Fights

Greg Hardy just destroyed a grown-ass man in 17 seconds in his second UFC fight ... and Dana White is fired up!

Hardy -- the former NFL star -- had already won a UFC contract on Dana's Tuesday night contender series back in June, but Dana wanted to book him a second fight on the show to get him more experience.

So, Hardy stepped in the Octagon again Tuesday night against Tebaris Gordon, and if you blinked ... you missed Hardy unleash an epic can of whoop ass that resulted in another ferocious victory.

Hardy has only had a handful of MMA fights since he decided to focus on becoming a pro fighter -- but he's destroyed every single opponent he's faced. Dana has previously told us he wants to get Hardy more fights before putting him on a major UFC card.

UFC champ Henry Cejudo -- the guy who beat Demetrious Johnson -- says he's flattered Mark Wahlberg thinks his life story could be a movie ... and says he knows exactly who should play him!

MARIO LOPEZ!!

Cejudo's story is pretty amazing -- he grew up poor in South Central L.A. ... one of 7 children ... his drug-addicted father was deported and died when Henry was 20.

But, he worked like hell to be one of the best wrestlers in the world -- and won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Games when he was only 21.

Then on Saturday -- at age 31 -- he beat DJ (one of the greatest UFC fighters ever) to win the UFC flyweight title. Amazing.

Wahlberg told us Cejudo's story has movie potential ... and he would know. And, you can tell Henry is super flattered.

Jake Paul ain't just training for his superfight with YouTube star Deji by pummeling his friends in his living room boxing ring ... he tells TMZ Sports he's getting LEGIT coaching from "Sugar" Shane Mosley too!

We got the Internet sensation (and his smokin' hot GF, Erika Costell) leaving a workout with world class trainer Phil Paolina in the Valley on Monday when he revealed one of boxing's all-time greats is giving him pointers.

He says there are others in his corner as well -- including his own version of Mr. Miyagi -- all getting him ready for the Aug. 25 fight that could be bigger than McGregor-Mayweather.

Sorry, Ronda, Rampage, Lesnar and Liddell -- any fight you've ever had won't even come close to what goes down in October between Conor and Khabib ... so says Mark Wahlberg.

Wahlberg was out in Bev Hills where he told us there's never been a more anticipated fight in UFC history than the upcoming McGregor-Nurmagomedov superfight at UFC 229.

In fact ... Wahlberg says it's gonna make the two fighters (and Dana White) some SERIOUS bank.

"This is going to be the biggest pay-per-view fight in the history of UFC," Mark tells TMZ Sports -- and that's great news for him since he's a UFC minority owner.

FYI ... McGregor reportedly holds 4 of the top 5 most-bought UFC fights ever -- with his rematch against Nate Diaz at UFC 202 topping the charts.

Ronda Rousey destroyed TWO chicks at the same time Monday night -- punishing WWE Raw champ Alexa Bliss and then making Alicia Fox tap out!!

It all went down in Jacksonville, Florida -- where Ronda wrestled her first ever match on Monday Night Raw. She came out to her theme song, "Bad Reputation," by Joan Jett and the crowd went nuts.

Bliss and Fox were inside the ring -- talking A LOT of trash after Fox slammed Rousey into a wall last week -- and Ronda was hell-bent on revenge ... and she got it.

Rousey is a beast in the ring -- bigger, stronger and more athletic than both Bliss and Fox combined and it's pretty awesome to watch her dominate.

T.J. Dillashaw is the GREATEST martial artist to ever walk the face of planet earth ... so says the UFC bantamweight champ's coach.

T.J.'s coach Duane Ludwig tells TMZ Sports ... not only is his fighter a champion ... but he's the best freakin' fighter to ever live.

"There's been no greater martial artist ever in the time of human history than T.J. Dillashaw right now, and he's continuing to get better."

FYI -- Ludwig was a coach at Alpha Male (Urijah Faber and Cody Garbrandt's team) ... before leaving and taking Dillashaw with him -- igniting the beef between the squads.

There is 1 legendary martial artist who Ludwig thinks T.J. resembles -- "He is literally the real life Bruce Lee."

