Fights

"Dana White, if you're listening, this is a real message. Forget the cringe, forget the persona, this is straight-up me. I am the greatest combat athlete of all-time and I promise you, give me that opportunity, I will knock [Alex Volkanovski] out in less than 3 rounds."

That's 34-year-old Henry Cejudo making it crystal clear, he wants to un-retire and fight the UFC's featherweight champion, telling TMZ Sports he believes he'd KO 32-year-old Volkanovski in 15 minutes or less.

"Not only do I believe I can beat him, I know that I can stop him, dude." Triple C says.

"As much as I saw good things from Volkanovski, there still is a lot of holes. I believe my height will be a problem, because he is a couple inches taller than me. My speed, my wrestling, my experience, I've been in there with the best."

"Alexander 'The Average,' okay you had a great performance, it was a great fight, I just believe I have the 'it' factor to beat this dude, not only beat him, but stop him."

Of course, Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega at UFC 266 was a crazy 5 round war ... one that Alex won by unanimous decision.

Even Henry couldn't help but admit the fight was awesome.

"It was a great fight man. A great fight. 5 rounds, that's what a true mixed martial arts fight is. They showed striking, these guys wrestled, they showed submissions."

As for Cejudo's future, many people already consider Cejudo the most accomplished combat sports athlete ever. After all, Henry was a flyweight (125 lbs.) and bantamweight (135 lbs.) champ, in addition to an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling.

Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, and Amanda Nunes are the other fighters who have simultaneously been UFC double champs.

Simultaneous or not, no UFC fighter has ever been champ in 3 divisions ... which is exactly what Cejudo would become if he fought and beat Alexander.

Henry last fought in May 2020 ... when he beat Dominic Cruz via TKO with only seconds remaining in the 2nd round. He retired inside the Octagon following the fight.

HE ACTUALLY DID IT!!!

Tyron Woodley stayed true to his word and FINALLY got "I Love Jake Paul" tattooed on him ... with the UFC star having the phrase inked on the inside of his middle finger!!

Of course, it took a lot to get here -- Tyron initially claimed he would hold up his end of the tat bet only if Jake gave him a rematch after his split decision loss back in August.

Woodley said he was down to get the ink right after the bout in Cleveland, but no one was around after the fight to make it happen.

But, even after Jake shut him down and moved on to negotiations with Tommy Fury (which ain't going so hot, BTW), Tyron revealed last week he was going to follow through and get the tat this weekend -- rematch or no rematch.

Woodley clearly wasn't bluffing, 'cause now he's showing off the new work on Monday ... which shows an up-close shot of his new piece.

"I love you son," Woodley captioned the post on Instagram. "Now come and get this ass whippin cause i heard you been talking back to your elders. @jakepaul #ManOfMyWord"

"WHERE YOU AT!?"

No word on if this is enough to persuade Jake to take the rematch ... but we're sure he's bound to respond at some point.

Tekashi 6ix9ine might be on probation, but the dude isn't afraid to fire back if someone tests him out in public -- which is exactly what happened in Vegas this weekend.

The rapper showed up Saturday to the T-Mobile Arena for UFC 266 ... and as he was making his way in and past fans behind barricades -- he had a little face-off with someone who was NOT a fan.

Check out this video TMZ obtained of the altercation -- you see 69 ignoring the taunts from this dude, who's calling him a bitch and a ton of other insults. As he passes, the man appears to chuck something at his back, and it makes contact with Tekashi.

Eyewitnesses tell us it was the man's drink that he threw, and Tekashi circled back to look at him ... and to also a hurl a drink of his own. We're told it looked like coffee -- and it went splashing on others nearby. Security rushed in and broke it all up ... ushering T69 away.

No word on whether 6ix9ine was dealt with for this -- but sources on the scene say the guy who initiated it was, indeed, led away in handcuffs.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Oscar De La Hoya 2?!

Maybe, just maybe.

