Fights

Tyson Fury just whooped Dillian Whyte in the 6th round of their WBC championship fight at Wembley Stadium on Saturday ... and celebrated his victory by teasing an epic hybrid fight with UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou.

Fury hit Whyte with a vicious right uppercut that sent him falling to the canvas ... and as Whyte stumbled back to his feet, the ref called the fight.

The 33-year-old champ -- who's been teasing his retirement leading up to Saturday's event -- seemingly declared that he was content with his career and ready to hang up the gloves after the win ... saying, "I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King."

Despite the retirement talk, Fury brought Ngannou in the ring during his celebration ... and the two teased an epic heavyweight bout between the baddest from both combat sports -- with Francis suggesting a fight with MMA gloves in a boxing ring.

There are a couple challenges -- first, Ngannou is dealing with a leg injury and will need months to get back to 100% ... and second, he's also in the midst of a contract dispute with the UFC. If he's under contract, he will need Dana White's stamp of approval before taking a fight with Fury.

Alexander Volkanovski vs. ... Conor McGregor??

Maybe ... if the featherweight champ gets to call his next shot, 'cause during a recent conversation with Volkanovski, TMZ Sports asked if he was interested in a scrap with the Irish superstar.

"Oh yeah, I mean [a McGregor fight always interests me], and it's always going to interest a lot of people," Alex, who hasn't lost a fight since 2013, tells us.

"It's always going to be a big fight, there's always going to be money, there's going to be a circus, it's going to be entertaining, it's going to be fun, I'll enjoy that whole f***ing thing."

Of course, Conor hasn't fought since July 2021 ... when he snapped his leg during his third fight with Dustin Poirier.

McGregor is clearly getting closer to making his Octagon return ... and Dana White previously told us he expects the UFC superstar will fight towards the end of the year.

Regarding Conor, there are several potential opponents ... welterweight champ Kamaru Usman, lightweight contender Justin Gaethje, and Volkanovski.

If you've seen Conor lately, you'll know he ain't making 145 lbs. anymore ... but that might play into Alex's hands, as the champ says he wants to move up a weight class and achieve champ-champ status.

FYI, Conor, Daniel Cormier, Amanda Nunes and Henry Cejudo are the only UFC fighters to hold two belts at one time.

Check out the extended cut with Alex ... where he and Babcock talk everything from the beatdown of "Korean Zombie" (warrior!) at UFC 273, a trilogy fight with Max Holloway, and whether or not AV's the greatest featherweight ever -- plus much more!

Full interview ⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

DaBaby appears to be at it again -- a video making the rounds purports to show the guy sucker-swinging on a man in a hallway ... and it's apparently his own artist.

The clip, which has since gone viral, was shot Friday somewhere backstage at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, SC -- where DB and other artists were scheduled to perform for something called Spring Jam 2022.

It's unclear if this happened before or after the curtains went up ... but in any case, you see a guy who strongly resembles DaBaby walking by a larger man, who seems unsuspecting.

All of a sudden, the shorter dude quickly turns around and unloads on the other guy ... apparently connecting. The bigger man, who's said to be DB's new artist Wisdom, squares up immediately and even throws a jab himself. Before long, they're broken by security.

Like we said, no word on what precipitated this or what happened later. What we do know ... cops weren't called. A rep for the University of South Carolina Law Enforcement and Safety -- which oversees the stadium -- tells TMZ ... no complaint/report was filed.

That's probably a good thing for DB ... he's got more than enough legal matters on his plate as it is. He recently shot a guy on his property -- claiming self-defense -- and that case is under review. His bowling alley beatdown case is also still in the air, albeit stalled of late.

Paparazzo Tony Vera thinks Mike Tyson isn't someone to mess with, and he'd know -- he was left a bloody mess by him back in the 2000s.

We talked to Tony at LAX Friday, the very same place he was punched by Mike all those years back ... he thinks the man that harassed Mike Wednesday got off easy in the punching power department.

Take a listen ... the guy makes some great points, wondering where the crew was when the passenger started bugging the former champ.

He tells us the memories started flooding back when he heard about what happened. As we reported back in 2009 ... Tony got hit by the boxer after getting too close to him near the ticket counter at LAX.

