Fights

Add AJ McKee to the list of people who want to beat up former kickboxing champ and internet star Andrew Tate, with the Bellator star telling TMZ Sports, "I wanna put my fist in his mouth!"

35-year-old Tate -- one of the most polarizing people on the internet -- has become a staple on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok ... with his often very controversial takes.

Enter McKee, the 18-1 MMA star says he's tired of Tate popping up on his stream, 'cause the guy rubs him the wrong way.

"There's nothing really up with us. I'm just tired of hearing and seeing and -- like bro, every time I get on Instagram, I see him in my feed. It's annoying! He's always talking. He tries to project himself as this macho, just this OG guy."

And, AJ isn't sweating the significant size difference.

"I'm a 155-pounder now, you're a kickboxer, cool. We can step in the boxing ring and box. I'd love that. I mean, I can't find a boxing match at the moment so I mean, if I gotta jump three weight classes up there, I'm fine with that," McKee says.

AJ clearly takes umbrage with Tate's views on men and women, telling us "[Tate's] rude as s**t. It's like you're a misogynist towards women. It's like bro, how do you feel about your mother, ya idiot! She's the reason why you're on the planet. You talk that way about your mother?"

Now, 6'1", 200-ish lb. Tate isn't any ordinary internet star ... he was a legit, professional fighter. A kickboxing champion. He also beat Luke Barnatt in an MMA fight in 2010. Luke went on to fight in the UFC.

AJ says he's not doing this for notoriety -- he just wants to show off his talents -- and he's down to do it in an MMA cage or boxing ring.

"I ain't chasing clout. I'm looking for opportunities to showcase my skills in any and every area like boxing. I mean, I ain't trying to kickbox with him, he's a big boy, but we can definitely throw some hands. We can definitely do some MMA if he wants to kick."

As for McKee's skills ... he's simply one of the best fighters in the world. He was the 145 lb. Bellator champ ... and only lost his belt after a controversial decision loss vs. fellow star Patricio "Pitbull" Freire. It's the only time AJ's ever been defeated.

Tate's already been rumored to be a future boxing opponent for Jake Paul ... but if that doesn't happen, AJ's ready to go.

McKee left us with this message to Tate.

A hockey player from an adult league in Canada straight-up kicked an opponent in the face with his skate during a mid-game scuffle ... and the incident was so reckless, police now tell TMZ Sports they're investigating it all.

The scary scene happened during an Adult Safe Hockey League game on July 29th at Scotia Barn in Burnaby.

You can see in the video from the arena, two players from opposing teams were fighting each other in the 3rd period ... when, suddenly, one of the guys appeared to intentionally kick the other with the blade of his skate.

The player wearing a #90 jersey immediately fell onto the ice and covered his face. His teammates, meanwhile, went after the kick suspect before refs ultimately intervened. The guy was issued a penalty, and ejected from the game.

The Burnaby Royal Canadian Mounted Police tells us the victim received medical treatment for injuries he suffered from the kick -- adding that they've since launched an investigation.

"Burnaby RCMP is continuing to investigate the circumstances and actions that led to the player’s injuries," the officials said.

"Burnaby RCMP is in possession of video showing one angle of the incident, which has been collected as evidence. Investigators are still in the process of speaking with players and witnesses."

In addition to the ejection, the kick suspect also received an indefinite suspension from the ASHL, which said in a statement, "The conduct and on-ice behaviour depicted in the video in no way aligns with the values of our league and the rules of the game."

Adrien Broner feels some type of way about "big bro" Floyd Mayweather failing to hit him up for a fight, saying if the shoe was on the other foot, they would've already boxed and got PAID!

It's not like 33-year-old Broner -- a 4 weight class world champ -- hasn't made millions, but it's nothing close to Mayweather's crazy paydays ... like the $300+ million he says he made for the Conor McGregor fight.

And, AB doesn't understand why Floyd hasn't shared the wealth by setting up their own exhibition.

