he's been receiving.

"I'm in good shape, I feel really good!"

Now, with 57-year-old Holyfield also training for a comeback -- we asked if there's truth to the rumors they're planning on running it back for a 3rd time.

"Anything is possible," Tyson said ... noting that he's "having fun, looking good, showing off my new bod and stuff."

Tyson says he's committed to living a life of charity and gratitude -- but he knows a fight with The Real Deal could make a serious difference in a lot of people's lives.

"Hey, listen, there are a lot of people out there that need help and something like that could help a lot of people, that's in need for help."

Tyson also revealed he's focusing on meditation -- and feels he's on the path to enlightenment.

In fact, Tyson will be participating in a massive World Meditation Day event Thursday at 11 AM PT ... along with Deepak Chopra and Tony Robinson.

Tyson says the goal of the event -- which will be streamed live on Facebook -- is to get 1 BILLION people from all over the world to unite for synchronized meditation and prayer.

Akim Aliu says ex-NHL player Steve Downie is a "racist sociopath" who "made my life a living hell" during their junior hockey days ... and the allegations are shocking.

Aliu -- who is black -- spelled out the whole thing in a strongly worded op-ed for The Player's Tribune ... detailing several alleged incidents of abuse at the hands of Downie.

FYI, 33-year-old Downie was a 1st round NHL Draft pick in 2005 -- and played 9 seasons in the league.

But, Aliu says before he got to the big stage, Downie terrorized him while both players were members of the Windsor Spitfires, a team in the OHL -- the best junior league in Canada.

"First couple of practices he put Tiger Balm in my jock," Aliu says ... "Then he took my gear outside and threw it on the roof."

"And then he began to belittle me in front of my teammates, the coaches, whoever would listen to him. He’d make fun of my clothes, the way I spoke."

"He was two years older than me and a rising star, and he wielded his power over me like I was nothing -- like I was subhuman."

Aliu also says Downie and other teammates tried to strip him naked on the back of the team bus with other rookies as part of a hazing ritual ... but Akim refused.

Because he refused, Akim says Downie "shoved his fiberglass stick through my mouth."

"I lost seven teeth in half a second. Blood gushing down."

Akim says he felt forced to drop his gloves and fight Downie in an effort to save face in front of his teammates.

Akim goes directly at Downie in the article -- saying, "I went through hell at the hands of a racist sociopath."

"His name’s Steve Downie."

"I don’t really give a crap what he thinks about the way I just described him. I’d say it to his face today."

"He had nothing but hate in his heart back then. He looked at me and saw a black boy with a weird accent -- and didn’t like me because of it. I was attacked because of the color of my skin. I knew it then. And I know it even more now."

31-year-old Aliu has previously made headlines for exposing several horrible racist incidents he was forced to deal with on his journey through the hockey ranks .... including blackface costumes and n-word rants by team officials including former Calgary Flames head coach Bill Peters.

We've made repeated efforts to contact Downie for his side of the story -- reaching out his former agent, calling numbers connected to him and even trying to contact him through social media.

UFC star Anthony Smith says he's "good" in the wake of a violent loss to Glover Teixeira -- and recovering with the help of his loving family.

"Everyone is arguing about good stop, bad stop, bad corner, good corner...blah blah blah," Smith said.

"I’m still winning. I’m good, and I’m exactly where i need to be, doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing."

As we previously reported -- Smith suffered intense injuries during his fight on May 13 -- a broken nose, fractured eye socket, a gash under his right eye and had 2 teeth knocked out.

Some high-profile UFC stars like Chael Sonnen have criticized Smith's coaching staff ... saying they should've thrown in the towel instead of allowing him to fight in the 5th round, where he sustained even more damage.

"All that time spent worrying about me needs to be spent somewhere a little more productive," Smith said on social media.

"I will beat Floyd. I promise my life on it."

That's Conor McGregor telling Mike Tyson he WILL defeat Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match ... if it's the last thing he ever does!

So, why the renewed interest in a rematch with Floyd?

Tyson was sitting down with Francis Ngannou and the UFC star's manager for an episode if his "Hotboxin' with Mike Tyson" podcast when Mike began raving about McGregor's foray into boxing back in 2017.

"He’s never really had a boxing match in his life, right? He went 10 rounds with the greatest boxer in the land, in 100 years of boxing."

Tyson continued, "He went 10 rounds, scored punches on the greatest fighter in the last 20, 100 years."

"Imagine a guy who’s never had a boxing match and he’s fighting me? He goes 10 rounds and we’re fighting?"

"We go 10 rounds, that’s a bad motherfu**er," Tyson said.

Well, Conor McGregor saw the clip ... and issued a strongly worded statement of his own.

