Fights

Comedian Tehran Von Ghasri saw Dave Chappelle's attacker sneak into his area at the Hollywood Bowl just before he tackled Dave ... shedding more light on how the whole thing went down.

We spoke with Tehran outside the Laugh Factory on Sunset Blvd. Thursday, and he says he alerted security the second the attacker snuck into his VIP section ... Tehran knew something was gonna go down but claims the Bowl's security crew couldn't care less.

Theran admits everything happened too fast to personally react once the attacker jumped on stage, but he thinks his words of warning could've prevented the entire thing from happening.

He's thankful Dave's security team got a quick handle on the guy ... he also attributes Dave's safety to two other things -- his workout routine and the attacker's clumsiness.

As we reported, Isaiah Lee was arrested and booked for assault with a deadly weapon ... the L.A. County D.A.'s Office announced Thursday he won't be facing a felony charge, and they've turned the case over to the city attorney.

Kayla Harrison attempts to defend her PFL crown once again Friday night, but, she tells TMZ Sports she was originally scheduled to fight two weeks ago ... against Cris "Cyborg" Justino!

"I thought I was gonna be fighting Cris Cyborg on April 22 in Hawaii. So, yes, I'm interested in the fight," the 2-time PFL champ says, adding ... "I'm more than ready and willing to step up for that opportunity. I think the fans want it, I know I want it, I know PFL wants it. I'm ready! I thought that that was gonna happen this year, I thought it was gonna happen last week."

Then, why's 31-year-old Kayla fighting Marina Mokhnatkina tonight?

It all goes back to Harrison's free agency a few months ago. She and manager, Ali Abdelaziz, tested the waters amongst the major MMA promotions, and actually struck a deal to face Cris.

But, Harrison's contract dictated PFL had an opportunity to meet any offer she received elsewhere, and that's exactly what they did.

"I accepted [against Cyborg] and PFL had the right to match and ultimately they did. I'm happy, I'm very happy with where I'm at. I'm excited about the season, you know, I'm excited for the potential fight with Cyborg but I have four fights in front of me in five and a half months. It's no easy feat. It's a grind."

The fight with Cris is super important to Kayla ... as she's made it crystal clear her desire is to show she's the baddest MF'er in MMA.

How do Kayla and 36-year-old Cris match up? Justino, regarded as one of best female MMA fighters of all-time, has only lost twice in her career. One L was to the G.O.A.T., Amanda Nunes in 2018. The other was literally her first ever pro fight ... in 2005.

Kayla, who got into the sport in 2018 following two Olympic gold medals in Judo, is undefeated at 12-0. She's twice entered, and won, the Professional Fighters League tourney.

Johnny Depp's team is trying to tear apart Amber Heard's testimony ... claiming it's nothing more than performance art.

Johnny's spokesperson tells TMZ ... their prediction during opening statements has now come to fruition ... that Amber has been "preparing to give the performance of her life in this trial." They now say their prediction was dead-on accurate.

They claim her stories of abuse have evolved with "new and convenient details" as time goes on. By contrast, they say Johnny's "recollections have remained exactly the same throughout the 6 painful years since her first allegations were made."

They also say the upcoming cross-examination from Johnny's team will be telling, as Depp's attorneys zero in on alleged inconsistencies in her stories. As you know, Amber wrapped up day 2 of her testimony ... where she told the jury he called her a "nagging bitch" and a "c***."

Amber also claimed Johnny once penetrated her with a glass bottle during one of his alleged violent outbursts.

Dave Chappelle's attacker seemingly committed a crime, but it won't be enough to charge him with a felony ... so says the district attorney.

The L.A. County D.A.'s Office made the announcement Thursday, saying they've turned the case over to the city attorney, adding, "After reviewing the evidence, prosecutors determined that while criminal conduct occurred, the evidence as presented did not constitute felony conduct."

Our LAPD sources tell us they pushed for a felony charge when they submitted their findings, but the D.A. clearly disagreed.  There has been a war brewing between the LAPD and L.A. County D.A. George Gascón, who has decided not to file charges in cases traditionally have been filed.

