Fights

Shawne Merriman's bringing back Lights Out Xtreme Fighting -- after more than a year of being dormant -- and the former NFL star and promotion founder tells us won't rule out taking a fight!

"I'm not opposed to [fighting]," the former Pro Bowler told Babcock and Mojo on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs nightly on FS1), saying "I would fight the right former athlete, another guy in the WWE, something that people would pay to see in Lights Out."

The 38-year-old former NFL star continued ... "They got my Instagram. They got my number. If anybody really thinking about it and it's a good fight and people wanna see it, come on and step in Lights Out. I got no problem!"

Of course, Shawne wouldn't be the first former football player to transition to fighting. Former NFL star Greg Hardy, who had no combat sports background, fought in the UFC.

Matt Mitrione, former Giants, 49ers and Vikings defensive lineman, was a UFC and Bellator star. Matt beat heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko, amongst a bunch of other top fighters. Not to mention Brock Lesnar ... and the list goes on and on.

6'4" Merriman would have had the best football career (though Hardy was dominant on the gridiron, too) of all players if he fought. Shawne played around 265 lbs. and was an athletic freak. He ran a 4.68 40-yard dash and put up 25 reps of 225 lbs. before he was drafted 12th overall in 2005.

Merriman, a huge MMA fan, founded Lights Out (his nickname during his playing days) in 2019. They've had 7 events -- all taking place in southern California -- with the last going down in December 2021.

But, the promotion is back ... "Lights Out Xtreme Fighting 8: The Return" goes down on Saturday in Riverside, CA. The event preliminaries will stream at 6 p.m. PST and the main event will stream live at 7 p.m. PST on Fubo Sports as well as the network's Instagram, Twitter and YouTube plus on Shawne Merriman’s social channels

Merriman says he's signed some super-talented fighters and his only hope is they don't leave for Bellator or UFC.

"I know Scott Coker and [Dana White], I've been around this space for a long time. They all know I have a big appetite for growing and being big in the space but ultimately, it's about giving guys, these fighters more eyeballs. Giving them a platform to fight."

"UFC, Bellator, great organizations. They're actually what made me get into the fight game and watch from the beginning. With Lights Out, I think we have an opportunity to come in here and give these fighters an opportunity to go and take care of their families, be legends in the sport, be champions in the sport," Merriman says.

The House of Representatives started looking like a UFC fight Friday night, when a congressman had to be physically restrained from attacking one of his colleagues.

It went down late Friday night after the 14th vote for Speaker of the House ... where Kevin McCarthy again failed to get the required number of votes.

Rep Mike Rogers (Republican, Alabama), a McCarthy supporter, was watching Matt Gaetz ... who in part spearheaded the opposition to McCarthy and voted no.

Rogers eyeballed Gaetz having a chitchat with McCarthy, and apparently saw Gaetz mouth the word "committee." It's unclear exactly what the 2 were talking about, but Gaetz was serving on the House Armed Services Committee, which Rogers chairs. It apparently looked like McCarthy and Gaetz reached some sort of agreement.

We're guessing -- but seems like a good guess -- Rogers was worried McCarthy was going to give the chairmanship to Gaetz in return for his vote, and that set Rogers off.

C-SPAN got shots of Rogers losing it, walking to the row in which Gaetz was sitting and then fully lunging at him. Other reps tried to thwart an attack by grabbing Rogers by the chin and shoulders ... holding him back.

Rogers then screamed at Gaetz, "I won't forget this!"

Danielle Reyna -- the mother of USMNT player Gio Reyna -- is admitting she's the individual who notified U.S. Soccer about a 1991 domestic violence incident involving Gregg Berhalter.

As we previously reported, Berhalter claims someone outside the organization was attempting to get him fired by exposing an altercation from when he was an 18-year-old college freshman ... in which he kicked his now-wife, Rosalind, after an argument.

Danielle -- who's married to ex-Team USA captain Claudio Reyna -- says she told U.S. Soccer about the incident because she was unhappy with how Berhalter spoke about her son following the World Cup.

Shortly after USA was eliminated, Berhalter said he was close to sending a player home for his actions on and off the field ... and although he never named Gio, it was clear who he was talking about.

Danielle released a statement on Wednesday ... saying, "I thought it was especially unfair that Gio, who had apologized for acting immaturely about his playing time, was still being dragged through the mud when Gregg had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age."

Danielle -- who played for the USWNT in 1993 -- also claims Berhalter is making his 1991 incident out to be less serious than it actually was.

"Without going into detail, the statements from yesterday significantly minimize the abuse on the night in question," she added. "Rosalind Berhalter was my roommate, teammate and best friend, and I supported her through the trauma that followed."

