Fights

Queretaro, the Mexican soccer team who played host to one of the craziest brawls in recent sports history, was just hit with severe punishment for Saturday's incident ... and will now have to play games in an empty stadium for a year.

As we previously reported, dozens of people were injured, some severely, after a melee broke out during the Queretaro vs. Atlas soccer game at Estadio Corregidora last weekend.

After an investigation, officials in Mexico handed down the punishment on Tuesday ... and they didn't take it easy.

The current Queretaro ownership group has been banned from the league for 5 years ... and the club's previous owners, Grupo Caliente, will lead the charge in finding a new group to purchase the team. If Grupo Caliente can't find a buyer, Liga MX will take over the reins.

On top of the change in ownership, Queretaro will be forced to pay $1.5 million pesos ($70,000) in fines.

The scene was brutal -- fans began fighting in the stands during the match ... and it eventually spilled onto the field, causing the officials to stop the game.

Renato Moicano says he's happy the ref didn't stop his co-main event fight with Rafael dos Anjos, despite receiving a beating for much of the UFC 272 match, 'cause he got to test himself in the harshest conditions ... and he'd do it all over again if asked!

"I'm really thankful that the judge didn't stop the fight because otherwise, I would not know what I'm made of. I always try to go forward, I always try to fight back and for me, it was perfect. The referee did his job, it was a great job."

32-year-old Moicano is a bad man. He's beaten the likes of Jeremy Stephens, Cub Swanson and Calvin Kattar. He stepped up to fight a 5 round fight against RDA -- a future Hall of Famer -- on 5 days' notice, and lost a unanimous decision Saturday night.

But, that doesn't tell the whole story. RDA was dominating the fight, and the commentary team and fans and fighters on social media said the fight should've been stopped.

At least twice the ringside doctor examined Moicano's eye, but told ref Marc Goddard the fight could go on. Goddard also warned Renato to pick up the pace or he was calling the fight.

"For me, the referee did his job. Was a great job," Moicano said of Marc.

About the eye -- which looked terrible during the fight -- we asked Renato if it hurt him a day and a half later.

"No, I'm not feeling pain. It's just black, you know?"

In the late stages of the final round of the fight, Moicano somehow mounted an offensive, landing heavy shots on RDA as the fight came to a close.

Renato says because of the short notice, he wasn't fully prepared for the fight. He says he was actually on vacation, eating and drinking good,

"I flew straight to Brazil, and I was enjoying my vacation. You know, drink some beers, eat some steaks. But, the opportunity shows up, and when an opportunity like that shows up you have to give it a try, and I was ready to beat him. His game plan was better than mine."

DaBaby's legal woes are ebbing and flowing ... he's out of trouble in one matter involving a gun, but still in hot water over balls and pins.

The L.A. County D.A. has rejected the gun case against DaBaby that police have been working on since January 2021 -- when he was arrested in Bev Hills for allegedly having a weapon on him during a shopping spree.

You'll recall ... DB ended up in cuffs right there on Rodeo Drive, and was booked for carrying a loaded firearm.

In the end, the D.A. chose not to prosecute because of a lack of evidence -- which is apparent from the D.A.'s report recounting the incident.

The doc states DaBaby and co. were in a Gucci store, and a security guard says he saw DaBaby lift up his shirt. The security guard claimed he saw something in his waistband resembling a gun, prompting him to call the police.

The crew left, but weren't able to escape Rodeo Drive before a run-in with officers who searched the vehicle and did, indeed, find a gun under one of the seats. When nobody claimed ownership of the gun, cops took DB in based on what the security guard had told them. But apparently, that wasn't enough to file charges.

DaBaby's attorney, Drew Findling, tells TMZ ... "We've been 100% confident in Mr. Kirk's innocence since the day of this incident and are appreciative that the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office has made a similar determination."

Great news for DaBaby, obviously -- but he's not out of the woods ... there's still a looming case over his bowling alley scuffle with DaniLeigh's brother, which was caught on video.

Our law enforcement sources say there's a much stronger chance that case could actually get some real consideration by the D.A.'s Office, considering the evidence already out there ... and we're told a felony assault with a deadly weapon charge is very much in play.