As we reported, Isaiah Lee was arrested and booked for assault with a deadly weapon after the attack. Law enforcement sources tell us he pointed a replica gun with a knife attached to the barrel at the comedian as he rushed the stage.

Lucky for Dave, his team jumped into immediate action, restraining the attacker and pummeling him in the process.

Dave Chappelle gave mad props to Jamie Foxx, Busta Rhymes and Jon Stewart for stepping in and taking down the dude who attacked him at the Hollywood Bowl, but we've now learned the famous comedian was doing what he does -- joking.

Dave's spokesperson, Carla Sims, tells TMZ ... immediately after the attack, D.C. went directly back to standup mode, grabbing the mic and celebrating the beatdown ... saying Busta was helping stomp on the 23-year-old who was armed with a replica gun and real knife.

Dave also called Jamie out on the stage and thanked him for participating.

And, at the after-party, Dave told the crowd ... you know you've crossed the line when Jon Stewart gets a few licks in of his own.

Well, now Sims is telling us Dave's comments were simply part of his ever-evolving act ... in that none of the 3 guys threw a punch or otherwise participated in the takedown.

Now Jamie, Jon and Busta probably appreciate the clarification ... it's unclear if the attacker may lawyer up, claiming he was the victim of excessive force by people on the stage, so clearing things up would protect them from possible legal action.

The SF Giants lost to the Dodgers on Thursday night ... and then one of their fans got dropped in a fist fight afterward -- and the violence was all captured on video.

Shortly after Brandon Crawford and the Giants took an L at Dodger Stadium ... one of their fans suffered the same fate in a scrap outside the venue.

Footage shot by a bystander shows the Giants fan got into an argument with a man in a white T-shirt -- and seconds later, it didn't end well for him.

You can see the guy in the Joe Panik jersey was popped in the face twice -- with the second punch putting him on the ground.

Fortunately for the Giants fan, the other combatant took off following the big right hand -- appearing to save him from further damage.

Doesn't seem anyone suffered any significant injuries -- other than perhaps a big blow to the ego.

Of course, this is far from the first tilt between fans at MLB games this month ... just a couple days ago, Chicago Cubs fans fought it out in the bleachers at Wrigley Field.

Amber Heard is testifying for the second day, telling the jury Johnny Depp called her a "nagging bitch" and a "c***."

Amber told jurors ... a year into their relationship, it was apparent to her Johnny had an extreme substance abuse problem ... passing out, getting sick and losing control.

She described an incident where she says Johnny tried to burn a painting, and how he accused her of having an affair with a musician. She says during that time, Johnny was strung out on cocaine, and not eating or sleeping.

She says in 2013, during a junket in Tokyo for "The Lone Ranger," Amber called him out on drinking in front of his kids, and she says he became upset that she was judging him. She says he screamed at her in the hotel room and called her a "nagging bitch" and a "c***."

Heard has experienced a range of emotions on the stand since her testimony began Wednesday ... from sadness and happiness to anger. She detailed claims of Depp searching her for drugs, times he allegedly got physical with her and even how they first met ... including their first kiss on the set of "The Rum Diary."

Depp arrived at court Thursday in rockstar fashion -- with fans greeting him and holding flowers and posters to show their support. Depp waved, touched his heart and thanked them as he went inside.

It's unclear exactly how long Heard will be on the stand ... but her time will almost certainly include more explosive testimony and allegations.

We'll be carrying the whole thing live.

Dave Chappelle thanked his comrades in arms for beating the crap out of his Hollywood Bowl attacker -- this just hours after it went down -- and TMZ has obtained audio where Dave opens up about the terrifying incident.

Dave was characteristically funny but also very serious, when he told the crowd Tuesday night at the Pendry Hotel in WeHo, "I felt good my friends broke his arm. I felt good, how bad does a n***** have to be that Jon Stewart would stomp him!"

But, Dave had his limits, telling the crowd, "Killing that n**** would have been stupid."

