Fights

Khabib Nurmagomedov -- arguably the greatest MMA fighter of all time -- tells TMZ Sports his friend and protégé, Islam Makhachev, could ultimately be a better fighter!

"Definitely, it's possible. You know, right now it's like this is a legacy fight for Islam. Why I really want him to fight vs. Charles Oliveira, because he had 11 win streak and UFC never make like this fight. 11 win streak vs. 10 win streak. It's supposed to be me versus Tony [Ferguson]. Ok, it never happened. Now we have Islam vs. Charles. Let these guys fight."

"If Islam beat Charles and then he beats new blood like from young generation, we have a lot of young fighters in lightweight division ranking. Beneil [Dariush], Islam beat Charles, Islam beat three more fighters, he can become the greatest lightweight ever. He has this potential. He's only 30 years old, but UFC has to give him chance."

That was the undefeated (29-0) UFC legends' answer when we asked if 30-year-old Makhachev could be the superior mixed martial artist.

Islam is the #4 ranked UFC lightweight ... and has been absolutely unstoppable since his one and only professional loss way back in 2015.

Makhachev has racked up 10 wins in a row ... beating guys like Dan Hooker and Drew Dober along the way.

We said Islam was Khabib's friend ... but that doesn't really do their relationship justice. The men have been close since childhood, and are more like brothers. They also train together at AKA (American Kickboxing Academy) in northern California.

Of course, Nurmagomedov's resume is well-known. 33-year-old Khabib, who is no longer fighting, beat everyone from Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier to Conor McGregor and just about every other badass 155-pound fighter on the UFC roster.

There's more.

While Khabib may be retired from fighting, he's anything but retired from working. In fact, his Eagle FC MMA promotion has a huge card Friday night featuring a few MMA legends.

Junior dos Santos is fighting Yorgan De Castro ... and Thiago Silva is fighting Hector Lombard.

"Definitely this is biggest card in Eagle FC history," Khabib told us.

"I'm very excited about this!"

A man was violently sucker-punched in the eye while working out in a Thai gym on Tuesday ... and the guy says the attack all went down because he refused to give up his bench press.

The altercation -- which happened in Pattaya, Thailand -- was captured on video ... showing two men seemingly arguing over some equipment in the weight room.

In the surveillance footage, a man in a light-colored shirt can be seen appearing to ask a man in a dark-colored shirt to use the adjustable bench.

When the guy didn't give up the equipment, the man in the light shirt seemed to grow annoyed, and left the area. But, he then came back with something in his right hand.

Video shows the guy then punched the man on the bench with the item still tucked into his fist -- immediately opening up a gash on the man's forehead.

The two wrestled for several more moments, before they finally separated.

Following the altercation, the man who was punched revealed he was seriously injured in the attack. The guy claimed he needed 60 stitches to close the wound on his face, and said he also suffered a fractured eye socket too.

"He could have killed me," the man said. "If you hit someone in the head with a hammer, it’s like an assassination attempt."

"This was a piece of metal as big and almost as heavy as a hammer. I'm happy it didn’t knock me out."

Tragic news in the boxing world ... undefeated fighter Musa Yamak died during a match on Saturday -- after he suffered a heart attack in the ring and collapsed to the mat.

The awful scene went down in Germany ... when Yamak was in the middle of his fight with Hamza Wandera.

Yamak had reportedly taken at least one big blow from Wandera in the second round ... and as he was coming out of his corner for the third round of the scrap -- he stumbled, and eventually crumpled to the ground.

Trainers and other medical personnel on the scene rushed to his aid -- but, sadly, Yamak later passed away.

He was just 38 years old.

Turkish official Hasan Turan mourned the death in a social media post hours after the tragedy ... saying, "I wish God's mercy on the deceased ... my condolences to his sad family and fans."

Yamak -- who turned pro in 2017 -- had built an impressive resume in his career, starting 8-0. In 2021, he gained notoriety after winning the WBFed International title.

Johnny Depp's attorney insisted her client hadn't looked at Amber Heard once in this trial to uphold a promise he made -- but his ex is calling BS ... offering a very different explanation.

Johnny's lawyer, Camille Vasquez, kicked off her cross-examination Monday with a simple question ... Johnny hadn't shot a glance her way amid the trial, had he? Amber said she didn't believe so, and Camille suggested she knew exactly why ... because he vowed she'd never see his eyes again.

She then played an audio recording where Johnny and Amber were arguing -- this after she'd gotten a TRO against him -- and in it you hear him say something to that effect.

Amber hadn't refuted it much during cross, but on redirect -- when her attorney, Elaine Bredehoft, reopened the door on the eyes thing -- Amber pounced to refute Johnny's supposed reasoning ... arguing, instead, that he couldn't look at her because of guilt.

