Fights

UFC fighter Uriah Hall says he suffered a "slight heart attack" and "mini-seizure" the day before his fight with Vitor Belfort at UFC Fight Night: St Louis ... and doctors told him he's lucky to be alive.

"The doctor even said that even if I had made weight I probably would have died the next day because my body just wasn’t having it," Uriah said in an Instagram Live video.

Hall says his health scares were due to an injury that hindered his weight cut ... and he's refuting Dana White's claim that he was partying in L.A. -- insisting he was taking his training 100% serious.

The day before the event, the former 'TUF' finalist fainted on his way to the scale and was transported to a local hospital.

It ain't too often you see off-court action like Rockets vs. Clippers ... but Jermaine O'Neal says when he balled, some players would make it a point to meet in the locker room.

"We've had a couple guys in the past that will make it known that if you camera talkers then we'll see you in the back," O'Neal told TMZ Sports. "Things a little bit different now."

Jermaine -- who was in the infamous "Malice at the Palace" brawl -- says players still gotta be careful what they say, and more importantly, WHO they say it to ... but clearly thinks his era was tougher.

No disagreements here.

Bonus: We also got Tracy McGrady to weigh in on Rockets-Clippers, and he told us why he's A-Ok with (most of) what went down.

NBA players need to stop throwing punches and start shaking hands ... so says the guy who knows firsthand what can happen when you get in a fight on the court.

TMZ Sports spoke with L.A. Clippers star Danilo Gallinari ... who broke his hand throwing a punch in an exhibition in Italy this past off-season. He was also present when the Clips got in a scuffle with the Rockets earlier this week.

D.G. says he's vowed to stop the violence ever since the summer incident ... and says the rest of the NBA should follow his lead if they know what's best for 'em.

We also asked about whether Austin Rivers can actually scrap or if he's all talk ... and you gotta check out his answer.

UFC pound-for-pound king Demetrious Johnson says it's "an honor" Anderson Silva called him the greatest fighter of all time -- but tells TMZ Sports he does NOT think he's G.O.A.T. status.

That said, when the guys on "TMZ Sports" (airs weeknights on FS1) really pressed the flyweight champ for an answer -- he did admit he's getting close.

"I don't believe that," Demetrious told us ... before adding, "I do believe that I have, out of all the champions and all the opposition I've fought ... it's getting there."

FYI -- Mighty Mouse recently broke Anderson's UFC title defense record with his 11th straight ... but dude might be too humble to ever say he's the best.

UFC champ Tyron Woodley recently told Joe Rogan he doesn't really like fighting, "I'm just good at it."

Yeah, that's not true. He LOVES it.

Especially when he's smashing dudes out of consciousness.

Woodley clarified his comments on "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... waxing poetically about why there's no better feeling in the world than knocking an opponent out cold.

Make sure to check the full ep. when it drops on Friday (subscribe to the TMZ Sports YouTube page) -- when Tyron talks about how his beef with Conor McGregor got very real.

Meantime, here's a video of Woodley doing what he does best ... destroying people.

Clippers honcho Jerry West says the incident with the Houston Rockets is "just one of those things that happens in sports" ... and chalks it all up to emotions and testosterone.

TMZ Sports spoke with The Logo in Bev Hills ... and he told us he's not worried about beefing up security at Staples Center after the alleged post-game altercation that went down earlier this week.

West also praised Houston's Chris Paul -- and said the former Clippers player is "somebody that I care about a lot."

West shot down the Arron Afflalo vs. Nemanja Bjelica incident as a "fake fight" too ... because Afflalo didn't land his haymaker punch!!!

Killers frontman Brandon Flowers stopped the band's concert Tuesday night after a fight broke out in the front row, but what's even more amazing is how the band jumped right back into the song.

Flowers and co. were about 3 songs in at the United Center in Chicago when he put the brakes on the set because 2 guys were going at it in the front row. The band was performing "Somebody Told Me" when Flowers told them to stop ... so kinda perfect timing, if you think about it.

Matt Barnes is sounding off on everything from NBA fighting, to the NBA refs sucking, to calling Austin Rivers an arrogant punk ... and he doesn't care who knows it.

The recently retired NBA star went off on the NBA refs on Tuesday night -- telling TMZ Sports straight-up, "Now that they can't fine me, the refs are terrible!" The refs got too big of egos."

He also said why NBA fighting can be good for the league.

As for his former Clippers teammate, Austin Rivers ... buckle up.

"Austin kinda rubs people the wrong way," Barnes told "Mad Dog Sports Radio" ... "He talks a lot of trash and doesn't really back it up. I think people are probably tired of that."

Barnes says Rivers "carries himself like he's a 10-time All Star and he's not that and that kind of arrogance rubs you the wrong way."

"And then if you're talking trash on top of that there are some guys that's not gonna have it and I know Trevor [Ariza's] one of 'em."

What's worse than being brutally KO'd by a juiced-up Jon Jones??

For Daniel Cormier, you'd assume the answer would be "nothing" ... but the UFC light heavyweight champ told us dropping his fight at UFC 220 this weekend could be even more painful.

