Fights

UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou ain't buyin' any of that "Jon Jones is scared" talk ... telling TMZ Sports he's convinced Jones "wants" to get in the Octagon with him and fight for the title.

"I believe that Jon Jones wants this fight," Ngannou tells us ... "I believe he'll want it to happen because it's gonna be a massive fight."

Ngannou looked fresh and happy when we spoke with him Monday morning -- sitting in front of his brand new UFC championship belt!

Of course, moments after he defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 on Saturday night ... everyone began asking the obvious question -- when will Francis fight Jon Jones.

Jones went to social media with a message for the UFC -- "Show me the money."

Some people have suggested Jones is scared of Ngannou -- and he's using the money as an excuse to duck the new champ.

But, Ngannou doesn't believe that for a second -- saying he understands why Jon wants a massive payday ... and quite frankly, he hopes they BOTH get paid a ton of cash.

"He's been around so long and been champ for a long time so I think this might be the biggest fight of his career and mine."

"I think he wants to put something like this on his legacy, on his resume. I truly believe that he wants this fight to happen."

So, now the issue is working out a contract with UFC -- and fight fans all over the world ... as well as Francis himself, are hoping they can make a deal.

Francis says when the deal is signed, he knows he needs to beef up his wrestling game in order to defeat Jones -- a former college wrestling champion.

And, get this ... Ngannou says despite his dominant performance against Stipe, he's going back and watching the tape again because he feels there's real room for improvement.

Gotta be honest ... he looked pretty solid to us!

We also asked Francis how it feels to be the undisputed UFC heavyweight champ ... and watch the video, the guy is so proud!!!

Stipe Miocic is finally opening up about that devastating loss to Francis Ngannou over the weekend -- assuring everyone he's okay and vowing to return as a better fighter.

Stipe did not participate in any post-fight interviews following his loss to Ngannou in the main event at UFC 260 on Saturday night ... where the heavyweight champ was knocked out cold 52 seconds into the 2nd round.

Ngannou smashed Stipe with a brutal left, sending Stipe crashing to the ground in an awkward fashion -- you could see his knees buckled and folded under him. It looked super painful. Francis then followed up with a powerful hammer fist to directly to Stipe's face, ending the match.

There was real concern about Stipe's health following the fight -- but Monday morning, Stipe gave a positive update.

"First and foremost, I’m ok, I know that fall wasn’t my most graceful fall, but I was unconscious, so it happens," Stipe said.

He continued, "Losses aren’t fun, they always sting for a while, but that’s the beast of this business. You can’t win them all, and it’s important to understand that losing is just as much a part of sports (and life) as winning."

So, what went wrong during the fight? Stipe breaks down the loss ...

"Unfortunately, I deviated from the game plan. I felt great coming into the second round, I saw it was beginning to go as planned. He was getting very winded, and I came in overzealous and unprotected. I wasn’t in a good posture to take the hit. He saw the opening, and did what any great fighter would have done."

Stipe says he's come to terms with the theft he lost and congratulated Ngannou for winning the UFC heavyweight belt.

"Saturday night was your night, enjoy your victory! For now, I’m going to enjoy the downtime, spend some time with my family, and welcome our son into the world this summer... stay tuned, God bless."

Teofimo Lopez put on a boxing master class when he beat Vasyl Lomachenko ... but the 23-year-old star tells TMZ Sports it's actually him who learned from the former pound-for-pound king.

Teo and Loma don't like each other, but beef squashed now, right? Nope. Lopez had a message for the Ukrainian star ... "Thanks Loma, even though, f*** you, but thank you."

Teofimo -- who was a 3.5 to 1 underdog -- shocked the sports world when he beat Lomachenko via a unanimous decision win in October 2020 in Las Vegas.

The huge win meant Lopez was a unified lightweight champion ... and the scary part is he says he's still getting better.

"I told everyone years ago, I said, 'If you don't get me now, it'll be too late.' And I said that years ago and I'm sticking to it."

Teo says he'll soon be at a level where none of his opposition can touch him -- and that's in part because of his experience against Loma.

It's not about Lopez getting faster or stronger, he tells us ... "It's more so the opposition and the amount of knowledge I grabbed off of Lomachenko himself."

Lopez -- who's fighting undefeated George Kambosos Jr. on June 5 -- is still only in his early 20's ... but says he's already preparing for life after boxing.

His latest business venture ... liquor. Teo partnered with One With Life tequila ... all in the hopes of securing his family's financial future.

