Fights

Almost 3 years after badly losing to Max Holloway, Brian Ortega is back, fighting for the UFC's featherweight title against Alex Volkanovski ... and if he wins, T-City has revenge on his mind.

TMZ Sports talked to 30-year-old Ortega -- the #2 ranked 145-pounder in the UFC -- just days before he headlines UFC 266 against Volkanovski.

Brian is a slight underdog ... but most expect a very close fight. And, if he wins the strap ... Ortega knows who he wants next.

"[Fighting Max Holloway] would be ideal. I'm not trying to speak ahead, nor am I trying to get past Volkanovski, right, cause he beat Max twice," Ortega told us.

T-City continued ... "I'm not here to say I'm already celebrating. But, that would be ideal. I'm a better person, better fighter than I was when I fought him. And, watching his last fight, so is he."

"You always want that as a fighter, as a competitor, you always want that, to make that s**t square. Or to say, 'Yo dog, you legit got the best of me. Good s**t."

You may remember ... Ortega lost to Max via doctor's stoppage in the 4th round at UFC 231 in 2018. Brian, who kept coming forward despite eating an ungodly amount of punches (and breaking his hand, dislocating his thumb, among other injuries), would not quit.

Brian took almost 2 years to heal up ... but once he did, he looked fantastic in the Octagon, toying with Chan Sung Jung a.k.a. the Korean Zombie in October 2020.

Ortega admits he looks at the 1 blemish on his otherwise perfect resume (15-1) ... and it ticks him off.

"I'm competitive. I want to make s**t even. It does bother me."

Bottom line ... "Even if he f**ks me up again, or whatever. I'll fight you 100 times. I'm gonna get one."

The woman who appeared to start the violent altercation at the Steelers vs. Lions preseason game in August has been hit with a criminal citation, TMZ Sports has learned.

A spokesperson for the Pittsburgh Police Dept. tells us after launching an investigation into the Aug. 21 melee ... cops cited the woman for disorderly conduct.

Per the spokesperson, the woman will likely now have to pay a fine as a result of the ticket.

The spokesperson added that no other citations or charges have been handed out as a result of the fight ... though a probe is still ongoing.

As we previously reported, the fight happened at some point during the Steelers' win over Detroit at Heinz Field ... and, as you can see in the footage shot by a bystander, it was chaotic.

The clip shows the woman getting in the face of a man seated one row in front of her ... before she eventually slapped him.

The physical touch set the guy off -- 'cause you can see in the video, he then swung on both her and the man sitting next to her.

It's unclear what started the whole thing ... but, fortunately, other fans were able to separate the combatants before things got even worse.

Valentina Shevchenko -- the UFC's #2 ranked pound-for-pound female fighter -- tells TMZ Sports she is definitely down to scrap with Amanda Nunes for a third time ... in what'd be one of the biggest fights in the history of women's MMA.

We talked to the 33-year-old flyweight champion days before she's scheduled to fight Lauren Murphy at UFC 266 on September 25, and while Bullet clearly wants to continue dominating 125 pounds, she also knows another fight with the Lioness would be huge.

"I think if destiny puts this fight in front of us, most of us gonna do it. I'm kind of focused very much on my flyweight division and I just want to be better fight," Valentina says, adding, "and when [the third fight's] gonna happen, I'm here."

Of course, Shevchenko and 33-year-old Nunes previously fought twice -- in 2016 and 2017 -- in two tightly contested match-ups.

The first fight was at UFC 196 (McGregor vs. Diaz) ... where Nunes won by unanimous decision.

Valentina and Amanda rematched at UFC 215 (they were the main event) ... and Nunes again won -- this time by split decision -- in a razor close fight.

In fact, there are many people who believe Shevchenko won the second fight, and should've been crowned champ.

The 2 losses are Valentina's only defeats since late-2010. She's won 7 straight fights.

We also talked to Shevchenko about her future inside and outside the Octagon (she's got a movie coming out with Halle Berry and wants to continue acting).