It made for a dramatic moment ... Amber got emotional, saying she'd survived him -- adding that she believes he wouldn't look at her since he knows he's in the wrong for this case.

She also claimed he had, in fact, looked her in the eye a few times after that meeting in July 2016 -- when they tried reconciling post-TRO -- and Amber even says Johnny had shown her kindness thereafter ... allegedly slipping her his new phone number.

We'll say this ... Johnny has been dedicated in not staring up at Amber once while she's been under oath -- which is kinda awkward, because she's certainly shot him a look or two throughout. In any case, it seems she and her attorneys think the eyes narrative is nonsense.

Anyway, Amber ended up getting the last word with her attorney leading the way -- she's done now with her testimony. Unclear if another witness is going to be called to the stand, including Johnny himself, but the court is currently on another break.

Floyd Mayweather says his canceled exhibition fight in Dubai is back on ... saying the scrap will now go down on Saturday.

The boxing legend just shared an updated flyer for the event with a new date of May 21 listed. His former sparring partner, Don Moore, tells TMZ Sports he is still the opponent.

The scrap is still scheduled to happen on the Burj Al Arab hotel helipad.

UFC legend Anderson Silva, meanwhile, will still be on the undercard for the event ... according to Floyd's new flyer.

As we reported, the fight between Mayweather and Moore was originally slated to go down on May 14 ... but was canceled following the death of United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan earlier this month.

Event organizers had vowed to reschedule the fight after a mourning period ... saying, "We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and reassure fans that this spectacular event will be staged in future."

Freddie Gibbs got into a huge fight with a bunch of dudes before his weekend performance in New York ... and it's all on video!!!

The massive brawl broke out Saturday at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Buffalo, where Freddie was in town for a performance. He's the guy in the green shirt, and video shows him in the thick of things.

As you can see, there's a bunch of people throwing punches and kicking ... and Freddie gets taken to the ground before getting up and continuing the fight. At one point, it appears items are being thrown.

It's unclear what started the fight, but there are social media rumblings Freddie's foes are "associates" of Benny The Butcher ... and the two rappers do have beef.

Freddie ended up taking the stage the same night at Town Ballroom ... sporting a shiner and a swollen eye.

WWE legend Ric Flair is back wrestling ... the Hall of Famer just announced he'll be returning to the squared circle this summer for the last time in his storied career.

The 16-time World Heavyweight champion's opponent is not yet known.

It's been a while since we've seen "The Nature Boy" in action ... Ric's last match was against the icon Sting when he was still a member of TNA Impact.

In 2008, Flair officially retired from the WWE after the "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels defeated him in a match -- where his career was on the line -- at WrestleMania 24.

Rumors about Ric's in-ring return intensified after the 73-year-old posted a video of him training with former TNA superstar Jay Lethal.

In the clip, the "dirtiest player in the game" showed fans who question if he's lost a step that he still knows his way around the ring ... executing some of his signature moves.

"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 at the time.

Flair's wrestling career is extensive ... since breaking into the industry in 1972, "Naitch" has wrestled for every notable promotion there is -- namely, NJPW, WCW, WWE/WWF, and NWA.

Insane scene at an independent wrestling event in Georgia over the weekend ... a star wrestler was headbutted by a fan -- and the blow was so violent, it ignited a brawl at the venue.

It all went down at the IWE Pro-wrestling show in Augusta on Saturday night ... when independent wrestling star Joe Black was making his way to the ring for his match.

Black appeared to have had a quick, quirky interaction with a fan -- seemingly trying to knock something out of the man's hands -- and then, suddenly, the guy lunged at Black with the crown of his head.

Black was struck near his eye by the man's headbutt -- and that set the wrestler off.

Video shot by other fans in the arena shows Black took multiple swings at the man before security intervened. At one point, it appeared Black ripped the man's shirt.

Eventually -- and, thankfully -- the two guys were separated, and the melee was broken up.

It's unclear if any arrests were made or if cops are investigating -- we've reached out to law enforcement, but so far, no word back yet.

IWE Pro-wrestling, meanwhile, said in a statement after the match, "An unfortunate event happened at the show tonight which will be addressed by IWE personnel."

Floyd Mayweather remains at the top of Logan Paul's s*** list -- the YouTuber-turned-fighter tells TMZ Sports he STILL hasn't been paid in full for the bout in June ... saying he's out MILLIONS.

It's been 11 months since the social media superstar faced off against Floyd in the ring ... and as each day goes by, Logan is getting more and more upset over the situation.

When we caught up with LP at Hard Rock Cafe in NYC this week, he said he is still fighting to get what he deserves ... and he's done talking -- it's time to see him in court.

"No, he has not paid me in full," Logan tells us. "That is a fact. Short a few mil."

When we asked if he's been trying to talk things over with Floyd's camp, Logan makes it clear it's too late for all that.

"Nah," Paul added. "We're taking this one to court."