"Me, as a real n****, if I was Floyd and he was me, he would never have to fight again," AB said to Nah G Chill on CIGARTALK this week.

Broner says he and Floyd would earn north of $100 million, easy.

"This is so easy! This is a layup," AB said.

"We can do an exhibition, 10 rounds, and the whole world is gonna watch it and we gonna get in there and go to work! Hug and go in the back and get a bag but at the end of the day, I don't know what's his feelings."

For now, Broner (34-4) is gonna have to settle for Omar Figueroa Jr. (28-2) ... who he'll face on August 20 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Florida.

Newly crowned interim UFC Flyweight champion Brandon Moreno tells TMZ Sports his highly anticipated 4th fight with champ Deiveson Figueiredo -- where they'll unify the belts -- is the biggest fight in the history of the 125 lb. division.

And, it's not even really up for debate.

We talked to the 28-year-old fighter on Wednesday, and asked him about the significance of the fight.

"Man, tell me another example [of a bigger fight], please. The 4 fights between Figueiredo and I is the biggest one, easily. Tell me the second place," Brandon told us.

It's hard to think of a more anticipated fight. Demetrious Johnson vs. Henry Cejudo fought twice ... and Cejudo's win over Mighty Mouse in 2018 was improbable and thrilling. But, as legendary as both fighters are, Brandon and Deiveson's rivalry is just different.

In fact, just a few years ago, the division was in jeopardy of being scrapped altogether. Now, it features arguably the best current rivalry in MMA.

Speaking of those fights, Brandon and Deiveson already fought three times ... each man has one win. The first and third fights were incredibly close.

UFC 256, Dec. 2020, Draw
UFC 263, Jun 2021, Moreno won, submission via rear naked choke
UFC 270, Jan 2022, Figueiredo won, unanimous decision

Fast forward to last Saturday in Dallas, TX. After Moreno defeated Kai Kara-France with a perfectly placed liver kick to capture the interim title, Brandon and Deiveson came face-to-face in the Octagon.

But, despite a lot of s**t talk in the past, the men kept it respectful ... and that's the way BM says it'll stay.

"I understand I had the opportunity to make more drama, but it's not my way. I understand the business I'm in, I'm trying to entertain the people, but I'm entertaining people with my fight. I'm done with the drama, with all the bad feelings."

If Jake Paul can't fight Hasim Rahman Jr. on August 6, there's someone else willing to step in the ring in his place -- Hasim Rahman Sr.!!

That's right ... the 49-year-old, 2x heavyweight champion tells TMZ Sports he's down to fill in for Jr. and box the Problem Child.

Oh, and for good measure, he says he'll fight Logan, too ... same night.

"How about this?" Hasim says, "If somebody would sanction this, I will fight Jake and Logan back to back. We can go eight rounds a piece. Neither one of them will make eight rounds but we can sanction for eight rounds and I promise you, if I don't knock Jake and Logan out, they win."

Of course, Jake and Jr. were set to box Saturday at MSG ... but the fight was scrapped after Paul accused Rahman of ignoring their contractually agreed-upon weight limit.

Now, let's be honest ... two fights in one night ain't happening, but you get Hasim's point. He isn't all that impressed with what he's seen in the ring from the Paul bros.

In 2001, Rahman Sr. shocked the sports world when he knocked out one of the greatest heavyweight boxers ever, champ Lennox Lewis ... becoming the unified heavyweight champion of the world.

Throughout his career, Hasim racked up a 50-9-2 record with 41 KO's. He retired in 2014.

We also asked Rahman about the possibility Jake and his son could still fight another time ... and Hasim had a suggestion for ensuring the terms of the contract are followed.

"If the public demands it, both sides can put up a million dollars in escrow. That way we can be sure that ain't nobody gonna not make weight. If somebody miss weight, whatever the contractual demands are, they will be met or somebody gonna lose their million dollars."

