Fights

Ric Flair is silencing those who question if he's lost his wrestling mojo by showing he can still hang inside the squared circle ... and even still has a few moves up his sleeve.

"Nature Boy" -- regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers ever for his iconic run in WCW and WWE -- posted video with AEW wrestler Jay Lethal ... and the Hall of Famer looked damn good!

The 73-year-old was "styling and profiling" throughout the video, using some of his signature moves on Lethal ... and it's clear the former 16X World Heavyweight Champion hasn't lost too much off his fastball.

"Someone Had The Audacity This Weekend To Ask Me If I Can Still Do This. I Said “Really??? Naitch Don’t Play!” WOOOOO! @thelethaljay" Flair wrote on social media.

Of course, Flair and Lethal have a history together. In 2010, Lethal interrupted Flair during a segment on TNA's Impact Wrestling and impersonated the Nature Boy's boisterous persona the entire time -- and the crowd got a kick out of it.

Flair and Lethal got into a "Woo Off" ... in one of the most memorable moments in TNA history.

Wooooooooooooooooooooo!!

Flair's career spans over 50 years, and he's wrestled for various promotions such as AWA, NJPW, WCW, WWF/WWE, and most recently, NWA -- where he returned at age 73 last year.

Naitch has one of the most decorated careers in sports entertainment and served as an inspiration to many of the upcoming superstars in the sports entertainment world.

At WrestleMania 38, his friend and mentor Triple H left his wrestling boots in the middle of the ring, signifying he was officially retiring from the biz.

Flair got emotional when talking about HHH's career to a Dallas radio station ... saying he was "heartbroken" over "The Game's" retirement.

The investigation into DaBaby's bowling alley fight has hit a snag ... and we're told, oddly enough, the alleged victim is the reason.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the investigation into DaBaby's bowling alley brawl with DaniLeigh's brother, Brandon Bills, has hit an unexpected roadblock because the alleged victim is no longer cooperating with police.

We're told, even though much of the fight was caught on camera, it's very difficult to move forward without a victim.

As we showed you, DaBaby and his crew got into a massive fight with Brandon at a CA bowling alley, back in February. Cops were on the case, after video footage seemingly showed the "Suge" rapper throwing the first punch ... before his crew gets involved.

After reviewing the footage, police reportedly opened an investigation into the rapper.

ICYMI, beef between DaBaby and Brandon escalated ... after Brandon's sister, DaniLeigh -- DaBaby's baby mama -- publicly aired some issues. At one point, DaBaby and DaniLeigh got into a blowout fight and DaniLeigh was arrested for assault.

We're told the bowling alley investigation remains active but isn't going anywhere at the moment ... because Bills isn't working with police.

No word on why Bills isn't cooperating ... but of course, he could change his mind.

Last week, DaBaby shot a trespasser on his North Carolina property. In the 911 audio following the shooting, DaBaby talked back to the dispatcher and told them he'd refuse to put his gun down when cops arrived.

If Jake and Logan Paul make the switch from boxing to MMA, they could go up against some of the biggest talent in the game -- so says Bellator CEO Scott Coker, who tells us they could fight some Top 10 guys in his promotion!!

Of course, Coker has previously said he's had ongoing dialogue with the internet superstars ... and when we spoke with him at a Bellator event at the Grammy Museum last week, he gave us an update on their status.

"We've had convos with [Logan] and Jake about, 'What does MMA mean to you guys,' and 'What do you guys wanna do?'" Coker told us. "There's ongoing dialogue, but if they wanna really get down and get serious, we'll bring them in. Sure, why not."

Coker says Jake and Logan are great athletes who are still learning and getting better ... adding he warned people of their potential.

"When they started boxing two years ago," Coker said, "I told people don't underestimate these guys, because they're gonna get better and better and better."

He continued ... "It's just a matter of them training and practicing. If they get into a gym like [American Kickboxing Academy] with Javier Mendez ... talk to me in a year, man."