WWE star Brian James -- aka Road Dogg -- is bedridden in a hospital after suffering an apparent heart attack ... this according to his wife, who's asking for thoughts and prayers.

Tracy James broke the scary news Saturday, saying RD was having a number of tests done in the hospital to confirm what exactly had happened to him ... this after returning home from work Thursday night and feeling terrible from what she says was a likely heart attack.

She writes, "He has had test run and we’re currently waiting for the results.he has also seen a kidney specialist and will have a stress test done. He’s always been on bp meds for high bp. Just please pray all the test come back for something we can fix."

Tracy goes on to say she's a wreck, but trying to stay positive ... leaving it in God's hands to get her hubby back home safely. She also sent out a somewhat reassuring update.

Sounds like Road Dogg's kidneys are all clear, and a cardiac catheterization is scheduled for Monday to decide the next steps.

Road Dogg's perhaps most famous as part of the D-Generation X tag team collective from WWF's Attitude Era, which was also made up of guys like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Rick Rude, Chyna and others ... including RD's partner in crime in the ring, Billy Gunn, who helped make up one half of the New Age Outlaws with Road Dogg.

Road Dogg wrestled professionally in WWF/WWE until the early 2000s, at which point he went off and competed in other leagues until about 2011 ... never coming back into the WWE fold officially ... until he re-signed as a producer and a writer for them, that is.

He's reported as being behind the scenes for several 'WrestleMania' events and the head writer for other WWE shows, including 'SmackDown' and others. And, yes, Road Dogg is a Hall of Fame member too ... having been inducted as part of the Class of 2019.

Stipe Miocic wants to box Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury, but not even the greatest UFC heavyweight of all-time is willing to step in the ring with Mike Tyson ... despite Iron Mike being 54 years old.

38-year-old Miocic tells TMZ Sports he's intrigued by a matchup with 32-year-old Fury and 31-year-old Joshua ... the 2 baddest heavyweight fighters in the world.

"I would love [a boxing match w/ Fury or Joshua]. It would be just a different — get out of my comfort zone. Plus it’s a fight, anything can happen and I know I can make something happen.

First, he's gotta deal with arguably the most intimidating guy to ever fight in the UFC ... 34-year-old Francis Ngannou.

"I just got a task at hand right now. I gotta worry about [Francis], that’s all I care about. But, I’d love to dip my toe into that ring.

The only downside ... Fury and Joshua might be tied up with each other. The boxers inked a 2-fight deal that'll likely see them fight in the summer with a rematch in the winter.

But, there's another, slightly older, heavyweight fighter who's looking for an opponent ... Mike Tyson.

Remember, Mike's fight with longtime rival, 58-year-old Evander Holyfield, fell apart this week over money for a trilogy fight.

So, we asked Stipe about fighting Mike -- who ended his 15-year layoff when he boxed Roy Jones Jr. in 2020 -- anddd, that's smoke Miocic doesn't want.

"That I will pass on. I will pass on that one," Stipe says.

"That dude looked exactly the same when he fought Roy Jones Jr. as he did when he was 20 years old so, no, I’m good. I love Mike Tyson. I think he’s awesome."

UFC rising star Sean O'Malley says he's all about doing a crossover boxing match with superstar Ryan Garcia -- but first, he's gotta smash Thomas Almeida.

O'Malley -- who's developing into one of the best strikers in the UFC -- is taking on Almeida at UFC 260 on Saturday night in what's shaping up to be an AWESOME fight.

The 26-year-old is 12-1 and coming off his first pro loss after suffering an injury during his fight with Marlon Vera at UFC 252 ... and he's looking to make a statement when he returns to the Octagon.

But, Sean has big career plans -- and says if he ever gets the opportunity to do a crossover into boxing like Conor McGregor and Ben Askren, he's confident he would wreck shop.

"I feel like I have really good boxing," O'Malley tells TMZ Sports ... "I started off boxing [and] if the money's there, I would love to fight someone like King Ryan, Ryan Garcia. That dude's a stud."

Sean says he's got his priorities in line -- he knows he's got to EARN that opportunity by dominating in the Octagon first.

Oscar De La Hoya -- who's 48-years-old -- just confirmed he's returning to the boxing ring ... and will fight on July 3rd.

"July 3rd, I'm making my comeback," Oscar announced during a news conference for the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight.

Oscar then dropped his mic and walked off the stage without naming his opponent.

The fight will take place under Snoop Dogg's Fight Club banner -- which is teamed up with Triller, the social media platform behind the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren event.

