Fights

Mike Tyson says he was NOT inebriated, stoned or punch-drunk during his bizarre "Good Morning Britain" interview ... explaining Tuesday he was just REALLY tired!!

Tyson had joined Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid to promote his Nov. 28 boxing comeback vs. Roy Jones Jr. ... but once the interview kicked off, it was obvious something was just off.

Tyson slurred his words, looked away from the camera, and at one point, he even appeared to doze off.

The whole scene was very unusual ... and it had everyone wondering -- is Iron Mike okay???

Concerned viewers -- and even a 'GMB' host -- went to social media to express concern about Mike, hoping the boxer (who's struggled with substance abuse in the past) didn't relapse.

The good news ... Mike issued a statement moments ago saying he was simply exhausted -- nothing more.

"Hey mate [Piers Morgan] and UK. I tried to stay up late for interview but fell asleep," Tyson said ... "and like a lion I'm hard to wake once asleep."

Tyson continued, "Training hard and going to bed early. I had no monitor so I couldn't see you guys and forgot to look into camera."

Piers Morgan replied to Mike on Twitter -- saying, "No problem, Champ. We could see you were a bit weary! It was very late in LA. Appreciate this message as some viewers were concerned."

Cris Cyborg's no longer in the UFC ... but she's got her sights set on champ-champ Amanda Nunes ... telling TMZ Sports she still wants a rematch!!

We talked to the 35-year-old Bellator star about the only woman to beat her over the last 15 years ... Nunes, the UFC's featherweight and bantamweight champ.

And, Cyborg says she's VERY INTERESTED in running the fight back.

"I know everybody wants to see [Cyborg-Nunes rematch] fight. Let's make this fight happen. Ya know? I don't have opportunity to do the rematch before. But, for sure in the future, if Dana White would like to do, I'd like to do."

Of course, Justino and Nunes fought at UFC 232 in December 2018 ... in one of the most anticipated women's MMA fights ever. Nunes TKO'd Cyborg in 51 seconds ... only the 2nd loss of Cris' career.

Cyborg clearly has revenge on her mind.

But, before she could ever step foot in the cage with Nunes again ... Cyborg has to take on 37-year-old Arlene Blencowe -- who's won 6 of her last 7 -- at Bellator 249 on Thursday.

After that, Cris says the ball's in Dana's court.

A Trump supporter went insane on a group of Black Lives Matter protesters ... throwing punches and knocking over tables.

It went down Saturday in Bakersfield ... cops were called to break up a violent confrontation, but it's clear from the video ... the BLM protesters were fighting with words but the Trumper had a different idea. He ripped up signs, threw punches and eventually knocked over the table.

The guy was so out of control some of the protesters tried to fight and subdue him, but he was way too big to control.

Conor McGregor says he's "accepted" a UFC offer to fight Dustin Poirier -- and now it's all about finalizing a date.

The Irishman tweeted out to Poirier Thursday -- saying, "Hello Dustin! I accepted the @UFC offer to fight you, but told them it must happen in 2020."

"I’m ready for Nov 21st, given that cards recent injury issues, as well as any of the December dates, the 12th and the 19th. I’ll also still donate the $500k to The Good Fight Foundation."

Our UFC sources tell us Conor was, in fact, offered the fight -- but it would be scheduled for January.

Obviously, Conor has made it clear he doesn't want to wait that long and he's trying to convince the UFC to fast-track it.

Look, the good news is there seems to be progress -- hopefully, everyone can come to an agreement soon.

Conor has been at the center of a LOT of drama lately -- from an alleged attempted sexual assault in Corsica (which he denies) to beefing with UFC boss Dana White.

McGregor also shaved off his trademark beard recently and has been training like a maniac.

Conor and Dustin have fought before -- they clashed at UFC 178 back in 2014 with McGregor getting the victory with a 1st-round knockout.

Poirier has long wanted a shot at redemption -- and now he could finally get that chance.

Boxing superstar Errol Spence has officially announced he's returning to the ring -- just one year after he almost died in a horrific late-night Ferrari crash.

Spence (26-0) confirmed he will face Danny Garcia (36-2) on Dec. 5 at AT&T Stadium in Dallas -- marking an incredible comeback from a terrible accident.

As we previously reported, Spence was hospitalized after he lost control of his Ferrari during a late-night drive in the Dallas area in Oct. 2019.

Cops say Spence's car went over the center median and flipped at least 5 times. Spence, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the car and suffered serious injuries.

The accident was captured on surveillance video -- and man, it's a miracle Spence wasn't killed.

Some thought there was a very real chance Spence would never fight again. But, he's proving the doubters wrong -- announcing on social media Thursday, "I'm back!"

Spence -- the unified welterweight champ -- is widely regarded as one of the best fighters in the sport with victories over guys like Shawn Porter, Mikey Garcia and Kell Brook.

It's also a huge fight for Garcia -- who's trying to re-establish himself as one of the best in the world after high-profile losses to Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter.

MMA star Lance Palmer -- who famously won the PFL $1 Million tournament TWICE -- is upset the organization is not up and running yet and is now demanding they book him a fight or else he'll take legal action.