Ex-Oakland Raiders star CB Sean Smith is slated to be released from jail next month -- after serving less than half of his year-long sentence in his street fight case ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported ... Sean got 1 year in jail and 5 years probation after pleading guilty to felony assault in a July 2017 incident where he beat the hell out of his sister's boyfriend in Old Town Pasadena. The victim suffered several major injuries in the attack.

But now, officials have set his release date as Sept. 5 -- about half a year earlier than sentenced -- citing good behavior and overcrowding.

Of course, Smith could screw it all up if he doesn't keep his nose clean -- but we're told if all goes smoothly, Smith will be a free man ... 1 day before the NFL season kicks off.

The timing is a huge deal for Sean -- who signed a $40 million contract with the Raiders in 2016 but was cut later after the attack -- because it may give him a chance to make a squad this year.

We've reached out to the NFL to find out if Smith will have to serve a suspension (he most likely will) ... or if he'll be eligible at all to play in the 2018 season.

UFC flyweight champ Henry Cejudo -- the man who defeated Demetrious Johnson -- tells TMZ Sports he's ALL THE WAY DOWN for a rematch ... saying, "Let's make it happen, baby!"

Cejudo was pushing his newly earned UFC belt around on Sunday in a stroller -- calling it his "baby." It's pretty hilarious.

But, when we got down to Henry's fighting future after shocking the world on Saturday night, Cejudo told us he wants the biggest money fights available ... whether it's a rematch or a fight with T.J. Dillashaw.

Dillashaw -- the bantamweight champ -- seemed to accept Cejudo's challenge after he defeated Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227 ... and Cejudo wants to make sure he follows through.

No matter who Cejudo fights, he's fired up about his future -- and for good reason.

TJ Dillashaw took care of business in short order Saturday night, knocking out mortal enemy Cody Garbrandt for a second time ... and retaining his bantamweight title.

The bad blood between the 2 fighters was evident ... they didn't touch gloves when the fight began and both were clearly out for blood. TJ took the title from Cody last November and for Cody -- this was a revenge fight.

TJ ended the fight flurry with a flurry of punches at 4:10 of the first round.

Henry Cejudo stunned everyone with a split decision win over Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson. It's all the more impressive because Mighty Mouse hadn't lost a fight in nearly 7 years and was widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

DJ had staved off 11 fighters in a row in title fights ... until Saturday night at the Staples Center in downtown L.A.

Donald Trump might claim he's doing wonders for the U.S. economy, but that's total BS when it comes to a couple businesses close to the Prez ... ident's Walk of Fame star.

Employees from Forever 21 and American Eagle in Hollywood tell TMZ ... business has not been booming lately, and they're placing the blame squarely on the Trump star on the sidewalk in front of their entrances.

Forever 21 folks say issues with the star -- including its destruction by another guy with a pickax and brawls breaking out -- have scared tourists off. We're told the stores have experienced a significant drop in revenue.

American Eagle workers say July is usually their busiest month, but that wasn't the case this summer. The store constantly contacts cops about crowds in front ... there for the star and not shopping.

An AE employee says Trump's star literally hijacks attention from the store, and business has actually suffered since Trump was sworn in.

Jack Osbourne was immediately regretful for decking his estranged wife's new boyfriend ... and he's already trying to smooth things over with the guy.

Sources close to Jack tell TMZ ... right after he delivered a head punch to Lisa Osbourne's BF, Michael Gabel, Jack called to say sorry. We're told Michael accepted the apology, which definitely worked in Jack's favor.

As we first reported, Michael decided not to press charges against Jack.

Our sources say Jack was blindsided when he saw Michael at the house with Lisa, because he had no idea she was dating anyone. We're told he just let his emotions get the best of him.

As we reported ... Lisa filed for divorce in May, just months after the couple had their third child. Days later, it looked like they were keeping things copacetic.

The UFC will not discipline Conor McGregor for the bus attack at Barclays Center in New York -- with Dana White explaining that his punishment through the legal system is good enough already.

TMZ Sports spoke with the UFC honcho about the upcoming superfight between Conor and Khabib Nurmagomedov and how he put things together behind the scenes.

