Fights

Jermall Charlo is off the hook in his robbery case ... the case was just dismissed based on insufficient evidence, TMZ Sports has learned.

Court records show the 3 robbery charges Charlo was hit with following an alleged altercation at a San Antonio bar last year were dismissed on Monday. The records list the reasoning as "insufficient evidence."

It's a big deal for Charlo ... who was accused of being a complete jerk to a waitress the day before his brother, Jermell Charlo, fought Brian Castaño in San Antonio last July.

Police, in an incident report, said Jermall was with a big group when the waitress came over with the bill. Cops say Jermall handed over his credit card and ID, but said the card was declined despite multiple attempts to run it.

Officers said in the docs Jermall eventually became upset over it all and took two bill collection binders from the waitress, nabbing everything from the inside of them.

Jermall was eventually arrested ... though his attorney, Kent A Schaffer, tells us he believes video and witnesses from the bar ultimately proved Jermall never did anything wrong.

"Police eventually turned over the surveillance tapes that showed everything that our witnesses said was true," Schaffer tells us. "Jermall never robbed anyone at this nightclub and never used force or threat of force against anyone. We have been saying this the whole time he did nothing wrong."

"We presented the evidence to the ADA who came to the same conclusion -- the surveillance video was a huge part of getting the case dismissed. And the 6 witnesses were also a key factor."

Schaffer continued, "Jermall is ecstatic and training for his next fight -- this is something that has been hanging over his head since August -- he can now get back to fighting instead of worrying about going to trial for something he didn't do."

No one takes steak more seriously than these pissed-off Golden Corral customers -- who got way more heated than the food, sparking an all-out brawl, and beef might be behind the beef ... TMZ has learned.

It all went down Friday night at a Golden Corral in Bensalem, PA, where things got totally outta hand -- punches, booster seats, chairs ... pretty much anything that wasn't bolted down was tossed. The video shows lots of people getting nailed and taken down too.

The reason for all this violence? Well, a rep for the restaurant tells us things escalated when someone cut the buffet line, and grabbed someone else's steak.

Police don't dispute steak playing a role, but they say they're still investigating the motive.

A Bensalem Police Department Spokesperson tells TMZ ...  there were approximately 40 people involved, and most of 'em had cleared out by the time officers arrived.

Surprisingly, police say there were no serious, or even minor, injuries suffered. They also so say GC staffers stayed out of the chaos.

We're told Golden Corral has been very cooperative and no arrests have been made, but police are still trying to ID people involved ... so that could change.

Farrah Abraham says she's been a wreck since her arrest for allegedly slapping a security guard at a club ... it's gotten so bad she's had suicidal thoughts.

We got Farrah in Hollywood Saturday where she was packing up her stuff and putting it in a U-haul. She says she's moving out of California ... that's how upset she says she is over the arrest, where she ended up face down in the dirt outside the club.

Farrah tearfully says she now has no body function on her upper right side and she's afraid to go out in public.

TMZ broke the story ... Farrah was having dinner at Grandmaster Records in Hollywood January 15th when there was some sort of confrontation inside and a security guard claims Farrah slapped her. The club made a citizen's arrest and security took the former star of 'Teen Mom' outside while police were on the way, and Farrah ended up in the dirt.

She says she's doing physical therapy and hopes surgery is not in the cards.

Claressa Shields seems to be burying the hatchet with Jake Paul ... telling TMZ Sports the Problem Child is doing great things for his fighter Amanda Serrano, and women's boxing as a whole.

"I wish [Jake] the best," Shields says, continuing ... "What he's doing for Amanda is great. I think that him getting involved in helping the fight with Katie Taylor is great for Amanda and Katie and it's great for women's boxing."

"I appreciate him for that and I just wish him the best in whatever he does and just keeps his damn hands up, that's it."

The self-described G.W.O.A.T. has gone back and forth with Paul over the last year ... and Claressa says she was most offended by Jake's decision to make fun of her after she lost her 2nd professional MMA fight (in PFL).

"The only beef I have with Jake Paul is don't ever disrespect me. He tried to kick me when I was down and also going to a new sport."

