Fights

"Kid, you have no idea how much money you're gonna make."

That's what UFC president Dana White told "Suga" Sean O'Malley as the newly crowned champion stood in the Octagon with the UFC honcho after defeating the great Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292.

28-year-old O'Malley joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show on Friday ... and chopped it up about all things Aljo, how life's changed since becoming champ, reaching Conor McGregor levels of fame, his offer to train Henry Cejudo in wrestling, and what he wants next!

"Chito was acting like he earned a title shot. I think he even tweeted he was the most exciting bantamweight which is just bonkers. I don't know how he sees that. He needs to settle down a little bit, cause I do have options.

"Henry, I pretend like is an option, realistically it's not. He lost his last fight. Alexandre Pantoja, the 125 lb. champ, throwing my name out there a little bit. That's an option. Merab's an option. I might just wait for Cory [Sandhagen] if Chito's gonna act like he earned a title shot."

FYI, Sean and Chito have history. The men fought in 2020, and Vera won. It's O'Malley's lone career loss.

(We also talked to Chito about his win over Pedro, and a possible fight with Suga.)

Sean says there's a way for Vera to lock down the fight, but it'll involve eating a little crow first and saying something along the lines of ... "Ya know what Suga, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. I didn't deserve it. I didn't earn it, but I appreciate you.

"If he came at it like that I would think about it more. But the fact that he's tweeting, 'I earned that' and stuff, it's throwing me off a bit. I got options. I'm not too worried about it."

Of course, Sean dropped Aljamain with a perfectly placed straight right about 30 seconds into the second round, and after some effective ground and pound, the fight was stopped by ref Marc Goddard ... and just like that, O'Malley was Bantamweight champion.

As for how life has changed ... Sean says while he was a star before winning the title, he's now more than just a big deal amongst MMA fans.

"I kind of had everything-ish before 'champ status,' but definitely getting recognized way more in public by random people you wouldn't think were fight fans. The casuals that don't watch the fight, watched that fight," Suga said.

Speaking of fame and making money ... we also talked to Sean about acting (he's received movie offers) and whether he believes he will ever fight Aljo again.

The Miz has clearly had enough of LA Knight and his mouth ... the WWE Superstar sent a very ominous warning to his rival -- stop disrespecting me, or get hurt.

TMZ Sports ran into The Miz in Los Angeles on Thursday -- prior to the tragic news of Bray Wyatt's passing -- and asked him about the budding feud with Knight, who we referred to as "popular."

"Popular? So popular that you're following him into the store?" Miz sarcastically asked.

"So popular that last year at SoFi [Stadium] at WrestleMania in LA, the guy's name is LA Night. He named himself after the city and he wasn't even on the show. That's how popular he is."

The multiple-time WWE champ continued ... "He's a fad. He's like a Napster, MySpace, Vanilla Ice, LA Night, they're all synonymous."

Of course, The Miz and LA Knight have been trading barbs on Raw. Knight has accused Miz of being washed up, and the longtime WWE star responded by describing LA as a "blip on the radar."

In other words, he ain't 💩💩💩!!!

In fact, Miz says he doesn't understand why people even care about Knight (and do they ever care -- he's huge right now with the fans).

"Honestly, I can't believe people are talking about him. He's a fad ... and I'm just sick of his, I don't know. I don't wanna do it right here, right now but it's like if he keeps disrespecting me the way he's disrespected me, he's not gonna make it to WrestleMania in Philly. Let's put it that way."

Those sounded like fighting words ... so, we asked ... "Is that a threat or challenge?"

"It's a promise!"

Bryce Hall is riding high after his huge Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship victory earlier this month ... but there's one thing that's still leaving a bad taste in his mouth -- his loss to Austin McBroom.

The internet superstar joined Wyld and Stephanie on the "TMZ Verified" podcast this week ... and while he made it clear he wants to relax for a bit before getting back into fight talks, he said he has an idea of what he wants to do next.