"As bad as July was, it can actually be worse if it happens again," Cormier told TMZ Sports.

"My motivation is not only competition, but to avoid feeling like I felt in July, and putting ... everybody that's close to me through the disappointment that we felt."

Daniel told us how he plans on getting the job done ... and says once he's finished with #1 contender Volkan Oezdemir, there will absolutely be a 3rd fight between him and Jones.

FYI, Jon's still waiting to find out how long he'll be sidelined.

Naya Rivera's off the hook for allegedly attacking her husband ... TMZ has learned.

According to the Kanawha County Magistrate Court's office in West Virginia ... Rivera's domestic battery charge was dismissed Friday, January 12.

Prosecutors tell us the case was dropped because her estranged husband, Ryan Dorsey, does not want to go forward with pressing charges.

As we reported ... Naya was arrested Thanksgiving weekend in Chesapeake, WV after Dorsey called cops to report her for hitting him. Law enforcement told us the couple was arguing over their child.

She filed for divorce from Dorsey a little more than a week after the incident.

She may have lost the fight ... but Paige VanZant once again proved she's tough as hell -- fighting 2 more rounds after BREAKING HER ARM!

The former "Dancing with the Stars" finalist cracked her right arm while throwing a spinning back fist at Jessica-Rose Clark at UFC Fight Night 124 on Sunday. She was obviously in pain but refused to stop the fight.

In fact, Paige battled for 2 more rounds -- throwing punches with the broken arm!!!

In the end, PVZ lost the fight (props to Clark) ... but damn -- impressive.

"I’ll be back better and stronger than ever," Paige wrote on Instagram ... "It’s all apart of the fight game. God had other plans for me. Darn spinning back fist."

Here's something you don't hear everyday -- a UFC Hall of Famer saying Conor McGregor's next fight should be in BOXING, not MMA!

"If he's a smart guy he should keep on boxing -- that's what I would do," Bas Rutten told TMZ Sports.

Don't get it twisted -- Bas says he wants to see Conor come back and defend his UFC lightweight belt ... but at the same time, thinks it'd be crazy for McGregor to leave Manny Pacquiao/Floyd Mayweather money on the table.

FYI, McGregor told us he wants an MMA fight next ... but would he really turn down another HUGE payday??

Khabib Nurmagomedov wrestles bears, mauls human beings and is by all rights the scariest fighter on the planet.

But the 145-pound UFC champ, Max Holloway, ain't even a little intimidated -- telling TMZ Sports he'd be happy to move up a weight class to throw down with the Russian monster.

"That’s the kind of guy you want to fight to cement your legacy," Max said. "If you wanna be the best you gotta beat the best."

Even Tyron Woodley -- the UFC 170-pound champ -- doesn't want anything to do with Khabib ... so props to Max for being a badass.

Move over, Floyd Mayweather ... Oscar De La Hoya says he's the guy to partner with Dana White to book "the biggest fights" in boxing -- if the UFC prez will give him a damn call!

You've probably heard -- Dana says he's gonna promote boxing in 2018 ... and told us he's meeting with the sport's more powerful people (including Floyd) to make it happen.

But one guy he hasn't hit up is Oscar -- and De La Hoya doesn't seem too happy about it.

"It's surprising he wants to get into boxing and hasn't gotten a hold of the biggest promoter in the sport," DLH told TMZ Sports out in L.A., where he was promoting his Casa Mexico tequila.

But Oscar -- who we shot earlier this week -- says he's still open to doing business ... unless White wants to play hardball.

"It's gonna be very hard to try and do what he did with the UFC because there's a little company by the name of Golden Boy Promotions is in the way."

Jerry Rice's daughter, Jada, claims her NFL player ex-boyfriend, Jeremy Liggins, choked her during an argument at an Indiana hotel last month ... but he denies the accusation, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to the police report, Rice, 21, and Liggins -- a 24-year-old DT who was on the Colts at the time -- got into a verbal fight early in the morning on December 16 after a night of clubbing. Rice was upset about other women approaching Liggins throughout the night.

Rice claims she confronted Liggins around 2 AM and the argument turned physical ... with him shoving her. Rice says she then grabbed his gold chain, destroying it in the process.

In fear for her safety, Rice says she fled to the bathroom ... but Liggins followed, breaking down the door before grabbing her by her hair and dragging her into the bedroom.

Ronda Rousey may be an all-time great inside the Octagon -- but WWE superstar Enzo Amore says it's gonna be a painful transition for her if and when she steps into the ring.

"She's in for a rude awakening," Enzo told TMZ Sports.

"You ever been put through a table, slammed on concrete? It's a different ball game."

Don't get it twisted -- Enzo respects the hell outta Ronda ... and even told us she's got the tools to be a kick-ass pro wrestler.

That said, when we told him about Rousey's private meeting with Triple H -- a sign that a deal might be close -- he wanted to make it clear that crossing over to wrestling is no joke.

He ain't lying ...