Fights

Daniel Cormier's getting his smile ready for life outside the Octagon ... 'cause the UFC champ got his infamous tooth gap fixed in a recent procedure ... and TMZ Sports has the footage!!

ICYMI -- D.C. had a tooth pulled back in 2014 after the Dan Henderson fight at UFC 173 ... and never bothered to fix the look (makes sense, considering the dude gets punched in the face for a living).

But now that D.C. is inching closer to his retirement fight next March, he hit up Dr. Kourosh Maddahi in Beverly Hills to get a head start on gettin' his chompers back to normal.

Dr. Maddahi tells us all about the bridge procedure ... and says D.C. can get back to sparring within a week's time!!

Wanna see Logan Paul throw fists at his brother, Jake Paul?? Well, better hope for a crappy Thanksgiving in the Paul household.

Logan tells TMZ Sports the ONLY way he'll step in the ring with his YouTube star little brother is if the two have "real-life" beef.

Judging by the way the two palled around when we got them at LAX this week ... don't bet on that happening any time soon.

It's too bad ... 'cause the two have been training like maniacs for their August 25 superfight with KSI and Deji -- so a Paul showdown would be must-see (YouTube) TV afterward.

Oscar De La Hoya was past his prime when he fought (and lost to) Floyd Mayweather -- but prime Oscar woulda beat Floyd's ass ... so says Shane Mosley.

The boxing superstar fought both guys -- and beat Oscar twice -- and tells TMZ Sports he's convinced De La Hoya was the better fighter overall.

Here's a transcript of what Shane told Mike Babcock when he came to the TMZ office.

Babcock: If you take Oscar, Manny and Floyd, all at their best …

Mosely: Oscar. I think Oscar would’ve been the top one.

Babcock: Really?

Mosely: Yeah.

Babcock: Floyd likes to call himself "The Best Ever" …

Mosely: Nah.

We also asked who hit the hardest -- and that answer was surprising too.

6:14 PM PT -- Casanova's attorney, Scott E. Leemon, tells us, "Casanova adamantly denies the allegation that he assaulted anyone. Any contention he did is totally false. We are in the process of conducting our own investigation into these false allegations."

Casanova is a wanted man in NYC for an alleged brutal assault that left a woman with a busted jaw and stitches in her face ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us ... a warrant was issued for the arrest of the "Set Trippin" rapper late Friday night. The alleged victim, Niya Rucker, claims she was attacked by Casanova and his crew at Good Stuff Diner around 4:40 AM last week.

We're told Casanova thought Rucker was filming him with her phone and became enraged, and an attempt to stop her and take her phone turned violent.

Law enforcement says Casanova and an accomplice assaulted Rucker -- leaving her with a possible fracture in her jaw and a facial laceration requiring 4 stitches -- and one of them put her in a sleeper hold.

We're told they then fled the scene.

Rucker told PIX11 News she wasn't filming the rapper at all but was simply shooting her meal for Instagram Live. She also says she's certain she was attacked by Casanova and could identify him by the chains he wears.

Her attorney, Abe George, tells TMZ ... Niya's still in serious pain almost a week from the violent assault, and is on a liquid diet due to her fractured jaw. He says their main concern is bringing Casanova and his accomplices to justice.

It never happened in the UFC ... but Ronda Rousey vs. Cris Cyborg MIGHT go down in the WWE -- with Mick Foley telling TMZ Sports he's been lobbying Vince McMahon to sign the Brazilian star.

"I had a meeting with Mr. McMahon and I specifically told him keep your eyes on this Cyborg vs. Nunes fight," Mick said.

"She's gonna be larger than life and would make a great WWE superstar down the line."

The Cyborg vs. Amanda Nunes fight isn't official yet (they're working on it) -- but Foley thinks it will help propel Cyborg to a new level of fame.

Ronda has been killing it in WWE -- ragdolling just about every woman who's stepped in the ring against her. So, bringing in Cyborg could be the perfect move.