"See you in the courtroom. Congrats on going to prison, Floyd."

Remember, the Floyd vs. Logan fight was a big success ... and Logan previously told us in February he was going to take legal action if he didn't get his cut.

If you're waiting for Shawn Porter to unretire, you can stop right now ... 'cause the ex-boxing champ tells TMZ Sports he's hung up his boots for good.

Remember, the former 2x welterweight champ retired after his bout with Terence Crawford last November, ending his career with a 31-4-1 (17 KOs) record.

But, since it's been some time since he called it quits, we had to ask the 34-year-old if he's beginning to get the itch to come back.

"Nope! I'm good, man," Porter said with a laugh this week. "I was able to do everything I wanted to do by the time I was 34 in the sport of boxing."

"With that being said, I'm ready to move forward and conquer some other things out there in the world."

SP added, "Boxing is not it anymore for me."

Of course, Porter took his talents from the ring to the broadcasting industry as a boxing analyst ... and he's been super successful there.

Jermell and Jermall Charlo vs Jake and Logan Paul?!

Not happening, according to Jermell, who tells TMZ Sports the Paul bros ain't on the Charlo bros level right now, but, absolutely no shade here ... 'cause the light-middleweight champ says he's actually a big fan of what they're doing in the sport.

"I f**k with the Paul Brothers."

"I like what they're doing. Let them keep boxing and keep going. They're gaining experience in boxing right now. They're doing what they're supposed to do. They're doing what legacy makers are doing and that's why I feel like the Paul Brothers, they're gonna keep on doing what they doing and making big money in boxing and making money on YouTube."

In fact, Jermell says other fighters could -- and should -- learn from Jake and Logan.

"Boxers need to learn from that s**t, bro."

Of course, the Paul bros, and particularly Jake, have taken the boxing world by storm. Jake is 5-0 professionally.

Jake has beaten fellow YouTuber AnEsonGib, before taking on 2x Slam Dunk champ and all-around incredible athlete, Nate Robinson. Paul flatlined the 5'8" hooper on the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. undercard ... and that's when his popularity exploded.

The Problem Child then beat former MMA champ Ben Askren ... putting the wrestling legend on the canvas.

Then, it was time for his biggest test by far ... MMA legend and future UFC Hall of Famer, Tyron Woodley, whom Jake beat twice, culminating in one of the most brutal knockouts of the year.

As for Logan ... he fought KSI twice. The first fight was a draw, and Paul lost the rematch (LP received an unusually harsh penalty during the fight which affected the result).

So, pretty impressive. But, Jermell and Jermall are two of the top boxers in the world right now. We talked about Jermell's titles ... and he isn't the only one in the fam with belts. Jermall is a former two-weight class world champion.

Speaking of brothers ... we asked Jermell if he'd ever fight his twin, Jermall. The short answer? Nope.

But, what about for a lot of money? Nope.

"I don't care about no money like that. I got enough money man, life is great. Never put my hands on my brother," Jermell told us.

There's more.

We also talked to Jermell -- who is fighting undefeated boxer Brian Castano Saturday night on Showtime -- about Canelo Alvarez's recent loss to Dmitry Bivol, and what it means for the Mexican boxing legend's legacy.

Jan Blachowicz says he forgot to bring his "legendary Polish power" with him last time he stepped foot in the Octagon ... something he says will NOT happen when he fights UFC star Aleksandar Rakic Saturday in Las Vegas, telling TMZ Sports he's gunning for a knockout.

We talked to the 39-year-old former light heavyweight champ -- now the #1 ranked contender -- just days before his scrap with 30-year-old Rakic, the #3 ranked fighter. A win could earn either fighter a title shot, and Jan knows it.

"I'm very hungry, you know, because I lost something I love. I lost my treasure and I want to get this belt back," Blachowicz said ... "I need to. I want to defeat Aleksandar and be the next contender for the title. First of all, Saturday, Aleksandar, his chin and that's it."

Of course, Jan was defeated by now champ Glover Teixeira via rear-naked choke at UFC 267 in October 2021. It was a difficult pill to swallow for Jan, who never really got going in the fight.

But, the man known for his knockout-inducing power is ready to show he still packs a punch in the cage.

"I see my punches they are clean, they are powerful that I knock him out. This is what I see, this is what I want to do. I want to knock him out. I want to punch him with all my legendary Polish power out on him. This time I won't forget my legendary Polish power."

Jan knows Aleksandar -- who has only lost one time since 2012 -- is a very tough opponent.

"He tough guy, young guy, powerful with dynamic style, powerful kicks, good wrestling, good control on ground, so it's gonna be tough fight. I'm ready for tough fight."

Now, as you'd expect, Rakic has a different vision of how the fight will play out.