"I lost a split decision. I didn't get submitted, I didn't get knocked out, I didn't get beat up. It was a split and I'm also brand new in MMA and when he made that comment, calling me a loser and stuff, that's what really made me want to fight him."

If you missed it, JP went off on Shields -- who has only 2 MMA fights under her belt -- after the October 2021 fight.

But, Shields has obviously moved on ... and has even found it in her heart to praise Jake for his work promoting women's boxing.

FYI, Jake's promotion, Most Valuable Promotions (MVP), signed 33-year-old Serrano.

With Paul's guidance, Amanda has locked down a super fight with fellow boxing star Katie Taylor in April ... at Madison Square Garden.

Speaking of big fights ... Claressa is gunning to set up her very own with undefeated British star Savannah Marshall.

First, the 26-year-old fighter has to beat 21-0-1 fighter Ema Kozin in the United Kingdom on February 5 (on FITE) ... and she delivered a message to the woman standing between her and Savannah.

Kamaru Usman may be down to fight Israel Adesanya after all -- that is IF the money's right -- according to manager Ali Abdelaziz, who tells TMZ Sports he wants his fighter to go up a weight class to attain a 2nd UFC title.

"I want him to beat Leon Edwards and I want him to go fight Israel Adesanya for the middleweight title," Abdelaziz said when speaking about his top-ranked pound-for-pound client.

Kamaru, the 170 lb. champ, and Izzy, the 185 lb. champ, have always shut down talks of them fighting ... because they're both Nigerian.

But, Ali doesn't believe that'd stop them if it came down to it.

"These guys, they're cool but I don't think they like best friends. Listen, if there's enough money for both of them, they'll fight in the parking lot. I know how people work. This has nothing to do with loyalty."

Abdelaziz continued, talking about the importance of attaining a title in 2 divisions.

"I like Israel, I love watching him. I'm a huge fan. He's a nice guy, but at the end of the day, I'm Kamaru Usman team all the way. I want to see Kamaru Usman before end of the road have two titles. I'm selfish. I'm greedy. Like Henry Cejudo says, I'm a gold digger."

In fact, Ali says Usman is even considering going up 2-weight classes ... all the way to 205 lbs.

"Kamaru's thinking about going to a light heavyweight and fight Jan Blachowicz, not fight Adesanya."

Of course, Jan lost his last fight to Glover Teixeira and is no longer the champ.

But, the point remains ... Kamaru is considering going up 35 lbs. and fighting a man who's significantly bigger than him -- a fight Abdelaziz believes his guy would win rather easily.

"Styles make fights. Kamaru will beat Jan for five rounds straight."

But first -- before an Israel, Jan, or matchup with anyone else -- the Nigerian Nightmare has to beat Leon Edwards ... who hasn't lost since (you guessed it) he was beaten by Usman in 2015.

Tennis star Daniil Medvedev was straight-up PISSED with an umpire during an Australian Open match ... completely berating him and calling him a "small cat."

Medvedev was battling his rival, Stefanos Tsitsipas, for a shot at the final round of the tourney ... when he was issued a code violation by umpire Jaume Campistol.

The penalty came after the ump thought Daniil gave him an inappropriate gesture out of frustration ... and that's when the feisty Russian tennis sensation absolutely lost it.

Medvedev was clearly furious at the ump over the penalty ... as well as for not penalizing his opponent, claiming his father was coaching him during the match.

"Bro, are you mad?" Medvedev yelled to the ump. "For what? And his father can talk every point? Bro, are you stupid? His father can talk every point!"

"Oh my God, you are so bad, man," he continued. "How can you be so bad in the semifinal of a Grand Slam. Look at me! I’m talking to you!"

The umpire, to his credit, maintained his composure even as Medvedev continued to go off. "If you don’t [give Tsitsipas a warning], you are ... a small cat," Medvedev yelled.

Tsitsipas -- who lost to DM in four sets -- did admit that his father was talking during the match, but offered an explanation.

"My father, his medicine is to talk, and you can’t stop it,” Tsitsipas said. "I’m pretty sure I’m going to keep receiving coaching violations, even though I will never listen to any single thing he says."