FYI, the Professional Fighters League has put all fights on hold due to the COVID pandemic -- and Palmer is really frustrated.

Palmer's issue ... the UFC and Bellator have returned to action and he thinks PFL should follow suit.

As of now, he's got nothing booked -- so he tapped his attorney, Harley Breite, so try and figure out a way to get him back in the cage.

Breite tells TMZ Sports they don't want to take legal action, but they will if they have to.

They'd much rather come to an amicable agreement -- whether it's booking a fight or releasing him from his contract so he can fight with another promotion.

If PFL refuses, Breite says a lawsuit is definitely a possibility.

"We're not going to sit back and wait for somebody to dictate the terms of when my client can do what he does for a living. He's a fighter! He must fight!"

Palmer hasn't seen action since Dec. 31, 2019 -- when he won the $1 million prize in a 5-round decision over Alex Gilpin in NYC.

We're told there are other fighters in the PFL who feel the same way -- they realize their window to make money as a pro MMA fighter is short and they need to get back to work already!

The UFC barely missed any time due to the pandemic -- and now, they're putting on fights every weekend in both Las Vegas and on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

TikTok star Bryce Hall and some members of The Sway Boys ganged up on one dude and delivered a beat down so bad, cops were called ... but somehow they all made up in the end.

The violence broke out when Bryce and fellow Sway members Jordan Rodriguez, Josh Richards, Nick Bean and Jaden Hossler all got dragged into a scuffle with an unknown man outside of Mel's Diner on Sunset.

Video of the Sept. 23 brawl shows Bryce -- who had his power turned off after throwing a massive party during quarantine -- in the red shorts trying to break up the fight as is Jordan. We're told Josh and Jaden are the ones throwing punches in the video claiming self-defense after Nick got punched in the face. The brawl was the group's response to Nick getting socked.

You can also hear someone hurling homophobic slurs at least 3 times -- we're told that was Nick, who according to witnesses, seemed pretty drunk and out of control.

We're also being told what triggered this was Nick allegedly putting a cone under the car of the unknown man ... who then confronted the Sway Boys and all hell broke loose.

For his part, Bryce says, "We don't condone violence, but if you punch someone in front of us, we'll have no choice but to defend ourselves."

Cops ultimately showed up to the scene and talked to the guy who got beat up, but we're told no one involved wanted to press charges or cooperate.

Four weeks before Election Day and the song "F**k Donald Trump" is a serious trigger for at least one Trump supporter, who sucker punched a man over it.

The violence went down outside a Buc-ee's in Denton, TX and the video shows a couple of maskless Trump supporters telling another man to beat it and stop playing YG's political anthem on repeat.

As you can see, one of the Trump supporters yells "turn it off" in the guy's face and suddenly throws an unprovoked punch, clocking the guy right in the face and sending him to the pavement.

In the video, you hear people threatening to call the cops ... and then the Trump supporters walk away. All while, YG's track keeps playing in the background.

The guy who got punched says he's fine, but he did go to a hospital. Unclear if cops ever showed up.

Gervonta Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz -- one of the biggest boxing matches of the year -- has officially been moved to October 31st ... and we're told it's all because they want fans in attendance.

The fight was originally set for Oct. 24 -- but we're told Gervonta's promoter Floyd Mayweather "wanted to ensure he would be able to fight in front of fans."

So, the fight was moved to the Alamodome in San Antonio -- where state guidelines allow the venue to hold 50% capacity.

The site can hold 32,000 people for boxing matches -- so promoters are expecting 16,000 fans (hooray math!).

It appears the fight will be the first major combat sports event with live fans in attendance since the COVID-19 pandemic began back in March.

The fight is expected to be awesome -- Davis is undefeated (23-0) and he's become one of the most explosive and exciting fighters in the sport. He's the current WBA lightweight champ.

Santa Cruz is the reigning WBA super featherweight champ -- and he's been in some wars (remember the Carl Frampton fights?!).

You've seen the Octagon on the beach. You've seen the insane fights.

But, you've never seen exactly HOW the UFC transformed Yas Island in Abu Dhabi into "Fight Island" in the thick of a global pandemic ... until now!!

It's all part of "UFC Fight Island: Declassified" -- a 4-part series on ESPN+ (premieres today) featuring some incredible behind the scenes footage showing how Dana White and his team successfully built a secure city to keep MMA alive while every other major sport was shut down.

Remember, Dana first revealed "Fight Island" to TMZ Sports back in April (we actually suggested the name "Fight Island").

From there, Dana and the UFC spent a fortune on buildings, medical personnel and more to ensure a bubble-style environment to host major fights consistently while the rest of the world was shut down.

In total, the UFC claims it took 400,000 man-hours and 350 tons of metal to get Fight Island up and running.

"There's no other thing on Earth like this," Dana says in the docuseries ... "Their platforms come up once in a blue moon."

The doc also features UFC superstars like Kamaru Usman and Jorge Masvidal going through all of the COVID testing leading up to their fight.

