Fights

Floyd Mayweather's budding MMA career is starting to get some support ... because now a combat sports expert is telling the world not to bet against Floyd being a force in the UFC one day.

We talked to Showtime boxing host Jim Gray on a rainy night in L.A., and when we brought up the idea of Floyd's 8-month transition into the Octagon ... Jim cautioned against writing Money off.

"Don't ever bet against Floyd Mayweather in anything, he's 50-0."

We get you Jim, but when you say ANYTHING, we're wondering WHERE IT STOPS?! Floyd in the NBA? Floyd in the NFL? Floyd as a figure skater in the next Winter Olympics? What can we rule out?

Floyd Mayweather says it'll take him 6-8 months to be an MMA star ... and according to UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley, that journey starts NEXT WEEK!!

The welterweight champ joined the guys on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... and the conversation of course turned to Floyd's preparation for his new career.

It was Woodley who first broke the news Floyd was serious about training on "The Hollywood Beatdown" ... Mayweather then confirmed it when we got him out in L.A. ... and now it's time to get things poppin'.

"I think we're gonna start most of it next week. I think we're gonna start some of the strategy talks next week and we might get some sessions in as well."

With that being said ... T.W. breaks down exactly what they're gonna focus on.

"He does not have to go out there and start learning how to kick like Bruce Lee. He does not have to go out there and become a black belt over night."

3:22 PM PT -- Beckham Jr. vehemently denies the allegations, and issued the following statement through his attorney, Daniel Davillier:

"Ishmael Temple has expressly acknowledged in his own lawsuit that Odell Beckham, Jr. never once touched him; and yet, Mr. Beckham is being sued for an alleged altercation that definitively did not involve him at all."

In the statement, Beckham's legal team also claims Mr. Temple arrived at the party drunk, belligerent and made threats to several attendees ... at which point he was repeatedly asked to leave. They claim he was repeatedly asked to leave, and got into a fight -- but NOT with Odell -- and was then escorted off the premises.

They point out, Temple himself says Odell wasn't involved in the physical altercation -- but they claim he demanded money from Odell.

Davillier added, “This guy claims somebody assaulted him to near death, but there’s no police report, no hospital record, no evidence of an actual injury, and he asserts that Odell is responsible. This is clearly a frivolous lawsuit. We’ll see him in court.”

Odell Beckham Jr. is being sued by a guy who claims all he did was go to Beckham's house and he got the crap beaten out of him.

Ishmael Temple claims in a new lawsuit he's been friends with Beckham. Temple claims he was invited to Beckham's home in January. He says he was shaking hands with people inside the home and went for the hand of Beckham's hired muscle, Charles Puryear, when the bodyguard pulled out a gun and pointed it toward him, saying, "I bet you've never gotten shot before."

Temple says he then pulled Beckham aside to tell him what happened and says Beckham just laughed it off and told him to relax. He says 20 minutes later, when he was ready to leave, another guy punched him in the back of the head and Puryear joined in, stomping Temple.

Temple says he blacked out and woke up to kicks to his face and Beckham did not order security to stop.

He says the beating stemmed from an incident the week before, when he says Beckham's security verbally assaulted him when he sought to retrieve his phone from Beckham's house. He thinks security resents him because, "as a Hollywood social event organizer, [he] knew many of the female ladies present at Beckham's residence."

Temple says he was beaten to a pulp ... his 2 front teeth got chipped and his lip was busted. He says his earring got ripped out of his ear and his knee got messed up.

Temple says he's spent $18k just to fix his teeth.

And there's more ... Temple, an event organizer, says he's been blacklisted as a result of the fight.

Senator Cory Booker thinks President Donald Trump and Joe Biden should take a cue from his own icy duel with Senator Jeff Flake ... and that, he thinks, could be a battle for the ages.

We got the New Jersey Dem on Capitol Hill Thursday and asked where his snowball fight with Flake ranks on the all-time list of political battles ... Hamilton vs. Burr, maybe

Booker tells us he's down for a rematch with the Arizona Senator, but only if the weather allows. If not ... he says they'll have to get creative.

Donald Trump apparently can't figure out when someone is clearly joking, because he took Joe Biden's sardonic, high school-like pugilistic challenge as serious, and the President of the United States just responded by saying he could kick the former Veep's ass.

Biden joked Tuesday at the University of Miami, "If we were in high school, I'd take him behind the gym and beat the hell out of him," adding, "Any guy that talked that way was usually the fattest, ugliest S.O.B. in the room."

Trump just went nuts on his social media platform of choice, firing back, "Crazy Joe Biden is trying to act like a tough guy. Actually, he is weak, both mentally and physically, and yet he threatens me, for the second time, with physical assault."

