Fights

Today might not be a terrible day for Rafael dos Anjos, after all ... 'cause although his UFC 272 opponent Rafael Fiziev is out of their bout after testing positive for COVID-19, Dana White tells us they're trying to find someone to fight RDA on 5 days notice.

37-year-old dos Anjos and 28-year-old Fiziev were the co-main event (Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington is the main event) ... but the fight was scrapped on Monday after RF tested positive for coronavirus.

So, when White joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV Show (airs weekdays on FS1), we asked if he was looking for a replacement, or whether there just simply wasn't enough time.

"We're working on getting him a new opponent. We'll keep that fight. We'll get him something," Dana says.

It's not the first time RDA vs. Fiziev has been canceled. In fact, the men were initially supposed to fight on February 19 at UFC Fight Night ... but the fight was scrapped because RF had "Visa issues," according to reports.

Now the question is ... who does RDA fight?

The former lightweight champ has been going back-and-forth online with Islam Makhachev ... but the fighter from Dagestan just beat Bobby Green on Saturday (albeit only took 98 seconds).

As for Fiziev ... he says he's crushed by the latest developments.

"I’m devastated to announce that I’m out of the fight. I had a great camp and was ready to put on the show, I flew all the way to Vegas from Thailand just to get sick with covid, for 3 days I’m in hotel bed with fever, bones pain and cough."

There's much more with Dana.

If Jake Paul really wants to step into the cage, there's another org. lining up to sign him ... 'cause Bellator president Scott Coker says they're 100% interested in bringing the Problem Child to MMA.

Of course, 25-year-old Paul has voiced his interest in taking on a new combat challenge after 10 fights in the ring ... and the Bellator prez recently said he'll be patiently waiting for when that day comes.

"If Jake Paul is serious and wants to do it, we’re here," Coker said via TalkSport. "We're already talking about [it]."

Now, Jake's had a pretty successful run in boxing so far ... with huge wins over former UFC stars like Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley. Coker says he's kept a close eye on Paul ... and the convos have already started in hopes of bringing the 5-0 fighter on board.

"You know, when I say talking about it, he’s with Showtime boxing and he did the fight with T-Wood," Coker added. "There’s dialogue."

"I think he wants to do 10 boxing fights and then come over to MMA."

This is now the second MMA promotion that has voiced interest in Paul -- as we previously reported ... Wiz Khalifa, who owns part of the Professional Fighters League, told us earlier this month he would love to add the YouTuber to its roster.

As for the UFC, well ... Dana White has made it crystal clear how he feels about Paul ... and the fighter's diss track about the honcho might have hurt his chances at landing a deal in the future.

There's beef, and then there's Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal ... who absolutely HATE each other!!

TMZ Sports talked to 34-year-old Covington, the #1 ranked welterweight fighter, ahead of his "blood feud" with 37-year-old Masvidal, the #6 ranked WW, at UFC 272 on March 4.

"This is a blood feud. This goes back to a brotherhood. We were eight years together every single day, side by side, couldn't leave each other -- best friends," Chaos told us.

"Now, we're the biggest bitter enemies. He's the one person on Earth that I don't give a s***. Anytime I see him, I want to send that guy straight to hell and luckily I get to do it in the UFC Octagon next Saturday night on Pay-Per-View and it's gonna be bad, man. I'm gonna make him pay. I'm gonna make him suffer for backstabbing me."

See ... this goes beyond the routine pre-fight trash talk.

Colby and Jorge were friends ... best friends. Unfortunately, the relationship fell apart (long story) ... and now the men are about to be locked in a steel cage together.

One of the things both guys have in common is a friendship with Donald Trump.

So, who's the former Commander-In-Chief rooting for?! We asked Colby.

"Mr. President, #45, is not torn. He knows where his loyalty stands. He knows the person that put his whole platform for him, that was sacrificing, doing everything, really showing that I'm a true supporter. George is a fake supporter. He's not a real supporter."