Eddie Hearn -- the promoter in charge of Anthony Joshua's career -- says the fight between Logan Paul and KSI is an insult to hardcore boxing fans ... an insult he'd LOVE to promote.

Hearn basically controls boxing on the other side of the pond ... promoting not only AJ, but stars like Amir Khan, Daniel Jacobs and Tony Bellew.

Being that the fight is happening in his backyard in Manchester, we had to get Hearn's take on the event, and he told us he HATES IT and LOVES IT, all at the same time.

"How can you not congratulate them? This is a venture that's got a lot of people talking. Again, from a hardcore boxing fan's point of view, it makes my skin crawl. But, from a promoter's point of view, I have to say congratulations."

Hearn's point is clear ... he says Logan and KSI have managed to capture the interest of non-boxing fans, which Eddie says is the key to making a big splash on pay-per-view.

UFC light heavyweight contender Ilir Latifi -- the #3 ranked fighter in the division -- called out Daniel Cormier to his face in L.A. ... and TMZ Sports has the video.

It's not a nasty feud by any means -- but Latifi definitely wants a title shot and, when he saw Cormier on Thursday, he let the trash talk fly.

Cormier said he'd beat Latifi's ass -- saying it would be like taking "free money."

We spoke with Latifi after the incident and he reiterated that he thinks Cormier is a fatty ... and needs to give him a shot like a true champion.

Latifi says he knows Cormier wants the superfight with Brock Lesnar -- but also says he wants to defend his 205 crown before retiring and tells us he's just the right guy.

With Logan Paul saying he wants a real UFC fight -- here's a reality check from one of the best in the game ... YOU WILL LOSE!

UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley says he's been impressed with Logan's training sessions as he gears up for his boxing match with KSI, but when it comes to UFC ... Logan ain't beating anyone.

Remember, Logan says he wants to fight CM Punk -- but Tyron says straight-up that ain't gonna happen.

There's a lot more on this week's episode of 'The Hollywood Beatdown' ... including Tyron's prediction in the Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight!

Tyron also updates us on his training camp for his fight against Darren Till at UFC 228 on Sept. 8 in Dallas.

Kelvin Benjamin just brushed off Cam Newton like a defensive back ... leaving Cam hanging on a high five and exchanging heated words with the QB -- and it's all on video.

Remember ... the Bills wideout blasted Cam in the media this week -- essentially blaming Newton for all of his struggles in Carolina the past few years.

“It was a bad fit from the get-go," Kelvin told The Athletic. "If you would’ve put me with any other quarterback, let’s be real, you know what I’m saying?"

Cam appeared to try to squash the beef in the leadup to Carolina's preseason game with the Bills ... but when Newton walked up to the wideout, things took a turn.

Newton tries to shake Kelvin's hand ... but Benjamin turns it down. When Panthers LB Thomas Davis intervenes -- Cam brushes him off so the two can have a heart-to-heart.

The altercation goes on for a while ... before it's clear the two can't see eye to eye and Cam bolts for the locker room.

Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn says the probability that a fight happens with Deontay Wilder is pretty good -- like 100% good -- telling TMZ Sports it WILL HAPPEN no matter what.

Joshua vs. Wilder is the biggest fight in boxing bar none, but so far the two sides haven't been able to agree on terms to get the guys in the ring.

Hearn -- who was in Chicago promoting DAZN's October 6 card -- is telling the boxing public to be patient, basically giving his word that next year is the year.

"100% provided both guys keep winning. That's the fight. That's the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. No amount of money can ever buy that."

Like Hearn said, both men have rumbles coming up -- Wilder in December and Joshua in September -- and if things go like they've been going, it looks like we all get our show.

Boxing star Gervonta "Tank" Davis says he wants an MMA fight with UFC champ T.J. Dillashaw -- and now T.J.'s responding ... "Bring It!"

Tank has been talking about getting into the Octagon for a while -- previously telling TMZ Sports he truly believes he has the talent, athleticism and skill to compete in MMA.