"Obviously, I've been telling you guys forever we had to wait until Conor's stuff was handled in New York. [That] got done. It was very favorable for Conor. Time to roll."

As we previously reported, Conor was sentenced to 5 days community service and ordered to complete an anger management course as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

We asked Dana if the UFC had considered slapping Conor with a suspension as well.

"Suspended? He hasn't fought in 2 years. How much longer should we suspend him?"

"He's obviously lost lots of money. Millions of dollars in what went down in New York. What more could we do to him? He went through the legal process and got what he got. That's it!"

Nate Diaz tells TMZ Sports he's considering dropping out of UFC 230 over a serious dispute with the UFC ... telling us he'll only fight if he "feels like it."

Diaz stormed out of the UFC media event on Friday while Dana White announced the Conor McGregor comeback fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov ... and we got him outside.

Nate claims he's been ineligible to fight due to a legal dispute with his former manager. As we previously reported, The Ballengee Group sued Diaz, claiming he never paid them their cut for negotiating his deal for the McGregor fight at UFC 202.

This seems to be the case Diaz is referring to.

Diaz is upset, claiming White has been "bad-mouthing" him by saying he's turned down multiple fight offers over the past 2 years. Nate insists he's "never turned down a fight in my life."

Diaz says he finally settled his lawsuit last month and can fight again -- which is why he agreed to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 230 in November.

But, something at the media event rubbed Diaz the wrong way and now he tells TMZ Sports ... the UFC "better start acting right and start over-promoting [me] instead of under promoting."

There's more ... we also asked Nate who he's got in the Conor vs. Khabib match -- and he replied, "I whipped one's ass and I slapped the f*ck out of the other one so they're both my little bitches."

Diaz then told us about an incident in which he smacked Khabib in the face in front of "all his Russian friends" and they "didn't do sh*t."

Here's how 36-year-old Tyron Woodley feels about fighting 25-year-old Darren Till:

"I'm 10 years older than this dude. I've got underwear his age!"

The UFC welterweight champ took some time away from training camp to shoot this week's episode of 'The Hollywood Beatdown' ... where he told us how he's gearing up to defend his belt at UFC 228.

"Man, I'm ready to f*** Darren Till up, man. I'm not gonna bulls**t."

There's a lot more ... Woodley also tells us why he's not mad at Cody Garbrandt for using the n-bomb on his Twitter page and why he can't hate on Nate Diaz.

Make sure to watch all the way to the end of the clip when Tyron tells us how he stays motivated and focused in the gym ... it'll get you fired up!!!

Fired Ohio State assistant coach Zach Smith just broke his silence on his alleged domestic violence ... saying he NEVER beat his ex-wife.

Zach went on 105.7 The Zone to tell his side of the story ... and says while he was in a "volatile" and "toxic" relationship, he "never committed domestic abuse against her."

As for the photos Zach's ex-wife, Courtney Smith, released showing bruises on her body from the alleged abuse ... Zach said he may have caused them while "defensively restraining her" when situations "got out of hand" ... but insists he never struck her.

Smith also says PLENTY of people at Ohio State knew of the accusations back in 2015 ... saying it was OSU athletic director Gene Smith himself that actually informed him of the claims.

Smith went on to say he doesn't believe he deserved to be fired last month ... and thinks he was only terminated so the team wouldn't have to answer questions about him and the incident.

No one is more plugged in to the NBA scene than Matt Barnes -- so, naturally, he's got all the inside scoop on the Draymond Green vs. Tristan Thompson incident and he's finally talking about it.

Barnes appeared on "Lunchtime with Roggin and Rodney" on AM 570 LA Sports and told the guys he's already spoken with his ex-Warriors teammate, Draymond, about the altercation and says the media got it all wrong.

"He was never actually hit and he actually tried to make peace through people that wanted him to squash it," Barnes says.

It had been reported that Tristan sucker punched Draymond when they met up at an ESPYs after-party at Delilah nightclub ... but Barnes says that's simply not true.

TMZ Sports had spoken to multiple witnesses who told us the guys actually made peace afterward and are on much better terms now.