Fights

UFC rising star Amanda Ribas says Fight Island was one of the BEST experiences of her life -- telling TMZ Sports she was treated like a princess from the second she stepped off the plane!

Of course, 26-year-old Ribas flew to Abu Dhabi to take on Paige VanZant at UFC 251 -- and after securing an armbar submission in less than 3 minutes, OF COURSE SHE WAS HAPPY!

But, Amanda says Fight Island was a dream come true ... she was treated like a rock star from start to finish -- and LOVED the food, especially the desserts!

Ribas is 10-1 as a pro and her star is exploding right now -- with signature wins over high-profile fighters like Paige and Mackenzie Dern.

So, how does Ribas want to exploit her newfound fame?

She wants to give back to the children back home in Brazil.

"In my city, we have a project there and I'm trying to put more money there to invest in people, invest in children because they are our future."

Jahreau Shepherd -- a pro MMA fighter who competed for Bellator in 2018 -- has died after officials say he was stabbed at his own 30th birthday party in London.

Shepherd was found bleeding with stab wounds around 10 pm on Saturday in the Kensington area, according to the Evening Standard -- and while emergency personnel rushed to the scene, they were unable to save him.

Earlier in the evening, Shepherd was celebrating at a backyard BBQ with friends and family ... including his mother and small children.

But, something went terribly wrong ... and later in the evening, Shepherd was reportedly attacked, suffering fatal wounds in the process.

A tribute to Shepherd has already sprung up at the site where he was killed -- with flowers and pictures.

Scotland Yard is treating Shepherd's death as a murder -- describing it as a "terrible attack" -- though so far, no arrests have been made.

Officials are asking for witnesses to come forward -- but it sounds like they have some leads.

Shepherd was 6-2 as a pro and earned a TKO victory over Marcin Zywica at a Bellator event in May 2018.

Coronavirus seems to have people wound up tight and ready to blow -- case in point, this road rage incident that turned into real-life "Street Fighter."

Check out these 2 dudes throwing down on what appears to be a residential road in Philly -- one of them is a younger guy, and the other is older. Either way, they're both hurling punches and trying to knock the other out.

The guy in the green shirt eventually got in one good hit on the other dude as he was trying to walk away. The guys recording it are hooting and hollering watching it go down, joking by saying they thought "white lives matter."

After the final devastating blow, green shirt hops on his motorcycle and zooms off down the street seconds later. Yeah, he was definitely ready to make a clean getaway ... no question.

Now, it's unclear what might've sparked this crazy road rage ... but in any case, it seems obvious that folks are ready to tussle at a moment's notice these days.

MMA star Lance Palmer has a message for the PFL fighting promotion ... give me a fight or let me out of my contract!!

Palmer is a 32-year-old 2-time winner (2018, 2019) of the Professional Fighters League's million-dollar tournament ... and hoped to earn another milli competing in this year's competition.

COVID-19 had other plans ... and when the virus hit the U.S., PFL execs pulled the plug on the season.

But, now that combat sports -- the UFC, Bellator, boxing -- are back ... Lance tells TMZ Sports he's done sitting on the sidelines watching other fighters earn a living.

"PFL needs to hold an event, and it needs to be before the year's end for the athletes that are under contract, or there needs to be a release of some sort."

Despite how it may sound, Palmer says he has a ton of respect for the people who run PFL ... and isn't trying to beef with them.

"There's no threat about it. It's more of, do the right thing, and let's get a fight scheduled."

FYI, Lance hasn't fought since Dec 2019 ... and says PFL doesn't plan on booking him a bout until next summer -- an 18-month layoff.

"More than making money, it's about competing in my prime. And, to have 18 months off, and to try and hold us out until next June for the actual season, I don't agree with it at all, and that's kinda when I'm speaking out for everybody on the roster at PFL."

Palmer says plenty of other fighting organizations and sports leagues have figured out how to safely hold events while keeping athletes safe and healthy ... so blaming the layoff on COVID-19 doesn't fly anymore.

"The excuse of the coronavirus isn't an excuse anymore. There are ways to go around it, and still make it safe for the athlete."

Demian Maia is the ONLY MAN who's fought both Kamaru Usman AND Jorge Masvidal ... and he's got a gut feeling about who's gonna win at UFC 251.