Jake and Logan still have their fair share of haters as they continue to transition from social media stars to real fighters ... but Coker applauds the brothers' work ethic.

"I'm impressed with how much they've grown over the last two years, and if they have their mind made up, I think they can come get into it."

The Bellator boss says he wouldn't put the Paul bros. against a current champion or an experienced MMA fighter just yet ... but with enough training and hard work, he believes they could fight someone ranked in the top 10.

As for his message to the Paul Bros??

Dana White says he's hoping to get Jon Jones back in the Octagon this summer ... telling TMZ Sports a fight against former heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic is an obvious move.

Bones hasn't fought since February 2020, when he beat Dominick Reyes via unanimous decision at UFC 247.

We talked to the UFC boss about the superstar's future recently ... and it sounds like this year's International Fight Week is going to be an absolute banger.

"Listen, people have been talking about how awesome this card is, and I was just telling somebody the other day our lineup for this summer is incredible," White said.

"I'm hoping that Jon Jones is gonna be a part of that lineup this summer."

We followed up and asked if this meant we could see Jon take on Francis Ngannou or Stipe Miocic ... and fans of the former champ out of Ohio are gonna be excited.

"Yeah, Stipe makes sense."

As for another UFC legend -- Conor McGregor -- Dana says he's not going to consider giving him a fight until he's 100% and cleared ... and that hasn't happened yet.

Super Bowl champion? Check. Hall of Fame career? Check. Wrestling match with The Rock? Coming soon???

Rob Gronkowski tells TMZ Sports if he ultimately makes a run in the WWE following his storied football career -- he wants to take on Dwayne Johnson!!!

Gronk broke it all down for his BFF Mojo ... saying if he got the chance to call the shots in the WWE, he'd book a match against The People's Champ.

Gronkowski said he'd prefer it to be a tag team match, 'cause he's still wet behind the ears in the squared circle ... but if for some reason The Rock wanted to join him instead of beat him -- he'd be up for that too!

"It would be pretty cool to have The Rock come back, and face The Rock," Gronkowski said, "or have him as my tag team partner."

Gronk has made appearances in the WWE before ... but he's yet to have a true match of his own.

As for why he wouldn't mind starting off that career with The Rock ... the NFL star said the guy is just one of his favorite wrestlers -- and he'd love to take a People's Elbow from the dude in front of a packed house.

It's been nearly four years since Cris Cyborg lost to Amanda Nunes ... but she STILL wants her revenge -- telling TMZ Sports she's still gunning for a rematch with The Lioness.

Cyborg initially lost to the UFC legend in December 2018 -- and she's clearly not over it ... explaining to us out at LAX that she'd love to get another crack.

The 36-year-old says she initially wanted to run things back right after the fight 3.5 years ago -- but wasn't able to make it happen.

Now, she tells us she's down to get it done in any way -- even if that means making the fight happen on their own.

In the meantime, Cyborg is set to square off with Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279 on April 23 ... and she says she's excited to try to get the win even though she's already beaten Blencowe back in Oct. 2020.

As for how much longer Cyborg plans to fight ... she tells us she's still planning to be around for a while -- hoping to get three more years in.

Boxer Chris van Heerden is fighting undefeated rising star, Conor Benn, in the U.K. Saturday afternoon ... but the vet isn't content with being Benn's 21st victim, he's looking to shock the boxing world and emerge victorious.

TMZ Sports talked to 34-year-old van Heerden (28-2-1-1, 12 KO's) in Los Angeles days before he hopped on a plane and headed across the pond for one of the toughest matchups in his long career.

We asked Chris if he felt confident he'd beat Benn.

"Hell yeah, man. You know what, we're goin' to Manchester, I know we're going to a hostile crowd. I'm excited," Chris says.

"We're talking about 20,000 people in the AO Arena. I'm going to London with one thing on my mind and that's to get the victory. I want to upset him, you know? Conor Benn 20-0."