UFC fighter Ryan Spann trains at the gym owned by ex-NBA star Deron Williams ... and the light heavyweight contender once sparred with the hooper -- AND GOT HIS BUTT KICKED!!

"Deron whooped my ass one day. I'm dead serious. You can call him and ask him," Spann told TMZ Sports.

Context? We talked to the 30-year-old, 6'5", 205 lb. fighter just days before he's set to face 6th ranked LHW, Anthony Smith ... and we asked the 11th ranked fighter if he ever rolled around with 6'3" Williams at their gym, Fortis MMA in Dallas.

"I was training for a fight, and coach was like, 'Deron, get in.' And, I already knew he hooped, and I knew who he was, but I never got to go with him," Ryan said, "I think it was my 2nd or my 3rd round with a fresh body, and you put Deron in, I was like, 'Oh s**t, nice, I get a round off.' Little did I know Deron used to wrestle. And, he was about 230 at the time."

FYI, Williams was a damn good wrestler as a kid. Long before he starred at Illinois, was drafted with the 3rd overall pick, or made any All-NBA teams, Deron was a state champion on the mats in Texas. He won titles as an 8 and 12 year old ('93 & '97).

So, Ryan and the 3x NBA All-Star sparred. How'd it go?!

"It wasn't until Deron was on top of me and me struggling to get up, and coach gonna look at me and say 'I've been working with him for the last couple of years. You thought you were gonna get this round off?'"

Shocking, on the surface, considering Spann is one of the most dangerous men in the world ... meanwhile DW, surely a good wrestler as a kid and great athlete in general, is a basketball player -- not a fighter.

Then it was time for a little payback ... in the form of a knuckle sandwich.

"He got me, but the next round I hit him with the right hand and he hasn't sparred me since."

So, would Deron -- who's only 37-years-old and hasn't played ball professionally since he was with the Cleveland Cavs in 2017 -- ever take a real fight??

Ryan says Deron was once pitched a fight with Pro Bowl defensive lineman turned UFC fighter Greg Hardy (we actually talked to Deron about this in 2018) ... but unfortunately, the scrap never came together.

UFC fighter Dan Hooker's fight against Nasrat Haqparast is in serious jeopardy ... with the lightweight begging for a visa to make it to Vegas for UFC 266 next Saturday.

31-year-old Hooker -- who is from Auckland, New Zealand -- sent out a public cry for help to the U.S. Embassy’s Kevin Covert on Twitter on Thursday.

FYI -- Auckland is currently experiencing widespread COVID-19 outbreaks ... which has led the government to require folks to stay home and remain in bubbles.

Hooker tweeted at Covert in hopes of getting his situation handled ASAP ... saying, "Hi Kevin, apologies for messaging on here but it’s a last resort."

"My visa is with the US embassy here in NZ as I fight next week in Las Vegas on #UFC266 Update today is it won’t be approved until next week due to lock down which will cancel my fight. Please help."

"The embassy has my passport and all the completed documentation, all I need is it to be processed and returned," he added.

"This is an absolute last resort."

Hooker is slated to fight 26-year-old Haqparast --who is 5-2 since joining the UFC in 2017 -- on September 25.

Brian Ortega vs. Alex Volkanovski and Nick Diaz vs. Robbie Lawler are also on the card.

The embassy responded to Hooker's tweet by asking him to reach out to them directly ... so it seems they may be on the case.

G-Eazy's in the crosshairs of police in NYC, after his crew allegedly got violent with another group of guys ... with punches and bottles thrown.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the rapper's been named as a suspect in an NYPD assault report, for an incident that went down around 1 AM Friday at the Boom Boom Room in the Standard Hotel.

We're told G-Eazy's party got into an altercation with a few other guys, and one of them claims a member of G's entourage hit him in the head with a glass bottle.

Our sources say the scuffle moved outside, where G-Eazy allegedly punched another man in the head.