That said ... we're told the cops are somewhat skeptical on that one too due to D.A. George Gascon. It's no secret ... Gascon isn't interested in pursuing low-level crimes in and around L.A. ... something he campaigned on. In other words.

A soccer match in Mexico this weekend got out of hand among fans -- to the point that their respective pummeling left many looking like they were on the verge of death.

This happened Saturday in central Mexico, between Queretaro (the hosts) and Atlas from Guadalajara ... the latter squad rocking red/black jerseys. During the 62nd minute in the game, several fights broke out in the stands, which then poured into the actual field itself ... forcing the refs to suspend the match and sending stadium staff scrambling for help.

Several videos have emerged showing the brutality that was occurring -- many of which are too graphic to post here. Let's just say ... a lot of these folks took things way too far.

There are clips showing multiple groups of guys ganging up on one or more individuals, and pounding them into oblivion with punches, kicks and strikes with objects like chairs and poles. A lot of the victims were entirely stripped of their clothes too, lying unconscious. And some were even robbed, with pickpocketers diving in to remove their belongings.

Many of these people were actually presumed dead -- understandably, especially when you see some of this stuff -- and unconfirmed reports out of Mexico stoked that even more ... claiming several fatalities emerged from the brawl.

However, the official line from the governor of Queretaro is that nobody died from this ... but that upwards of 26 people were hospitalized, including a handful that are in critical condition.

As you can imagine, there were families with children there who were running/hiding for their lives ... and there are even some eyewitness accounts saying parents had to remove their kids' jerseys out of fear of a rival fan trying to attack them.

The league these two teams belong to, Liga MX, halted the rest of the games for the weekend and condemned the violence ... saying they were launching a full investigation and would commit to holding those parties responsible -- including venue honchos themselves.

There's a lot of finger-pointing going on -- between security (or a lack thereof) but mostly at the brawlers themselves ... who apparently let a rivalry blow up into a life or death situation.

Ukrainian UFC fighter Maryna Moroz won her match Saturday night, and she dissolved into tears afterward telling fans about the heartbreak she and her family are going through in the wake of Putin's war.

Maryna's win against Mariya Agapova was awesome ... an arm-triangle choke ended the fight in the second round.

Joe Rogan talked to Maryna in the Octagon after the decision was announced, and she confessed it's been a hard week for her and her family. She says she's heartbroken over the attack on her country ... "My family is in Ukraine. I had a hard week. I worried, I cried, because my family is right now in a bad situation."

She added, "Thank you to everyone who messaged me, because this week was hard for me. I want to cry because of this war my country is in. It's a hard time for Ukraine. I want to support my country, my president, whole army in Ukraine, and I want to say we don't want war. I worry about my family right now."

Ryan Garcia -- one of the best young fighters in the world -- has no regrets sharing his personal battle with mental health ... despite the mixed reactions he says he received from fans.

TMZ Sports talked to 23-year-old Garcia -- who's ramping up for his in-ring return in April -- and asked what the response has been like since stepping away from boxing because he was battling depression and having suicidal thoughts.

"Boxing fans are a little bit more harsh than say, if you're a singer," Garcia says. "Even in the NFL or NBA, if you come out, maybe you'll get a better response. But, I guess for boxing, you gotta be as tough as you can be."

"Or you're scared if you don't fight but, you know, it just comes with territory."

The last time we saw Garcia in a boxing ring was January 2021 ... when he defeated Luke Campbell via knockout in the seventh round.

Ryan tells us the long layoff led some boxing fans to question his toughness -- something he says is never in question when he steps inside the squared circle.

"It's been tough just hearing all these things about me, all these opinions on why, or what's the truth on the reasoning on why I'm not fighting," Ryan says. "I gotta hear about myself and character."

"This hate, this noise, I know how special I am when I step into the ring -- that's never been a problem!"

"When I get in the ring, I always show heart and I always show determination."

The silver lining is, Garcia says for all the hate and criticism he's received for his transparency, a lot of athletes, influencers and even people on the street have reached out to him ... commending him on speaking up before it was too late.

Garcia's also got a Snapchat series coming out on mental health ... where he'll interview guests on the topic -- and he tells us it's releasing before or after his upcoming fight with Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9.

Professional Fighters League star Mark Martin says he's NOT contemplating retiring after his eye popped out during his fight last week ... telling TMZ Sports he's 100% committed to returning to the cage -- as long as he's physically able to.