Remember Maia BEAT Jorge Masvidal back in May 2017 -- in a 3 round split decision.

But, he took an "L" to Usman when they clashed a year later in 2018 in a 5 round unanimous decision.

So, with both of Demian's former opponents set to do battle tonight on Fight Island, we had to ask ... WHO YA GOT?!

Short answer ... Kamaru Usman -- and here's why.

"Fights is all about styles and matchups. It doesn't mean that if I had a difficult time with Kamaru and I won against Jorge, doesn't mean that the same will reflect on the fight," Maia says.

"I think there's some things that makes this fight more Kamaru favorite for this fight. I think he's more well-rounded, he's a very good wrestler and he's also you know he had that full camp."

"Masvidal, ya know, he didn't have this camp, he just got this fight so that's why I think Kamaru is the favorite, but MMA is a crazy sport."

There's more ... Maia also told us how Jorge can upset the reigning welterweight champ in the UFC 251 main event.

Tyron Woodley isn’t ready to write off Mike Perry after that crazy fight video at a Texas restaurant -- and he’s asking the UFC fighter tell his side of the story before it’s too late.

Woodley admits the video is a horrible look for Perry -- but asks fans to try and withhold judgment until we hear from Perry himself.

Of course, Tyron and Perry have been friendly for years -- and while Woodley isn't justifying Mike's actions, he's asking to reserve judgment until we hear from Mike.

Tyron explains everything in this week's "Hollywood Beatdown" -- and tells us why he still believes Conor McGregor's violent outburst at a bar in Dublin last year was even worse.

Woodley also tells us what he thinks of UFC's Fight Island -- and even picks a winner in the Kamaru Usman vs. Jorge Masvidal fight.

"Even with the 'rona right now, I'll beat the sh*t out of Nate Diaz right now, if I had to."

That's UFC star Gilbert Burns -- who was pulled from UFC 251 for testing positive for coronavirus -- saying he's still down to scrap with Nate Diaz, even while being ravaged by COVID!!!

Yeah, this is some gangster stuff!

Long story short ... Burns was supposed to fight Kamaru Usman in the main event at Fight Island on Saturday -- but COVID killed those plans.

Instead, Jorge Masvidal is taking his place -- and Gilbert says he's super bummed out because he was REALLY looking forward to his title shot.

Still, Burns says he has faith that God has a plan for him -- "My time is gonna come."

In the meantime, Nate Diaz has talked some trash about Burns -- claiming his scrap with Usman wouldn't have been a "real fight."

"This guy is a clown," Burns says ... "I'm as real as it gets."

"If it wasn't for COVID-19, [Usman] would be my 3rd fight in 5 months. And, all tough fights, Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley and Kamaru Usman, the reigning champion."

"And, this guy [Diaz] comes from a loss that he gets beat up from Masvidal."

Burns says simply, "He's just talkin' sh*t ... he don't want no smoke from me."

So, what's next for Gilbert -- he hopes to fight the winner of Usman vs. Masvidal ... but if that doesn't work out, "I would love to beat the sh*t out of Nate Diaz."

As for Gilbert's COVID battle, he's feeling better but he's not out of the woods yet.

"I hope he gets help."

That's UFC fighter Dan Ige telling TMZ Sports why he's rooting for Mike Perry to get his life together after that horrible violent incident this week at a Texas restaurant.

As we previously reported, Perry -- a popular UFC fighter -- allegedly struck several people (including a woman and an older man) while leaving Table 82 in Lubbock.

Fact is, Perry is lucky he didn't kill anyone during the incident.

Perry isn't commenting on the incident -- but several people in the UFC world are concerned the fighter is heading down a dangerous path.

Count Ige as one of those people -- telling TMZ Sports, he REALLY hopes Perry can turn his life around before it's too late.

"Mike Perry is definitely battling some demons in my opinion," Ige says ... "I just feel like he needs some guidance. "

"I'm not trying to tell him how to live his life. But, it's sad. You don't want to see guys spiral downhill. And, I hope he gets help. I hope he gets himself on the right path."

There's more ... Ige is facing Calvin Kattar in the main event at "UFC Fight Night" on July 15 -- in a fight that could lead to a title shot down the line.

"Huge opportunity," Ige says ... "I'm going out there to prove I'm champion worthy."

