Fights

Boxing phenom Edgar Berlanga has KO'd all 16 of his opponents in the 1st round ... and when he goes for #17 this weekend, Lil Wayne will walk him to the ring!

The 23-year-old knockout artist dropped the news to TMZ Sports as he gears up to fight Demond Nicholson (23-3-1) on Saturday night ... in what many expect to be another signature violent performance from the young star.

Wayne is a big boxing fan -- and he's clearly taken notice of Berlanga as he's destroyed every pro fighter who's ever stepped in the ring against him.

Fat Joe has also become a huge fan.

And Berlanga tells us ... both rap stars have told him they'll be in the house as VIP guests at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee, FL.

"I'm going to spoil it right now for TMZ," Berlanga told us ... "[Wayne's] gonna be there with us this Saturday night, so I have him and Fat Joe."

Wayne won't just be a spectator ... Edgar says the hip-hop icon will be a part of his ring-walk entourage and will perform one of his hits on the way in.

"Lil Wayne is gonna perform and Fat Joe is gonna come to show love like he always does."

FYI, Edgar and Joe are both from NYC ... and go back a few years. FJ has been a regular at Berlanga's fights.

And Wayne isn't just hopping on the bandwagon ... he's been a staunch supporter of Berlanga for a while and has been mentoring Edgar about how to navigate the fame that comes with obliterating 16 straight opponents!

In fact, Weezy even has a near-life-size cardboard cutout of Edgar!

Oscar De La Hoya is admitting to what many already knew ... he WAS boozed up during his appearance at the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren fight ... and now he's apologizing.

48-year-old Oscar was a babbling mess when he joined the announcer's table to commentate during one of the undercard fights at the April 17 event in Georgia ... leaving many wondering if something was wrong with the boxing legend.

In fact, Frank Mir -- who was fighting Steve Cunningham when Oscar joined the broadcast -- tweeted after the fight that he hopes Oscar's people get him professional help for his issues.

"I could be angry and I could laugh too but addiction is no joke, I know," Mir said ... "I sincerely hope that those around Oscar get him the help he needs."

As you may know, Oscar has publicly talked about his battles with substance abuse over the years ... and has sought treatment on several occasions.

But, Oscar is playing off the situation as no big deal ... saying he just got caught up in the party atmosphere at the event -- which included live performances from Snoop and Justin Bieber -- and simply drank too much.

"I started having a couple drinks. And then [the Triller producers] told me, ‘Why don’t you go and commentate?’ And I was like, ‘Oh, man! Okay, okay,'" Oscar said this week on the DAZN Boxing show.

"I got a little over carried away. And I apologize. But it’s all good. It’s all good."

UFC superstar Kamaru Usman was hit so hard by COVID following his July 2020 fight with Jorge Masvidal, he drove himself to the emergency room for treatment.

Usman says he was so dehydrated, he peed blood, lost his sense of smell and dropped 17 pounds as a result of the virus ... telling ESPN he was seriously concerned about dying.

The good news ... Usman insists he has recovered and is ready to go for his UFC 261 rematch with Masvidal this weekend.

But, man, the story behind his illness is scary stuff.

Usman told ESPN he started feeling symptoms after he flew from Fight Island in Abu Dhabi to his home in Colorado.

At first, Usman says he felt sick -- and he thought he would beat it easily. But, things escalated quickly.

After five days of symptoms, Usman says he couldn't wait it out anymore and went to a local emergency room for treatment.

Usman was admitted to the hospital, where he tested positive for COVID and was immediately given medicine to help him recover.

Usman tells ESPN his mind went to a dark place, admitting he thought to himself, "Man, I just made all this money and I'm not gonna be able to spend it."

Fortunately, Usman was able to make a complete recovery ... and returned to the octagon in February 2021, where he defeated the #1 welterweight contender, Gilbert Burns.

"I think they're awesome people and I can't wait to see what the baby's gonna look like!

That's UFC star Rose Namajunas sending big love to Ronda Rousey and Travis Browne on their newly announced pregnancy ... telling TMZ Sports, "She's gonna be a great mother!"

Rose and Ronda go way back ... in fact, Namajunas posted a pic with Rousey way back in 2014 (before Rose shaved her head!).

The two have had a friendly relationship ever since, with Ronda even showering Rose with praise after her 2018 victory over Joanna Jedrzejczyk.

And, now that Ronda and Travis are expecting, Rose couldn't be more excited for them -- "I'm really happy for them and their family."

Meanwhile, Rose is gearing up for a highly anticipated showdown with Zhang Weili for the UFC strawweight title at UFC 261 on April 24.