We're told the dude who claims he took a bottle to the head went to the hospital to get checked out ... but the guy G-Eazy allegedly punched refused treatment.

No arrests yet, but we're told police are still investigating the incident.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller allegedly broke a guys ribs in a bar fight just days before his domestic violence arrest, TMZ Sports has learned.

Our law enforcement sources tell us they recently responded to a fight at a San Fernando Valley bar. When they arrived, the altercation was over, and we're told no one wanted to press charges, so everyone was allowed to leave.

However, the next day, one of the people involved in the brawl went to the hospital ... and was diagnosed with several cracked ribs.

We're told at that point, cops took an incident report for felony battery. They're expected to turn the case over to the L.A. district attorney sometime in the near future ... and they'll decide whether or not to charge Mayhem for the bar fight.

Of course, we broke the story last week, Miller -- who has a long history of trouble -- was arrested for felony domestic violence after a woman accused the fighter of roughing her up early Friday morning.

During the domestic violence arrest, Mayhem didn't go easy, with cops using a taser in order to slap the cuffs on him.

Police said the alleged victim had injuries to her face and neck.

That case is still active ... and depending on what the D.A. decides, Miller could be hit with more charges from a totally separate alleged incident.

Conor McGregor and MGK have no bad blood, according to The Notorious himself who says not only do the guys NOT have beef ... but the rock star is invited to his next UFC fight.

The 33-year-old UFC superstar was leaving his hotel in NYC ... when he was asked about the incident with Machine Gun Kelly at the MTV VMA's Sunday night in Brooklyn.

"I got to go to the Barclays Center again. I got to present an award. I was just going to have a good time, you know what I mean? That's it. All love, all love! It's all good," Conor told Adam Glyn.

That's when McGregor extended the invitation, saying ... "Come to the next fight and watch me perform any time. I perform, no problem. Everyone's more than welcome to come to my fights or come to the shows. No beef. I don't even know the guy."

Of course, Conor and MGK nearly came to blows on the red carpet of the award show ... with McGregor lunging at the musician and splashing a drink before being restrained by security.

Peace was eventually restored ... and McGregor presented an award to Justin Bieber at the show. MGK performed with Travis Barker.

But, the question still remains ... why the hell were they fighting?

Conor clearly didn't want to get into it ... but did drop this line before shifting topics.

"I don't know [MGK]. Who is he? Tellin' me he's been at the fights, Megan's been at the fights years, so I know Megan and then I don't know the guy. There's no problem. Come to the fights."

A dig? Possibly. Or, maybe he just ain't a fan of Kelz.

Conor also gave a health update (it's only been 66 days since he broke his leg) and it's going to be music to the ears of McGregor fans.

"I honestly feel like I could kick right now, but I just gotta listen to to the doctors, listen to the people that are guiding me. That's what I've done so far. I've committed myself to the work, and I'm back on the feet."

Vitor Belfort says he's about to be $30 MILLION richer ... that is, if Jake Paul has the guts to step in the boxing ring, telling TMZ Sports The Problem Child's a coward if he doesn't accept the fight.

"I'd like to teach that boy a lesson. Your parents give you behaviors and all that, so he's gonna meet his big daddy," 44-year-old Belfort says.

"And, if he likes money, we got big money. There's no excuse to run away from this fight. So, he has to take it, and if you don't take it, he's gonna show he's a coward and he's looking for easy fights."

Shots fired.

Paul's 4-0 professionally -- with wins over Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren -- but Belfort has zero doubt he'd knock out the YouTuber-turned-boxing star, saying ... "I'm gonna knock [Jake] out. There's no doubt about it."

Of course, Belfort called out 24-year-old Paul in the ring following his 1st round KO of Evander Holyfield ... with Triller's Ryan Kavanaugh pledging $30 million to the winner of the potential scrap.

$30 mil is A LOT of money, but what's unclear ... after signing a deal with Showtime Boxing, could Jake take the fight, even if he wanted to?