But that wasn't the end ... get this: "He doesn't know me, but he would go down fast and hard, crying all the way. Don't threaten people Joe!"

Milton Bradley's in trouble with the law -- charged with battery -- for allegedly beating up a woman he's married to once again ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We broke the story ... cops were called to Bradley's L.A. home back in January. When they arrived, his wife told them Bradley roughed her up during an argument ... before fleeing the scene.

Officials investigated ... and the L.A. City Attorney decided to charge the ex-MLB All-Star with battery on a spouse -- a misdemeanor. If convicted, M.B. could face up to a year in jail ... and a fine.

FYI -- this ain't Bradley's 1st brush with the law ... he spent 15 months behind bars after he was convicted of beating up his previous wife.

UFC star Dominick Cruz thinks it's an absolute joke Floyd Mayweather says he can get Octagon ready by the end of 2018 ... saying he'd crush Floyd with 1 ARM if he made the move that quickly.

"He's only got 2 tools -- he doesn't have the other 8," Cruz told the guys on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs tonight on FS1).

FYI, Floyd recently told us he's applying for a pro MMA license -- and set 6 to 8 months as his timetable for getting ready to rumble with a UFC foe (probably Conor McGregor).

Dom says Mayweather would be lucky if he could nail JUST takedown defense in that amount of time ... and that's if he puts in consistent work with UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley -- a stud college wrestler.

Sounds like fightin' words to us -- your move, Floyd.

Floyd Mayweather told us he's dead serious about fighting in the UFC ... and now, he says he's taking the most important step to make sure that happens -- getting a license.

We got Floyd in L.A. earlier this week ... and he told TMZ Sports he's planning to submit the paperwork to get licensed as a pro MMA fighter. We're guessing he's eyeing Nevada.

"Everything takes time. Eventually, we're gonna apply for the license, and hopefully we can fight," Mayweather said.

No word on when exactly Floyd's applying -- or beginning his MMA training with UFC champ Tyron Woodley -- but TBE did give us an estimate on how long he'll need to get Octagon ready.

"Even if it takes 6 to 8 months -- whatever it takes. We want to make sure that everything is done correctly."

Tommy Lee's reached the point of no return -- even if he changes his mind about wanting his son, Brandon Lee, prosecuted for battery ... the case is headed to the D.A.'s office.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. is on the verge of wrapping up its investigation into the incident where Brandon punched his dad during an argument. Tommy claims he got sucker-punched, but Brandon says it was self-defense.

We're told Brandon's been cooperating throughout the investigation. Once the Sheriff kicks the case to the D.A.'s office, Brandon will find out what, if any, charges he's facing.

TMZ broke the story ... Tommy wants to go forward with a criminal complaint, and even got a restraining order against his son. Tommy's fiancee, Brittany Furlan, called 911 after the punch and said Brandon knocked Tommy unconscious.

WWE Hall of Fame inductee Hillbilly Jim says he'd be PUMPED if his old mentor, Hulk Hogan, enshrined him into the Hall ... since he owes his career to the Hulkster.

"When I first came into the business, to get brushed up against the guy that was the most popular wrestler on earth ... it was wonderful what he did for me," Jim told TMZ Sports.

Hillbilly was just announced as part of WWE's 2018 HOF class ... and he told us the news was so shocking, it damn near knocked him on his ass.

HBJ says the only thing cooler than joining all his wrestling buds in the Hall would be Hulk himself doing the honors at WrestleMania 34 weekend in April.

Only problem -- the WWE recently restated it won't work with Hulk 'cause of his 2015 N-word fiasco. Hogan, for his part, recently told us they're working toward a resolution.

Lil Xan's been getting flak from the hip-hop community all week for calling Tupac's music "boring" ... and it seems the criticism's escalated to real-life harassment.

According to a police report -- obtained by TMZ -- the rapper was at a Del Taco in his hometown of Redlands, CA Thursday afternoon when he was surrounded by a group of high school-aged kids who were upset over his comments about Tupac.

There wasn't a physical fight, but the hostile environment was apparently enough to make Lil Xan run to a nearby YMCA ... where an officer picked him up and escorted him to his car safely.

The report says the large crowd was gathered at the Del Taco for a possible girl fight after school ... so the rapper possibly got caught in the middle of the frenzy. We're told no crime was committed against him, though.

Lil Xan was in town for a meet-and-greet Thursday night, but the way he was greeted is in stark contrast to the last time we saw the "Betrayed" rapper ... when he was flanked by adoring fans in NYC.