"Showtime" suffered a broken orbital and blood around his retina after the first round of his bout against Dilano Taylor on Friday ... with his eye coming out of its socket after he blew his nose.

Yes, it's tough to watch.

We spoke with Martin this week about his recovery journey ... and he says he's hoping to find out more after visiting with two specialists.

Martin says he doesn't know how damaged his retina is or if he'll be able to see out of his left eye again ... and it hasn't been determined if he'll need surgery.

Despite all the uncertainty, Martin knows one thing for sure -- he's not walking away from fighting as long as he can help it.

"I mean, I'm definitely not ready to get back into the cage now," he told us. "If everything heals 100%, I'll definitely go back."

"It's not something where I will retire unless I can't see. If I can't see right, then it's time to hang it up."

Martin also shows us how his eye currently looks ... and it's MUCH better than it did a week ago.

Logan Paul will return to the boxing ring -- this year -- telling TMZ Sports he started training again, and the goal is to overshadow his brother Jake Paul's brutal knockout of T-Wood.

We talked to the 26-year-old star Thursday afternoon when the topic of fighting came up.

"I just started training again, bro. I'm a little sweaty. I've been training the last four days. Hopefully, I have a fight by the end of the year. I gotta one-up my brother, he did a bad thing to Tyron Woodley."

FYI, Logan last fought in June 2021 ... in a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. The fight went the distance, but no winner was chosen because it was an exhibition.

Paul claims Mayweather hasn't paid him what he's owed from their fight ... something Logan also touched on (he has a plan to get his money).

Outside of the fight vs. Floyd, Logan has also fought fellow YouTube star, KSI, twice ... resulting in a majority draw, and a loss (the L was a result of a controversial point deduction).

We also talked to the Paul bro about Saturday's Slap Fighting Championship ... which Logan is hosting with Arnold Schwarzenegger from the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Not familiar with slap fighting? It's pretty much what it sounds like. Two competitors stand across a table from each other, and go slap for slap until someone bows out or gets knocked out.

Barbaric, overly violent ... just some of the words used to describe slap fighting, much like MMA back in the day. But, cage fighting exploded in popularity, and now an undefeated slap fighting champ tells us he believes the sport is about to blow up.

"For us to be doing this at the Arnold, it kind of speaks volumes to where the sport is gonna be in the future, and I believe it's gonna be a thing how like the MMA scene, and the UFC started and was looked at as a brutal sport. Slap fighting is just that, but a little less brutal," Koa "Da Crazy Hawaiian" Viernes, an undefeated slap fighter told TMZ Sports.

Koa -- a 6'2", 378 lb., 9-0 slap fighter from Hawaii -- is competing in the Slap Fighting Championship Super Heavyweight World Championship this Saturday at the Arnold Sports Festival.

The comp is being hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger AND Logan Paul ... and will pit Koa against fellow undefeated champ (16-0), Dawid "Zales" Zalewski.

We asked Koa -- who grew up boxing -- what it feels like to be slapped ... and he says it hurts way more than being punched.

"If you've gotten punched in the face, it's completely different. When you get slapped, your fingers ricochet off the skin, the whole open hand, it hurts a lot more."

FYI, back in the mid and late '90s, MMA promoters had nearly an impossible job when it came to finding a venue to hold their events. In fact, MMA wasn't legal in all 50 states until 2016, when New York reversed a ban that disallowed mixed martial arts competition.

Now, the UFC -- and MMA as a whole -- is insanely popular ... and promotions routinely host hugely popular events at some of the biggest and most famous arenas around the world.

Can Slap Fighting become the next UFC? Koa thinks so ... and we're certainly not gonna tell him no.

UFC superstar Israel Adesanya says he still wants to fight Jon Jones ... but, he doesn't need it to cement himself as one of the greatest MMA fighters of all-time.

The 32-year-old martial artist and middleweight champ stopped by the TMZ offices Thursday ... and talked about everything from his rivalry with Jones, Jorge Masvidal vs. Colby Covington, whether he has a future in acting, his rise to superstardom and the money and fame that comes along with it, his awesome walk-out before the first Robert Whittaker fight, and so much more.