"Thank you Mike, and just know that for the inevitable rematch, with the knowledge I now hold of Floyd’s style, plus under the tutelage of my old school boxing coach, I will crack the puzzle, and I will beat Floyd. I promise my life on it."

McGregor added, "It is great to see you back Iron Mike."

As we previously reported, Conor has been TRYING to lock up a rematch with Floyd for a while ... but Floyd hasn't signed a contract yet.

Chael Sonnen is BIG MAD at Anthony Smith's coaching staff for not stopping the fight against Glover Teixeira after the 4th round ... telling TMZ Sports, "You have a towel for a reason!"

Sonnen -- who has 49 pro-MMA fights under belt -- couldn't believe Smith's corner let him continue into the 5th round considering he was literally getting his teeth knocked out in the Octagon.

"If you're in the corner, you have a towel for a reason and that's to stop a contest," Sonnen explained.

Sonnen says he respects Smith's toughness -- but the coach needs to act as the "adult in the room" and make the tough decisions in the heat of battle to protect the fighter from himself.

"I've heard the term 'A Rocky Moment' -- man, Rocky was in the movies! Rocky wasn't really getting beat up like that!"

Sonnen said he spoke with Smith at length after the fight -- and Smith explained that he refuses to quit in a fight no matter what.

But, Sonnen says that's MORE of a reason for his corner to make the tough call when it becomes clear he can't win the fight.

Jon Jones says he's dead serious about a fight with Francis Ngannou -- and now he's asking the UFC to "send the deal."

There's been talk about a possible Jones vs. Ngannou match at heavyweight for a while ... but things escalated after Francis destroyed Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just 20 seconds at UFC 249 over the weekend.

The two exchanged some minor trash talk on social media late Wednesday night ... but now Jon says he's done talking, he's ready for action.

"If you guys think I wouldn’t take this fight you’re insane. I have absolutely nothing else to prove as a light heavyweight. I’d love that big money fight right around now. Send the deal."

Jon currently fights at light heavyweight -- but says he's willing to go up for a bigger payday ... and let's be honest, who wouldn't want to see Jones vs. Ngannou?!

In fact, back in October, we asked Francis about a possible Jones brawl ... and he was all about it!

"Listen, let's be clear about something. If that's what you want to know, if I would fight Jon Jones if he goes up to heavyweight!? Of course!"

"I would say the same thing as he says -- it's inevitable. If Jon Jones goes to heavyweight. I'm gonna fight him."

LET'S GOOOOOO!!!

UFC stud Anthony Smith didn't just lose his fight Wednesday -- he lost his teeth -- spittin' chiclets during his war with Glover Teixeira.

31-year-old Smith started off strong -- but 40-year-old Glover asserted his dominance in the later rounds ... beating up Smith so badly, he was literally knocking out Anthony's teeth.

At one point, you could see Smith trying to grab a tooth off the Octagon mat to hand to the referee.

"I couldn’t keep my mouthpiece in place due to the missing tooth,” Smith told ESPN's Ariel Helwani after the fight.

"I looked down and it was on the canvas. So, I grabbed it and handed it to him."

The refs eventually stopped the fight in the 5th round after Smith had taken major damage.

Smith was later diagnosed with several major injuries including a broken nose, fractured eye socket and a gash under his right eye.

He also lost TWO teeth during the scrap -- one front tooth and another one from the back of his mouth.

During the broadcast, you could hear Smith telling his corner, "My teeth are falling out."

Many people -- including Daniel Cormier (who was calling the fight) -- went after Smith's corner for not throwing in the towel.

"I would have stopped the fight, corner could have saved their guy from getting finished," DC said.

Michael Jordan's motivational name-calling wouldn't have worked with Udonis Haslem -- the Miami Heat star says he would've straight FOUGHT Jordan if he was ever called a "bitch."

"If I’m one of them people Mike talking to like that, I might put hands on Mike," Haslem said Tuesday during an IG Live with Richard Jefferson.

"I might put hands on Mike."

"And, I love Mike to death. Mike the greatest of all time. But, you can’t call me the b-word and the h-word."

"Nah, all right Mike. We gonna have to square off."

Of course, MJ let the expletives fly in an attempt to motivate his Chicago Bulls teammates in the '90s ... which was showcased in the most recent episodes of ESPN's "The Last Dance."

One of the targets of MJ's trash talk was ex-Bulls teammate Scott Burrell -- but when we spoke with SB this week, he said he's not mad about it at all!

"I loved it! I loved the way he pushed me, I loved the way he motivated me," Burrell said.

"I think Michael had different techniques maybe some people didn't think were great leadership qualities."

One person who did fight back -- Steve Kerr -- who famously punched MJ in the chest during a heated practice, only to get socked right back in his eye.

