Fights

Jake Paul says he moved to Miami to focus on boxing ... but he's already got some distractions.

The 24-year-old hit the beach with his pals this week -- and yeah, turns out he's got some attractive lady friends who rocked some very teeny bikinis.

Despite being surrounded by butt, Paul had bigger things on his mind -- trying to lock down a fight with Conor McGregor.

Check out the banner that just happened to fly over the area where Paul and his pals were hangin' out ... saying, "Conor McGregor is scared of Jake Paul."

"Aw yeah, he's a bitch," Jake noted about Conor as the sign flew by.

In the meantime, Jake is getting himself ready for his return to the ring on April 17 to fight a mystery opponent who's not a UFC star from Ireland.

Despite not having an opponent yet, the Internet star is already putting his pre-fight plans into place -- Paul was hanging out with Tory Lanez Wednesday night, who offered to walk him out to the ring for the big event!!

Paul says he'll reveal his opponent's identity in the coming days.

Conor McGregor is finally acknowledging Jake Paul's existence ... calling the YouTube-turned-fighter a "confused little kid" ... but definitely not shutting the door on a potential fight!!

Jake has been on an all-out blitz to get 'Notorious' to be his next boxing opponent in recent months ... even offering the UFC superstar $50 MILLION to make it happen.

Now, Conor is giving his response to the challenge ... and while it may initially be a huge bummer for the 24-year-old, the dream is most definitely still alive.

"That is what it is," Conor told BT Sports on Wednesday. "We'll see what happens. That's it. He seems like a confused little kid to me, to be honest."

Conor gives Jake credit for his willingness to get in the ring ... but ultimately, it sounds like Paul will be fighting someone else come April 17.

"It's not on the radar at the minute with the young lad," Conor added.

FYI -- McGregor was briefly asked about Jake's fight against Nate Robinson earlier this week and praised the money the event made. But this appears to be his first direct response to Paul's challenge for a fight.

While he may not want to fight Jake, Conor does, however, acknowledge Jake's MAJOR beef with teammate Dillon Danis ... so there's a possibility that fight may eventually happen down the road.

McGregor admits he's looking forward to checking out Jake's bro, Logan, fight Floyd Mayweather next month ... saying TBE looks a bit "fat."

Conor McGregor Jr. is already learning the ropes of being super famous ... joining his papa for an incredibly adorable poster signing sesh ahead of UFC 257!!!

3-year-old Conor Jr. has pretty much been following in his MMA superstar dad's footsteps since birth -- from joining him in the gym to wearing stylish designer outfits together.

Conor decided to bring his mini-me along to sign some promo posters ahead of his huge Fight Island bout with Dustin Poirier ... and the kid didn't just sit around -- he got in on the action, too!!

The video is downright precious ... with Notorious walking Conor Jr. through the motions and showing him how to get through the sesh with ease.

Conor absolutely LOVES it ... laughing and smiling from ear-to-ear as his kid signs to the best of his ability.

Now, the big question is -- how much would a Conor McGregor JUNIOR autograph sell for?? Hard to tell, but these posters could very well be the first documented signature of the young boy's life.

FYI -- signed Conor pics ain't cheap. Most cost a couple hundred dollars.

Two women in Ireland are suing Conor McGregor stemming from alleged incidents in 2018 ... but the UFC superstar is ADAMANT he did nothing wrong.

The suits were filed Monday in Dublin, according to Independent.ie, with one woman lodging a "multi-million euro personal injury lawsuit."

The other suit, the report notes, was filed by the woman's mother ... and also appears to be for alleged personal injuries.

Specific allegations against McGregor in the suits are not yet public ... according to the report, details cannot be revealed yet for legal reasons.

But, 32-year-old Conor is calling B.S. on it all nonetheless, with a rep for the fighter telling TMZ Sports the matter has already been investigated and thrown out by law enforcement officials.

"After an exhaustive investigation conducted by the Garda which, in addition to interviews of the plaintiff, included: interviewing numerous sources, obtaining witnesses' statements, examining closed-circuit footage and the cooperation of Conor McGregor, these allegations were categorically rejected," Karen J. Kessler said in a statement.

"The plaintiff knows the facts contradict the assertions in this lawsuit. Mr. McGregor will dispute any claims and is confident that justice will prevail."

Calvin Kattar says his UFC on ABC main event match with Max Holloway is more than just a fight ... a win represents a better life -- more money, more opportunities.

TMZ Sports talked to the 32-year-old fighter before his Fight Island fight this weekend with the former featherweight champ ... and Kattar says only everything is on the line.

"I ain't got s*** to say to Max! I'm just going out looking to earn my respect and just get me a title shot, ya know? Change my life."