"Austin McBroom again," Hall said. "Even though he doesn't have the draw. I would just say that for my own personal ... like, I know what I can do now."

Of course, Hall fell to McBroom via TKO at Social Gloves' YouTubers vs. TikTokers event back in 2021 ... with the former admitting after the bout that he wasn't much of a fighter.

Things are drastically different now -- Hall is fresh off beating Gee Perez via second-round TKO at BKFC 48 ... and it's safe to say he feels a rematch with McBroom would go in his favor a second time around.

"I can take Austin McBroom again."

There's more -- Hall also revealed some big names hit him up in the DMs after his win over Perez ... including Jake Paul's most recent foe, Nate Diaz, who gave him props for beating a then-undefeated fighter.

Hall also said fellow internet star Deji has been in his DMs ... which is no surprise, 'cause he hasn't shied away from making his intentions known on social media.

Blueface is nursing fresh wounds suffered in the boxing gym when a guy whipped out a knife and stabbed him during an altercation that started on video.

The rapper, and pretty successful amateur boxer, was training Wednesday morning at a gym in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley when the attacker came into the gym. Security footage posted on Blue's IG shows the trainer, David Kaminsky, trying to get in between the man and Blueface.

It appears there was an argument about something, and Blueface decided he was through talking and hit the guy with several punches -- but then he appears to take something out of his pocket and charge back at Blueface ... the video cuts off before the stabbing.

Kaminsky tells TMZ Hip Hop ... things got heated quickly because the unknown attacker immediately started barking, "I'm gonna kill you" to Blueface as soon as he charged into the gym.

He tells us the guy stabbed Blueface in the leg, and then fled. Witnesses say the guy was in a black Tesla Model S and had a Rottweiler with him.

Blueface's injuries don't seem life-threatening -- paramedics did show up on scene -- but he says he won't be able to compete in a boxing match he had scheduled for October 14.

Aljamain Sterling altered his strategy in the 2nd round of his title defense against Sean O'Malley after a smattering of boos in the 1st, according to UFC contender Merab Dvalishvili, who told us Aljo became more aggressive in his approach.

"Aljo always fights smart. He's so good, he can do everything he wants. But, he always fights smart. He was fighting smart. Then in the second round, the people started booing again. So Aljo tried to make an exciting fight. That's when he decided to strike more, punch more," Dvalishvili told TMZ Sports.

If you watched the fight, the crowd was firmly behind Suga ... so when Aljamain attempted to get O'Malley to the ground, the Boston fans booed.

Merab says Aljo heard the response ... "He actually said that was the main reason why he made the adjustment to step in and go to striking."

Of course, just over 30 seconds into the second round, Aljamain lunged forward, throwing a straight left that fell just short of Sean's chin. The momentum of the strike carried Sterling forward, leaving him out of position, and unable to defend himself from the incoming right.

The shot was perfectly placed, sending Aljo to the ground, and scrambling to stay alive.

About 20 seconds later, the fight was stopped by referee Marc Goddard.

Sterling, who'd won 9 fights in a row, didn't really protest the stoppage in the Octagon (and couldn't have been more graceful in defeat), though Dvalishvili believes the fight was prematurely halted.

"The referee stopped Aljo a little early, cause Aljo was fighting, he wasn't out of anything. He was defending. First, he was trying to catch the leg. Then after he made the turn, he tried to do other move to get out of the situation, and the referee just jumped, that's what Marc Goddard does. That's why I have Marc Goddard phobia."

As for what's next ... that's where things really get interesting/complicated, and Merab is very much in the mix.

O'Malley is the champ now. Aljo is the top-ranked contender and made it clear he wants a rematch.

Merab is ranked 2nd. Henry Cejudo is 3, Cory Sandhagen 4, Petr Yan 5, and "Chito" Vera, who Suga called out after the fight, is ranked 6.

We asked Dvalishvili -- who will not fight Sterling -- what he believes should happen next.