Benn -- who was born in London -- is only 25 years old. He's ranked 5th in the welterweight division. There's been talk of him being ready to take on the likes of Terence Crawford and Errol Spence. Conor is also the son of former champ, Nigel Benn.

In the week leading up to the fight, Conor has talked about being ready to face the top fighters in the division ... but Chris -- the first southpaw CB will fight -- believes Benn hasn't faced any tough competition thus far.

"Who has he fought? Who has he fought? He hasn't really fought anybody, but much respect. I've gotta task on my hands that I know I can successfully accomplish so we're going to bring the heat to the U.K."

How does he see himself getting his arm raised?

Well, hell has officially frozen over and pigs are flying ... 'cause the long-standing feud between Oscar De La Hoya and Dana White could be coming to an end after the boxing legend told us he wanted to patch up his relationship with the UFC president.

TMZ Sports talked to De La Hoya and his girlfriend Holly Sonders outside the Christian Louboutin store in Beverly Hills ... when the conversation turned to Las Vegas, and eventually the UFC honcho.

"I wanna fix things up with Dana."

You probably know ... Dana and Oscar pretty much hate each other's guts. They've both gone back and forth, verbally eviscerating each other in the process.

"I criticized the UFC a bit and I was wrong for it but yeah, I would love to patch things up with Dana and Mayweather."

It's gotten personal -- very personal -- between the men over the years (search YouTube) ... but it's clear Oscar had a change of heart and wants to squash the beef.

ODLH says he's building a house with Holly in Sin City (which happens to be Dana's backyard, where he lives and runs the UFC ... and actually wants to work with White as business partners.

"I have some big plans for Vegas."

As for Floyd Mayweather ... TBE and Floyd previously fought each other in 2007, where Mayweather won by split decision. Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy, Oscar's promotion, also worked together for years.

Question is ... after all the barb's back-and-forth, will Dana and/or Floyd be open to the peace talks??

UFC contender Belal Muhammad says Khamzat Chimaev proved he's the real deal in his battle with bonafide title contender Gilbert Burns ... and now the 6th ranked welterweight says he's aiming to be the man who ruins Borz's undefeated record.

"[Khamzat] fought with the #2 guy in the world in his 11th fight, so I think we learned how tough he is. I still think he's a great fighter and a great challenge for me, cause he's still undefeated now. I want to take his '0.'"

Of course, Chimaev fought Burns at UFC 273 ... and won by unanimous decision. The fight was great -- a Fight Of The Year candidate.

It was the first time Khamzat was pushed in a fight. In fact, in his first four UFC fights, Khamzat was only hit one time.

But, Burns landed over 100 strikes ... and many were big, heavy shots.

33-year-old Muhammad -- who hasn't lost since January 2019 -- is set to face #5 welterweight, Vicente Luque, Saturday at UFC Fight Night.

And, Belal says watching GB and KC perform made him want to push himself.

"That fight was amazing, it was a great back and forth war and it just made me wanna level up," Muhammad says, adding, "Later, I hopped on the treadmill, I started jogging five miles right away while the main event was still on. I was like, 'alright now I know what I need to do.'"

We also talked to Luque ... and like Belal, he says the Khamzat and Gilbert fight has him pumped up and ready to go!

Errol Spence is putting all his belts on the line Saturday night when he steps in the ring with Yordenis Ugas ... but it's the guy the undefeated boxing star wants next that'll be music to fan's ears -- Terence Crawford!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the champ ahead of his unification bout against 27-4 (12 KOs) Ugas ... his first fight since he had surgery on a retinal tear in his left eye in 2021.

"I'm 100% healthy and 100% ready," Spence tells us.

"My message to anyone doubting, please tune in. Even if you wanna see me lose, please tune in, watch the fight."

But, don't count on that L ... 'cause the 27-0 (21 KOs) boxer says he's taking home the win -- the only question is whether he can turn Ugas' lights out.