So will it be Hasim Rahman Sr.? Rahman Jr.? Tommy Fury? Someone else? Stay tuned.

Horrifying scene at a soccer game in Argentina this weekend -- when a male player absolutely lost it and attacked a female referee after being handed a yellow card.

It all went down during a third division match between Garmense and Independencia of the Tres Arroyos Regional League ... when player Cristian Tirone unleashed on official Dalma Cortadi while her back was turned.

In video of the incident, you can see several players try to stop the attack ... but to no avail.

Cortadi fell to the ground after the hit ... but was eventually able to get back to her feet. She was later taken to a hospital, but luckily, she didn't suffer any serious injuries.

Tirone was immediately taken off the field and arrested .... and Cortadi says she has filed charges against the player.

Garmense released a statement on the awful incident ... saying, "Given the events that occurred this Sunday during the Third Division football match that was played in the city of Adolfo Gonzales Chaves between Garmense and Independencia, during which a player from Garmense physically attacked the woman who officiated as referee, the Club expresses its energetic repudiation of this action that is at odds with the spirit that is intended to instill with the practice of this sport."

Tirone has been permanently banned from the soccer league ... and Cortadi agrees with the decision.

"You have to kick him out forever," she told La Nacion. "He should never be in any club. He is a violent person. He must also be in his daily life. I saw it on the video: a normal person does not do what this man did. No person deserves this. We don’t go to the [matches] to be beaten."

Blueface got into a knockdown, drag-out fight with gf Chrisean Rock on the streets of Hollywood early Tuesday morning ... and it's all caught on video.

It appears Chrisean is the initial aggressor, following the rapper as he walks down the street and grabbing at his shirt, yanking him backward.

She pushes Blueface while still clutching his shirt, and then smacks him across the face.

Blueface then slugs Rock in the head, knocking her to the ground and ripping off the chain around her neck.

She then drags him by his shirt around the corner, where Blueface throws her against the wall and strikes her several times in the head and body.

It's a bizarre encounter ... at times seemingly in slow motion. Eventually, the fight just peters out, and they go their separate ways.

Cops were called but by the time they arrived both Blueface and Chrisean were nowhere in sight.

We've reached out to Blueface ... so far no word back.

Dev Patel sprung into action when cameras weren't rolling -- stopping a knife fight between a man and woman down in Australia ... but apparently not wanting credit for his heroic deed.

The English actor -- famous for roles in 'Slumdog Millionaire,' 'Lion,' 'The Green Knight,' etc. -- was involved in a skirmish Monday in the city of Adelaide, where he currently resides. According to 7News, DP threw himself between a couple who were going at it.

Witnesses say this guy and gal had been arguing at a service station/convenience store, and were getting so heated that others tried stepping in to break them apart -- but they kept at it.

The woman allegedly then stabbed the man in the chest with a knife, and it's at this point that Dev was reportedly in the mix. It seems whatever he did to separate them helped keep a bad situation from getting worse -- and he stayed on the scene afterward to talk to cops.

The man was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, so it seems he's okay. The woman, meanwhile, was arrested. Now, Dev should be taking all the pats on the back he can get right now, he doesn't seem to want much acknowledgment for what he did here.

Hasim Rahman Jr. out -- Bola Osundairo in ... vs. Jake Paul?!

If one of the brothers who assisted Jussie Smollett in his hate crime hoax gets his way, that's exactly what'll happen ... 'cause Bola tells TMZ Sports he's ready to fight Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, as was originally scheduled.

“Do not cancel that fight Jake Paul. Fight me instead. I am ready to fight this Saturday," 28-year-old Bola said Monday afternoon.

The 2-0 pro fighter (who also had several amateur fights) tells us he's a superior fighter to both boxers Jake was set to scrap with August 6.

"I’m ready to fight. I’m better than Hasim Rahman Jr., or Tommy Fury. I’m actually ranked higher than Tommy Fury and he has 8 pro fights, and I have 2 pro fights. He’s ranked 340, I’m ranked 193."