"I'm chasing the life on the other side of a win over Max Holloway. Things get better off wins, you get double the money, you get more opportunities and like I said, I'm just chasing the life off a win over Max Holloway."

Kattar -- the #6 ranked featherweight -- is 22-4 ... and coming off wins over Jeremy Stephens and Dan Ige.

Calvin's been super impressive ... but things don't get any easier on Fight Island ... 'cause Holloway is arguably the greatest 145 lb.'er of all-time.

As for blessed, he's looking to claw his way back to the top of the UFC mountain after 2 controversial losses to Alex Volkanovski ... and that's exactly what he tells us he'll do.

"Belt or no belt, I'm gonna always carry myself as a champion. The belt doesn't define me. I got 5 titles at home. The 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, all the way to 13, 20, whatever you wanna call it, I'm gonna get it. It's just in due time," Max tells us.

Cody Garbrandt has a plan ... fight Jose Aldo, beat Aldo, drop down a weight class and take on the winner of Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno ... and get the UFC belt back!

The 29-year-old former bantamweight champ is coming off a serious battle with COVID-19 (more on that later) ... and hasn't fought since knocking out Raphael Assuncao in June 2020.

But, No Love is back ... and he laid out his next moves to TMZ Sports.

"The best possible solution for me in my mind, is the Aldo fight. So I'm gonna keep my weight here, keep strong, keep fast, keep developing, ya know?"

Garbrandt is the 3rd-ranked 135 lb. fighter ... and 34-year-old Aldo is 6th -- but Cody knows the Brazilian legend is still very dangerous.

"[Aldo's] a long-standing rival with Team Alpha Male, but can always count on me. Count me to get the job done, and I'm focused, and I'm hungry and that's where I'm at in my career and in my life. I'm a dangerous man."

After beating Aldo, Cody tells us he plans to drop down to the 125 lb. division and take on the winner of the Figueiredo and Moreno rematch.

"I'll fight Aldo in April. Put a legend in my cap. Get a good win, fight a legend. Stay sharp at camp and then whoever wins out of that fight with Figgy and Moreno, we fight in September or August."

Garbrandt also breaks down his serious struggles with COVID ... and how he dealt with vertigo, pneumonia, and a kidney infection that hospitalized him.

Add The Miz to the list of WWE Superstars battling in the Royal Rumble ... 'cause Mr. Money In The Bank tells TMZ Sports he's wrestling, and is ready to kick everyone's ass!!

The Royal Rumble is one of WWE's biggest events of the year ... and is set to go down January 31st at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL.

WWE has announced Daniel Bryan, Bobby Lashley, A.J. Styles, Randy Orton, and Otis will wrestle in the 30-man match.

But, when The Miz and Asuka Zoom-bombed the "TMZ Sports" TV show (totally catching us off-guard!!) ... The Miz threw his hat in the squared circle.

"I'm gonna give you some breaking news here on TMZ Sports. I, the Miz, the must-see Superstar of all-time, Mr. Money In The Bank, is entering the Royal Rumble this year!"

The 19x WWE champ continued ... "Now, what does that mean? That means I have to basically throw 29 other Superstars over the top row in order to win. Once you win that match, you get to main event WrestleMania. I've main event-ed WrestleMania before and I wanna do it again."

All the wrestling talk ... makes ya hungry.

Good thing Asuka's a spokesperson for Cup Noodles Stir Fry -- who along with The Miz -- introduced Nissin's new Hot Garlic Chicken and Teriyaki Chicken flavors.

Remember, the Raw Women's Champ is so passionate about the product ... she once dressed up like the packaging (see below).

It's a new take on takeout with soupless, microwaveable meals that only takes a few minutes to cook up ... and The Miz says that's ideal for 2 super busy professional wrestlers -- and everyone else who's crazy busy.

Jose Canseco is putting a fight with Logan Paul on the backburner -- for now -- 'cause the ex-MLB slugger has agreed to a boxing match with Barstool Sports intern Billy Football!!

Remember, Jose has called out the oldest Paul bro for months, saying he wants to get violent payback after his daughter, Josie, and Logan's split "left me with a bit of a bad taste in my mouth."

But, TMZ Sports has now confirmed, Jose has 100% agreed to get in the ring with the "Pardon My Take" podcast contributor first ... with the 2 slated to face off during Barstool's "Rough 'N Rowdy" boxing event during Super Bowl weekend.

PMT first reported the news on Wednesday's episode of the podcast ... saying the paperwork has been signed and the fight will officially go down on Feb. 5 in West Virginia.

"There's a very good chance he dies in the ring," Billy said ... "I would commit manslaughter, I wouldn’t commit murder."

"For the record, I have no intent to kill him."