The UFC faced a ton of criticism leading up to the opening of Fight Island at UFC 251 in July ... but ultimately, they executed several major events without a hitch.

In fact, the UFC has already RETURNED to Fight Island for another series of fights including the highly anticipated UFC 254 card featuring Khabib Nurmagomedov vs. Justin Gaethje on Oct. 24.

Dana White says Fight Island was such a hit, it will be a regular fight location for the UFC for years to come.

"I'm telling you right now, Abu Dhabi is gonna become the fight capital of the world," White told us recently.

Tough break for Cody Garbrandt -- who's officially out of his flyweight championship fight at UFC 255 after suffering a freak injury to his arm.

"No Love" was initially scheduled to take on flyweight champ Deiveson Figueiredo in the main event on Nov. 21.

It was supposed to be Cody's first fight in the flyweight division. He had previously held the title in the bantamweight division.

"I tore my bicep on Monday," Garbrandt said on his Facebook page.

"The UFC decided to replace me but told me I’ll face the winner."

Figueiredo will now face #4 ranked flyweight fighter Alex Perez instead. Perez is on a 3-fight win streak, including a victory over Jussier Formiga at UFC 250 back in June.

Garbrandt added, "Time to heal and stay ready. Control what you can control in this life. I always count my blessings when negative things arise. #gratitude."

No word on when Garbrandt will be cleared to return to action -- but we're hoping for a speedy recovery.

Shia LaBeouf allegedly transformed into a bully and thief over the summer ... and now he's being charged over it.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the "Honey Boy" star and a man got into some kind of verbal altercation that turned physical back in June in L.A. Our sources say after the dust-up was over, Shia took off the man's cap and left the scene with it.

It's unclear what led to the altercation or where exactly it went down but we’re told there were no major injuries to either guy. We're told the man filed a police report and cops investigated ... determining Shia was the aggressor.

The L.A. City Attorney ultimately charged Shia earlier this month with battery and petty theft, both misdemeanors. It's the first time in a while Shia's run into trouble with the law. You'll recall several incidents -- from his drunken arrest to his scuffle in NYC -- in 2017 that got him in hot water.

We've reached out to Shia's rep for comment, so far no word back.

A trial date has finally been set in the Dallas Goedert bar fight case ... months after the Philadelphia Eagles tight end was knocked out in an incident caught on video.

Goedert was socked in the face during a June 20 altercation at a South Dakota bar ... after getting into it with another group.

The man who was arrested and charged for punching Goedert, 30-year-old Kyle Hadala, got hit with a simple assault charge ... and faces jail time if convicted.

Goedert -- who was hospitalized for injuries sustained during the incident -- was neither arrested nor charged with a crime.

In fact, he healed up in time for the NFL season ... only to suffer a broken ankle in Week 3 and hit injured reserve. Tough year.

So here's what's next ... a pre-trial hearing for Hadala is set for Nov. 2 -- where prosecutors will likely try to hammer out a plea deal.

If no deal is made, a trial date has been set for Nov. 18.

As we previously reported, Hadala says he was protecting his friends -- and plans to fight the charge.

Big day for UFC champ Jan Blachowicz ... who was invited to sit down with the Prime Minister of Poland after winning the light heavyweight title!!!

Check out the pics of Jan with Mateusz Morawiecki choppin' it up in Warsaw on Wednesday ... to celebrate Jan's big victory over Dominick Reyes at UFC 253.

37-year-old Jan flew back to Poland right after the insane 2nd round knockout and he's been treated like a ROCKSTAR ever since ... with a hero's welcome at the airport and now an invite to hang with the PM.

"Thank you for the invitation from the Prime Minister," Jan said on social media.

"Both for me and the MMA community, it proves that our discipline is not only popular, but also noticeable by the most important people in Poland."

"It is an honor to be an ambassador of this amazing sport."

The two seemed to enjoy the hang out -- sipping coffee and eating snacks while talking about the fight.

Jan is on an impressive 4-fight win streak at the moment -- with victories over  Reyes, Corey Anderson, Ronaldo Souza and Luke Rockhold.

Jan is hoping to fight Jon Jones next ... but so is everyone.

If you're keeping track ... seems UFC's biggest stars are more connected than ever with world leaders.

UFC middleweight Paulo Costa wants another crack at Israel Adesanya ... calling the champ "human trash" for air humping him after Saturday's fight.

The Last Stylebender easily handled Costa with a 2nd-round TKO ... and promptly hit him with an NSFW celebration by getting on top of him and thrusting.

Costa says he had no idea what Izzy was doing at the time ... but now that he was able to see the footage, he's demanding revenge in a vicious video with the caption, "Adesanya is human trash. This has become a grave situation !"

"I disapprove 100%," Costa said in the video. "To me, this is mortal now. Nobody can stop me.

"I want my rematch and you know I will wait for you."

Costa goes on to say "something happened" before their big fight ... and he will be fully prepared the next time around.

"I'm not [making an] excuse here to my people, to my fans. but I will be 100% to fight him and to make him pay. That's my words. Save my words."