Our Mayweather sources tell us the 50-0 fighter is aware De La Hoya called him out ... and Floyd's actually open to a fight with Oscar, IF he really has $100 million.

But, we're told, people in Floyd's camp highly doubt he has the dough.

Remember, we saw De La Hoya leaving dinner with his GF Holly Sonders in L.A. ... and when we asked him about his fighting future, ODLH said he wanted Mayweather.

"You know who I'm gonna call out for my next fight? Floyd Mayweather."

And, that's when the Golden Boy threw out a huge money proposal ... "I'll offer Floyd Mayweather $100 million."

Of course, Oscar and Floyd last boxed at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in 2007 ... where Mayweather won a 12-round, split decision.

Mayweather retired in 2017 following his fight with Conor McGregor ... but has been fairly active, taking several exhibition fights since -- including a bout this summer against Logan Paul.

Oscar hasn't fought since 2008 ... when he lost to Manny Pacquiao.

De la Hoya was scheduled to fight MMA legend Vitor Belfort ... but unfortunately came down with a serious case of COVID, forcing him into the hospital.

But, Oscar made it crystal clear ... he wants to fight this year, and he wants it to be against Mayweather.

Bottom line, if the bag's real, and it's big enough, Floyd will listen.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida -- a 13x BJJ World Champ -- just put the whole MMA world on notice, after notching his 1st win with a crazy impressive performance at ONE Revolution.

31-year-old Buchecha submitted Anderson "Braddock" Silva in Singapore using a North-South choke only 2:55 seconds into the 1st round.

Only hours after the ONE Championship fight (the card was 🔥), TMZ Sports talked to the BJJ great about his foray into a new sport.

"Man, it was something amazing. It's hard to describe with some words. I had a great career in jiu-jitsu. I have done so much in this sport, and I feel like I didn't have anything left to prove. So I moved my challenge, and I'm just 31 years old."

Buchecha's been fighting for almost his entire life ... but this is a new sport. So, was he nervous?

"I was pretty nervous because I didn't know what to expect. It was first time. But I was feeling great. Before the fight I was really calm. Then going to the arena I was really tense. Then I got there and was calm again. It was kinda like a roller coaster."

Now, it's likely his future competitors who are nervous ... especially when they hear this.

"Anything that I do in my life, I put my passion in it mixed with hard work," Buchecha says.

"That's what I did my whole career in jiu-jitsu and it really worked out well for me. I will have the same mindset for MMA."

Speaking of impressive debuts ... we also talked to 32-year-old fighter, James Yang, and his mentor, MMA legend Demetrious Johnson.

Remember, we spoke to Yang before the fight about his experiences as a teenager in a Shaolin temple in rural China.

Yang beat Roel Rosauro by TKO in the 2nd round ... but how did Mighty Mouse think his protégé looked?

Check out the clip!

All hell broke loose at a recent Los Angeles Angels game ... when multiple fans grouped up to unleash a beating on a spectator -- and it was all caught on video.

No word on what started the chaos, but it appears a man in a white long-sleeved shirt was the center of it all ... with one fan throwing a huge batch of popcorn at the dude's face ... and another throwing a drink.

A woman -- who fans believe is the spectator's girlfriend -- is seen reaching over several rows of seats in hopes of bringing the guy out of the line of fire ... but that's when things get much worse.

It looks like at least 4 Angels fans rush over to continue the altercation ... unloading punch after punch on the guy from the level above.

What's even crazier ... the alleged girlfriend was still latched onto the male spectator as he got pummeled by the group of Angels fans.

That's when the video ends, but the violent altercation appeared all but over ... despite event security getting involved.

Fans have been getting into fights left and right in recent weeks -- from Browns tailgates to Cowboys and Chargers backers to Bears and Rams supporters getting in scuffles.

We've reached out to cops and the Angels to get more details on the incident and will update you once we hear back.