Police told us both parties made citizen arrests on each other, and Mike was taken away in a squad car while Tony was taken to a hospital. BTW ... Tyson was not charged with a crime but settled with Tony for an undisclosed amount.

The man Mike Tyson repeatedly punched on a JetBlue plane has lawyered up, and the attorney's first thoughts are suggesting a lawsuit might not be far away.

Attorney Matt Morgan from Morgan & Morgan, who reps Melvin Townsend III, tells TMZ, "Our client is a big Mike Tyson fan. When Mike Tyson boarded the plane, he became overly excited. At first, their interaction was cordial."

He goes on ... "At a certain point, Mr. Tyson clearly became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him in an excessive manner. This situation could have been avoided simply by contacting the flight attendant. Our client denies throwing a water bottle prior to being struck by Mr. Tyson."

As we reported, Tyson's team told TMZ Townsend had thrown a water bottle at Tyson, before Mike unleashed on him.

Townsend was bloodied and suffered what appear to be minor injuries from the punches. He declined to press charges and both he and Tyson were free to leave after the incident.

Attorney Morgan says, "To state the obvious, as one of the greatest fighters of all time, Mr. Tyson should have exercised greater restraint before using his hands on an overly excited fan."

As you see in the video, Townsend is all over Tyson before the punches.

A source directly connected to Townsend says he, "Is still in shock and has not made a determination on what his next steps will be. He hired counsel due to his physical injuries, the overwhelming nature of this event and the associated media inquiries."

It sounds like the book is not closed on this incident, and a lawsuit might be in the offing.

A Boston Red Sox prospect uncorked a haymaker on a pitcher after he was beaned during a game Thursday night ... and the punch was so violent, it ignited an all-out brawl on the field.

The wild scene went down during the Portland Sea Dogs' minor league baseball game against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies ... when Sea Dogs' first baseman and Sox prospect Tyreque Reed was drilled on the arm during the third inning.

You can see in footage of the play, following the hit-by-pitch, pitcher Marcel Renteria -- a New York Mets prospect -- appeared to say something to Reed that set him off.

Reed immediately charged at Renteria ... and then socked him in the face -- sending him crashing to the grass.

All hell broke loose following the punch, with players from both teams racing in to get in on the action.

At one point during the brawl, Renteria appeared to tackle another Sea Dogs player ... but once the fracas died down -- Renteria was clearly hurt.

It's unclear if Renteria suffered any serious injuries in the altercation -- but he was replaced by another pitcher. Reed, meanwhile, was ejected for his role in it all.

The game, thankfully, went off without another hitch following the brawl -- with the Sea Dogs coming out on top, 12-5.

Mike Tyson isn't letting his violent plane beatdown ruin his high -- the boxing legend smoked like a chimney alongside Rick Ross and Ric Flair Thursday night ... around 24 hours after he punched the crap out of a man.

Iron Mike was grinning from ear to ear with the rap superstar and wrestling legend during the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference afterparty at LIV in Miami ... taking the stage and sparking up as the crowd cheered below.

Tyson was initially supposed to speak at the weed conference Thursday afternoon alongside the Nature Boy ... but after his violent altercation with an apparent heckler, event organizers said his scheduled appearance was scrapped "due to a flight change."

Tyson seemingly made up for the scheduling conflict at the afterparty ... although it's unclear if he addressed the incident with folks in attendance.

TMZ Sports broke the story -- Tyson repeatedly punched a man on a plane at SFO on Wednesday ... after the passenger allegedly threw a water bottle at him.

Our Tyson sources claim the man was completely wasted -- and wouldn't stop provoking him until the beatdown.

The 55-year-old boxing legend was also super friendly with fans in Miami following the incident on Thursday ... posing for pictures and meeting supporters outside a hotel.

The man who got punched by Mike Tyson on a JetBlue plane has a long criminal record ... TMZ has learned.

His name -- Melvin Townsend, III, and this isn't his first encounter with cops, by any means. He's been convicted of fraud, grand theft, burglary, possession of controlled substances and trafficking in stolen property.

As for specifics, the 36-year-old broke onto a property in 2018 and stole a trailer that he hitched to his pickup. The drug possession offense was for oxycodone. Official docs don't mention other specifics. He served time twice -- one for 20 months and another time for 15 months.