"Hopefully I can get the knockout but if I can't, I'll take the victory," Spence says.

"Definitely in the back of my mind to get the knockout"

Spence tells us right after this bout, he's coming for Crawford's WBO welterweight belt  -- one of the most highly sought-after fights among boxing fans.

"That's the fight I feel like only makes sense because it would just be one belt left," Spence says.

"That's the next fight I'll be campaigning for."

But first, Spence has to win this weekend.

And, this bout's even more special because it's at AT&T Stadium ... in his home state of Texas. The mayor of Dallas even proclaimed April 16 "Errol 'The Truth' Spence Jr. Day."

"It's dope, man," Spence said, "I've never had my own day in Dallas and just fortunate that it's gonna be on April 16th when I gain another title, too."

It's also just his second bout since his 2019 car crash that nearly took his life ... which we learned wasn't the only crash Errol got into. Spence says he was involved in a second accident (his insurance company is the only one who has successfully dropped Errol).

Kamaru Usman -- the UFC welterweight champ and top pound-for-pound MMA fighter in the world -- is breaking his silence on (likely) future opponent Khamzat ... telling TMZ Sports, he's down to fight Chimaev, but it's gonna cost him that undefeated record!

"I've never had a doubt that I can and will or would beat anyone in the world," Usman plainly told us when we asked if he had any uncertainty that he could beat Khamzat after watching the Burns fight.

It's the first time the 34-year-old star -- who hasn't lost in nearly a decade -- has talked about Chimaev, who is now the #3 ranked UFC welterweight, since UFC 273.

Prior to the fight, Khamzat had literally been hit a grand total of one time during his four UFC fights. However, that all changed when Burns put a hurtin' on Chimaev, landing over 100 strikes during their three-round brawl which KC won by unanimous decision.

We asked Usman if he saw any weaknesses he could take advantage of in Chimaev's game.

"Absolutely. That's what I'm supposed to do. That's my job. That's just how I roll, what I do. I dissect each and every situation all the time, and I definitely did in that fight. But, there were a lot of things there that I knew were present all along."

Holes in his game aside, Kamaru isn't downplaying Chimaev's accomplishments, admitting he's been pretty impressive.

"This kid has done a good job going out there and defeating the #2 guy in the division. So, yeah, if that's the next fight after Edwards, then that's the next fight. But, Edwards is our focus right now," Usman says.

FYI, Kamaru and #2 ranked Leon Edwards are supposed to fight sometime this year ... though contracts haven't yet been signed.

And, whenever the Chimaev fight makes sense, Usman is ready to roll.

"I'm just focused on the next one, and if it's Edwards, so be it, I'll be prepared, I'll be ready to go in there and do what I do best."

"If it's Chimaev, I'll be ready to do what I do best. If it's the little Irish guy [Conor McGregor], I'll be ready to do what I do. That's why you're given the title of pound-for-pound best."

A Toronto Maple Leafs fan ruthlessly pummeled another man -- raining punches down from the full mount position -- in one of the most violent fan fights ever, and the altercation was captured on video.

The fight allegedly went down during Thursday's Maple Leafs game against the Washington Capitals game at Scotiabank Arena in Canada.

The man on top delivers at least two punches to the face ... appearing to break the man's eyeglasses, while other fans attempt to stop the violence.

It's unclear why the fight started, but, the man doling out the beating is heard saying something about the man touching a woman inappropriately, yelling "you can't touch a girl like that."

FYI, the guy getting beat up is never seen on video doing anything out of line to a woman.

The man was also heard saying "I will f***ing kill you!" and "I'm not a fighter, but don't f***ing touch me!"

You wouldn't know the guy doesn't fight. He got himself into one of the most dominant positions in MMA -- full mount.

"Full mount" is a dominant grappling position where one opponent sits on top of another's torso. It allows the person in the superior position to attack with a flurry of big punches, effectively leaving the person on the bottom defenseless.