Dave thanked his friends during the after-party ... it seems some of the folks who subdued the attacker were on hand. Dave expressed his gratitude this way ... "those are very powerful friends and I'm sharing [this night] with people I love very much."

Although Dave continued on with his act after the attack, he was clearly shaken, but he seemed chill at the after-party.

Busta Rhymes co-hosted the after-party with Dave ... btw, Busta's one of the celebs who got his licks in when the attacker was neutralized.

Of course, as you know, the 23-year-old attacker was injured and taken to a hospital. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.

The Island Boys will have an opportunity to show off their hands -- and secure the bag -- 'cause Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd just got an offer to be cast on a boxing competition pitting social media stars against each other in the squared circle.

The new reality show is called "Ultimate Social Boxing" ... and will pit 32 social media stars against one another as they attempt to fight their way to the top, and the winner will receive $1 million!

TMZ Sports talked to LiveOne founder Rob Ellin (brother of 'Entourage' creator Doug Ellin), and one of the people behind the show. Ellin is currently beginning to cast the series.

Two of those spots ... well, Rob would like the Island Boys to enter the competition.

"We want you. It looks great. It looks energetic. It looks like those guys have those promotional skills. Again, to have that energy of becoming a true brand. Steve Austin, right? The Rock. Hulk Hogan. You want dolls made of you? You want a career? You wanna build brands? You want to own tequila companies? Yeah, sure. But, you better get yourself into boxing shape," Ellin said.

Of course, the bros blew up after their song, "I'm An Island Boy" exploded in popularity last year.

And, they've seemingly taken up boxing lately ... showing off their skills (😬) on social media, doing bag and mitt work.

Boxing and entertainment have become more intertwined over the last few years ... and particularly since Jake Paul burst onto the boxing scene.

Paul flipped the sport on its head in many ways ... but that could only happen because, like him or not, Jake's a talented fighter.

The Laugh Factory, one of the meccas of standup comedy in Los Angeles, is beefing up security ... and it's in response to the attack on Dave Chappelle and the Oscars slap.

Honchos at the famous comedy venue on Sunset Blvd. tell TMZ not only have they put up a sign in support of Dave, but they're also going to great lengths to protect comics after what happened during Dave's set Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl.

Remember ... an attacker jumped on stage and lunged at Dave, slamming him to the ground before running around the stage and eventually catching a beating. The guy had a replica gun with a real knife attachment.

We're told the new security plan at the Laugh Factory features more security guards both inside and outside the venue, including plainclothes guards in the crowd tasked with preventing anyone from rushing the stage.

Somehow, Dave's attacker got the gun/knife into the Hollywood Bowl and past metal detectors, and we're told the Laugh Factory is now using a metal detector at the front door for the first time ever.

The Chappelle attack also prompted a staff meeting at the Laugh Factory ... with leadership blaming the incident on the Will Smith slap at the Oscars, seeing it as some sort of copycat effect, combined with a lack of criminal charges for Will.

This photo shows how scary it must have been for Dave Chappelle Tuesday night at the Hollywood Bowl, because the gun/knife that was thrust toward him looked like it could have fatal consequences.

The knife is affixed to the barrel of the gun, like a bayonet. As we reported, the gun was a replica but the knife is real ... real deadly if the attacker had actually used it when he jumped on stage and lunged at Dave, slamming him to the ground.

The big question ... how on earth did the 23-year-old assailant get the gun/knife past the metal detector? Our LAPD sources say there was one entrance area where the metal detector could be circumvented. That itself is a HUGE problem.

As you know, a bunch of people, including Jamie Foxx and Busta Rhymes, pounded on the guy ... who was injured and taken to the hospital. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon.

Dave continued his show and was uninjured, but he was clearly shaken up.

The moment Dave Chappelle was attacked on stage in front of thousands of fans was crazy as hell ... so says former NFL star Marcellus Wiley who tells TMZ Sports he was in the building for the whole thing!!