23-year-old Fury -- Jake's original opponent -- dropped out of their fight after having Visa issues, leaving him unable to reach the U.S.

Of course, Bola was one of the two brothers who assisted Jussie in his hoax attack ... before cooperating with authorities. Smollett was ultimately convicted of 5 felonies.

In ways, the fight makes more sense than Rahman Jr., who's significantly bigger than Jake (Hasim previously fought weighing over 260 pounds). The fight fell apart over weight issues ... the 12-1 boxer wasn't going to be able to make 200 pounds, as was contractually obligated.

Bola is 6'1", 188 pounds ... virtually identical to the 6'1", 190 pounds that Paul weighs.

And, Osundairo says he's more well-known than Rahman Jr. ... so it'd be an even bigger draw.

"People know me. People know of me. I’m one of the Nigerian brothers involved in the Jussie case, the Jussie Smollett case. So it will sell, this fight will sell. People know me more than Hasim Rahman Jr. Nobody knows him outside of boxing."

Bola ended with a shot at Jake (and Jussie).

Jake Paul purposely ran away from his fight against Hasim Rahman Jr. ... so says the former boxing champ's son, who claims he easily could have made weight for their August 6 bout -- but the YouTube superstar got scared.

HRJ faced the music hours after Paul's Most Valuable Promotions announced the bout at Madison Square Garden was scrapped ... and he claims it's a sketchy situation.

Rahman claims he could've easily made weight for the fight ... but the Problem Child simply didn't want to risk losing.

HRJ says he "absolutely" could have made it to 205 pounds in order to make the fight happen ... but claims Jake's camp wouldn't let it happen.

Rahman has some words for Paul ... basically calling him a fraud and vowing to keep the YouTuber from ever claiming a real belt.

WARNING -- if ya haven't finished your morning Cheerios yet, you might want to do so before clicking here!!!

MMA fighter Blake Perry horrifyingly broke his nose during a match on Sunday -- after taking a brutal knee to the face.

The gruesome injury happened in the first round of Perry's tilt with Marcel McCain at Urijah Faber's A1 Combat event in Stockton, Calif.

As the two were dukin' it out in the opening moments of their fight -- McCain grabbed the back of Perry's head with his arms ... and then drove his knee right into Perry's grill. Video of the strike shows McCain's knee landed flush, and caved in Perry's nose.

Somehow, though, Perry kept fighting despite his face's disfigurement.

But, during the break following the first round ... it became clear Perry shouldn't continue, and doctors ultimately stopped the contest.

No word yet on how Perry is doing today -- but something tells us breathing ain't exactly easy work.

Jake Paul's boxing match against Hasim Rahman Jr. has been canceled, according to the Problem Child's boxing promotion, after the 12-1 fighter allegedly failed to meet contractual obligations tied to his weight.

Paul vs. Rahman Jr. was set to go down August 6 at Madison Square Garden in NYC ... but just one week before the highly anticipated scrap, Most Valuable Promotions announced the fight was off.

It all has to do with the weight of Hasim, who previously fought at heavyweight, weighing more than 260 pounds. For the fight with Jake, Rahman Jr. agreed to weigh a maximum of 200 pounds at weigh-ins, the day before the fight.

However, MPV says Rahman Jr. was obligated to show the NY state athletic commission officials he was losing weight in the lead-up to the fight, in an effort to prevent a big weight cut in an attempt to make 200 pounds.

Unfortunately, MVP says Hasim had lost less than one pound since signing the contract for the fight more than 3 weeks ago.

Due to this development, the athletic commission dictated the fight would be fought at 205 pounds instead. Paul -- who weighed in at 190 pounds for his second fight with Woodley -- says he agreed to the change.

But, MVP claims Rahman Jr. then demanded the match be fought at 215 pounds ... a huge jump from the originally agreed upon 200 pounds.