So, how'd we get here?? PMT co-host Big Cat says he initially wanted to fight Canseco 2 years ago ... but now that time has passed, he offered his intern in return -- and Jose accepted!!

We spoke with Jose ... who says the fight is just a warmup for the guy he REALLY wants.

"Logan Paul, I am coming for you after I wreck this guy," Canseco told us.

Of course, Jose has a little bit of fighting history under his belt -- he famously fought 7'2" South Korean MMA star, Hong-man Choi, back in 2009.

'Bachelorette' alum Michael Garofola says he was on the receiving end of an anti-Semitic attack from a maskless security guard ... and part of the altercation was caught on video.

The season 9 'Bachelorette' alum says he managed to shoot this video while backing away from the security guard who can be heard spewing something about "Jews" during the Sunday incident in Michael's L.A. apartment parking structure.

Michael, who -- for what it's worth -- is not Jewish, claims the security guard flew into a rage when he told him he should be wearing a mask. He alleges the guard snapped and yelled, "I don't have to listen to the Jews and your Marxist agenda."

That's not captured on video ... Michael says that alleged remark prompted him to start recording, but you can see the video cuts out pretty quickly. Michael claims the guard snatched his iPhone, threw it against the concrete and punched him in the head.

Michael says his phone was damaged, and he suffered cuts on his hands from the scuffle.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Michael reported the incident, including the alleged anti-Semitism, to the L.A. County Sheriff's Department. The security guard was gone by the time cops arrived, but they're investigating him for misdemeanor assault.

Michael says the apartment complex told him on Monday the guard no longer works there, but wouldn't say if he was fired or reassigned. While he plans to press charges, his more immediate issue is possible COVID-19 exposure.

Michael, who is Type 1 diabetic, says he plans to get tested, because the guard was not wearing a mask ... and because the apartment complex had warned residents about several staffers testing positive.

Lamar Odom is back ... but the 2x-NBA champion isn't returning to the hardwood -- he's fighting!!

TMZ Sports has learned that the 41-year-old ex-NBA star has inked a deal with Celebrity Boxing ... and will step into the ring on June 12 at the Showboat Casino in Atlantic City, NJ.

The 6'10" Odom doesn't currently have an opponent ... but CB creator Damon Feldman tells us he's working on a big-name celeb to duke it out with Lamar.

Of course, Odom is no stranger to fighting ... he literally fought for his life after collapsing at Dennis Hof's Nevada brothel back in 2015.

Lamar attempted a basketball comeback ... and was briefly part of Ice Cube's Big3 League.

However, the hooper has turned his attention to pugilism (temporarily, at least) ... and we're told he's fully committed to busting his ass in the boxing gym ahead of his upcoming fight.

It's worth noting, the last time a basketball player stepped in the ring, he got ROCKED (sorry, Nate).

So, goes without saying, Lamar hopes history doesn't repeat itself!!

"I don't know who's gonna get in there with him because I'm saying, he intimidating. He's a big guy, you already know he got big arms and stuff like that. He's got good range."

That's Evander Holyfield -- one of the greatest boxers of all-time -- speaking glowingly about 36-year-old, ex-NFL star Brandon Marshall's skills in the boxing ring.

Marshall -- a 6x Pro Bowler -- last played ball with the New Orleans Saints in 2018 ... and took up boxing last year.

BM -- who previously called out top heavyweights like Anthony Joshua -- went down to 58-year-old Holyfield's gym in Florida ... and the 2 men got in a boxing workout.

Obviously, Marshall's a helluva athlete ... but we've recently seen that being strong, or jumping high doesn't always translate to being able to throw hands (sorry, Nate).

But, The Real Deal says Marshall's the real deal in the ring.

"Brandon, ya know, he looks good balance-wise. We weren't really sparring but he got good balance and hey, he look like he could be a good fighter."

Holyfield even compared the 6'4", 230 lb. former football player to arguably the greatest knockout artist of this generation -- The Bronze Bomber.

"[Brandon] pretty much got the same reach as the heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder," Evander says.

The Capitol Police may have come up way short in preventing the riots, but it seems they're trying to make up for it ... by attempting to nab suspected rioters before they get out of town.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Capitol Police headed up an operation Friday at Reagan National Airport in D.C., staking the place out in search of would-be travelers believed to have been involved in Wednesday's insurrection.

These photos show cops detaining one man who we're told was surrounded by cops, taken into a room and questioned.

We're told airport police and the Dept. of Homeland Security provided an assist. We don't know how many people were detained or arrested.

The FBI is on the hunt for everyone who participated in the Capitol riots, and several suspects have already been identified and arrested.

The violence in D.C. has spread across the country to Los Angeles, and it's feeling like the beginnings of a civil war.