(Check out the full interview with Stylebender ⬇️)

On 34-year-old Jones ... we asked Adesanya if he still wanted to fight him, despite Jon moving to heavyweight and not having fought in over 2 years.

"We'll see. Time will tell," Israel told Babcock.

"I don't need it, but I do want it. I don't need it, though. People think I need it for my legacy."

You may remember ... in 2019, Jon commented he believed he would eventually fight Izzy. The men then went back and forth, igniting a rivalry that exists to this day.

Jones now resides in the heavyweight division (206-265 lbs.) ... while Izzy fights at middleweight (up to 185 lbs.).

We asked Israel -- who has flirted with fighting at heavyweight -- if that's the division where the fight would happen.

"Nah, I like light heavyweight. That's where he was dominant so I really wanna go light heavyweight."

Adesanya -- arguably the greatest striker in UFC history -- showed off some of his arsenal in the TMZ newsroom ... using a round kick to knock a cup off of Harvey Levin's head.

Don't worry, Israel's okay 😄😄😄

Bottom line ... Adesanya is a superstar in every sense of the word.

WARNING -- DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME ... unless you know Harvey Levin.

UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya paid a visit to the TMZ office on Thursday ... and naturally, we had to put his world-class skills to the test.

The Last Stylebender was up for the challenge ... saying he'd love to knock a cup off someone's head with a round kick -- and none other than our fearless leader, Harv, volunteered to get a front-row seat for the demo.

Worth noting -- Adesanya is the best of the best ... so we figured HL was never in any real danger. Harvey was not as convinced, which is obvious in the video.

The time came for Adesanya to show off his kick ... and thankfully, he knocked the cup off cleanly!!

The whole office cheered, while Harvey breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Now, a source -- whose name rhymes with Shmarvey -- swears Izzy's foot made contact with Harvey's head, but video doesn't support that at all. IF anything at all, HL felt the cup zooming off his head ... which just shows the kinda impact these kicks can make.

"In 2022 I'm gonna shock the world. July, International Fight Week, I'm gonna fight Leon Edwards. God willing I get through Leon Edwards, September, Mexican Independence Day, I will stop Canelo Alvarez."

That's UFC superstar Kamaru Usman -- the top pound-for-pound fighter in the sport -- manifesting a super fight with the world's top boxer ... a fight the Nigerian Nightmare tells us could earn him and Canelo over $100,000,000 EACH!

34-year-old Usman hasn't lost in almost 9 years ... and has beat the very best fighters in the world in the Octagon. We're talking Colby Covington (twice), Jorge Masvidal (twice), Gilbert Burns, and Tyron Woodley, just to name a few.

Over the last two years, Usman has made it clear he wants to box Canelo ... pitting the two top P4P fighters against each other.

Until yesterday, 31-year-old Alvarez was dismissive of a fight with Usman, previously telling us he wasn't interested in the fight 'cause he didn't believe it'd add to his resume.

But, seems Canelo had a change of heart on Wednesday ... when Ariel Helwani asked boxing Kamaru, Alvarez answered, "Payday. He wants a payday, I know. But maybe, maybe, why not? You never say no, right?"

Speaking of paydays -- we asked Kamaru how much money the fighters could make ... and he believes it'd be one of the highest-paying combat events ever.

"We talking 9 figures, for sure," Usman says.

But, Usman isn't calling his shot just to inflate his bank account ... he truly believes he can and will beat Alvarez, despite knowing most people will say he can't cross sports and beat the best.

Usman doesn't care.

"Absolutely I see myself winning the fight," Kamaru says, later adding ..."Everything can't be done until it's done."

Canelo has a fight on May 7 against Dmitry Bivol. There's also reportedly talk about a third fight with Gennady Golovkin that would take place in September.

The GGG fight would obviously throw a wrench in Usman's plan to hold the boxing match in September ... but they'd simply have to pick a later date.

"Keep fighting boys! Never surrender!"

That's heavyweight champion Tyson Fury addressing Vladimir Putin's Russian invasion of Ukraine ... voicing support for star boxers like Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko, Vasyl Lomachenko and Oleksandr Usyk.

TMZ Sports talked to the 33-year-old boxing superstar about the unprovoked war ... and the "Gypsy King" even said if the fight came to the US or UK, he'd be right there, gun in hand.