"If Aljo wants to make a comeback now and fight O'Malley for a rematch, that would be best. But, if Aljo wants to take a vacation or O'Malley don't fight him, or the UFC doesn't make this matchup, I am the next guy," Merab said.

"I am the number one contender after Aljo, and O'Malley should fight me. If he fights Chito Vera, that's a joke."

FYI, Dvalishvili's in the midst of a 9-fight win streak -- he last lost in April 2018 -- and has beaten the likes of Petr Yan and Jose Aldo. As for Marlon, he beat Pedro Munhoz by unanimous decision at UFC 292, and is the only fighter to defeat O'Malley (UFC 252 in August 2020).

Adam Cole could leave Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday with two titles ... a night that he tells TMZ Sports would be the "highlight of my career!"

Cole -- who spent nine months on the shelf after suffering a serious concussion in May 2022 -- is challenging MJF for the AEW World Championship ... and Adam says, "The excitement is through the roof for everybody involved."

"It'd be the highlight of my career. It would mean absolutely everything to me," Cole said of winning the World Championship at "All In" after the long hiatus.

"To now be in this situation where I am wrestling one of my good buddies again for the AEW World Title, in the main event of one of the biggest shows of all time, It's amazing!"

Of course, Cole joined AEW in 2021 ... after becoming a star in WWE. Adam and MJF are two of the most popular wrestlers in the promotion, and have an interesting relationship. They're friends, but also rivals.

In fact, the two battled to a 30-minute draw on AEW Dynamite in June ... and later became tag team partners. They've had so much success together, the guys are opening this weekend's show with a match with the Ring of Honor tag team title on the line.

If you're keeping track at home ... Adam and MJF are going to team up together to start the night, and end the night by beating the hell out of each other.

"When we teamed, no, I did not expect the audience to be so invested not in Adam Cole versus MJF, but Adam Cole and MJF together. Which that kind of took a life of its own and it's absolutely wild."

Cole continued ... "I do understand why as far as the chemistry that me and him have. I think we both have a very similar thought process when it comes to pro wrestling and what we think makes a really, really exciting pro wrestling angle, match, show, etc."

"So, it's been very, very cool. I'm glad the fans have latched on to it."

Things went from 100 to 100 at the KSI vs. Tommy Fury press conference on Tuesday ... 'cause the entire event was absolute chaos from start to finish -- with TNT's dad flipping tables and Logan Paul throwing cake at Dillon Danis.

The wild incident just went down minutes ago at Wembley Arena in London ... with all four fighters -- as well as John Fury -- unleashing menacing insults left and right.

But, it was John who got so fed up with the personal jabs, he decided to take action -- hurling a table upside down and kicking another in a rage.

Everyone on stage stood up and got in a scuffle ... with KSI and Tommy needing to be held back. Logan loved every second of it, hopping up on his chair to get a better view.

Danis, on the other hand, picked up a chair ... but was talked out of throwing it.

John then took his shouting fit to the crowd ... thrusting as the fans in attendance erupted in cheers.

Eventually, everyone was escorted offstage ... and we're assuming cooler heads prevailed.

Earlier in the presser, Logan said he got a birthday gift for his opponent ... revealing a customized cake in the shape of a knocked-out Danis.

Dillon -- who's posted constantly about Paul's fiancée, Nina Agdal, on his social media pages over the past week -- responded by taking yet another shot at the model ... and Logan clapped back with his own jabs.

"Run your mouth all you want, but you know damn well you ain't ever been with any girl as beautiful as my girl," Paul said.

"You've resorted to attacking a woman as your fight tactic, no wonder you're friends with Conor McGregor. Where is he, by the way?"

Eventually, Logan decided to decapitate the cake version of Danis and throw its head in his opponent's direction ... and Dillon tried to charge back, but security intervened.

It's not often you see fans cheering on the same team get in a nasty brawl -- but that's exactly what happened in San Francisco -- with haymakers flying ... and even a knockout!!!