Floyd Mayweather's protege is gunnin' for the Octagon, too -- and if he gets the chance to cross over, he says he'll beat ANY UFC FIGHTER in his division.

Boxing star Gervonta "Tank" Davis -- the co-headliner for Mayweather vs. McGregor -- has been going back-and-forth with a bunch of UFC guys on social media ... after hinting he'd be down for an MMA fight like his mentor.

We caught up with Tank to see if he's really down -- and he let us know what's up.

"If the opportunity's up for grabs then I'm definitely willing to fight any one of them guys near my weight class," Davis told TMZ Sports. "Dana White, I'm waiting on your call, baby."

FYI, Gervonta fights at 130 pounds -- around the same weight as killers like Demetrious Johnson, Cody Garbrandt and T.J. Dillashaw.

As for Floyd -- Tank told us why he thinks a Conor rematch could be in the cards ...

The woman who was brutalized by baseball player Danry Vasquez says she regrets not pressing charges against him ... and prays that he's a changed man for the sake of his new wife.

Fabiana Perez spoke with Univision and confirms the two did not break up until months after the 2016 attack. Vasquez got engaged to a new woman in Nov. 2017 and they're now married.

Perez says the two had been together for 6 years and were engaged at the time of the incident.

As we previously reported, Perez was not cooperative with prosecutors and lobbied the district attorney to let Vasquez slide.

Now, Perez says she regrets her actions ... and had this message about Vasquez:

"May God forgive him. He knows what he did. He wronged me, and at the time I forgave him, but if I had the knowledge I have now, I would have made a different decision."

As for people who criticized her for staying with Vasquez after the attack, Perez had this to say:

"It’s true what they say: you need to walk a mile in someone’s shoes to know how you’d feel in their situation. People don’t know the stuff that I lived, people don’t know the fear that I suffered."

Justin Verlander is going OFF on woman-beating baseball player Danry Vasquez -- essentially saying he's a piece of trash who doesn't deserve to play baseball ever again.

"(Middle finger emoji) you man," Verlander posted on Twitter ... "I hope the rest of your life without baseball is horrible. You deserve all that is coming your way!"

There's a connection here ... Verlander currently plays for the Astros and Vasquez was a member of the Houston farm system at the time of the 2016 attack.

As we previously reported, Vasquez repeatedly brutalized his girlfriend in the stairwell at Whataburger Stadium in Texas while a member of the Corpus Christi Hooks ... Houston's AA minor league team.

The 'Stros organization released Vasquez right after the arrest. But he was picked up by another team in Pennsylvania which JUST fired him this week when the beating video went public.

Vasquez only got a slap on the wrist from prosecutors -- he was only ordered to complete anger management (which he did) and his case has since been dismissed.

But Verlander isn't the only Astros star who's pissed about the Vasquez situation -- Houston pitcher Lance McCullers says the guy should have been thrown behind bars.

Danry Vasquez did stay engaged to his girlfriend for months after the August 2016 beating -- but eventually they broke up and he has since married a new woman.

Vasquez posted a photo with his beating victim in Oct. 2016 showing the two smiling together and described her as "the person who is always with me in the good and the not so good!"

But now we're told they broke up after that -- and Vasquez began dating a new woman.

With regard to the beating victim ... we spoke with Danry's attorney who tells TMZ Sports, "I recall conversations about the extreme stress he was under and the pressures to perform that he was young. Came to USA at a young age with no parents (accommodating him) and no guidance ... just his dreams. She never excused his behavior just loved him enough to believe they could move forward."

Danry got engaged to a new woman in Nov. 2017 and in an interview with elemergente.com, he explained the situation.

"I am currently married, and not with the girl with whom I had the incident."

Things got a little TOO real on Mike Tyson's movie set -- when the 51-year-old accidentally socked UFC star Fabricio Werdum with an actual punch ... and almost shattered his nose!

Mike and Werdum were shooting a fight scene for Jean-Claude Van Damme's new "Kickboxer: Retaliation" when Mike miscalculated ... and REALLY punched Werdum.

"Accident, but he punched me," Werdum tells TMZ Sports ... "almost broke my nose."

Werdum says the punch almost knocked him down -- but he let it slide because Mike was a super nice guy on set.

"It's good 'cause he's Mike Tyson!!"

If ya wanna see Werdum throw hands for real, he's fighting at UFC Fight Night: London this Saturday ... taking on Alexander Volkov in the main event.

Fabricio says he's getting his belt back after the Volkov fight -- but does he think he's gonna take on Stipe Miocic or Daniel Cormier??

We asked. Werdum answered.