Oscar hasn't had a pro fight since December 2008, when he lost to Manny Pacquiao -- but he's been talking about a comeback fight for months.

In fact, Oscar told ESPN back in August 2020 that he was starting to train and spar again in the hopes of getting back in the ring.

Oscar finished his legendary career with a 39-6 record when he hung up the gloves back in '08 -- with wins over superstars like Arturo Gatti, Hector Camacho, Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell Whitaker.

After his fighting career, Oscar became a successful promoter -- who's repped stars like Canelo Alvarez and Ryan Garcia under his Golden Boy Promotions banner.

Clearly, Oscar is inspired by guys like Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr., who came out of retirement for an incredible return to the ring back in Nov. 2020.

The Tyson vs. Roy Jones fight was also produced by Triller -- which seems to be the connective tissue through all of these events.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports he's fired up for the return of Miesha Tate -- but there's an "I Told You So" moment in this clip he's been waiting to drop for years!

Long story short ... Tate got her nose surgically repaired after her 2016 brawl with Amanda Nunes.

White says he strongly urged her to NOT go under the knife until after her MMA career was seriously over ... because when you're a pro fighter, there's a good chance it could get broken again!

Tate ignored White's advice and got the surgery anyway -- and now that she's returning in July to take on Marion Reneau after a 4-year layoff, Dana's dropping the ol' "I Told You So!"

"I told her don't do it, I'll fix your nose when you're done," White says ... "[but] she did it."

"Her and I haven't talked about this but big mistake and over the last five years obviously she's given her nose plenty of time to heal."

But, Reneau -- the #12 ranked bantamweight -- is a legit striker who will likely take some shots at Tate's sniffer!

White says Tate's a grown-ass woman and she knows what she's getting herself into -- and he's happy to have her back in the fold.

He also dropped some news about Amanda Nunes -- saying Julianna Peña has been "driving me f**king bananas" trying to get a fight with the champ ... and he's leaning towards making it happen.

"[She] will not stop terrorizing me that she deserves this fight. Amanda Nunes this, Amanda Nunes that, Amanda is ducking her, Amanda doesn't want her because the style doesn't match up well for Amanda ... so I'm thinking bout doing a Peña and Nunes."

There's more ... White also talked about this weekend's main event -- Stipe Miocic vs. Francis Ngannou at UFC 260 -- and explained why Stipe could be the most disrespected fighter in MMA history.

"I think he's starting to wear that underdog role and own it," White said.

"I think there's a lot less pressure on him going in there being the underdog. The disrespect continues for the champ."

As we previously reported, the winner will get to face Jon Jones ... White says he'd love to make that fight happen in the Fall.

The man who knocked out Eagles TE Dallas Goedert last year is breathing easier today ... he was just sentenced for the punch, but received nothing more than a slap on the wrist.

A South Dakota court official tells TMZ Sports ... Kyle Hadala -- the 30-year-old who rocked Goedert's face at a bar in June 2020 -- pled guilty to misdemeanor simple assault earlier this month and was sentenced that same day.

His punishment, though, was light -- considering he was facing up to 1 year in jail and a potential $2,000 fine.

According to the court official, Hadala was sentenced to 60 days in jail ... but if he keeps his nose clean for the next year, he won't have to spend a single day behind bars.

We're told Hadala also had to pay court costs and fines that totaled $336.50. He was ordered to have no contact with Goedert for 1 year as well.

As we previously reported, Hadala punched Goedert on June 19 at Zoo Bar in Aberdeen, SD ... after he says Dallas threatened one of his friends during a night out drinking.

Sources close to Dallas -- who had to go to the hospital after the punch but was NOT seriously hurt -- tell us the 26-year-old was simply trying to play peacemaker before he was KO'd.

Kamaru Usman. Israel Adesanya ... and Francis Ngannou?

The 34-year-old heavyweight contender tells TMZ Sports he badly wants to become the UFC's 3rd African-born champion with a victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 this weekend ... saying it would be his greatest accomplishment.

"That's what I'm thinking about all the time basically leading up to this fight," Ngannou says.

"I feel like losing this fight, I will disappoint a lot of people."

"The whole continent that are looking up to us -- being like 3 African champions [along with] Kamaru Usman and Adesanya."

Usman (from Nigeria) is the UFC's reigning welterweight champ. Adesanya (also from Nigeria) holds the belt in the middleweight division.

Ngannou -- who was born and raised in Cameroon -- adds, "We don't realize how big it is but we are talking about a continent of billions of people. It's huge."