The day after Riddick Bowe was pulled from his fight with Lamar Odom, the former NBA star has a new opponent, and it happens to be a dude who knows what it's like to have an insanely famous wife ... 'cause he was married to J Lo.

TMZ Sports has learned 47-year-old Ojani Noa has agreed to fight the 41-year-old ex-hooper on October 2 at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, FL ... all part of a Celebrity Boxing card.

If you don't remember Noa, a former server, he was married to Lopez from 1997 to 1998 ... before they split.

Of course, Odom, the 2x NBA champ, was married to Khloe Kardashian from 2009 to 2016.

Odom -- who beat pop star Aaron Carter via 2nd round TKO in June -- was originally scheduled to fight former heavyweight boxing champ, Bowe.

However, after 58-year-old Evander Holyfield recently lost to Vitor Belfort ... and didn't look great in the ring, everyone from Celebrity Boxing to the Florida state athletic commission thought it best to remove him from the match.

Riddick isn't totally off the event ... Paulie Malignaggi is also boxing Corey B on the card. Bowe will referee that fight.

Ojani was actually scheduled to step in the ring against a much shorter opponent last year ... having inked a deal to scrap with Joe Giudice. However, COVID screwed up those plans.

After 6.5 years away, Nick Diaz is about to make his return to the Octagon, taking on Robbie Lawler ... but Dana White admits he doesn't know if the star from Stockton will fight again after UFC 265.

TMZ Sports talked to the UFC prez on Wednesday, days before Diaz is scheduled to fight for the first time since January 2015 (a no contest vs. Anderson Silva) ... and we asked if the comeback meant Diaz was back now as a full-time fighter.

"I don't know. I never know that either. We'll take it one fight at a time," Dana told us.

FYI, it's not the first time the men have fought. Diaz beat Lawler via 2nd round knockout way back in 2004.

Despite the long layoff, Nick's one of the most accomplished MMA fighters of all time... with wins over everyone from B.J. Penn to Frank Shamrock.

But, with over 2,400 days between fights, will it take time for Nick to reacclimate himself to the Octagon?

"Ring rust is absolutely real and especially when you haven't been in here that long, but you never know what to expect from the Diaz brothers. You know what everybody does though? On Saturday, they show up and they fight -- that's it!"

Valentina Shevchenko is also on the card ... where she's a MASSIVE favorite over Lauren Murphy.

Last week we asked The Bullet if she was interested in a trilogy fight with Amanda Nunes ... and she said she was definitely down.

We asked White about making Nunes-Shevchenko 3 ... and he warned that no one should overlook Woods.

"Obviously, you can't look past Lauren Murphy and start looking at Amanda Nunes again. Lauren Murphy has a lot of knockdowns and submissions in her career. So, when you have women that are that size that can actually knock out other women, it's impressive."

But, with that said, Dana made it clear he isn't against pairing arguably the 2 best female MMA fighters in the world against each other.

"Listen, Valentina Shevchenko is a savage. I mean, her and Amanda Nunes are two of the greatest female fighters to ever walk the face of the Earth and if she gets through Lauren Murphy on Saturday, maybe there is a fight for them down the road."

We couldn't let Dana go without asking about Conor McGregor's (terrible) 1st pitch at the Cubs game earlier this week ... the epitome of the reason White says he ALWAYS says no when he's asked to throw the ceremonial pitch.

Tyron Woodley says his body will officially say "I Love Jake Paul" this weekend ... revealing he is still going to follow through on his tattoo bet after losing to the YouTube boxer last month.

So, now the question is ... rematch back on?!

As we previously reported, Woodley claims he tried like hell to get inked up in Cleveland after JP won via split decision ... telling TMZ Sports he waited and waited, but no one was around to do the job.

Despite TW's efforts, Jake said Woodley didn't hold up his end of the deal and moved on from rematch talks to focus on Tommy Fury ... but negotiations have gone essentially nowhere.