Peace was eventually restored, and the guy who received the punches was helped to his feet ... face bloodied, appearing dazed and wobbly.

We reached out to police in Toronto, the arena, and the Maple Leafs organization. So far, no word back from anyone.

Bellator champ AJ McKee says you don't have to look far to find the greatest 145-pound MMA fighter in the world 'cause ... well, it's him ... telling TMZ Sports Alex Volkanovski is good -- but he's better.

We talked to the 27-year-old undefeated fighter (18-0) at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles this week ... and asked the Bellator titleholder if he believed he was the best featherweight out of all the MMA promotions.

"Definitely. Hands down. Look at the stats. Look at the finishes. He's great," AJ tells says.

"That's one thing I will say about UFC fans. Them motherf***ers are loyal to the soil. If you ain't UFC, they ain't giving you no props. But, what they gotta understand is the fighters make the organization, not the organization making the fighters."

McKee continued ... "In that case, UFC has made [Volkanovski]. He's done great. He's earned it. He's worked his ass off. But, at the end of the day, 145-pounds, I'm the baddest man walking the planet."

Of course, Alex put on a clinic at UFC 273 Saturday night ... absolutely dominating the "Korean Zombie" (who may be the toughest guy on the roster).

AJ is fighting Patricio "Pitbull" at Bellator 277 Friday night ... in a rematch of a July 2021 fight that McKee won by submission (guillotine).

McKee doesn't know how he'll win ... but damnit, he says he knows he's winning this fight.

But, we also talked to Pitbull, and he doesn't see the fight going down like that.

In fact, Patricio tells us he's winning Friday night ... and will force a third fight with McKee to determine once and for all, who's the best Bellator 145'er.

"[A trilogy] will happen. I will beat [McKee] and we will do a third one," Pitbull says.

Jake Paul says Oscar De La Hoya is right ... he can -- and already does -- beat up world champions in the boxing ring.

TMZ Sports talked to the 25-year-old, undefeated boxer (5-0, 4 KOs) after the Golden Boy told us earlier this week that the Problem Child was the "real deal" and could "beat a lot of good champions, and even great champions."

Jake's reaction??

"To hear that from [De La Hoya] means a lot, but he's right and I've been saying it all along. I sound so cocky, 'he's right!', but it's true man. I beat world champions in the gym and sparring," Paul says.

"Two years as a professional and I'm already doing that, it's clearly a natural talent that I have, a natural power that I have and I work my ass off. People don't really see that."

Jake says his hard work isn't seen by most fans, but he's killing himself in the gym, every single day.

"They think I just go in there but I'm day in, day out twice a day, three times a day in the gym working on getting better in the sport. It is awesome to hear that and I'm gonna prove that I can beat world champions on the big stage."

Jake has clearly been stepping up the level of competition. He started with a fellow YouTuber, AnEsonGib, before fighting former NBA star Nate Robinson.

Then it was time to move on to the fighters.

In his third fight, Jake boxed former MMA champ Ben Askren. He then fought future UFC Hall of Famer Tyron Woodley ... beating him twice.

Paul has made it clear he wants to go to the very top ... previously telling us he wants to box Canelo Alvarez, the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.

And Jake says it's clear people in the boxing world have begun to give him more and more respect.

"I think this last fight proved that people have to take me seriously and that everyone should be on high alert and I'm just getting started with what's to come."

Gilbert Burns wants a rematch with Khamzat Chimaev!

TMZ Sports talked to 35-year-old Burns -- the first time the UFC star has broken his silence since leaving the Octagon after losing a 3-round decision at UFC 273 -- and chopped it up about everything from a rematch, what it was fighting Khamzat, to how Chimaev would fare against champ Kamaru Usman (Burns is the only person to face both).

Oh, and Gilbert is also interested in scrapping with Nate Diaz ... if that rematch with Borz isn't immediate.