Danielle wasn't the only one pissed -- Claudio also released a statement to ESPN ... saying he spoke with U.S. Soccer officials about how Berhalter was handling his son, but denies making any sort of demands.

"While in Qatar, I shared my frustrations about my son's World Cup experience with a number of close friends, Earnie [Stewart] and Brian McBride among them. However, at no time did I ever threaten anyone, nor would I ever do so," Claudio said Wednesday.

FYI -- Gio barely played during the World Cup ... despite expectations he would play a big role in America's run.

U.S. Soccer is investigating the Berhalter incident ... as well as "potential inappropriate behavior towards multiple members of our staff by individuals outside of our organization."

Dillon Danis and KSI will NOT be facing off in the ring -- at least not next weekend -- the MMA fighter has allegedly pulled out of their boxing match just 10 days before the event was slated to go down.

The two were supposed to scrap at OVO Arena Wembley on Jan. 14 ... which would have been Danis' first competition since 2019.

But according to Misfit Boxing's Mams Taylor, folks who doubted Danis would actually go through with the fight were right to be skeptical.

"The real reason is, from what they said to me, is that he's underprepared, he has no coach, he might be struggling with weight," Taylor said on Wednesday.

"For someone who cares about his reputation as much as he does, or what people think of him, I didn't think that this would be something, despite many people saying the opposite. Like, 'Look, he's not going to show up to the fight.'"

"They were right."

KSI isn't giving up on the whole event, though ... as he just tweeted, "The show must go on. I’m still fighting January 14th."

90 Day Fiancé star Biniyam Shibre hopes Dana White is listening ... the TV star and amateur fighter tells TMZ Sports he wants to turn pro -- and the UFC is his dream!

"It's not about money. It's not about my dream. It's my goal. I love this sport. I wanna do it," Biniyam said when we asked if he wanted to fight professionally.

For the time being, 32-year-old Biniyam -- who with his partner Ariela Weinberg, starred on the reality show -- is an amateur fighter with a 4-0 record. None of Shibre's fights have gotten out of the 2nd round.

In fact, he ended his last fight with Jorge Masvidal-type quickness ... knocking out his opponent with a perfectly placed kick just 6 seconds into the scrap.

Shibre says the ultimate goal is Dana White's promotion, telling us ... "UFC is very interesting to me. I'm not a UFC fighter, but every time I wear a UFC T-shirt, because it'd be a dream come true."

Bini says people ask him if he's a UFC fighter ... to which he responds, "I'm not, but I'm trying. It's my dream."

We also talked to the 90 Day Fiancé star about exposing the sport to his home country of Ethiopia ... where Bini believes there's a bunch of undiscovered talent.

Of course, some of the best fighters in the world -- like Francis Ngannou, Israel Adesanya and Kamaru Usman -- come from Africa.

Customers at a Texas Waffle House were treated to their own private WrestleMania over the holiday -- as fists and chairs flew between customers and some employees.

The video is insane, starting with some type of verbal argument between a female customer and restaurant staffer. The employee is seen throwing a plate from behind the counter and then all hell breaks loose -- with the customer jumping up on the counter and falling on employees.

From there, punches are thrown -- including several from one of the employees that connect with the original customer's head.

Finally, things seem to get under control, but only for a few seconds.

In what's probably the most insane part of the video, the employee catches a chair thrown by one of the customers in midair.

Gervonta Davis is breaking his silence on his domestic violence arrest ... calling the allegations "bulls***" -- while insisting, "I am not a monster."

The star boxer wrote out a lengthy statement on his Instagram page Wednesday afternoon -- shortly after he was released from jail -- saying the battery claims made against him by a woman on Tuesday were flat-out, not true.

Davis said adamantly, "I NEVER PUT MY HANDS ON MY CHILD MOTHER NOR MY F***ING DAUGHTER ARE YOU F***ING CRAZY!!"

He added, "IM NOT A MONSTER."

Davis included a picture of what he says is his family watching "Frozen" -- and said in his statement the photo was snapped just "moments" before he and the mother of his child got into an argument.

Davis went on to say the entire ordeal was a money grab by his accuser.

As we previously reported, Davis was arrested in Parkland, FL on Tuesday at around 2:50 PM after cops say he hit a woman in the face, causing her an abrasion on the inside of her upper lip.

In a 911 call, obtained by TMZ Sports, the woman can be heard telling cops she thought the fighter was "going to kill" her. Davis alleged Wednesday she had only made the call "BECUZ I WOULDNT GIVE HER MY TRUCK!"

Cops say Gervonta Davis roughed up a woman in Florida on Tuesday afternoon -- slapping her with a "closed hand" ... and leaving her with an abrasion on the inside of her upper lip.