Unclear what led to the massive melee Saturday night at Levis Stadium as the 49ers hosted the Denver Broncos in a preseason matchup, but it got messy fast. You can see lots of pushing, shouting and confusion before blows are exchanged.

At one point, a guy in a Jerry Rice jersey starts absolutely unleashing some fists on a dude in a white t-shirt, connecting several times with his face.

One of the blows appears to knock the dude out, sending him into a chair. After things calm down, the same guy -- wobbly on his feet -- gets up with blood on his mouth and shirt.

Event staff leads the battered dude up and out of the section, while he struggles to take on the stairs.

UFC star Sean O'Malley delivered the goods in spectacular fashion Saturday night in Boston, knocking out Aljamain Sterling and snagging the Bantamweight title, and dude has all the makings of the next Conor McGregor.

After a slow first round, Sean delivered a crushing blow to Sterling's noggin, and then pummeled him until the ref called it a night.

Sean, sporting Pepto Bismol-colored hair, was humble after the win, telling reporters, "Honestly, this is the most nervous I've ever been for a fight. In my eyes, Aljamain Sterling is the greatest bantamweight of all time," adding, "I always say it only takes one mistake with me. I don't even know if that's a mistake. I'm just that f---ing good!"

If you expect Mark Zuckerberg to fight a professional fighter and get slaughtered, you may be in for a rude awakening ... ONE Championship star Mikey Musumeci has trained with the Meta boss on several occasions, and says Zuck would 100% win a fight.

"I was pretty shocked. [Mark's] a grinder. He has that grind in him. The second I saw that I said, 'Okay, he can be very good at MMA or jiu-jitsu' because first of all, he has the highest IQ, but he's also tough as f***!" Mikey told TMZ Sports.

It's high praise coming from Musumeci ... a 5x IBJJF world champion and current ONE Championship flyweight grappling champ. He's quite literally the best in the world!

Mikey and Mark are friends who not only train together ... but also talk when they aren't working out.

We doubled down ... asking Musumeci if he really believed Zuck could "hang with a professional fighter?"

"100%. 100%, and I think he could win."

Of course, we asked Mikey the question because all signs point to Zuckerberg, now that the Elon Musk fight is seemingly done, fighting against an actual pro fighter in a top MMA promotion.

"Not holding my breath for Elon, but I'll share details on my next fight when I'm ready," Mark said on Threads.

"When I compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game. You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card."

There's more ... we also talked to ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong -- who is also friends with Mark -- about the billionaire's foray into MMA.

The bantamweights are anchoring UFC 292 Saturday night -- with Aljamain Sterling and rival "Suga" Sean O'Malley fighting -- and the greatest 135er of all-time is breaking down the matchup!

"You're looking at pure dominance in grappling as a specialist or a knockout artist in Sean O'Malley, so that's a fun fight," UFC legend Dominick Cruz told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

"There's no way that this can't be fun!"

To make the fight even better, outside of the guy's incredible talents, there's also been a lot of trash talk.

"Especially because of the talking on the line. All the things O'Malley is saying, 'You're not gonna be able to hold me down. I'm gonna knock you down first,'" Dom explained.

"Well, now he has to prove that, we've all heard it. And Sterling has to prove he can get in there and not get knocked out. I mean they've all talked so much, that's what builds this thing. That's what makes this fun, and gets me excited about it."

Of course, 34-year-old Sterling is the champion, and 28-year-old O'Malley is the #2 contender, behind Merab Dvalishvili. Aljo and Suga have been talking trash to each other for years.

Sterling is in the midst of a 9-fight win streak and has beaten the likes of Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen. Some of the best fighters in the world.

Sean has only lost once in his career -- to Marlon "Chito" Vera in 2020 -- and last defeated Yan.

We also asked Dom about his future. He's injured, but not retired ... not at all. In fact, Cruz is still the 9th-ranked bantamweight and is eyeing another run at the belt once he gets healthy.