Trump protesters violently clashed with members of Black Lives Matter in downtown L.A. Wednesday. A number of people were arrested. A number were also injured, although the scene is so chaotic now it's hard to know how many.

The L.A. violence went down at the same time Trump supporters in D.C. were inside the Capitol staging an attempted coup.

A woman was shot in the melee and was in critical condition.

The Capitol is currently overrun by Trump demonstrators. They are everywhere. In the House and Senate chambers, Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office ... everywhere.

Trump has finally asked them to stop the violence. But, earlier in the day, when Trump addressed his supporters, he said, "After this, we're going to walk down there ... you'll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong."

Trump had dog-whistled over the Xmas holidays something big was going to happen on January 6th. He tweeted, "Big protest in DC January 6th. Be there, will be wild!"

Miya Ponsetto falsely accusing a Black teen of stealing her iPhone and attacking him had nothing to do with racism ... at least according to her lawyer, who says she was having a panic attack.

Attorney Sharen H. Ghatan is representing Miya and her mother, Nicole Ponsetto, and Ghatan tells TMZ ... the NYC incident that led to Miya getting labeled "SoHo Karen" is not what everyone is making it out to be.

Her lawyer says she was in NYC visiting her father for Christmas, and like everyone else -- her whole life is on her phone and she needed it to navigate the city. He says she started feeling anxious when she realized she'd lost it.

Ghatan claims Miya has a history of anxiety attacks and was experiencing one when she accused Keyon Harrold's 14-year-old son of stealing her phone and went after him. Ghatan isn't excusing her aggression -- she says that wasn't right, but insists it was anxiety-induced ... not racially charged.

All of that is, no doubt, info NYPD will want to hear. Detectives investigating the iPhone incident are flying to L.A. this week to speak with Miya ... but that could become an issue, because Miya's off the grid.

Ghatan says Miya left home and turned off her phone -- she's not responding to messages from her mother or her attorney, who say they're concerned about her well-being.

They say strangers have shown up at their L.A.-area home, followed them and made threats.

Assuming everything is alright, Ghatan says Miya and Nicole are open to speaking with the Harrold family to gain closure. As for NYPD ... Ghatan tells us detectives will need to talk to her first before getting to Miya.

As we first reported, Miya and her mother have other legal troubles -- they were both arrested in February 2020 for allegedly being drunk in public at the Peninsula hotel in Bev Hills.

"I know y'all scared and sh*t, but let's just make the fight happen for the fans. Let's just do that. Don't overprice yourselves. If y'all believe y'all the best and y'all think that y'all can take this, then let's make the fight happen! Man, don't be p**** about it!"

That's 23-year-old boxing champ Teofimo Lopez throwing down the gauntlet to rivals Ryan Garcia, Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney ... 3 of the sport's youngest, most-talented stars.

TMZ Sports talked to the undefeated, lightweight champ about his next move ... as he plots his return just months after dethroning pound-for-pound king, Vasyl Lomachenko.

"Our goal is to shoot for three fights this year whether it's my mandatory [boxer George Kambosos], Garcia, Haney, Tank Davis, those guys at 135 lbs., that's where our goal is."

22-year-old Garcia (21-0, 18 KO's) beat Olympic gold medalist Luke Campbell Saturday night ... and then demanded a fight with 26-year-old Davis (21-0, 20 KO's), telling us he'll knock out Tank inside 2 rounds.

Why isn't anyone calling out Lopez?? Teo says it's fear.

"It's because they're scared! It's really what it comes down to. They're scared."

Unbeaten Tank Davis, scared?

"Yeah, he is [scared]. He is. He's not scared of the opposition he's facing right now because it's light work. I mean he knocked out a 122 pounder [Leo Santa Cruz]. C'mon yo! I can do the same sh*t and I can do it better, in a better fashion," Teofimo says.

"But hey, I take my hat off to [Davis], he's doing his thing and I congratulate all of them. Haney, Garcia, Tank. But, when it comes to it man, I'm the king of the division. I'm the kingpin!"

Gotta hand it to Florida in 2021 ... it never disappoints.

Just one hour into the New Year, a massive fight erupts in downtown Sarasota, and it doesn't seem coincidental it's right next to a brewery. The video begins with a skinny guy in a fake Versace shirt taking a fighting stance. The skinny dude tries looking tough ... dancing around as if he's ready to trade blows.

Well, he gets more than he bargains for, because another guy punches him, knocking him back against a car. Then, another guy from the group lends a hand and sucker punches him.

And then ... a guy hovers over the dude and literally uses his face as a punching bag, striking him more than a dozen times.

Another fight then breaks out nearby, and eventually cops come to break it all up.

The Sarasota Police Watch Commander tells TMZ, cops responded to 2 separate fights. In each fight, one person went to the hospital, although no one was seriously injured.