We spoke with the star of FS1's "Speak For Yourself" ... who wasn't the only celeb in attendance, and he told us the scary incident unfolded right in front of his own eyes.

"Yea, I was in the building man, and it was crazy to be there," Wiley said. "Lot of stars in the building, but the moment it occurred is crazy 'cause it was time to leave. Dave was leaving the stage and coming back for an encore."

Wiley says he was eagerly awaiting the musical act Chappelle was introducing, Black Star, when suddenly, a guy from the crowd rushed the stage and attacked the comedian.

"Now, I'm gonna say he missed his moment, too, because he missed that tackle," the ex-NFL star said. "As a former football player, he could have got a lot cleaner hit, but he's not a former linebacker. But, he tackled Dave, and then next thing you know, the dude gets up, takes off running thinking he Barry Sanders."

He continued ... "And boy, that's when security started working. About 50 people -- including Dave, Jamie Foxx -- you just saw everyone just bum rush this dude in the corner right in the back. It took about 3-5 minutes to finally get the dude out of there. It was a lot of elbows, a lot of stomping, and a lot of people who were upset at that moment."

Of course, we had to ask Marcellus if he initially believed the attack was fake ... a skit of sorts aimed at poking fun at Will Smith's attack on Chris Rock at the Oscars.

"In the moment I was like, 'Yo, that's crazy,'" Wiley said. "Then I was like 'Yo, that's some Will Smith stuff.'" Wiley admits he thought Chappelle was making light of the Smith incident, but quickly realized that wasn't the case when he saw the beatdown the attacker was receiving.

Despite the chaotic scene, Marcellus told us the craziest part of the night wasn't even the guy getting hammered after the failed ambush attack.

The same guy who allegedly rushed Dave Chappelle on stage also used the comedian as the inspiration behind his own rap career ... naming a song after DC.

You heard that right ... Isaiah Lee, the 23-year-old allegedly responsible for the attack, is a self-proclaimed rapper by the name of NoName_Trapper. He actually has a song on his 2020 album titled, "Dave Chapelle' on Spotify.

The song's lyrics are puzzling, mostly repeating, "laugh at you n****s a joke."

Lee also has a decent social media following, with 32k followers, and only follows 80 people ... Dave being one of them. He posted a bizarre video of himself yesterday with a filter to give himself a bloody nose and devil horns.

As we reported, Lee rushed and tackled Dave while he was onstage at The Hollywood Bowl Tuesday night -- holding what we're told was a replica gun and knife.

Dave Chapelle took a hard hit and fell to the ground, before Dave's team stepped in and gave the guy a severe beatdown ... Jamie Foxx was also in the melee, and got some hits in too.

Those of you who wanna see Francis Ngannou box Tyson Fury -- the world's best heavyweight fighter -- ear muffs ... 'cause Dana White tells TMZ Sports it's just silly talk.

"Nobody is beating my door down for this fight. And I love Tyson Fury, I'm friends with Tyson. He's one of the greatest boxers of all time. One of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time going in against one of my MMA guys. We saw this movie before. We know how this story ends," the UFC president plainly told us.

There's been some discussion around Francis and Tyson boxing in the past ... but it really heated up once Ngannou went into the ring following Fury's brutal 6th round knockout of fellow British heavyweight star Dillian Whyte.

The champs in their respective sports exchanged some friendly talk ... and hinted they'd face each other in a hybrid boxing match (say MMA gloves, boxing rules).

The issue for Francis ... he's currently under contract with the UFC. So, in order to box Fury, Dana's got to give the fight his blessing.

And, of course, White's done it before ... allowing, and then promoting, Conor McGregor in his quest to defeat the undefeated legend, Floyd Mayweather.

But, Dana doesn't believe the interest in Ngannou-Fury is anywhere near where it was for McGregor and Mayweather.

"The difference was the Conor-Floyd thing became bigger than -- everywhere I went people were talking about it. All the media was talking about it, fans wanted to see it."

FWIW, according to stats online, Conor and Floyd is the 2nd most bought pay-per-view fight ever ... with 4.2 million buys at $100 a pop.