Ige is on a 6-fight win streak -- and says he's FIRED UP about getting to throw down on Fight Island.

50 Cent flew into a rage, throwing a table and chair, after getting into it with a guy he's beefed with in the past.

The incident went down Wednesday night in the patio area at the Edgewater Commons Mall in Edgewater, NJ ... where the rapper was enjoying drinks with a woman sitting on the other end of the table.

We're told at some point a man outside walked up to 50's area and exchanged words before the incident turned violent. You can see in the video Fiddy grabbed a table and launched it in the man's direction. It ended up hitting a Lexus. Fiddy then picked up a chair and tossed it at the man, who at that point had ripped off his shirt looking for a fight. The man ultimately fled, and 50 and his companion also left ... hopping into his white Rolls-Royce.

Law enforcement tells us no arrests were made and they will NOT pursue charges.

'Platinum' Mike Perry -- a star in the UFC -- punched an elderly man in the face at a Texas restaurant Tuesday night in a violent, angry rage ... and the entire incident was caught on video.

Witnesses tell TMZ Sports ... the whole thing started when Perry got into a physical altercation with someone at his table at the Table 82 restaurant in Lubbock, TX around 10:30 PM on Tuesday night.

We're told a restaurant staffer approached Perry -- who had been ordering Berry Mojitos -- and asked him to leave the restaurant.

But instead of leaving, the witness says Perry PUNCHED the employee in the eye. We're told the employee suffered injuries.

That's when our video begins ... you can see people -- including Perry's girlfriend -- are trying to get Mike to leave the restaurant, but he won't go peacefully and drops several N-bombs on the way out.

It doesn't appear the N-word was directed at any Black people in the restaurant -- Perry is known to casually throw the word around in daily conversation.

As Perry and his GF left the dining area and walked outside, several men followed him out ... and things again escalated.

One of the older men got too close to Perry and Mike swung -- connecting with a haymaker from his right hand.

The older man went down -- and we're told he was later transported to a hospital with injuries.

As for Perry, he sat down on a ledge and challenged witnesses to call police -- which they did.

When cops arrived, we're told a report was taken but Perry was NOT arrested. We're still trying to get more info from law enforcement.

Aside from the alleged battery, we're told Perry also left without paying his bill and sources tell us the restaurant is considering pursuing a theft charge.

We reached out to Table 82 for comment and a rep for the restaurant told us, "Pending the criminal investigation, we prefer not to comment further because one of the victims was an employee of our company who had asked Mr. Perry to leave."

We reached out to Perry for comment but didn't hear back. However he did offer an official "no comment" on his Twitter page.

Perry is 14-6 as a professional MMA fighter -- defeating Mickey Gall on June 27 ... with his GF acting as his cornerman.

The whole incident reminds us of Conor McGregor -- who also punched an elderly man at a pub in Ireland back in 2019.

"Stop being a little salty bastard, get over [losing to me], 'cause I'm gonna do it again this weekend."

That's Alex Volkanovski comin' for Max Holloway's neck -- officially putting an end to their buddy-buddy relationship -- only days before their massive UFC 251 scrap on Fight Island.

The champ and former champ were super cool with each other ... but that all officially stopped when TMZ Sports talked to the 31-year-old featherweight titleholder, and asked if it'll be hard to hurt someone he likes.

"To be honest with ya, I don't go out to ever hurt my opponent, but we've got a job to do. I'm gonna punch his face either way, I'm gonna punch his head through the canvas is what I plan on doing."

Now, cue the beef.

"To be honest, he's sorta showing a side of himself that I haven't really seen before. Some of the things he's saying," AV says ... "He sounds like he's a little sour, he sounds a little salty about losing. Some of the things he's saying take me by surprise."

"I didn't take him to be a guy like that, to be a bit of a sore loser, I feel like I'm getting that out of him. But, again if he wants to act like that, so be it, it'll make punching him in the face even easier."

FYI, Volkanovski beat 28-year-old Holloway -- regarded by many as the greatest featherweight ever -- via unanimous decision in December 2019.

It's unclear exactly what Max -- who is seeking to avenge the L -- said to get Alex so fired up ... but the champ's adamant Saturday night will be less about revenge, and more about Holloway getting his head punched in.

"I can see myself hurting him, getting him to the ground, and if he's still going, just punching the head through the canvas."