Then, Covington added ... "Donald Trump, you know, I talked to his family the other day, I know where his loyalty resides."

Speaking of Trump, we also asked CC whether the ex-prez would be attending the fight.

Remember, DT attended UFC 264 in July 2021 -- Conor McGregor vs. Dustin Poirier 3 -- where he dapped up Masvidal backstage.

UFC star Islam Makhachev needed an opponent after Beneil Dariush suffered a freak injury while training ... enter MMA vet Bobby Green, who took the fight on JUST 10 days' notice.

Why take a fight against a guy who hasn't lost in 6.5 years?! TMZ Sports asked Green.

"I know, I know. It's f**king crazy. Put the weight on, take the weight off, just fought, come back and fight again. I'm f**king nuts brother, this is what I do. I try to show everybody that this is real s**t. I call it G s**t, you know, doin' things that most people won't do."

Savage.

What makes it even crazier is that Green just fought on February 12 against Nasrat Haqparast at UFC 271 ... where he won via unanimous decision.

Now, Bobby will step into the Octagon with Makhachev, the man many believe will be champion before 2023 rolls around.

Islam has just 1 loss on his professional MMA record -- in October 2015 -- and has won 9 straight, including wins over Drew Dober and Dan Hooker, which IM made look easy.

But, Green isn't just stepping up to exchange an L for a fat paycheck ... he tells us how he's going to beat the 4th ranked lightweight.

We also talked to Islam ... who told us he actually respects Bobby for stepping up (and he tells us who turned down the fight).

D.U.S.T. Commander Dale Brown says several MMA fighters have hit him up since cornering Joaquin Buckley to a win last weekend -- but unfortunately for those other fighters, the deadly self-defense expert tells TMZ Sports he's only rockin' with JB!!

We broke the news last week ... Buckley (14-4, 10 KOs) hit up Brown, a viral sensation, to be one of his cornermen for his matchup against Abdul Razak Alhassan at UFC Fight Night in Vegas.

Buckley won by decision ... and Commander Brown says Buckley utilized some of his moves during the tightly contested fight.

"I will say he did use some techniques," Brown says, "that are associated with my training."

And, ever since then, the Detroit Urban Surviving Training star says other fighters have been blowin' up his phone -- trying to get their own Buckley-type treatment.

"We've had several just the past couple of days reaching out, emailing, texting, trying to reach out and see if they can come by the facility and see what we can do to coordinate and collaborate."

But, sorry fightin' folks ... Brown says he's only gonna work with Buckley.

"We're #teamBuckley so that's not gonna happen."

However, Dale says he's down to with celebs like Odell Beckham ... who paid homage to Commander Brown after scoring a touchdown this season for the Rams.

In fact, Brown says he met Rick Ross after the Buckley-Alhassan fight -- telling us he showed the Miami rapper a nose-press technique.

"Training entertainers, training their staff, bodyguards -- anybody out there looking for advanced training."

Jon Jones is a single man -- the UFC superstar says his fiancée of 9 years, Jessie Moses, has left him for good following his Vegas arrest.

Jones announced the split via Twitter on Wednesday ... saying, "My fiancée left me about two months ago, today she finalized that she won't be coming back."

Worth noting -- the official breakup comes shortly after footage of Jones' September run-in with police was released ... which shows the 34-year-old head-butting a cop car after an alleged altercation with Moses.

"If you are a Jon Jones hater, have a toast, I feel like s***," he added.

Jones and Moses were together for nearly 20 years -- they were high school sweethearts at Union-Endicott High School in New York, split for a short period, and then were engaged in 2013.

Jones and Moses have three kids together -- two 13-year-olds Leah and Carmen and 9-year-old Olivia.

Jones and Moses appeared to make amends after his domestic violence arrest ... posting a video of the then-couple sharing a kiss in the days following the alleged altercation.

Thiago Alves and Mike Perry nearly fought in 2017, but a major hurricane torpedoed the fight ... now the Brazilian Bare Knuckle champ wants another crack at putting hands on Perry -- without Mother Nature interfering.