Full Interview ⬇️⬇️⬇️

But, first ... we asked Gilbert if he won the fight (technically, all three judges scored the fight for Khamzat, but the fight was razer close), and that's when he called for the rematch.

"I believe it was super close. I don't want to take nothing away from Khamzat, he was a warrior in there, too. I just believe we are not done. We have to do this again."

Burns later continued ... "Even if I think it's fair, wasn't fair, I don't want to take no credit from those 15 minutes. It was genuine, it was a lot of heart, it was a lot of intensity, intimacy, I don't want to take nothing away from that."

"I think the judges do whatever they have to do, but I'm just thinking we aren't done. Me and Khamzat have to see each other again. Somebody gotta go down next time, I don't care how many rounds we need in there."

We also asked GB what was it like to face MMA's boogeyman ... a guy many believed was indestructible.

As you may know ... Khamzat only absorbed one "significant" shot in his first four UFC fights. But, that was before he stepped in the cage with Gilbert ... who put 119 significant shots on Chimaev (KC landed 108 significant strikes).

So, what was it like to be in there with Khamzat??

"Definitely a lot of pop in his hands. That guy hits very hard. But like I said before, I have a ton of respect for this guy, but I don't see no Super Man. I don't see no murderer, no monster. I see a guy just like me with a lot of will, a lot of heart, trying to get a finish."

The UFC rankings came out on Tuesday, and Chimaev jumped from 11 to 3 (Gilbert went from 2 to 4). Prior to the fight, UFC prez Dana White told us he was eyeing a Khamzat vs. Colby Covington fight (#1 contender).

If Chimaev was able to beat Covington, it's all but guaranteed he'd get a fight with Usman.

So, as the only UFC fighter to face both Khamzat and Kamaru, we asked Burns who'd win.

"That would be a tough fight. I still think Kamaru hits harder. Kamaru put me out, you know? [Khamzat] hit me with everything and he didn't put me out."

"The difference as of right now, for sure, after these wars, that guy's gonna get better, I believe. The IQ of Kamaru Usman, if I gotta answer that question right now, will be the difference. Kamaru is a very intelligent and tested fighter. He's been in the wars, he's been against best guys around and I think Kamaru's MMA wrestling is better than Khamzat's. That's my takeaway."

Burns knows he likely won't get an immediate rematch with Chimaev ... so he has an alternative opponent in mind.

"I want a big fight. I know Nate Diaz need an opponent. I think that will be a crazy fight. I can put in the contract 'no takedown attempts.' Just stand up," Gilbert says.

Logan Paul is finally revealing how he broke his hand last year ... admitting it happened while drunkenly attempting to get the high score on an arcade boxing game.

TMZ Sports posted pics of Logan with a busted hand back in September ... but for the longest time, no one knew the 5 Ws and 1 H about the injury.

As it turns out, the Maverick was out on the town in Germany ... and when he came across an arcade punching bag at a bar, he grew determined to stroke his own "I'm a real boxer" ego and get the top score.

Logan says the bartender warned him beforehand about a column positioned right next to the game that has resulted in several broken hands in the past ... but he had his eyes set on his goal.

"I said, 'Guy, I'm a boxer,'" Logan said on his "Impaulsive" podcast. "I go, 'I'm not going to hit the f***ing wall.'"

Sure enough, on Logan's third and final attempt ... he gave himself a running start, wound up and his hand made solid contact with the Column of Doom ... shattering his paw in the process.

But, before he went to the hospital, Logan decided to record some epic #content ... showing off his bones and joking about trying the game one last time.

Eventually, Logan went to get checked out, where he learned he broke his third metacarpal -- which is located at the base of the middle finger.

The scary part -- Paul says he was told it's a career-ending injury for boxers.

"It was very hard to hear, it was very depressing -- especially when you're drunk, hearing things like this," Paul said.

But, Logan says he's recovered now and is already back to training ... and as he told us last month, he is planning to take a fight in 2022.