Police officers spelled out the allegations against the star boxer in court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, claiming the incident happened at a residence in Parkland at around 1:25 PM.

According to the docs, the 28-year-old fighter "did actually and intentionally touch and strike" the woman "against her will" and "did intentionally cause bodily harm to her."

Police say in the docs Davis struck the woman on the right side of her head "with a closed hand type slap." Cops said the woman was left with a facial injury ... but was able to exit the home following the altercation.

As we reported, Davis was arrested about an hour after the alleged incident -- and booked on a domestic violence battery charge. Jail records show he's still in police custody.

Davis is scheduled to fight Hector Luis Garcia in a much-anticipated boxing match on Jan. 7 in Washington D.C.

Following the contest, he was expected to make a super fight with fellow star pugilist Ryan Garcia.

Star boxer Gervonta Davis has been arrested in Florida, TMZ Sports has confirmed ... just days before his scheduled fight against Hector Luis Garcia.

According to jail records, the 28-year-old was booked in Broward County on Tuesday on a battery domestic violence charge. He posed for a mug shot -- and the records show as of late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, he was still in police custody.

Further details surrounding the allegations against Davis were not made immediately available.

The fighter is slated to step in the ring with HLG on Jan. 7 in Washington D.C., though it's unclear if Tuesday's arrest will change plans.

Davis -- 27-0 in pro fights -- is no stranger to trouble with the law ... he's been arrested several times in the past few years ... including in 2020, after he was accused of roughing up his ex-girlfriend at a celebrity basketball game in Florida.

Add "Catcher" to Forrest Griffin's resume -- the UFC Hall of Famer and VP of Athlete Development has landed an important new gig -- he's the man responsible for catching Power Slap athletes as they careen towards the floor!

"I'm gonna be a head catcher," Forrest said, describing the person standing at the ready behind slap competitors, waiting to pounce when an athlete's rocked.

Dana White recently launched Power Slap -- taking slap fighting from the underground to the mainstream. The UFC honcho already locked down a TV deal for his new organization.

Power Slap hasn't debuted yet, but if social media's any indication, there's tremendous interest in PS ... teaser videos online have gone viral!

If you've never watched the sport, competitors go back and forth, slapping each other with all their might until someone quits or goes to sleep ... and when they do get knocked down or out, it's important someone's there to stop them from hitting their heads and sustaining trauma.

Enter Forrest.

"That double impact," Griffin said, explaining why the job's so important ... "You’ve taken the first trauma and when your head hits the ground, bang bang, both sides of your brain actually bounce against your skull. We want to prevent that and make it just the initial impact and have that be what causes you or not causes you to win or lose the competition."

Of course, as a fighter, Forrest was the guy doling out the knockouts, not preventing them. He has wins over all-time greats like Tito Ortiz, Rampage Jackson, Shogun Rua and more MMA legends. Since retiring, he's dedicated his life to the health, safety and development of the UFC's athletes.

Needless to say, Griffin is the perfect person for the job.

Forrest even showed off some head-catching skills ... on 6'2" 200 lb. Evan (he looks familiar), a Power Slap exec.

All jokes aside, Griffin's doing everything in his power to make the sport as entertaining, but also safe as possible.

You don't want to be an MMA fighter in Chechnya, especially when your opponent is the dictator's son.

There was a ridiculous "fight" between Ali Kadyrov -- the 15-year-old son of Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov -- and a dude named Islam Akbarov.

Kadyrov had Akbarov on the mat after landing a blow, and as he hovered over his opponent, the dictator's son delivered feather punches that looked anything but damaging. Akbarov was defending himself well, but the ref jumped in and stopped the fight, declaring the dictator's son the winner.

Some fans were outraged, saying the fight was clearly fixed.

As if more evidence was needed, the dictator Ramzan owns the promotion that hosted the fight.

It clearly pays to be a good person ... 'cause the New England Patriots fan who kept his cool as a Las Vegas Raiders supporter tormented him during Sunday's game is getting the hookup -- with free tickets from Robert Kraft!!

Video of the incident went viral this week ... showing a woman in a Derek Carr jersey berating a man in Tom Brady threads in the Allegiant Stadium stands right after the Pats lost in heartbreaking fashion.

The guy -- Jerry Edmond -- was praised on social media for not stooping to the woman's level ... and Kraft was so moved by his handling of the situation, he decided to give the fan a VIP experience at this weekend's game against the Bengals.

As it turns out, the Pats vs. Raiders contest was Edmond's first NFL experience ... and he said he didn't want to ruin his experience by retaliating toward the heckler.

Not only is Edmond getting free tix to the game, the team says he's going to get a customized jersey and pregame field passes to watch the players warm up.

DaBaby and his legal team are celebrating a big 'W' that's years in the making ... he's come out on top of a battery lawsuit over a 2020 brawl.