The 14-2 star says he plans to beat Jan, and then fight the winner of Glover and Jiri Prochazka ... who are set to fight on June 11 at UFC 275.

If Floyd Mayweather or Oscar De La Hoya are looking for exhibitions down the road ... former boxing star Fernando Vargas tells TMZ Sports he's down to get back in the ring with both!

Of course, it's been 15 years since the 44-year-old fighter has been in the ring ... but with ex-champs like Mayweather, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. making comebacks for big money -- we had to ask if Vargas has got any interest.

And, he said yes ... emphatically.

"I'm ready," Vargas said. "My phone is open."

The 26-5 boxer said Floyd would be his ideal opponent ... but rekindling an old rivalry with De La Hoya would also intrigue him.

"Floyd knows my number," Vargas said. "Even if it's not Mayweather, it can be Oscar. Exhibition with me and Oscar. Let's go. I'm ready. Let's go, Oscar. We can make it happen!"

But, before Vargas can even set that up, he'll watch his three sons, Fernando Jr., Amado and Emiliano square up in their own bouts on the undercard of Triller's Fight Club on Saturday.

Emiliano -- the youngest of the three -- will be making his boxing debut ... while his brother, Vargas Jr., is 5-0 (5 KOs). Amado, meanwhile, is 3-0 (2 KOs).

"I know they came from me so they got their DNA from their father," Vargas said. "So, it's a blessing to be able to be here and to see them do what they love."

Vargas -- who trains his kids -- expects a win from each of them ... saying, "All of 'em by knockout. I know they got it, so we're definitely excited."

Two wrestlers in an overseas pro wrestling org. beat the hell out of each other so badly during a match -- they both left the ring soaked in blood ... and now, cops say they are investigating it all.

The gruesome tilt went down on April 29 in an event put on by the Colliery Championship Wrestling org. at the New Seaham Conservative Club in the U.K.

Competitors, Ronnie Thatcher and Blizzard, were headlining the card as the main event ... and roughly 80 people, including children, had seats to the show.

But, as the two were going at it in the ring, they suddenly got ultra-violent with each other -- unexpectedly turning the fight into a "death match."

They brought out weapons, glass, and even a weed whacker -- and straight-up mauled each other so badly they were bleeding from nearly every limb on their bodies.

In fact, one video shows Blizzard slamming Ronnie straight through a piece of wood so badly, that it exploded everywhere.

After the match, the CCW faced heavy scrutiny for the gore ... and an event organizer, James Brass, apologized for it all.

"Things can sometimes not go to plan," Brass said. "Obviously there was a little bit more that went down. I spoke to the two guys afterward. We had discussions and obviously, that will not be happening again."

But, local police clearly feel an apology ain't enough ... 'cause in a statement to media outlets, cops said they are investigating it all.

Floyd Mayweather's much-anticipated boxing match in Dubai this weekend has been called off ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Sources tell us ... the exhibition fight -- which was supposed to pit Mayweather against his former sparring partner Don Moore on Saturday on the Burj Al Arab hotel helipad -- will no longer go down following the death of United Arab Emirates President, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Government officials, according to WAM, the official UAE news agency, have suspended "work in ministries, departments, federal and local institutions, and the private sector" for the next three days due to the Sheikh Khalifa's passing ... and, according to our sources, that means the Floyd fight cannot happen this weekend.

We are told, though, the two boxers could attempt to reschedule the match for sometime next week.

Floyd has yet to comment on the fight's cancelation ... though he did mourn Sheikh Khalifa's death in an Instagram post early Friday morning.

"Sending my condolences to the entire UAE," he said. "RIP Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed."

Mayweather and Moore have both been in Dubai the past few days promoting the fight ... with Moore saying he was legitimately gunning to beat the 50-0 boxing legend.

Wowwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!

Pro wrestler Darby Allin tore down the house Wednesday night at AEW Dynamite when he pulled off a death-defying stunt ... jumping off the top of a ladder and crashing into 8 steel chairs -- and Jeff Hardy, too!!

It all went down at UBS Arena at Belmont Park in Long Island, NY, when Allin (with Sting) was in action against Jeff (with his brother Matt) in a first-round, anything goes match in the Owen Hart Men's Foundation tourney.

Hardy and Allin were exchanging blows all match, but things picked up when the "KING of the extreme" set up a ladder in the middle of the ring ... with obvious plans on using it.

Allin, who introduced multiple chairs into the match that he pulled from underneath the ring, flipped the script on Jeff ... hitting him with his signature Swanton Bomb finisher off the top of the ladder ... through the chairs.

In the insane clip, it appears Allin was paying homage to 44-year-old Hardy, 'cause he even mimicked the hand movements Jeff does before performing his Swanton Bomb move.

The spot in the match was sick ... and the AEW fans in attendance lost it, especially since they're not used to seeing Jeff on the receiving end of crazy stunts in the squared circle.