Dana also mentioned Francis' last fight ... when he took on interim champ Ciryl Gane. Ngannou used more wrestling in that fight against Ciryl -- an incredibly athletic striker -- than ever before in his MMA career. It's also worth noting the UFC champ sustained a serious leg injury leading up to the bout.

As good as Gane is, Fury's boxing ability is so freakin' good it's hard to imagine an MMA fighter, even with otherworldly power like Francis, have the ability to land flush shots on Tyson ... a sentiment with which Dana agrees.

"100% and he just fought Ciryl Gane and wrestled him. Silly conversation."

😬😬😬😬😬😬😬

There's more.

We also talked to Dana about Tuesday's premiere of The Ultimate Fighter 30 (a show near and dear to  ... starring coaches Amanda Nunes and Julianna Peña.

The UFC honcho talks about everything from Peña still believing she's the underdog to the Lioness, to Julianna's desire to fight on the same card as her buddy Jon Jones -- something Dana says isn't happening.

The guy who punched Tekashi 6ix9ine in a Miami nightclub says the rapper got exactly what was coming to him ... because the rapper was trying to "bully" him and his friends.

TMZ broke the story ... last week, Tekashi was punched in the back of the head -- a grazing shot, really -- as he was leaving Pilo's Tacos Tequila Garden. Tekashi told us he doesn't know the guy, and claimed there was no prior dispute.

The puncher -- who goes by ItzMrBHN on social media -- tells a different story ... he says he's run into 6ix9ine in the past, they've never liked each other and he's just tired of the artist bullying others.

He claims Tekashi was filming him and a group of friends last week, calling them the "n-word" and saying "p***y" while recording them ... which was evident in videos Tekashi himself posted on his IG stories.

As Tekashi was exiting the club, ItzMrBHN claims a security guard pushed him and stomped on his shoes ... and that set him off.

Floyd Mayweather may be retired from boxing professionally, but he isn't done making money ... in fact, "Money" says he plans to continue making bank into his 90s just like Warren Buffet.

The 45-year-old undefeated boxer posted a sweet video of his young grandson watching "grandpa" train. Floyd wrote the caption of his post to the young boy, and offered him some wise words.

"Grandson, I’m very thankful for your great Granddad teaching me the sweet science of boxing, to hit and not get hit. I believe in working smarter, not harder. I retired from the sport undefeated with all my accolades and on my own terms," Floyd wrote.

"Even in retirement, I’m still able to milk the game of boxing, continuing to make 8 figures or more. I will continue to do exhibition bouts making tons of money and people from all around the world will continue to pay because my hustle is just different."

FYI, Floyd's referring to his dad, Floyd Mayweather Sr., when he says "great Granddad"... a former fighter turned trainer who coached Floyd as he became the world's best and most popular boxer.

Then, Floyd made it clear ... just because he's done fighting professionally, that doesn't mean he's done making money.

"I will continue to do exhibition bouts making tons of money and people from all around the world will continue to pay because my hustle is just different. If Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, and the Waltons continue making money in their 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s, then I’m not retiring from making money and I’m younger than all of them."

Of course, Elon, Bill, Jeff, and Warren are 5 of the richest people in the world ... and are all at least 50 years old.

Here's a breakdown of age and money (according to Forbes).

Musk, 50, is the world's richest (known) man ... and has a current net worth of $251 billion.

Bezos, 58, is the third wealthiest person on Earth ... amassing a fortune worth nearly $148 billion.

Gates, 66, is right behind the Amazon founder (BG's 4th wealthiest) ... he's worth $130 billion.

Buffett, 91, is the oldest person Floyd named ... but the 6th wealthiest person hasn't slowed down. The "Wizard of Omaha" is still the Chairman and CEO of his massive holding company, Berkshire Hathaway. Warren is worth $117 billion.

Now, Floyd's wealthy (he once made over $300 million for 30 minutes of work -- see Conor McGregor fight), but not that wealthy, yet.