"Two laws, love your woman and fight for your country. So they should be fighting for their country. Why not? If the war comes to the United States or United Kingdom, then I'll be joining. Don't worry about that. We all will! Why ain't we gonna defend our own land? C'mon, behave yourself."

Some people have been surprised the boxers -- who are all famous and wealthy -- have put themselves at great risk of harm or death by fighting Putin's forces.

But, Tyson makes a great point to rebut the notion the boxers are risking too much by fighting alongside the military.

"What's money got to do with it? You got no homeland to go back to, all the money in the world's no good to you. You can't spend it."

We also talked about more optimistic topics ... like Fury's return to the ring!

Of course, Tyson is just a few months removed from his trilogy fight with Deontay Wilder. The first fight was a draw ... and TF won the last 2 bouts by knockout.

Now, Fury is set to take on fellow UK star, Dillian Whyte on April 23 at Wembley Stadium in London.

Nate Diaz isn't shooting down a third fight with Conor McGregor, nor exactly is it a lock ... the UFC superstar says "The Notorious" needs to rack up a few Ws and show he isn't soft before they step in the Octagon again.

"Conor’s gonna have to get him some wins and prove he’s not so fragile first .." the UFC superstar from Stockton tweeted.

Nate's reacting to a recent TMZ Sports interview with Dana White ... where the UFC president was asked if the curtain had closed on a trilogy fight between two of the biggest UFC stars who have ever lived.

We asked the question after Diaz recently told us he had one fight left on his UFC deal ... and he intended to fight Dustin Poirier and then lay down his gloves and retire.

So, third fight? Here's Dana.

"We're still working on [the Diaz-Poirier] fight. That fight's not done yet. I wouldn't count out a Conor-Nate 3," White told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

The UFC prez added ... "Listen, I'd be shocked if that fight didn't happen again."

Of course, the guys previously fought twice -- two of the top-selling fights in UFC history -- each winning one. Diaz submitted McGregor in March 2016. Then, the Irish superstar beat the Stockton superstar by majority decision when they rematched in August 2016.

As for the third fight ... Dana's in. Nate's in (with some conditions). What's Conor say?

Logan Paul's hardcore training for WrestleMania 38 is going off without a hitch ... so says WWE Superstar The Miz, who tells TMZ Sports the YouTube sensation is an "absolute natural" in the squared circle.

As we previously reported, the "Maverick" made a surprise appearance at Raw last week ... officially confirming his spot as Miz's tag team partner against Rey and Dominik Mysterio in April.

We spoke with The Miz about the preparations leading up to the big event ... and he says he was floored by how quickly Logan got comfortable with the complicated moves.

"Training's going really well, actually," he tells us ... saying Paul was even able to nail his signature Skull Crushing Finale in no time.

"Logan -- I showed it to him like, once. Literally picked it up like that. I was like, 'Oh, okay. This is gonna be fun!!'"

Miz says Logan's amateur wrestling background (he was a beast in high school) and boxing training has helped him immensely ... and it's going to show in his performance.

As for Paul's future in WWE, Miz says he truly thinks Logan could go full-time with Vince McMahon's organization.

Ukrainian UFC fighter Maryna Moroz -- who is fighting in 5 days -- has a message for Russian President Vladimir Putin as his troops invaded her homeland, killing soldiers and innocent people ... "F**k you, bitch! I love my country. Don't touch Ukraine!"

TMZ Sports talked to 30-year-old Moroz less than a week before she's scheduled to fight Mariya Agapova, an MMA fighter from Kazakhstan, as Ukraine is mercilessly attacked by Putin's military.

Maryna was born in Vilnohirsk, Ukraine in September 1991 ... almost exactly the time Ukraine gained its independence as the Soviet Union dissolved.

Now, that independence is threatened ... and Moroz is understandably scared/worried by what's happening back home.

"It's hard time for Ukraine. I want to support my country, my president, whole army in Ukraine, and I want to say we don't want war. I worry about my family right now."

The situation is so bad, MM says her dad has begun making explosives at home.

"My dad makes home grenades."

Despite the tragedy surrounding her, Moroz fights Agapova Saturday night at UFC 272 ... and she hopes to show how tough Ukrainians are as people.

"I will be fighting and I show that Ukraine people are strong, and my flag will be in the Octagon."