Nicki Minaj and her husband have a funny way of thanking security guards at her concerts ... at least according to one of them who claims Kenneth Petty ambushed and punched him backstage.

The guy was head of security for one of Nicki's concerts in Germany back in March 2019 ... and in a lawsuit, he claims the rapper was pissed at a security staffer for allowing a male fan to get onstage during the show. In docs, obtained by TMZ, Thomas Weidenmuller alleges Nicki yelled at the female security guard -- calling her a "f**king bitch" -- and recorded the whole thing.

Weidenmuller says the security guard was left in tears ... so, he interceded and went to speak to Nicki about the incident. According to the suit, Nicki screamed at him too, saying, "Who do you think you are?" ... and allegedly threw her shoe at him. He says her aim was off, and he escaped unscathed.

However, he claims he was later called back to Nicki's room for another discussion ... and while she ripped into him again, Kenneth allegedly came outta nowhere and punched him square in the face, breaking his jaw.

Kenneth packs one hell of a punch, apparently ... Weidenmuller says he's had 8 surgeries to fix his jaw, now has 5 plates in his face and will need an additional 6 operations to get right!!!

Some fighters credit boxing, wrestling, perhaps Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ... but Vanessa Demopoulos, she credits the pole.

Yes ... 33-year-old Demopoulos tells TMZ Sports she credits much of her success in the Octagon against Silvana Gomez Juarez at UFC 270 to the strength she's developed dancing on the pole.

"I just walked away from being an exotic entertainer. I'm like so good at pole dancing," Vanessa says.

"I feel like pole dancing and fighting goes hand and hand. I'm 3 stories up in the air, hanging on by a limb, mainly in my underwear. If I sweat too much, I'm falling to my death. It's like fighting, same thing. Except you're not going to die. The ref is gonna stop it before it happens."

Vanessa caused quite a stir last week. She hit a split after the weigh-in ... and she did it inside the Octagon after she won. VD also jumped in Joe Rogan's arms during her (memorable) post-fight interview.

And, then she went into the cage and took care of business ... winning via armbar submission in the 1st round.

Demopoulos clearly feels at home pole dancing, so we asked ... despite the UFC success (and the $50K bonus she won), are you swearing off the pole?

"I was at the club last night and I definitely found a pole to hop onto. It's something I love doing. I'm never not going to dance. But you won't see me in the club doing it for dollars."

So, less dancing for dollars and more punching people in the face ... and Demopoulos is hyped for her future as a fighter.

"I really am a full-time fighter now, and it feels so good. I've worked my whole life for these types of moments. It's like you work your whole life for that one moment that's gonna change the rest of it, and that was that moment, and it was absolutely incredible."

Kevin Ferguson Jr. -- MMA fighter and son of the legendary street fighter turned pro Kimbo Slice -- is stepping into the ring ... but he isn't takin' on a fellow pro fighter, he's boxing former Bachelorette contestant "Iggy" Rodriguez.

Yes, for real!

29-year-old Ferguson -- aka "Baby Slice" -- is transitioning from the Bellator cage to the squared circle ... where he'll duke it out with Rodriguez at a Celebrity Boxing event in March.

Of course, 5'11", 155 lb. Kevin Jr. -- 3-3 as a pro -- has fighting in his pedigree, and it shows. His dad, Kimbo, is the most famous street fighter of all-time. The 6'2", 235-pound fighter transitioned from backyard brawling to professional fighting ... where he had a record of 5-2-1.

As for his opponent? Iggy's claim to fame didn't come from punching guys. Rather, Rodriguez was fighting for love when he made his debut on the 13th season of "The Bachelorette."

In fact, the 35-year-old Californian native and consulting firm CEO became a true household name ... when he was depicted as a "snitch" for badmouthing other competitors on Rachel Lindsay's season.

Rodriguez was ultimately eliminated from the show ... after failing to make the top 12.

But, back to the fight. Ferguson and Rodriguez won't be the only attraction that night.