TMZ broke the story ... Townsend looks like he was harassing Tyson after they boarded the flight Wednesday from San Francisco to Miami. Before the plane took off, Townsend, who was sitting behind Tyson, was hounding him. Mike's team claims Townsend threw a water bottle at him.

The boxing champ then snapped and unloaded on him with repeated punches, leaving him bloodied. Both men got off the plane and were met by cops. Townsend said he didn't want to press charges and they both were free to go.

Mike Tyson looks like a happy camper on the heels of punching the crap out of an annoying passenger on an airplane ... and he's more than happy to take selfies with adoring fans.

Iron Mike rolled up to the Eden Roc Miami hotel Thursday evening -- he's in town for a cannabis conference, and he took time to greet folks outside the lobby. He was trying to get to Miami on Wednesday when he boarded that JetBlue flight in San Fran.

This is the first public sighting of MT since we first posted the video of him raining down blows on the man who was seated behind him on the plane.

Based on this new footage of Mike in Miami, it doesn't look like he's worried about any potential fallout from the airplane beatdown.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Mike started punching the guy who had been harassing Mike. The video definitely shows him jawing at Tyson nonstop, and sources close to Mike say the guy even threw a water bottle at the champ before the fists started flying.

The San Francisco Police Dept. tells us cops responded to the scene and detained 2 people they believed to be involved in the incident, treating one for non-life-threatening injuries, but say the person who was injured refused to cooperate with their investigation.

Seems like everyone's weighing in on the video, including Dana White. The UFC honcho posted a funny video showing the proper way to engage Tyson on a plane.

Mike Tyson seemed to lose his cool on a plane on Wednesday night ... repeatedly punching a man in the face after the guy had apparently annoyed him.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the incident all went down at around 10:30 PM PT as Tyson was slated to fly out of San Francisco International Airport to Florida.

A witness on the plane says as he and his friend were boarding Tyson's flight ... the boxing legend was initially cool with them and the other passengers.

The witness tells us Mike took a selfie with him ... and then was patient with his overly excited buddy, who kept trying to talk to the 55-year-old fighter as he sat behind him.

Eventually, though, we're told Tyson had enough of the guy behind him talking in his ear ... and told him to chill. When the guy didn't, that's when the witness says Tyson started to throw several punches at the man's face.

Video we obtained shows Tyson throwing a flurry of blows at the man, which you can see bloodied the passenger's forehead. The witness says Mike walked off the plane just seconds later.

We're told the man who was punched received medical attention and then went to the police over the incident. We've reached out to cops for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

We've also reached out to JetBlue and Tyson's camp for comment on the incident as well, but no word back yet there either.

Jake Paul says Mike Tyson didn't do a damn thing wrong when he pummeled a passenger aboard his flight ... 'cause the Problem Child flat out says the guy deserved to get beat up!

"If you’re being heckled in public like Mike Tyson was you should legally get a hall pass to beat someone’s ass. This generation thinks they can get away with anything," Jake wrote on Twitter.

TMZ Sports broke the story ... 55-year-old Tyson unloaded a flurry of punches to the face of a fellow passenger in the first-class cabin aboard a Jet Blue flight around 10:30 PM on Wednesday.

The flight -- scheduled to depart from San Francisco -- never made it off the ground with Mike on board ... as the former undisputed heavyweight champ was removed from the airplane after the melee.

And, like Jake says, Iron Mike's people tell us he was on the receiving end of some uncalled for heckling just prior to the physical altercation.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat,” Mike's reps said in a statement to us.

San Francisco PD tell us they responded to the scene and detained two people they believed were part of the fight ... however, released both a short time later after they say a man treated for non-life-threatening injuries refused to cooperate.

Police did not specify whether one of the men was Mike Tyson.

Mike Tyson's rep says the man he punched repeatedly on a plane on Wednesday was not only harassing him ... but also threw a water bottle at him before the fight.

Reps for Tyson made the claims in a statement to TMZ Sports ... also saying the passenger on the San Francisco plane was "aggressive" during the incident as well.

"Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him," Tyson's reps said Thursday, "and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat."

As we reported, Tyson was seen on video unloading a flurry of punches on the man after the plane's passenger had appeared to be annoying Tyson in his seat.

Footage we obtained shows the man was bloodied following Tyson's barrage of blows ... and a witness says the guy needed medical attention.

The witness also told us the man went to law enforcement following the altercation ... though authorities still have not commented publicly on the situation.