Weili hasn't lost a fight since her pro debut back in 2013 -- since then she's been on a 21-fight win streak with victories over stars like Jedrzejczyk, Jessica Andrade and Tecia Torres.

Rose tells us she's got the right skillset to break the streak.

"My movement, the way that I move, the way that I think and my fighting spirit. They're all unique."

So, how does she see the fight going?

"My game plan is the same every time. I go in there and punch their face, take their back and choke 'em out. It may manifest differently each time but that's my goal and that's what I'm focused on."

Jake Paul's moved on from Ben Askren -- he's now threatening UFC legend Daniel Cormier!

"Daniel Cormier, I'll beat the f**k out of your fat ass too -- just like Stipe did," Jake said Tuesday on the "Impaulsive" podcast with his brother, Logan Paul.

"I swear to god, I'll beat the f**k out of Daniel Cormier."

So, why the beef? It started right after Jake knocked out Ben Askren .... Cormier tweeted that he felt Jake was disrespectful to ex-UFC champ Tyron Woodley.

Jake responded by challenging Cormier to a fight.

Cormier later escalated things on the "DC & Helwani" podcast on Monday ... saying, "This dude would never fight me. I would kill him. Why would I ever fight someone like that?"

Jake responded on Tuesday ... saying he would be very interested in a Pay-Per-View boxing match against Cormier and strongly thinks he would KO him, just like he did to Ben Askren.

Don't hold your breath for a Jake Paul vs. Daniel Cornier fight -- but Jake vs. Tyron Woodley seems to be gaining momentum.

As Cornier explained, "I would like him to fight Tyron. I would like to see him fight somebody more real. Don’t fight Ben Askren at 190, bloated."

By the way, Jake also revealed the number of PPV buys for the Askren fight -- saying it's more than 1.3 MILLION!

Bryce Hall and his boys are getting sued for throwing down in a Mexican restaurant in L.A., and one of the owners thinks they swung on him because he's a Mexican immigrant.

Hernan Fernando is the co-owner of Cinco, and says Bryce and 3 other guys, including Bryce's pal Rory Fitzpatrick, came into the joint back in October and ordered a few rounds of shots and beers. All good, right?

Nope. Not according to the video TMZ obtained of the fight that broke out -- or according to Hernan, who claims in the lawsuit, Bryce and co. started vaping while seated at their table. He claims they blew off a warning from the bar manager to stop, and also a second warning from Hernan himself.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Hernan told his staff to close out Bryce's tab, and shortly thereafter a server alleges she heard Bryce refer to Hernan as a "wetback" and "the Mexican."

As you can imagine, things quickly went downhill after that -- in the suit, Hernan says Bryce blew vape smoke in his face, his pal Rory got physical when staffers tried to show them to the exit -- and then the fight erupted.

In the suit, Hernan claims he was repeatedly pummeled by Bryce and Rory, with Bryce allegedly trying to choke him ... until a Cinco staffer pulled him off Hernan.

They called cops and held Bryce's credit card so he wouldn't flee the scene. The Cinco co-owner claims Bryce popped off one more time while they were waiting, telling Hernan, "Who the f*ck are you? I"m from Bel-Air, and you're just a fat Mexican who works at a restaurant."

Hernan alleges there were a few more racial epithets hurled his way, and that he suffered a broken hand and lots of bumps and bruises from the punches. He's suing Bryce, Rory and their pals for assault, battery, emotional distress, and for attacking him based on his ethnicity.

Ex-NBA star Nate Robinson raked in more than $2 MILLION for that horrific boxing performance against Jake Paul back in 2020 ... and there's a chance they could run it back!!

That's all according to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith who says he spoke with a source "close to Nate" about what's going on behind the scenes ... and he dropped a ton of very interesting information.

Smith had mentioned Robinson's ill-fated Nov. 2020 match with Paul on Monday's "First Take" ... and when they came from commercial break, the extremely well-connected Stephen A. read a text message he received from a trusted Nate Robinson source. Here's what it said:

"Nate walked out the arena [on Nov. 28 and] realized he was not trained well. [He] apologized for not listening and collected a little over $2 million for that fiasco. He's fine."

"They are trying to get him to fight in a rematch, if you can believe that. Floyd 'Money' Mayweather wants to train him, if he agrees. Crazy but true."

The source said he advised Nate "not to do it" -- "but if he does, it needs to be for more money and he needs to train with a pro for a very long time."

Stephen A. and his First Take co-host Max Kellerman both strongly urged Nate to NOT take a rematch ... considering the punishment he took in the first fight.

We strongly agree.