Jake Paul just released the ultimate flex on his haters ... dropping a rap video bragging about his massive wealth and success -- and he recorded the whole thing during Nate Diaz fight week!!

The Problem Child shared the visuals for his new track, "Witness," on Friday ... and he put his luxurious toys, boxing career and love life on full display.

The 3-minute project includes footage from fight week and highlights from his win over Diaz -- and as it turns out, Jake even recorded himself mouthing the words to the song inside the ring after the match.

While Jake raps early in the track that he's "been tryna keep it humble for y'all," ... the lyrics are anything but -- with the internet superstar-turned-boxer listing all his favorite toys: private jets, Ferrari GTB and SF90, rare watches, and, of course, his $16 million crib in Puerto Rico.

Jake also mentions his recent milestones -- becoming a Sports Illustrated cover athlete, getting his own documentary on Netflix, as well as the Paul brothers being worth a billion bucks combined.

As for his fighting, the 7-1 pugilist spits about working harder than ever and still being hungry for more, despite all his achievements ... and how Cleveland couldn't handle his vision.

Paul even shows off his girlfriend, Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam, in the vid ... saying, "Gon' marry the queen of the Netherlands" as he holds her hand.

The alleged Gilgo Beach serial killer, Rex Heuermann, could have been nabbed in 2010 -- 13 years before his arrest -- if only cops had taken a guy named Dave Schaller seriously.

Schaller, who appears in our latest documentary -- "TMZ Investigates: Gilgo Beach Serial Murders: Missed Warning Signs" -- was roommates with Amber Costello, one of the "Gilgo 4."

In 2010, Amber, a sex worker, had an encounter with a man at her home ... he was paying for a lap dance. Shortly after he arrived, Amber called Dave, telling him the man was trying to rape her.

Dave quickly returned home, walked in the door, and says he saw a giant of a man -- around 6'5" -- standing ominously in the living room. Dave told him to leave, and the guy refused. Dave ended up grabbing the guy, trying to get him out, and a fight ensued.

Eventually, the guy left in what Dave says was either a green or black Chevy Avalanche.

A month later, Amber had an appointment with a man and never returned home. The second she went missing, Dave knew it was the same man who was there a month earlier. Dave says Amber needed the money so she took a fatal chance.

After Amber's body was found, Dave was interviewed by police and told them the story, describing the man in great detail, "right down to his beady-ass eyes." He followed up 2 more times with cops, but they never chased down the lead.

Had cops run registrations for anyone in Long Island who had a green or black Avalanche, they could have then looked at the driver's licenses of the registered owners and they would have found a 6'5" man who fit Dave's description to a tee. That man was Rex Heuermann, and the Avalance was routinely parked in his driveway.

Authorities and others we spoke with say ... it's likely the serial killer killed other women after his encounter with Amber Costello.

Max Holloway is crushed by what's happening on Maui, and the UFC star, born and raised in Hawaii, believes matters have been made worse by the government's response to the disaster.

TMZ Sports talked to a very emotional Holloway, 31, as he finished preparation for his UFC Fight Night scrap against The Korean Zombie on August 26. Although the fight is going down in Singapore, it was Maui that was very much on Blessed's mind.

"It's tough man. Everything that's going on in Lahaina now is heartbreaking."

As bad as things are, Max says he's seen incredible strength in the community.

"The amazing thing is how Hawaii can come together and pull through. The people of Hawaii are coming strong together."

Of course, Maui is in crisis. The death count is currently at 111, including children, but is expected to rise sharply, as over 1,000 people are still missing. Aside from the tragic loss of life, the area has been ravaged, with hundreds, if not thousands of structures -- homes, businesses -- burned to the ground.

Much of the affected area still hasn't been searched ... and Max says he's not satisfied with the government's response.

"Here, the state, the government at so many levels, I'm straight up going to say it, they failed the people of Lahaina and it's kind of heartbreaking," Holloway said.