That's where Jake drew the line ... and that's why MVP says the fight isn't happening.

"MVP and Jake Paul will not reward someone that has conducted themselves in such a deceiving and calculated manner. Therefore, MVP is left no choice but to cancel the August 6th event. This forced outcome impacts Jake Paul, Amanda Serrano and every other fighter on this card who have trained tirelessly over the past few months for this event," a statement released by the promotion said.

A few weeks ago we talked to Rahman Jr. ... and he seemed to take issue with the weight cut.

Jake responded to the cancelation, saying ... "First Tommy Fumbled and now Hasim Rahman Crumbled. These boxers are the most difficult people to work with and continually lack professionalism and confidence to fight me."

"I apologize to all of the other fighters on the card, our partners, our team and the fans."

Of course, Hasim wasn't Jake's original opponent. That was supposed to be Tommy Fury ... but Tyson's bro pulled out over issues traveling to the U.S.

Ric Flair is preparing for his final wrestling match the only way the Nature Boy would -- by training his ass off and drinking every night leading up to it.

73-year-old Flair is slated to wrestle for the very last time (and first in-ring bout since 2011) on Sunday in Nashville ... teaming up with his son-in-law, Andrade El Idolo, and fighting Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett.

We spoke with Naitch leading up to the fight ... and he says he's faced plenty of challenges in training, but he never thought once about postponing or backing out.

Flair says he recently thought he had pneumonia or COVID-19 and dealt with plantar fasciitis ... but now, he's "good to go."

"I would never postpone it," Flair tells TMZ Sports. "They'd have to kill me for that. So many people have contributed their time and effort to make this happen. I just wanted to be at 100% of what I can be now."

Flair has dealt with numerous issues in the past -- he previously said it's a "miracle" he's alive after several serious health scares -- but he tells us he's beating all odds and training like a madman leading up to the match ... even doing 500 squats a day and crushing it on the stationary bike, despite having a pacemaker.

Ric says he's getting his heart rate much higher than he's expected to, and he's also drinking his fair share of adult beverages to make sure he's his true self.

"I guaranteed you that I'll be drinking every night," Flair told us. "I don't do good when I don't drink."

Flair says it'll be an emotional night to say the least ... and his whole family will be there to watch him perform.

As for whether he's guaranteeing a win, Flair's got a great perspective on the potential outcome.

Khamzat Chimaev vs. Nate Diaz is going down in September, and many fans and experts alike have said the UFC is serving up the MMA legend on a platter for an ass-whooping of epic proportions ... something Dana White says is nonsense.

White joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) where the UFC President was asked about those criticizing the fairness of the fight.

"Well, the people that are saying that obviously didn't read when Nate said, 'I asked for this fight'. It's true and he also asked for Francis Ngannou. So, if I was putting him out to get slaughtered, Francis Ngannou would probably be the fight to give him."

Fighters like Daniel Cormier and Josh Thomson have expressed concern over the fairness of the matchup. D.C. said he thinks the fighters are at different points in their career, making this a "mismatch."

JT went a little harder, saying on his podcast with Big John ... "The UFC knows what they're doing, this happens all the time. When you're on your way out, they give you the toughest, hardest fight they know stylistically it does not match with you. Chimaev is the worst matchup he could potentially get."

Here's how the men -- fighting at UFC 279 on September 10 -- stack up against each other.

37-year-old Diaz is arguably the most beloved fighter in the entire UFC. Throughout his legendary career, Nate has beaten fighters like Conor McGregor, Anthony Pettis, and Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone.

However, Nate lost his last two fights ... Jorge Masvidal (November 2019) and Leon Edwards (June 2021).

As for 28-year-old Khamzat, he's undefeated ... 11-0 professionally, and 5-0 in the UFC. Chimaev has risen to stardom arguably faster than anyone else in the history of the promotion.