And, after he watched T.J. beat up Cody Garbrandt at UFC 227 over the weekend, he tweeted out a challenge to the bantamweight champ.

"I wanna fight the dude that fought Cody yesterday."

Well, T.J. saw the tweet and shot back with a little trash talk of his own -- "Bring it! I heard they were handing out belts after [Vasyl Lomachenko] left your division."

Obviously, if this fight were to come together it would take some time -- but Davis says he's serious about it.

Ex-NFL star Greg Hardy -- who's been killing people in his short MMA career -- says he's 100% focused on fighting in the UFC and wouldn't even consider going back to the NFL ... with one exception.

"I'm not putting any brakes on the UFC movement, man. I'm going all in with it," Hardy told the guys on the "TMZ Sports" TV show.

But, Hardy added ... "I'm not crazy, man. I'm not gonna turn down anybody's $10, $15 million, but I can't see myself stepping off this path."

Hardy is still playing semi-pro football with the Richmond Roughriders -- but, with Dana White clearly pumped about the guy's potential as a UFC fighter, those days may be coming to an end very soon.

FYI, Hardy's 5 MMA fights have lasted a grand total of about 3 and a half minutes.

Mike Tolbert only needed to see 17 seconds of Greg Hardy in an Octagon to make a HUGE prediction about his ex-NFL teammate ... telling TMZ Sports, "I could see him being the heavyweight champ of the UFC one day!"

The ex-Panthers fullback -- who was with Hardy for three seasons in Carolina -- tells us he was so impressed with Greg after his fight Tuesday ... he sees a belt in Hardy's future.

"I think if he stays true to it and puts all of his effort into it and continues training," Tolbert says, "... I think he'll be one of the top names in the UFC the next few years."

It's a big statement from Mike ... considering Greg's two fights in a UFC Octagon only total 74 seconds -- but Tolbert knows firsthand what Greg's capable of achieving.

"One of the most athletic people I've ever played with," Mike says.

Logan Paul says he's dead serious about a combat sports career after his fight with KSI in less than 3 weeks -- and has a message for Dana White ... BRING ON CM PUNK!!!

Logan has been training like a maniac for the August 25 boxing match in England (which some say could have more viewers than Floyd vs. Conor) -- but tells TMZ Sports he's always dreamed of fighting in the UFC.

"I want to fight a UFC fighter," Logan told us with his brother, Jake Paul, at LAX ... "I've wrestled my whole life."

It's true -- Logan was a pretty solid high school wrestler in Ohio and our sources tell us he's been looking pretty good in the ring too.

"I've done athletics my whole life," Logan says ... "Dana White, are you watching this, bro? Pick a fight for me."

Logan says he wants CM Punk -- but his brother, Jake, is aiming higher ... saying he really believes he could take Conor McGregor with enough training. Logan was all about it.

Ex-Chicago Bears quarterback Erik Kramer has been charged with misdemeanor battery stemming from his alleged domestic violence incident back in June ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported ... the former NFL player was arrested after he admitted to police he got physical with his wife, Cortney Baird, during a fight at their Agoura Hills home.

Baird claims Kramer flipped out after she confronted him about an argument the two previously had ... saying the ex-QB got violent and threw various household items at her.

Kramer was booked on suspicion of felony corporal injury to a spouse and released on $50k bond.

Now ... we're told cops are hitting Kramer with one count of misdemeanor battery for the incident -- and the ex-QB is facing up to six months in jail if convicted.

Nate Diaz says he still hasn't made up his mind about whether he'll fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 230 in November ... telling TMZ Sports, "Time will tell."

The UFC star was leaving Real Food Daily in L.A. on Tuesday afternoon when we followed up about the comments he made on Friday -- when he threatened to bail on the UFC event.

Nate essentially tells us he'll fight if he feels like it -- "We'll see what happens."

We asked if he WANTS to fight -- and he told us, "I don't want to fight anybody."

Couple more things ... Nate also says his brother, Nick Diaz, will likely return to the UFC "probably next year."