"When it felt like they were lollygagging, too, after everything happened, the people, the Hawaiian people, the locals there are the ones that stood up, that took on the responsibility, and are helping, and are still helping as we speak. Man, it's just super heartbreaking."

Because it's clearly having such an effect on Max, we asked him if he considered backing out of the fight. But that wasn't going to happen, because Holloway believes this can be a distraction for the people.

"If I can take their minds off of it for a second, a minute, five minutes, whatever it is, I always go in there thinking Hawaii is on my back. I'm going in there a little bit heavier right now."

As for those people impacted, Max had a message.

"My main message to the families that are directly impacted, stay strong. We're all here for you guys. We're gonna keep this going for you guys. We're in for the long haul on this fight."

"This is just the beginning, and we know. The recovery is going to take a long time. Everything is gone, and we know this, and we're here for the long ride."

Dana White says he's sure Mark Zuckerberg wants to take a fight in the UFC -- and, get this, he tells TMZ he's definitely not opposed to making the Meta boss' wish a reality.

White joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" on Thursday to preview this weekend's big UFC 292 card ... but before he talked Sean O'Malley vs. Aljamain Sterling -- he spilled the beans on what he knew about the failed Zuck vs. Elon Musk matchup.

He said both guys were dead serious about brawling ... but when Elon wanted to go more of an informal route with the bout -- Zuck decided to pull away.

"He and I talk multiple times a week," White said of Zuckerberg. "And we had dinner last Monday. He's very serious about competing. And when he mentioned it, he said -- listen -- what he was saying in response to Elon was there are tons of professional organizations out there and this is the way this should be done, not in some backyard or whatever Elon was saying."

He added that Zuck understood the fight would have to be sanctioned by an athletic commission, there would need to be proper medical testing and drug testing ... and when Elon didn't seem to get that -- he said Zuckerberg pivoted.

As for what's now next for Zuck ... White told the guys "I would say he is absolutely interested" in battling it out with a UFC fighter in White's org.

And, Dana said it's a possibility he makes it all happen.

But, until then, White's in Boston getting ready for a helluva fight on Saturday night between O'Malley and Sterling.

Britney Spears and her husband, Sam Asghari have separated after a nuclear argument that involves allegations of cheating ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... about a week ago, Sam confronted Britney over rumors she stepped out on him. We do not know if the rumor has any basis in fact, but we're told Sam believed it and the 2 had a huge fight.

Our sources say Sam has moved out of their house and is now living in a place of his own. As one source put it, "It's only a matter of time before Sam files for divorce."

TMZ broke the story, there's been "deep trouble" with the couple's union for months ... Sam wasn't sleeping at the house much, and we're told Britney has gotten physical with him in blowout fights that include frequent screaming matches.

As we reported, Britney has a prenup which protects her assets, but one insider tells TMZ, the likely end to the marriage will be a check from Britney to Sam that will settle things, at least financially.

If you've been following Britney's journey post-conservatorship, the writing's been on the wall. At times, Britney's behavior has been erratic, and we're told Sam was over it.

Sam has publicly defended Britney from critics, but privately we're told he was frustrated ... at wits' end.

Sam and Britney started dating back in 2016, when he got a gig in one of her music videos. Since then, they've been practically inseparable.

Amid the #FreeBritney movement, Sam often expressed support for Brit's fans ... she shared plans of marrying him and starting a family. He even posed in a Free Britney t-shirt, which he posted to his Instagram.

Britney was ecstatic when Sam popped the question in September 2021 ... sharing pics and video of her ring and happiness with her fans on social media.

Eventually, Sam and Britney said their "I Dos" and tied the knot in a small private ceremony at their Thousand Oaks home -- not without drama, courtesy of one of her exes. Still, the ceremony itself seemed to go off without a hitch ... and they appeared happy.

While divorce docs haven't been filed yet, we're told that should happen sooner rather than later.