The knock on Khamzat was the level of competition ... but that subsided when he beat Gilbert Burns by unanimous decision in April 2022. It was the first time Borz was tested.

In December, we asked Diaz about the prospects of fighting Chimaev (they've gone back and forth for months), and he wasn't feeling it at the time.

"Try to offer me a fight with a rookie? I'm cool. Got 4 fights in the UFC. Don't talk my name," Diaz told us.

Clearly, Nate had a change of heart.

The fight vs. Khamzat is reportedly the last on Nate's contract, so we asked Dana if he planned to resign the superstar from Stockton.

"I don't know. We'll see what happens. We'll see how this whole thing plays out. I told him, me and hi0m met here, you know Nate's been with us for a long time and I like Nate. I said, 'Nate, do whatever you wanna do kid. Go do whatever you wanna do.'"

The bottom line ... Nate Diaz and Khamzat Chimaev are fighting in less than 45 days, and fans are pumped!

Brandon Moreno says when he defeats Kai Kara-France at UFC 277, he will be the "real flyweight champ" ... despite the fact Deiveson Figueiredo says the men are fighting for a "plastic belt."

"Man, I just wanna say this, the moment Dana White puts that belt on my body, I'm the real flyweight champion of the world," 28-year-old Moreno recently told us.

"I don't know nothing about interim or whatever because I'm doing everything right. I'm training every single day, I'm eating well, I'm putting all my sacrifices to get that title back. The other guy is a bunch of excuses. He don't wanna fight and I was able and ready to fight and I'm doing that. I'm doing my job so that's why when Dana White gives me that belt, that's it."

The Moreno-Kara-France fight is in fact for the interim title ... but it's clear, interim or not, Brandon believes this fight will crown the best 125-pound fighter in the world.

And, 29-year-old Kai, the #2 ranked contender agrees.

We talked to KK-F this week, and he straight-up said he's fighting the better opponent.

"Brandon won that last fight [with Deiveson]. I thought he did enough, so in my eyes, I'm fighting the better guy, but you know me and Figueiredo will square up eventually. It's something that's inevitable. Once I get past Brandon, then we can square off against each other and unify this belt."

Moreno and Figueiredo have previously fought three times. The first fight was a draw. The second fight, Brandon won by submission, earning him the undisputed flyweight title.

The third clash was very close. DF won by unanimous decision, but many fans (and Kai) believe the judges screwed up.

Amanda Nunes is considered by almost everyone to be the greatest female fighter of all time... so, that begs the question, what's Julianna Pena if she defeats the G.O.A.T. for a second time?! We asked her.

"I don't know anybody else in this division or the sport that has been able to have the resume that Amanda has made so it's definitely worthy of being called the greatest of all time. But, now that I'm here, I am also being worthy of being called the G.O.A.T slayer."

32-year-old Pena and 34-year-old Nunes are the main event at UFC 277 Saturday night in Dallas ... a rematch of their UFC 269 scrap, won via rear naked choke by Julianna in the 2nd round.

Nunes vowed this fight will be different ... and Pena's taking her at her word, telling us she's prepared for the best version of Amanda inside the Octagon.

"She said in the countdown that she didn't hit me with the best shots and she didn't hit me with everything that she had, so I would assume she's gonna try to hit me with everything she has," Pena says, adding "I just think that I am ready for the biggest, strongest, scariest Amanda Nunes that we've ever seen."

As far as Julianna's legacy, she says she simply wants to be remembered as one of the greatest to ever fight in a cage.

"You know the moral of the story for me is that I wanna be recognized as one of the greatest in sports and in sports history for women's MMA. I want to cement my legacy by getting this win and I wanna be able to to go down in the Hall of Fame and the UFC Hall of Fame."

"That's always been my goal is to be in the UFC Hall of Fame. If beating Amanda Nunes gets me in the Hall of Fame, then you can definitely consider me one of the greatest female fighters of all time. Absolutely."