That's a lot of pressure, no??

"Yeah, it's pressure but some problems are good problems to have," Francis says.

Ngannou is 15-3 as a pro and he's currently on a 4-fight win streak. He's looking to avenge a 2018 loss to Stipe, the reigning UFC heavyweight champion.

But, Francis is fired up about the rematch -- telling TMZ Sports he's confident he can smash Miocic and win the belt.

Afterward, he hopes to get the UFC to hold fights in Africa.

"I want the UFC to give it opportunity to all those African fighters who are out there training, to give their own piece of hope. Yeah, I want all of that."

Ngannou says there are all sorts of undiscovered talent ... they just need an opportunity to shine.

Pittsburgh Steelers star WR Chase Claypool was involved in a late-night bar fight in Southern California … and TMZ Sports has the footage.

The 22-year-old -- who just wrapped up a sensational rookie campaign for the Steelers -- was at the Wild Goose Tavern in Costa Mesa, CA with some friends on March 13 when things popped off with another group of patrons.

Sources tell us there was an issue involving someone throwing dollar bills at a woman inside the bar, which sparked an argument … and eventually, things moved outside.

We’re told Chase was NOT an instigator -- but as you can see in the video, things started to get out of control and Chase jumped into the action to help out one of his buddies.

At one point, the 6’4”, 238-pound NFL star gets in the middle of the action -- where one of the combatants was wrestling on the ground -- and Claypool delivers a swift kick to the face.

Eventually, Chase’s pals remove him from the fracas -- while people yelled at him to stand back and keep his distance.

We’re told both parties ultimately left the scene without further incident.

The Costa Mesa Police confirm they received a call for a fight at that location but when officers arrived, security told them the parties involved had already left. Nobody has been arrested or charged with a crime.

Unclear if the guy who got kicked plans on taking action -- but people close to Chase tell us he was just trying to protect his friend in a chaotic situation, like anyone would do.

We reached out to Claypool for comment, but so far, nothing back.

Claypool was a 2nd-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft after a stellar career at Notre Dame.

He played in all 16 games for the Steelers as a rookie -- logging 62 catches for 873 yards and 11 total TDs.

TMZ Sports has obtained new footage showing the desperate scramble to neutralize the gunman who fired shots into the air at an MMA event in Florida ... and it's scary stuff.

You can see in the video, people at the Bamboo Room on March 20 were scared and confused after an unidentified man in a red shirt pulled out a handgun and fired into the air in what appears to be an attempt to restore order when a massive brawl broke out in the crowd.

The video -- captured by Florida City Entertainment -- shows multiple people tried to confront the gunman ... but nobody wanted to get too close because the guy was waving around a loaded weapon like it was a loaf of bread.

Eventually, multiple armed security personnel drew their own weapons and confronted the man in a corridor near an exit.

But, before additional law enforcement officers could respond to the scene ... the man was kicked out of the venue and hasn't been heard from since.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office tells TMZ Sports it's still actively investigating the incident ... and released photos of the gunman in the hopes someone will step forward and identify him.

As we previously reported, multiple people were injured in a massive brawl that broke out at the RIZE Fighting Championship event in a chaotic scene that included people throwing punches and chairs.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is staying busy in retirement -- campaigning to be Luke Rockhold's fight coach for Luke's UFC return ... and it sounds like it could really happen.

"He’s assuming this coaching role now," Rockhold tells TMZ Sports ... "He wants to be a big part of my comeback."

Luke and Khabib have been training together for years -- but now that Khabib is done fighting, he wants to transition into coaching ... and take Rockhold on as his client.

Rockhold hasn't fought since July 2019 -- when the former middleweight champ made his light heavyweight debut against Jan Błachowicz.

The 36-year-old tells us he's been dealing with a shoulder issue that's kept him from taking a fight -- but he's recovering well and should be good to go in "late Summer."

Rockhold says he hasn't made an official decision regarding Khabib's offer ... but Luke is obviously considering the move.

In the meantime, Luke says he's heading up to Vegas to train with Nurmagomedov for a week -- and he'll probably make his mind up after that.

Either way, Luke says he's convinced Khabib will be just as good of a coach as he was a fighter.

"He’s going for the 'Coach of the Year.' That’s what he wants. He wants to be the next great thing, following in his dad’s footsteps."

"That’s what his dad always did. His dad was always insightful, and always had a good eye for the sport ... and I think Khabib’s ready to assume that role in fatherhood."