You’ll recall … DaBaby and crew were initially hit with allegations of beating and robbing a concert promoter named Kenneth Carey and his buddy. They claimed they'd lost personal items -- including money and a cell phone -- during a fight recorded by bystanders.

As we reported .. the fight was over payment for a Miami event Carey put together, and hired DaBaby to host. When the sides disagreed over dollar figures, it turned into a street brawl.

Prosecutors had dropped a criminal battery charge against DaBaby, but he was still hit with a $6 million federal lawsuit over the incident. The trial wrapped up Monday, with the jury finding in favor of the “Bop” rapper.

His attorney Drew Findling tells TMZ Hip Hop, “Along with our client, Jonathan Kirk (DaBaby), we are thrilled that this federal jury, after a five-day trial, came to the same conclusion that we have maintained for almost 3 years - that these plaintiffs were attempting to use the legal system to shake down Mr. Kirk.”

Findling continued, “Mr. Kirk deserves all the credit in the world for not caving in to these plaintiffs' cash demands and having the confidence in the facts and his legal team to take this to a jury trial for a complete and total victory!”

Trey Songz has voluntarily turned himself in to NYC cops after allegedly punching 2 people a couple of months back ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... TS was busted at the end of November for the alleged incident. We're told he's accused of striking 2 people in the face while they were all at a bowling alley back in October, and one of the alleged victims was hospitalized.

Trey turned himself in at an NYPD station a few weeks later, and we're told he was booked, given a desk appearance ticket for assault and released.

As we'd previously reported, Trey allegedly punched a woman in the face while inside a bowling alley bathroom. The new info is there's a second alleged victim, a guy who claims Trey punched him in the eye. We're told he refused medical treatment.

Still no word on a motive for the alleged beatdown.

Undefeated Rough 'N Rowdy champ Bobby Laing says a fight against Frank Gore is a real possibility ... telling TMZ Sports the ex-NFL star heard his call-out loud and clear -- and he wants to scrap.

"Lights Out" is fresh off beating 12-year vet Adam "Pacman" Jones for the second time at Barstool Sports' RNR 19 last Friday .. and right after having his hand raised, Laing said he wanted a piece of Gore.

We spoke with Laing about potentially squaring up against the 49ers great ... and he tells us the two sides have been talking for a LONG time in hopes of setting up a bout.

In fact, Bobby and Frank have been trading DMs a lot recently ... and Laing's post-fight interview after beating Pacman again reignited talks of a matchup.

"It's definitely an option on the table," Bobby says. "I want to do it. He sounds like he wants to do it. It's just a matter of if Barstool is gonna set it up or not."

FYI -- Frank has two pro fights under his belt ... going 2-0 after losing to ex-NBA star Deron Williams via split decision back in 2021.

Bobby says he expects to keep his undefeated record in tact against Gore ... and claims Pacman was just "step one" of getting into bigger, higher profile matchups.

"I gotta keep beating these people that have more clout than I have," Bobby says. "And then eventually, after a few more wins, maybe then I'll be the guy that people will be like, you gotta beat me to get more clout."

"Guerrilla warfare. I'm gonna take [Sean Strickland's] head off."

That's 38-year-old Jared Cannonier talking about his violent intentions for Saturday night ... when he and fellow middleweight contender, Strickland, 31, do battle in the main event at UFC Fight Night.

TMZ Sports talked to Cannonier -- the 3rd ranked contender at 185 lbs. -- and asked him about the matchup with Strickland ... a fight he expects to test him.

"Strickland is a dog in the cage. He'll get in your face and try and put his fist through it. And if you give him a chance, he'll talk some s**t to you as well. He's as good as anybody else in the top 10," Jared says.

"The Killa Gorilla" added ... "Like I said, he's a dog in there. If I give him the opportunity, he'll sink his teeth in and start shaking me all over the fucking cage, right? I'm ready for that. I'm ready to see somebody try to do that."

Strickland, ranked 7th, is one of the best middleweights in the world ... though he's coming off a loss to Alex Pereira. The now-champ starched Strickland in the first round of their UFC 276 scrap ... when SS made the mistake of trying to strike with Alex.

Cannonier's also coming off a loss -- a title fight at 276 -- where he lost via unanimous decision to Israel Adesanya.

Despite the L to Izzy ... Jared's on the winning side more than not. He's beaten beasts like Derek Brunson, Kelvin Gastelum and Jack Hermansson.

As for how he expects to add Strickland's name to that list ... Jared's gunning to make Sean tap.

"I would like to have a submission. This will be my 15th fight in the UFC. Who knows I might knock him to the ground and jump on a submission or something. It's time to get a submission in the UFC."