TMZ Sports talked to the 38-year-old MMA vet -- BKFC's middleweight champion (175 lbs.) -- shortly after 30-year-old Perry beat Julian Lane Saturday night, and then called out the champ.

"I hope we can make this fight happen. It was supposed to happen in 2017. I'm looking forward to that knuckling up," Thiago says.

And, if they do "knuckle up" ... it'll be a huge fight according to Alves. Huge, like biggest BKFC fight ever?

"Without a doubt" Alves said without hesitation.

"Just look what I done in combat sports and MMA. Mike Perry is like the new generation, you know, he has a lot of hype behind me. Didn't do as much as I've done in the sport, you know, I've been a lot longer than he has but as right now, I don't see any bigger fight in the making for the organization. So, Dave Feldman, let's make it happen!"

Alves and Perry have both been around forever ... and have fought some of the baddest men in the world. So, how would a Thiago vs. Platinum Mike fight look? We asked Alves.

"It's gonna be very exciting! I think the fans are gonna go for a super fun night of very bloody, but you know, you're gonna see some beautiful violence."

More trouble for ex-NFL running back Zac Stacy ... TMZ Sports has learned he's been hit with five more criminal charges, these stemming from an alleged August attack on his ex.

According to court records, Stacy was hit with three misdemeanor domestic violence battery charges last week, as well as two misdemeanor criminal mischief charges.

In court documents, officials say the charges stem from an Aug. 16, 2021 incident with his ex-girlfriend, Kristin Evans -- the same woman Stacy was seen on video brutalizing in November 2021.

Officials did not specifically spell out the allegations against Stacy in the docs ... but Evans previously claimed in a restraining order application in Florida that the former football player had flown into a violent rage over rent money back in August.

"He physically assaulted me several times because he wanted the money back he gave me for our rent," Evans wrote in the application.

"He punched my legs, slapped me, picked me up by my arms, and threw me into my window, which broke. I had glass in my feet that I removed myself."

Evans provided TMZ Sports photos of the injuries she says she suffered in the alleged attack ... showing large bruises and cuts on her body.

Stacy is due for a hearing on the new charges in Orange County, Fla. court next month.

WWE Superstar The Miz just announced on Monday Night Raw who his tag team partner for WrestleMania will be ... and it's none other than YouTuber-turned-boxer Logan Paul!!

Miz was hosting his popular "Miz TV" show in front of a sold-out crowd in Columbia, South Carolina just minutes ago ... when WWE legend Rey Mysterio and his son, Dominik, interrupted him out of nowhere.

Of course, Miz didn't appreciate the Mysterios crashing his show ... and ultimately issued a challenge to fight them in a match on the grandest stage of them all -- WrestleMania.

Check out the clip -- Miz proposes the tag team match and introduces Logan Paul as his surprise partner.

"Wrestlemania just got more stupendous," one of the commentators said.

Much of the WWE universe was in shock to see LP ... who's made a name for himself in a different kinda combat.

But the Miz was overjoyed to have Paul by his side ... and the newly formed duo didn't wait until Mania to get things started with the Mysterios.

Miz and Paul ambushed Rey and Dominik ... hitting both of them with Miz's signature "skull-crushing finale" finisher.

Juwan Howard got physical with another coach after his team’s bitter loss in a basketball game ... kickstarting an ugly fight.

The University of Michigan’s men’s basketball head coach got into it Sunday while shaking hands with the opposing team ... the Wisconsin Badgers, who beat Juwan’s Wolverines 77-63 in a hard-fought game.

While UoW’s HC, Greg Gard, approached JH in the lineup ... he appeared to get snubbed by the latter -- which made him start to get in Juwan’s face, as the two of them began yapping back and forth.

Soon, it became clear this was going beyond words ... as other coaches and players had to rush between them to break up a head face-off. Juwan wasn’t done yet though ... in an apparent effort to reach Gard, he took what looked to be an open-hand swing at one of the Wisconsin assistant coaches, and made contact. It was all caught on camera, of course.