As for Luke's career. Rockhold says he's likely done fighting at light heavyweight and will resume his career back at middleweight.

"I believe [185 pounds] is my calling. I’m about 205 pounds right now and I’m just naturally there."

Luke adds, "It wasn’t really me to bulk up. I was lifting weights and did my thing to get up to 205 and I could barely hold 215, 220 max."

"I feel good. This is my championship weight. This is where I’ve done all my damage and I like the route to victory of what’s ahead of me, so I’m ready to go."

THIS IS CRAZY VIDEO!!!

The fighting spilled into the stands at an MMA event in Florida over the weekend -- with punches and chairs thrown everywhere -- and culminated with someone firing a GUN twice!!!

... and TMZ Sports has the unbelievable footage.

Here's the deal ... the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident at the RIZE Fighting Championship event which went down on March 20 at the Bamboo Room in Lake Worth Beach.

The event was promoted as a bantamweight championship match between Alexis Fernandez and Filipe Valentim -- but there was more action in the stands than inside the cage ... when fans started to attack each other!!

Unclear how the brawl started ... but as several groups of people engaged in fighting, one man opened up a bag, pulled out a handgun and fired it into the air -- apparently hoping the gunshot would scare everyone into behaving.

But, watch the clip ... there are people watching the fights on the balcony, directly above the shooter -- and it's a miracle no one was hit!

We heard at least one shot -- but cops say at least TWO shots were fired into the air.

Former Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard -- who also fought in the UFC -- was in the crowd at the event and captured the shooting on video.

"This guy just shot his handgun in the middle of a melee at an amateur show," Lombard posted on IG ... "Shameful and pathetic cowardly behavior ruined a great night of fights."

When officials arrived on-scene, paramedics treated multiple individuals who were injured in the brawl portion of the incident.

So far, no arrests have been made -- but officials say they've launched an investigation in hopes of identifying the shooter and finding out why the hell he thought it would be a good idea to pop off a couple of rounds with so many people in close proximity!

Welp, sounds like Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield is dead ... Evander's camp says negotiations for a 3rd fight between the boxing legends have fallen apart.

"We thought this was a done deal but it quickly fell apart when Tyson’s people declined all offers,” Kris Lawrence said.

"We were negotiating in good faith all along and it appears we just ended up wasting our time."

As we previously reported, 54-year-old Tyson announced on his podcast last week that he'll be returning to the ring on May 29 in a massive event at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Tyson didn't name his opponent -- but all signs pointed to his old nemesis, 58-year-old Evander Holyfield.

Now, Evander's camp confirms the two sides were in serious talks -- "intense negotiations for several months" -- but the deal ultimately went south.

"Team Holyfield sincerely believed a deal was imminent, especially after the Hard Rock threw its support behind the project, and there were multiple other offers conveyed to Team Tyson," Holyfield's camp said in a statement.

"However, Team Tyson’s demands recently became untenable, and not what Mike Tyson had originally agreed on in direct conversations with Holyfield."

Our sources tell us ... Evander claims he personally spoke with Mike on the phone early on in negotiations and they agreed to a 50/50 split on profit.

But, things changed ... with Evander's camp claiming Team Tyson simply wanted a bigger cut.

Holyfield's team says they tried to make a deal in which Tyson would get a guaranteed $25 mil for the fight -- but Mike turned it down.

Now, it seems both sides are at loggerheads -- and willing to walk away from the deal.

Our sources on the Holyfield side tell us Evander still wants to fight -- if Mike's people will come back to the table with a better offer.

So, there's still hope ... but right now, it's not looking good.

Aaron Carter beat Shaq, but could be in big trouble when he boxes Lamar Odom ... 'cause the ex-NBA star sent his opponent to the canvas in a recent sparring sesh, and TMZ Sports has the vid!!!

As we previously reported, AC and LO are training non-stop for their Celebrity Boxing fight on June 12 in Atlantic City ... proving they're serious as hell about the bout.

We're told Odom has been hittin' the mitts with Barry Young at Decatur Boxing in ATL this week ... and it's obvious Lamar's putting in the work -- he even knocked the guy down at one point!!

Remember, we obtained a vid last week of Carter going HAM in the gym ... working with MMA fighter Jesse Strader.

Now, we'll keep it a buck -- these guys aren't gonna be Tyson Fury overnight ... but it's obvious they've got a passion for kickin' ass, and it looks like they'll be ready to go at it come June.

Both guys have guaranteed a victory ... but only one will come away with the dub.