Metta World Peace is genuinely impressed with Jake Paul's boxing career -- telling TMZ Sports the guy is "legit" and loves the fact he's chasing his dream.

The former NBA star -- who's a big boxing fan -- loved watching Paul knock out Ben Askren over the weekend ... and explained why it's the latest in an "incredible" journey for the 24-year-old YouTube star.

"I like Jake Paul, because I think anybody who has a dream should go after that dream," Metta told us outside of Toast in L.A.

"I think what's incredible about it is he's doing it! That's what's incredible about it, action!"

Metta says he had dreams of becoming a boxer when he was younger -- but never followed up.

So, the fact Jake is putting in the work and seeing results is very impressive to him.

And get this ... Metta tells TMZ Sports he's been getting calls from networks looking to book him in a major celebrity boxing event.

But, don't hold your breath -- Metta says he ain't interested.

"I don't feel like doing it ... It's just not something I'm into doing."

"Ain't no dollar amount," Metta added ... "I just don't want to do it."

Kayla Harrison is an undefeated MMA fighter with 2 Olympic gold medals, but the PFL star admits cage fighting is SCARY, and says that's why she isn't underestimating her next opponent ... despite being a huge favorite.

TMZ Sports- talked to the 30-year-old, 8-0 fighter weeks before she attempts to win the Professional Fighters League million-dollar tournament for the 3rd straight time!!

Harrison is a massive favorite heading into her May 6 fight with 26-year-old Mariana Morais ... but don't make the mistake of asking Kayla (like we did) if it's hard to get motivated to fight the 16-10 journeyman when everyone expects her to easily win.

"Have you ever been in a cage with someone? It's the most terrifying thing in the world. It's like this person is trying to take your head off so there's no, I don't have to pump myself. There's no taking her lightly. Everyone is tough until you beat them," Harrison tells us.

Since joining the sport, Kayla has run through everyone she's faced ... causing some critics to say she isn't facing premier competition -- a claim Harrison takes umbrage with.

"That's fine, say that I'm fighting cans, say that I'm fighting bums. That's just 'cause I'm that good. That's what I want. That's fine, I want people to say that."

We also spoke to Kayla about a future super fight with Amanda Nunes (the opposite of a can) ... a match MMA fans badly want.

Nunes recently ran through top-contender Megan Anderson ... and many experts believe Harrison is the only woman who can give Lioness a run for her money.

Speaking of money ... Kayla says it's gonna take a whole lotta cash -- and some other things -- before that fight ever happens.

But ... she definitely didn't say no!!

Two men beat the hell out of each other on a golf course last week -- with one of the dudes even swinging a flagstick at the other -- and the insane fight was all caught on video!

The wild scene went down on April 9 at a golf club in South Africa ... when two men got into a fistfight on the course at a local school's fundraiser event.

According to the club's general manager, Leon Kruger, the two had apparently been in a dispute over a lost phone before the melee erupted.

"There were two groups, one behind the other, on the course," Kruger said of the tiff to News24. "Someone in the first group lost their phone."

"When they asked the second group if they had seen the phone, they denied having it. That's when things then got out of hand."

You can see in the footage, one of the men began attacking the other, throwing haymakers and eventually ripping off the guy's shirt.

That's when the shirtless man grabbed a nearby flagstick, and swung it at the other dude's head repeatedly!!

The stick struck the guy with such force, it broke over his body ... but the fight still continued.

Eventually, after several more punches were thrown ... the guys calmed down and the fracas was over. It does not appear authorities were involved.

A youth basketball game in Indiana turned VERY violent -- with a referee fighting adults and players ... and the whole disturbing incident was caught on video.

It all went down over the weekend at the Prime Midwest Event at the Pacers Athletic Center in Westfield, IN during a game between two girls teams.

One of the coaches began arguing a call with just seconds remaining in the 1st quarter.

The ref called a technical foul -- which pissed off one of the coaches so badly, she picked up her bag and began to walk off the court in protest, along with players and team staff.

After the mass exodus from the court, a man in a yellow shirt approaches the ref and appears to shoot cell phone video ... as he continues to get very close to the ref.

At one point, the ref smacks the man in the face with a wild right hand -- and that's when all hell breaks loose.

A player runs over and hits the ref -- another grown man also hits the ref.

The man in the yellow shirt gets really angry and charges after the ref -- it appears he flipped the ref onto the ground very violently.

More chaos ensues until someone grabs the ref and walks him away from the melee.

A spokesperson for the Pacers Athletic Center issued a statement to the Indy Star ... saying, "The event staff removed the involved parties from the remainder of the tournament and will not welcome them back to future events."

"We are disappointed that this altercation happened, as we strive to provide a great experience for families."