Uh, yeaaaaaa, safe to say these guys ain't buds anymore.

Sorry, Kamaru Usman ... your UFC 251 fight against Jorge Masvidal will NOT be for the BMF title -- so says Dana White.

Of course, Jorge won the BMF title in his UFC 244 (Nov. 2019) victory over Nate Diaz -- with UFC spending a TON of cash (around $50k) to get a special championship belt made.

Jorge hasn't fought since ... and now that he's finally getting back in the octagon, everyone wants to know if he's putting that belt on the line!

In fact, Usman -- the reigning UFC welterweight champ -- recently told us how BADLY he wants that belt.

But, bad news for Kamaru ... Dana says it ain't happening.

"It's not on the line," White tells TMZ Sports ... "Usman wants it to be on the line so bad, he will not stop texting me saying, 'I don't understand why this belt isn't on the line! This guy's running around saying he's the BMF champ!'"

"[Kamaru's] like, 'I wanna squash it all. [Masvidal's] not gonna win my title and I'm gonna take his BMF belt!'"

"Believe me," Dana says ... Usman has not stopped terrorizing me about this."

White says the BMF title fight was a "one and done" -- so, basically ... it's been retired.

There's a lot more ... Dana also tells us how he was able to put the Usman vs. Masvidal fight together so quickly after Gilbert Burns dropped out due to a positive COVID-19 test -- and if he ever considered using Colby Covington as a replacement fighter.

The whole thing goes down on July 11 at UFC 251 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi ... and White tells us, he's so excited about the location, he's looking to buy a house there!

White says he's planning to return to "Fight Island" for more UFC events after the initial 4-event run in July ... and confirms it will be a regular location for the UFC for years to come.

Video has surfaced of a violent confrontation at a Dick's Sporting Goods store where a customer was punched and put in a chokehold ... all over a candy bar.

It went down in Toledo, Ohio Thursday. Cops say they received a call from an employee at the store that a customer -- 36-year-old Aaron Buckenmeyer -- had stolen some merchandise.

The video begins with Buckenmeyer and an employee are standing toe-to-toe when the employee delivers a crushing blow that sends Buckenmeyer to the ground.

The employee told cops Buckenmeyer had headbutted him and that's what provoked the punches.

You see Buckenmeyer in a chokehold. The employee claims during the takedown Buckenmeyer was grabbing him by the genitals.

As for Buckenmeyer ... he repeatedly told the employee he had asthma and couldn't breathe.

In the end ... it appears the incident was triggered by a candy bar Buckenmeyer had put in a bag that fell out during the confrontation.

The Mystic Quality Inn in Stonington, Connecticut was the site of a brutal attack against a black woman, and she's lawyered up for justice.

Chrystal Caldwell was working the front desk when a guest reportedly called, complaining there was no hot water in his room. He also allegedly threatened Chrystal, warning her his girlfriend would "kick her ass." She says she offered to send someone to fix the problem or alternatively, to switch their room, but they were outraged ... calling her names, including "monkey."

The man and his girlfriend reportedly barreled down to the lobby area and attacked her with multiple punches to the head and kicks to the back. She says he used racial slurs as he pummeled her.

Chrystal, who has worked at the hotel for 7 years, says her injuries include a concussion.

Liliana Barrios -- who starred in a couple of seasons of "Black Ink Crew: Chicago" -- allegedly went on a violent rage after catching her GF in bed with another woman ... this according to cops who arrested her for assault.

The incident went down June 3 in San Antonio where cops say Barrios and her GF got into a verbal altercation at their apartment before it turned violent ... this according to a police report obtained by TMZ.

Cops say during the argument, Barrios decided to take off for the night. When she returned the next day to pick up clothes, cops say Barrios got heated after catching her 22-year-old GF in bed with another woman ... triggering another argument.

Cops allege Barrios pushed her GF onto the couch and a struggle ensued ... with Barrios allegedly scratching her GF's neck, arm and biting her right leg. The officer claims they observed scratches and abrasions on the GF's right knee. Cops say Barrios was the aggressor and “intentionally and knowingly caused bodily injury."

Barrios -- the ex-GF of a recurring cast member on 'Black Ink' from seasons 2 to 5 -- was arrested for assault/bodily injury on a cohabitant.