That sparked more fighting from the players, and an all-out brawl ensued.

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem things got too out of hand ... and the chaos was eventually tapered down after everyone separated from one another.

No word on what exactly made Juwan react that way -- or what sort of punishment, if any, awaits him.

Jake Paul is already getting interest from the MMA community ... 'cause Wiz Khalifa -- who is part-owner of the Professional Fighters League -- tells TMZ Sports he'd love to sign the YouTuber-turned-fighter to the promotion!!

25-year-old Paul has flirted with making the switch from the ring to the cage recently ... in hopes of landing a fight with Jorge Masvidal -- or pretty much any other fighter in the MMA community at this point.

He seems to be serious about the switch ... and has even been spotted working on his kicks at Jay Glazer's Unbreakable gym recently, a place that Wiz has frequented over the years.

So, when we met up with Wiz during Super Bowl week, we had to ask if he thinks Jake is PFL material.

"It would be tight if he fought for PFL," Wiz said. "He's a cool guy. So, wherever he is, he's going to bring a lot of excitement."

Of course, PFL is one of the top MMA promotions in the sport ... so Wiz's co-sign is nothing to scoff at.

When we asked straight-up if he would want PFL to sign Jake, Wiz didn't mince his words.

Kanye West could soon find himself charged for allegedly attacking a fan outside an L.A. hotel ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... cops have nearly completed their investigation into the case, and will soon ship their findings off to the L.A. City Attorney's Office, who will decide on whether to file any criminal charges against Kanye.

We're told between the paparazzi video evidence, and witness statements, cops think there's enough evidence to charge Kanye with a crime. We know cops wanted to interview Ye, but our sources say it never happened ... citing a busy schedule.

As we've told you ... Kanye is under investigation for allegedly punching an autograph seeker near the Soho Warehouse in DTLA ... and video shows the man laid out on the street as Kanye rages at folks who apparently work for him. We were told at the time Kanye broke the guy's nose.

The way it works in L.A. ... the City Attorney has 3 options -- file charges, reject the case, or call the involved parties in for an informal office hearing where they could impose certain conditions for the case to go away ... conditions like attending anger management classes.

Johnny Walker is opening up about his personal struggles in the wake of several losses that temporarily derailed his ascenscion to the top of the UFC ... telling TMZ Sports he was "down" after losing 3 of his last 4 fights, but is now ready to mount a comeback!

29-year-old Walker -- the #10 ranked light heavyweight -- is taking on #12 ranked light Jamahal Hill at UFC Fight Night on Saturday ... a matchup Walker believes will catapult him back into title contention.

"Bro, if at any point that somebody said I don't wanna be champion, I'd quit. I'd get out. I'd stop. Because I believe 100% I'm a champion,"

Walked continued ... "I'm not doing this just to fight, just to have fun. I'm here for the money, I'm here for the success, for my career, for my family, for my future. I'm gonna be the champion. I believe that and nobody can tell me opposite."

Walker was once ranked near the very top of the division ... and it felt like a forgone conclusion he'd fight for the title. In fact, we had several conversations with Johnny about his future battle with Jon Jones -- a fight that never materialized.

Aside from Jon leaving the division, Walker hit a rough patch, losing to Corey Anderson in November 2019, before sustaining another L to Nikita Krylov in March 2020. JW then beat Ryan Spann in September 2020 ... before again losing, this time to Thiago Santos in October 2021.

Even before the mini skid ... Walker dealt with adversity, even in victory.

After his electric win over Misha Cirkunov at UFC 235 in March 2019, Walker dislocated his shoulder doing the worm on the Octagon canvas.

"I'm very excited with my career and everything then boom, I was down. I don't know what depression is actually, but I was a little bit down."

Johnny continued ... "I was no patience, I was a little bit sad, I almost lost myself a little bit, you know, and I was against my brother in Thailand, I shouldn't do that."