Mike Tyson served as the "special ringside enforcer" at AEW's "Dynamite" on Wednesday ... and man, HE ENFORCED!

The boxing legend cracked Cash Wheeler right in the face with a hard right hand during a ringside encounter ... sending Wheeler crashing to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

It was awesome!!!

In fact, just listen to the sound of the contact -- yeesh!!

Here's the backstory ... Inner Circle's Chris Jericho was taking on The Pinnacle’s Dax Harwood in a heated 1-on-1 march -- and before the opening bell, Mike vowed to keep the peace by any means necessary.

Long story short, Cash Wheeler tried to interfere with the match to help his tag team partner Dax. At one point, he even grabbed a baseball bat in hopes of taking a swing at Jericho.

... and that's when Iron Mike came around the corner and gave him the ol' Michael Spinks treatment (Google it).

Ultimately, Jericho got the win -- and thanked Mike for having his back and included Mike as an auxiliary member of the Inner Circle.

Before he smashed his way into the UFC, Daniel Rodriguez was honing his fight skills on the streets and in jail -- telling TMZ Sports he's 200-0 OUTSIDE the Octagon.

D-Rod -- who obliterated Mike Perry on the main card at "UFC Vegas 23" this past weekend -- says he's been fighting his whole life ... and his experience on the streets has helped him become the successful pro he is today.

"That’s how this all started. It all started in the street ... I’m a hood baby. I'm from L.A. you know.?!"

34-year-old Rodriguez says he was in and out of jail growing up -- something he attributes to running with the wrong crowd and making bad choices.

Daniel says he cleaned up his life and is laser-focused on his MMA career -- racking up an impressive 14-2 record as a pro.

So, what's scarier ... fighting in a jail cell or in the UFC Octagon? D-Rod says there's no comparison.

"There's a referee in [the Octagon]. There’s somebody to stop it."

"I’ve been in situations where ain't nobody gonna stop it ... so it's kill or [be killed]."

So, what's next for Rodriguez INSIDE the Octagon? He's gunning to fight a ranked opponent and would love a crack at the legendary Robbie Lawler.

Lawler is currently the #15 ranked welterweight -- but Rodriguez says he's confident he'll make Robbie look like Mike Perry when it's all said and done!

Kevan Miller was feeling VIOLENT on Tuesday -- the Boston Bruins player unleashed the fury all over multiple Buffalo Sabres players ... culminating with a KO in a mid-game fight!

The brutality began in the 2nd period when Miller came flying across the ice to smash Sabres' forward Rasmus Asplund into the boards at breakneck speed. Asplund went crumpling to the ground.

Asplund's teammates took issue with the shot because it looked like an illegal blindside hit -- even though it wasn't called for a penalty.

That's when Sabres' player Tage Thompson squared up with Miller looking to avenge Asplund ... but he quickly learned Miller was all about the smoke.

The gloves came off ... and Miller immediately opened up a can of whoop-ass all over Tage's face -- beating him down onto the ice in a one-sided mauling.

Eventually, the refs stepped in and put a stop to the fight when it became clear Thompson had no chance.

FYI, Miller is a very experienced fighter -- with 20 scraps under his belt since 2013.

Thompson, on the other hand, has only fought once in the NHL since joining the league a few years ago.

It's almost like Thompson didn't realize what he was getting himself into ...

As for the game, the Bruins ended up securing the "W" in an overtime shootout.

Here's WWE superstar The Miz breaking character to heap some well-deserved praise on Bad Bunny -- admitting the music superstar's performance at WrestleMania was legitimately incredible.

Miz and Bad Bunny have been beefing for months as part of the storyline leading up to WM37 this past weekend -- and when they stepped in the ring to throw down, Bunny was spectacular.

He pulled off everything from a vertical suplex to a Canadian Destroyer (look it up!) ... and even frog splashed off the top rope! It was awesome!

Eventually, Bunny pinned Miz for the win -- but the former WWE champ says he ain't bitter -- it was a true honor just to share the ring with BB.

"Not only did he earn my respect, I think he earned the WWE Universe's respect. I think he earned backstage's respect. I think he earned everybody's respect in what some are calling 'The Best Celebrity Match at WrestleMania in History!'"

Miz says what he's most impressed by is Bunny's work ethic -- BB busted his ass for months at the WWE Performance Center to get ready for 'Mania ... and the hard work clearly paid off.

Sadly, Bunny's run with the WWE is probably over ... at least for now (he's got the whole music thing to get back to) -- but Miz isn't ruling out a future appearance.

"Ya never know when he'll come back! I think he had a great experience, I think everyone had a great experience with him."