Fights

Uhhhhh -- heads up, Roy Jones Jr. ...

Mike Tyson is getting ABSOLUTELY JACKED for his November comeback fight with RJJ ... he revealed his new bod in another training video -- and the boxing legend looks ridiculous!!

The clip ain't long ... but in the few seconds where you see Tyson shirtless -- you can tell the guy has done nothing but prepare for his Nov. 28 bout with Jones Jr.

He's got abs. He's got biceps. He's got pecs. And, he looks as ferocious as ever!

The vid caught the attention of a bunch of famous people ... The Rock liked the clip and UFC superstar Tyron Woodley even reposted it to his social media page.

It all begs the question ... is Jones Jr. absolutely sure he wants to go through with this fight???

In addition to getting his body back in fighting shape, 54-year-old Tyson has also repeatedly posted videos showing he's still got knockout power too!

Justin Gaethje says he knows his upcoming fight with UFC champ  Khabib Nurmagomedov can change his life forever -- and to steal a line from Hamilton, he's not throwing away his shot.

"The stakes are huge," Gaethje tells TMZ Sports ... "This is life-changing for me. I go out there and get a dub?! This is life-changing."

And, for all of the critics who think he'll get smoked by the undefeated Dagestani, Justin offered up this message ...

"I am prepared and you can bet your bottom dollar I will not go out like no bitch!"

Justin and Khabib -- two friends who share the same manager, Ali Abdelaziz -- are scheduled to throw down for the UFC lightweight championship at UFC 254 on Oct. 24 on Fight Island in Abu Dhabi.

Wanna hear Justin's fight plan?

"I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna try and break his face, I promise you."

That simple.

We asked Justin what he believes will be the biggest challenge in the fight -- and his response was interesting.

"Right now, this man is gonna be very hard to beat. With the passing of his father -- for people like us that is a driving motivating factor. He's going to be 100% motivated but I do believe ... that I can beat him."

Justin says he knows he has to punish Khabib early and often -- explaining, "If he takes 8 clean shots I truly believe that he will understand that he doesn't want to take this damage."

Justin says the UFC is flying his parents out for the fight -- and when he wins the belt, they'll be the first people he seeks out to celebrate with.

"When I win, I'm gonna go find them and give them a huge hug because we f*cking did it!"

We also asked Gaethje about Conor McGregor -- and if he still wants to fight the Irishman after all of the back and forth over the years.

"When I get this belt, the target will be on my back and I will have no need to call anybody out," Gaethje says.

Lil Yachty ruined a man's chances to watch a Juice WRLD tribute when the rapper and his boys beat the crap out of him ... according to a new lawsuit.

Jimmy Quivac is suing Yachty claiming he and his crew pummeled him as he was heading inside the Rolling Loud Festival last December to watch a tribute to the late Juice WRLD.

According to docs, obtained by TMZ, Jimmy claims he was walking alone and heading into the L.A. Coliseum when he noticed Yachty and a large crowd standing near the entrance. As he tried weaving through the crowd, Jimmy claims someone yelled at him for bumping into them, and then all hell broke loose ... and Yachty allegedly punched him in the melee.

Jimmy claims Yachty's crew joined in on the action ... striking, stomping and kicking him while he was on the ground. When the dust settled, he says he suffered injuries to his wrist, hand and arm.

He's suing for assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

TMZ broke the story ... the alleged incident was caught on video. You can see in the video Yachty's part of a group that appears to be attacking a man, who eventually is seen getting up and running away. Yachty, at the time, claimed he and his friends were leaving the festival, and the guy in the video, Jimmy, had shoved him for no reason. Yachty said he and his friends confronted the guy and asked what his beef was with them.

Conor McGregor is back!!

The Irish superstar claims he IS fighting Dustin Poirier on January 23 ... and he says he wants the mega event to go down at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

The Notorious made the announcement on Twitter, writing ... "I accept, Jan 23rd is on!"

McGregor continued ... "My goal is to see this fight take place in Cowboy stadium. Proper Style! Jerry Jones is a friend and the stadium can hold our crowd. I will be ready for Texas and Texas will be ready for my fans!"

FYI, the UFC has not confirmed the news.

Remember, last week Conor expressed interest in fighting the 31-year-old, #2 ranked UFC Lightweight ... but with 1 very important caveat.

The fight had to be in 2020 ... which presented a problem 'cause it's already mid-October and most of the UFC's cards are already set.

Our UFC sources told us Dana White was willing to make the fight ... but it'd have to go down in January -- and it seems that's exactly what's going to happen.

Conor and Dustin have history ... the 2 men fought at UFC 178 in 2014. McGregor knocked out Poirier in the 1st round.

But, Dustin isn't the only guy Conor wants to put his hands on ... 'cause The Notorious says after Poirier, "Then Manny [Pacquiao]"

UFC fighter Edmen Shahbazyan says the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has a California connection -- with several of his Armenian friends in Glendale flying back to fight in the war.

... and he's praying they all make it out alive.

FYI, Glendale reportedly has the largest concentration of Armenians outside of Armenia. It's also where Edmen lives and trains.

The 22-year-old prodigy -- who's 11-1 as an MMA pro -- points out the war over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has already claimed many lives. According to reports, between 300 and 500 people have been killed over the past month.

"I'm just praying every day for the best for my Armenian soldiers," Shahbazyan says.

"A lot of young kids, a lot of young soldiers are dying, younger than me. They're like 18, 19 years old! They're going to war and they're not coming back."

Shahbazyan says he's been participating in protests and demonstrations in Glendale -- hoping the world will support his people and help to achieve peace.

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.