"I think it's worth it. $30 million to get your a** whooped by a legend like myself," Belfort says.

If not Jake, Vitor told us he's also interested in Canelo Alvarez (there's a $40 mil offer on the table from Triller), Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Lennox Lewis and even Tyson Fury.

As for Paul, he recently called out Jorge Masvidal ... but with Gambred under contract with the UFC, it's highly unlikely Dana White would sign off on the fight.

A Washington Football Team fan unloaded on a fellow fan in the stands during the team's game against the Chargers on Sunday ... dropping haymaker after haymaker on the poor guy.

In footage of the melee, filmed by someone sitting near the violence, you can see a man in a Clinton Portis jersey began scrapping with another guy in a Sean Taylor uni.

Unclear what started the tilt ... but the man in the Portis jersey quickly got the upper hand -- and never let off the gas pedal until other fans finally intervened.

The clip shows the dude threw roughly 13 punches -- with many of them landing flush on the other man's face.

No word if anyone suffered injuries in the fight ... but we're betting at the very least, they're both pretty damn sore today.

As for the action on the field, the WFT ended up losing to L.A., 20-16 ... so, yeah, tough day all around for these guys.

Tonight's the night ... WWE Superstar Big E is cashin' in, using his coveted 'Money In The Bank' briefcase for a title shot against Bobby Lashley -- or Randy Orton on tonight's Raw.

TMZ Sports talked to E ... and the 35-year-old SmackDown star, holding the 'MITB' case, made the announcement.

"I'm a big proponent of setting your intentions, and I woke up this morning and I said, let me set my intentions to be a world champion here tonight in Boston," Big E tells us.

Of course, Big E won the 'Money in the Bank' ladder match in July ... entitling him to a title shot against either the Raw (Lashley) or SmackDown (Roman Reigns) champ at any moment.

Bobby is set to face Orton tonight ... so, E could wrestle either of the men.

Lashley's the current champ ... so we asked him if he had a message for the Raw champ.

"First and foremost, Bobby needs to worry about a certain 14x world champion in Randy Orton, who's trying to become a 15x champion tonight. so he's got that to worry about. so my message to bobby is worry about that apex predator first. Just know, I'm here. I'm in the building."

Why tonight on Raw from Boston??? We asked E.

"Why tonight? Why not tonight? Boston. Heckuva town. Kofi's from here. The fact that Kofi and Woods are both present. My sister lives here. I have extended family that lives here."

So, fam's here, Kofi and Xavier, but can he win the belt?!?

Stay tuned ...

Anderson Silva knocked Tito Ortiz out cold, but there's no bad blood between the MMA legends ... 'cause the day after, Spider gave his 1st class plane ticket to The Huntington Beach Bad Boy's GF -- so she could sit with her man.

46-year-old Ortiz posted a video on social media thanking 46-year-old Silva for the sweet gesture.

"The biggest thing I think Anderson Silva has ever done to me, I'm very thankful. He just actually gave up his 1st class ticket for Amber to sit here," Ortiz says.

"The flight's messed up, the airline, Jet Blue, messed up. But, Anderson Silva gave up his seat for Amber to sit next to me."

Tito's GF is Amber Nichole Miller ... one of the original UFC Octagon girls.

Of course, Anderson flatlined Tito towards the end of the 1st round of their Triller fight (full fight replay available on FITE) on Saturday ... catching Ortiz on the ear when a quick, left hook, sending him to the canvas, face first.

Tito ended his video with a final thank you to Silva.

"Anderson Silva, you're the man, dude. Thank you very much. Amazing man. Nothing but respect."

Blueface allegedly attacked a club bouncer with the help of his 2 pals, leaving the dude in stitches ... and now, cops are on the case.

Sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ ... Blueface tried rolling up to Skinny's Lounge late Sunday night in the San Fernando Valley, but got stopped at the door by a security guard who asked to see his ID.