Lamar Odom's ex-fiancée, Sabrina Parr, will fight Jenn Harley, Ronnie Ortiz's former GF -- in a battle of the exes.

Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua is scared of him ... labeling the 6'6", 240 lb. superstar boxer from the UK a "coward" who's too shook to fight him.

Oh, and the Gypsy King is also coming for a bunch of other top-level heavyweights ... including Oleksandr Usyk and Dillian Whyte.

The 33-year-old heavyweight champ hit up social media to respond to fans asking him when and who he's fighting next ... and well, Tyson talked his s***!

"I'm being asked this question over and over again. I do not know the answer to it. I'm ready to fight this weekend. I've been training three weeks, how long does a man need to train?" Fury pondered.

"Joshua's a coward, Usyk's a p***y and Dillan Whyte doesn't wanna fight. So, if you can prove me wrong, get to f***king fighting you pair of cowards. You're all cowards! You're all bum duffers! Have a fight or do one you pack of wet lettuces."

Fury, who's coming off an incredible performance against heavyweight star Deontay Wilder, continued going in on the boxers.

"I'm just gonna keep videoing until one of these cowards decide to fight. You're all cowards! S*** house bums! I don't care who I fight -- AJ, Usyk, Dillan Whyte or any of them. Fight me! I'm the best man that's ever lived. These are all coward bum duffers. I'll annihilate the liars and destroyers, submitters, tap you bitches out. Come and fight!"

32-year-old Joshua lost to 35-year-old Usyk by decision in September 2021 (it was a masterful performance) ... and they're currently negotiating a rematch. Fury has been ordered to defend his WBC title against 33-year-old Whyte ... but there are reportedly talks about working out a deal to box Usyk.

UFC legend Don Frye got into a physical altercation with a fan at UFC 270, punching the man in the face ... this after the retired MMA star and pro wrestler tells us the guy bumped into him and challenged him to a fight.

TMZ Sports obtained video taken at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA Saturday night ... showing 56-year-old Frye jawing with two men as someone who appears to be security attempts to keep the peace.

Frye is seen popping the guy in the head with a jab (clearly not at full force) ... sending the man's head snapping back.

We talked to Don ... who tells us the incident started when the guy, who he believes was drunk, bumped into his hat. The men then had a spirited conversation, which Frye says culminated with the man challenging him to a fight.

You can only assume the man didn't know he was challenging Frye ... one of the UFC's earlier stars, and most powerful strikers.

Frye won UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate '96 tourneys ... and was the runner-up at UFC 10. Over his incredible career, Don beat guys like Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbott and Mark Hall.

Frye -- who recently went on Joe Rogan's podcast and explained how he got into MMA -- was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2016.

In addition to the UFC, Don fought in Pride and K-1. He also boxed and kickboxed professionally, and was one of Japan's biggest wrestlers during his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Don was not arrested -- and stayed to watch the remaining fights -- including heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou defending his title.

Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon likely isn't that far away ... according to UFC President Dana White, who tells TMZ Sports he expects the Irish superstar to fight this summer.

We recently asked White ... do you believe Conor will fight this year after healing up from the devastating injury.

"I think so, yeah," Dana told us. "He's doing all the right things with his leg. I'm hoping he can come back this summer."

Of course, 33-year-old McGregor hasn't stepped foot competitively in the cage since snapping his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

Injury aside, The Notorious -- a former UFC double champion -- has lost 3 of his last 4 fights ... including the last 2 to The Diamond.

Conor is currently ranked 9th in the UFC's Lightweight division ... behind fighters like champ Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Tony Ferguson, to name a few.

We also talked to the UFC honcho about the barn-burner of a scrap between Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze ... a fight the #5 ranked striker from Boston won by unanimous decision.

So, what's next for Kattar? Dana doesn't know just yet, but makes it clear Calvin is in a prime position.

AEW Women's World Champion Britt Baker isn't afraid of Jake or Logan Paul ... telling TMZ Sports she's down to fight both brothers -- and she'll take Logan's $1,000,000 Charizard card in the process.

We spoke with the champ this week and asked if she'd ever entertain the thought of fighting either YouTuber-turned-boxer ... assuming they'd step inside the wrestling ring with her.