MJ later said he felt bad about beating up "the littlest guy on the f*cking court."

Haslem, on the other hand, is not a small guy -- he's 6'8", 235 pounds.

HOLYFIELD-TYSON III IS REALLY GONNA HAPPEN ISN'T IT?!?!?!

Here's further proof Evander's gearing up to fight Iron Mike for the 3rd time ... posting video that sure feels like a clap back at Tyson to us!!!

Just hours after Mike released more training footage of him terrorizing mitts and claiming he's "back" ... Evander posted similar clips, capping them off with an "I'm back" of his own.

That definitely means a rematch is on the way, right?!?!?!

Of course, the two former champs have already publicly stated they're looking for charity fights in the upcoming months ... with Holyfield even telling TMZ Sports the other day he's down to make another rematch with Tyson happen.

If it does eventually get scheduled ... we're not sure we've ever been more fired up to see two 50-somethings square off -- 'cause did you see Mike's clips Monday?!

But, Evander DID win their first two matchups ... and he ain't looking bad against the mitts himself!!

Soooo ... just tell us when and where the fight's happening now, please!!!

UFC fighter Anthony Smith CAN'T WAIT to walk into an empty arena Wednesday night and throw down with Glover Teixeira ... happy to do his part to entertain during the pandemic.

"I think the world just needs something to look forward to and I think right now we're the only thing that's giving them that," Smith tells TMZ Sports.

Smith vs. Glover is the main event at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena -- and it's the only live sporting event on TV, creating a huge opportunity for the fighters.

"Selfishly, I'm excited I'm going to have a lot of eyes on me that I wouldn't typically have ... Gonna be a lot of fans looking for some sort of live event."

And, while Smith doesn't think fighting without a crowd will affect his performance -- he certainly thinks it had an impact on Justin Gaethje at UFC 249 this past weekend.

"I think no fans being there actually helped him a little bit because ...  he was dropped in that 2nd round and typically, Gaethje comes out in the 3rd round, guns blazing, trying to get that one back."

"If he would've went down, the crowd would've went crazy.  He would've felt that energy and that momentum swing."

"His coach was able to bring him back in and settle him down, get him calm and get him back focused on the task, back to the game plan."

"I think that would of been harder to do with feeding off the crowd, the energy of the crowd."

LAPD is releasing body cam footage of a brutal arrest ... showing an officer unloading punch after punch after punch on a man accused of trespassing on a vacant lot.

The April 27 arrest made national news last week thanks to a citizen's video of the incident, but now we can see and hear everything leading up to the arrest. Two officers responded to a call for alleged trespassing, and at first the man -- wearing an Eric Dickerson Rams jersey -- left the lot without incident.

Once the man was on the sidewalk, though, things got heated. The officers told him to leave the area, but he refused, saying he was doing nothing wrong because his family lives there. It quickly turned into an argument as the man said, "What the f**k you gonna do, my boy?" ... and the officer told him to assume the position.

The man said, "You don't f**king scare me fa***t" ... and the officer then attempted to get his hands behind his back to slap on handcuffs. That's when a struggle began, and one officer started swinging on the suspect ... throwing more than 20 punches, while his partner stood at the ready to fire her taser.

Back up eventually arrived and the man was arrested. He was later released with cuts to his head and face.

"First of all, I would love to share the Octagon with Daniel Cormier before he retires."

That's Francis Ngannou telling TMZ Sports why it would be an "honor" to fight UFC legend Daniel Cormier ... but insists it should be for the TRUE heavyweight belt and not "this interim sh*t."

Of course, Ngannou just destroyed Jairzinho Rozenstruik at UFC 249 on Saturday -- his 4th straight 1st-round victory.

Most people think he deserves a title shot -- but the situation with Stipe Miocic is definitely complicating things.

Remember, Stipe -- the reigning heavyweight champ -- was supposed to run it back with Cormier earlier this year (they've already fought twice) but an eye injury and the COVID-19 pandemic ruined those plans.

Cormier insists he's ready to fight now -- but Stipe is still waiting for the green light from his doctor and wants time to have a full training camp.

In the meantime, Cormier said over the weekend he'd be down to fight Ngannou ... and Francis told us, he's READY!

"I mean, that would be an honor for me to have to fight Daniel Cormier since I always think about it," Ngannou said.

Some people are calling for the UFC to strip Stipe of the belt -- and have DC and Nganou fight for the interim heavyweight strap.

Ngannou does NOT like that plan.

"I hope Stipe gets what he wants but I want to fight for the title. Not this interim sh*t."

"I mean, like, they should have given me the interim [for the Jairzinho Rozenstruik fight]."

"I should be working out now with interim but I don't think there's no time for the interim anymore, its time for the real title."