Despite the struggles, Walker says he's back, and ready to rock.

Cancel Saturday's main event and give Joaquin Buckley the W ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned viral D.U.S.T. self-defense star, Commander Dale Brown is cornering the UFC star at Fight Night.

And, let's be honest ... he ain't losin' with Commander Brown by his side.

The soon-to-be 14-4 MMA fighter recently hit up Brown -- known for his awesome/viral self-defense videos -- and actually traveled to his Detroit Urban Surviving Training school last month to learn some moves.

FYI, Brown's popularity exploded after Odell Beckham Jr. paid tribute to him during the NFL season ... mimicking one of the commander's moves after scoring a touchdown.

Cleary, it went well ... and when Buckley had an open spot Octagon-side for his fight against Abdul Razak Alhassan, he asked Brown.

"He thought of me as soon as they needed another cornerman," Dale told us when we spoke to him on Thursday.

"Super excited and honored to be chosen by a respected talented pro-MMA fighter that was so impressed by my urban survival tactical training system after he tested it that he wanted me on his team as the first 'survival tactics cornerman.'"

Brown tells us he got his license from the Nevada State Athletic Commission last week ... and is anxious for Buckley to show off some exclusive D.U.S.T moves.

"There are going to be surprise tactics never seen before used in the MMA UFC Octagon," Brown says.

"This collaboration is going to be totally unexpected and these new Detroit survival tactics will be just as unexpected."

That's scary ... Buckley is already electrifying in the cage. In fact, he became an overnight sensation after he executed one of the best head kick KOs ever.

Watch Buckley fight Alhassan -- with Commander Brown looking on -- Saturday afternoon on UFC Fight Night.

DaBaby is dealing with more fallout from his bowling alley beatdown of his baby mama's brother ... because now he's facing a lawsuit.

DaniLeigh's brother, Brandon Bills, is suing the rapper over their recent fight at a SoCal bowling alley.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Brandon claims he walked by DaBaby in the bowling alley when DaBaby suddenly attacked him, leaving him with severe injury and pain.

Brandon claims he didn't fight back ... and says DaBaby's assault resulted in physical and psychological damage, plus medical bills and sustained disability.

As we reported, the brawl was caught on camera ... with the fight spilling into bowling lanes. Law enforcement says they're now investigating DaBaby for assault with a deadly weapon, because Brandon was kicked in the head while on the ground.

DaBaby's already claimed it was self-defense ... and he's been banned from the bowling alley, Corbin Bowl, in Topanga, CA.

DaniLeigh's bro is suing DaBaby for assault, battery, emotional distress and negligence.

Ryan Garcia -- one of the best young boxing talents in the world -- is opening up on his serious mental health struggles ... admitting at one point, he felt like killing himself.

"When I was deep in it, I didn't think I was gonna live," Garcia said in an interview with Dan Canobbio on "Inside Boxing Live." "I was so depressive and I went to bad habits. I started drinking, and I never drink, ever."

He continued ... "But I was getting drunk all the time. I wanted to kill myself at one point."

Remember, the 23-year-old undefeated boxing star withdrew from his scheduled bout against Javier Fortuna last April ... expressing he needed a break to focus on his "mental health and well-being."

Ryan's last professional fight was January 2021 against Luke Campbell ... when he defeated him via knockout in the seventh round.

Garcia knew he needed a break when his thoughts were so scattered that his mind felt paralyzed at the time. The champ said he couldn't even begin to describe the torment he was experiencing.

"It was so bad, so intense, that I thought maybe I just rather not be here,'" Garcia said. "I didn’t understand what was going on. I needed professional help."

Ryan said he knows his depression stemmed from mismanaging stress -- like taking on too many things at once ... and not having the right support system in place around him.

Thankfully, RG received the help he needed ... and said he's feeling great.

Garcia returns to the ring April 9 ... where he will fight Emmanuel Tagoe.