"Listen, if Logan Paul wants a taste of the DMV, tell him to come my way," Britt said. "Same with Jake Paul. I'll fight you for that million-dollar Charizard card."

BTW -- 30-year-old Baker was with her husband and fellow AEW wrestler Adam Cole when she laid the gauntlet down to the Paul brothers.

Despite Jake's most recent boxing success in KO'ing Tyron Woodley ... Baker wasn't buying into the hype that Jake or Logan could bring their talents to the wrestling world.

Britt even upped the stakes for a potential bout with Logan ... telling him she'll duke it out with him for his prized first edition "Shadowless" Charizard Pokémon card -- which comes with a pretty hefty price tag.

Dana White isn't sweating the contract drama with UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou ... telling TMZ Sports he's been dealing with similar issues for the last 2 decades!

We talked to the UFC honcho before 35-year-old Ngannou faces interim heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 on Saturday ... a fight which The Predator says could be his last with the fight promotion.

Why? Ngannou wants more cash.

We asked Dana where his organization stood with respect to Francis' future.

"I've been in contract drama for 20 years with people. It's part of the business. I honestly don't know where we'll end up after Saturday," White says, adding, "We'll see how the fight goes, we'll see what happens and I'm sure we'll figure it out one way or another."

And, White says personally, everything is cool with him and his champion fighter.

"Francis and I have had our moments over the last several years. I bumped into him at dinner a few weeks ago and we had a good conversation. It was funny because we needed to talk. We needed to see each other and the universe made it happen."

"We'll see how these things play out. I don't blame Francis as much as I blame the not so very smart people that surround him."

Dana is (likely) referring to Ngannou's rep, Marquel Martin ... whom he's feuded with in the past.

As for the actual fight ... Dana tells us they're going to smash the previous gate record (money spent on tickets) at the Honda Center in SoCal.

Wrestling legend Sting just proved age ain't nothin' but a number -- the 62-year-old AEW star stole the show this week ... when he threw himself off the stage into another wrestler on a table!!

The insane moment happened during AEW Dynamite ... when Sting was originally scheduled for a tag team match against The Acclaimed -- featuring stars Anthony Bowens and Max Caster.

But, when Sting's tag team partner, Darby Allin, got hurt, the match turned into a handicap match ... meaning Sting had to fight both Bowens and Caster by himself.

The video is nuts -- the 37-year wrestling vet gets a running head start on stage and goes crashing down into Caster, who had been laid out on a table.

Keep in mind ... this spot in the match came after Sting had just wrestled two guys nearly half his age by himself -- for 10 minutes!!!

Even the most casual wrestling fan has to admit this was impressive ... especially considering other wrestling icons like Ric Flair and The Undertaker are retired.

AEW brought in Sting a little over a year ago, and his current on-screen role is supposed to be a mentor to Darby ... but it looks like Allin needs to be taking moves from the former WCW and WWE legend!!

The woman who flashed her boobs and sparked a bizarre altercation at a Supercross event says her inbox has been flooded with hate after the incident ... claiming she's gotten death threats on social media.

31-year-old Danae Mari spoke out about her viral moment in an interview with Adam22 on "No Jumper" this week ... saying she fully planned on getting hammered at the event in Anaheim earlier this month.

After pounding two tall boys and a flask of Fireball whiskey, Danae says it was time to free the nip ... and says everyone around her was loving her enthusiasm.

But, as we previously reported, a woman in the crowd took serious issue with Danae's antics ... confronting her and scolding her for flashing with kids present ... getting drinks thrown on her in the process.

FYI -- Danae adamantly denies seeing any kids near her before showing the goods ... and even admits she was too drunk to remember the incident with the other woman.

Danae says the feedback has been mostly positive in the days following the incident ... but there are some people who have crossed the line in voicing their displeasure in her actions.

"I see 80% are fans, and the other 20 (percent) just wanna kill me," she said. "Gotta love it. Death threats in the DMs."

Danae says she was simply going with the vibe when she decided to lift her shirt ... but had no idea her antics were being recorded.