Tyson, meanwhile, is expected to make a public appearance Thursday night at a marijuana industry event in Miami.

Bare Knuckle Fighting star Joey Beltran was nearly KO'd before his Thursday night fight -- 'cause the #1 ranked heavyweight tells TMZ Sports he literally began choking at breakfast, and would probably be dead if someone didn't step in and save him.

And, guess who played hero? Bare Knuckle executive David Feldman!!

If you're a fight fan, you know 'The Mexicutioner.' Before joining BKFC (where he has a 5-2-1 record) a few years ago, Joey spent time in the UFC and Bellator.

Beltran was eating breakfast in his hotel room in Ft. Lauderdale when his coach showed him a funny internet video.

"An old school Fear Factor video or something and I started laughing," Beltran tells us.

"Next thing you know, I started choking."

The 40-year-old scrapper says he started panicking when he couldn't cough up the food -- and that's when Feldman came to the rescue.

"Of all people, the boss man had to come up and bust a Heimlich," JB said. "Couple of pumps and I spit it out and I was all good."

"So, contrary to popular people, David Feldman cares about us fighters!"

Despite the scary incident, JB is still scheduled to fight Frank Tate (1-1-1) tonight -- the main event for a loaded fight card.

It's arguably a must win for Beltran ... who's gunning for a rematch with Arnold Adams, the #3 ranked heavyweight fighter who recently beat him in a title fight.

Mike Tyson is not letting his airplane beatdown stop him from talking to a bunch of bigwigs in the weed biz at an industry event ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Our sources say Tyson is slated to speak at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference Afterparty at LIV in Miami at around 8 PM ET on Thursday night ... despite bloodying a man in an altercation on a plane in San Francisco on Wednesday night.

What's interesting ... Tyson was initially scheduled to talk at the Cannabis Capital Conference -- an event for those in the weed industry -- at 12:05 p.m. ET with Ric Flair, but event organizers told conference-goers Mike had to cancel on that "due to a flight change."

No word on if Tyson will address the plane incident at the afterparty ... or stick strictly to marijuana talk.

As we reported, Tyson was captured on video throwing a flurry of punches at a man on a plane at SFO on Wednesday after the passenger had appeared to annoy him.

Footage shows following the blows, the man was bleeding from his forehead. A witness on the plane told us the man required medical attention and went to the police.

For his part, sources close to Tyson claim the man was extremely intoxicated ... and wouldn't stop provoking the boxer prior to the outburst.

Johnny Depp made a shocking claim in court amid in his defamation case against Amber Heard -- alleging his ex would threaten to kill herself when he tried bailing from their fights.

The actor is in Day 2 of his testimony, and among the things he's getting into Wednesday is his and Amber's former dynamic when they were a couple and living together. One of the more surprising things he laid out was the notion that Amber was allegedly suicidal.

Check it out ... Johnny explains that when they would get into these nasty blowouts -- ones he insists she instigated and dragged out, not the other way around -- he would often decide to remove himself from the toxic situation ... and claims that would send Amber spiraling.

JD paints a picture of Amber desperately trying to stop him from leaving -- alleging she'd get security involved to halt him at the elevator, etc. He even testified that she'd be in hysterics, saying what he perceived as suicidal remarks ... like how she couldn't "live without him."

He also says she'd sometimes land on his front door step in the middle of the night -- this after he successfully exited the scene -- and be shouting out to him from outside.

On Monday, Johnny kicked off his testimony by saying he'd never laid a hand on Amber -- despite her claims -- and that he was there in court seeking the truth, no matter what.

Here's Johnny Depp ripping a page from Michael Jackson's book ... cracking a window and waving to cameras and fans on his way into court.

Johnny appeared to be in good spirits Wednesday morning as he pulled up to a courthouse in Fairfax, VA for his second day of testimony in his defamation case against Amber Heard ... rolling down his SUV window and flashing a thumb up from the back seat.

The hand gestures out the car window are very reminiscent of MJ ... remember, during Michael's criminal trial way back in 2009, he cracked his SUV window from the back seat and flashed a peace sign to a sea of paparazzi.

Johnny was also bumping reggae music as he hopped out of his ride in a suit and strode into the courthouse ... where his ensuing testimony included some shocking claims against Amber.