We're told Blueface noted he didn't have one, and asked the guard if he knew who he was ... apparently, whipping out his phone to Google himself and show he was famous. The guard didn't care though, we're told, and wouldn't let him in without proper identification.

That's when things allegedly turned physical ... our sources tell us Blue, and a couple buddies with him jumped the bouncer and then left. The guy had to be transported to a hospital by ambulance -- where we're told he was treated for bruises and scratches that required sutures.

We also got a hold of photos showing the alleged injuries, and they look pretty gnarly. You can see the bouncer was left bloodied.

Chris Brown's home got another visit from cops ... but this time, he wasn't the one causing the problems.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police were called to CB's San Fernando Valley home around 10 PM this week for an alleged battery involving his security team.

We're told a man came riding up to the property on a motorbike, and Chris' hired muscle lit the guy up with a flashlight to figure out whether he was a guest or just a dude cruising the neighborhood. They stopped him and asked why he rode up to the house.

The man apparently didn't like being questioned ... we're told he spit in the guard's face and rode off into the night.

Our sources tell us LAPD took a battery report, but so far no arrests have been made.

It's at least the 3rd time in 5 months cops have been called to Chris' home. As we reported, LAPD broke up his massive birthday party in May and in June they responded to another battery call at the home after a woman claimed Breezy smacked her weave off.

Conor McGregor is still nursing his broken leg, but dude is already back to squaring up -- only this time ... he's doing it well outside the Octagon, and against Machine Gun Kelly.

The UFC star appears to have gotten into a physical confrontation Sunday on the red carpet of the MTV Video Music Awards leading into the Barclays Center -- right before showtime, no less -- in a would-be clash that was captured by several photogs on the scene.

As you can see, there's Conor in the pink suit mouthing off to MGK who's not very far ... and before you know it -- the next shot has Conor seemingly lunging at the rocker as people step in to separate them.

CMG can be seen reaching for Kelly -- but it doesn't look like he ever got a hold of him or even laid a finger on him for that matter. Conor was yanked back by security on hand ... with the Notorious looking furious and animated amid the scrum.

Unclear what might've set this whole thing off in the first place -- but it doesn't seem this escalated beyond a brief showdown ... because we've reached out to cops in the area, and no one's reported this (yet). It's weird ... MGK and Conor don't really have a hostile history.

We got calls in to both guys' camps to see what the fuss was about ... so far, no word back.

Boxing legend Shane Mosley wagered $1,000,000 on himself, betting he'd BEAT Canelo Alvarez in 2012 ... but unfortunately for Sugar, he not only lost the fight, he netted a NEGATIVE $400K in the process!!

The 50-year-old, former multiple-weight class world champion sat down with Mario Lopez for Triller's "OK Bet" show ... and made the stunning admission.

"They were gonna pay me $600,000 [for the Alvarez fight], but I made a bet for a million dollars that I was gonna beat Canelo, and if I would've won I’d have $6 million," Shane recounts.

"I was thinking this snot nose kid is not gonna beat me, you know at 154 (lbs)."

Sadly for Shane's bank account, he was wrong ... and instead of making millions like he would've with a win, he actually LOST hundreds of thousands of George Washington's after paying off his debt.

"I bet a million dollars and I lost so I ended up having to pay back 400,000 dollars. For getting my butt kicked I had to pay $400,000."

If you don't remember the May 2012 fight ... then-40-year-old Mosley took on a 21-year-old Canelo at the MGM in Las Vegas.

Alvarez was 40-0-1 at the time ... and held the lightweight title. But, Mosley, who'd won just 2 of his last 6 fights, and was nearing the end of his great career, believed he still had enough left in the tank to get the W.

After 12 rounds, Mosley ended up losing a 1-sided decision to the future top pound-for-pound fighter in the world ... with 2 judges scoring the bout 119-109, and the other, 118-110.

Shane retired 5 fights later in 2016. Since, the legendary pugilist has been inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.