With Jake's next opponent up in the air, Woodley told MMA reporter Ariel Helwani he's STILL going to get the tat -- and he thinks a rematch with Paul is still the smartest move for both sides.

"Tommy Fury should have never even been in position for the bag," Woodley said Wednesday night.

"I’m gonna just let the week go through and see what happens. I think the most sensible thing to do is run it back."

Woodley says he's finally getting the tat on Saturday because "it's the solid thing to do" ... so it sounds like it's for sure happening even if a Jake rematch isn't in the cards.

As for the location of the tat, Tyron says he's still not sure where to get it on his body ... but it sounds like he has no plans to get it removed in the future.

"To me, it's like this ... if a dude want to pay me to whoop his ass -- since he supposedly paid me and promoted the fight -- then I love you!!"

Knives pulled, hit with bottles. Spiders, snakes. No heat or Internet. That's just some of what MMA fighter James Yang -- Demetrious Johnson's protégé -- experienced while living at a Shaolin martial arts academy in China ... and he says that adversity helped prepare him for his first pro fight.

TMZ Sports talked to 32-year-old Yang ahead of his highly anticipated debut at ONE Championship's ONE: REVOLUTION later this week ... and James broke down his experience living in the temple as a 17-year-old, and it sounds scary.

"I was living in rural China, and it was out in the farmlands where we barely had any heat. We had no Internet, very bad. And, just the living conditions were just horrible. But, that adversity is something that made me who I am today. Some people would look at it as a bad thing, but for me, I looked at it as all beneficial."

Yang says at the time, foreigners weren't accepted in the region where he was living ... so venturing out of the temple grounds could get very dangerous.

"I seen guys get bottled in the head. I had knives pulled on me. These kinda things happen out there. But, it made me stronger. It didn't make me weak or anything."

If his time in China didn't already make him the most interesting MMA fighter in the world ... James also detailed his time spent performing with Cirque du Soleil.

Yang ultimately chose fighting over performing ... and has been training with Mighty Mouse at AMC Pankration in Washington.

Now, it's almost time for Yang -- a featherweight -- to fight ... and he's taking on MMA vet, Roel “Akiyama” Rosauro.

Rosauro last fought in January 2020 ... and won by unanimous decision.

Yang's fight -- as well as 3 title fights -- all go down Friday morning at 6:30 AM ET ... and is available live on Bleacher Report, B/R's YouTube Channel, and B/R's app.

In closing, we asked what fans can expect from his first MMA fight ... and James delivered an ominous answer.

"Brutal violence. That's it. Brutality."

Riddick Bowe will NOT be fighting against Lamar Odom next month -- the boxing legend has been yanked from the event as a result of Evander Holyfield's performance earlier this month, TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the 53-year old former undisputed heavyweight champ was slated to go up against the NBA champ at James L. Knight Arena in Miami on Oct. 2.

But, after "The Real Deal" suffered a brutal technical knockout against Vitor Belfort at Triller Fight Club, Celebrity Boxing founder Damon Feldman decided it was best for everyone's safety to find a different opponent for 41-year-old Odom.

Bowe had been training hard leading up to the fight ... but ultimately, the idea was scrapped.

It's probably good news for all involved ... and plenty of folks in boxing will be happy to hear it.

After all, famous promoter Lou DiBella was LIVID with the idea of Bowe getting in the ring ... saying, "No. Just NO!!!! This is barbaric and beyond dangerous."

Now, Feldman is on the search to find Odom's replacement at the last minute ... so who knows, maybe we get an Odom vs. Aaron Carter II??

Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant couldn't wait 'til November to try to punch each other in the face ... 'cause the two just exchanged blows at a pre-fight event, with Alvarez making Plant bleed.

The boxers stared each other down before taking questions from media members in Los Angeles ... when suddenly, things got intense between the two.

Broadcast cameras showed Canelo shoved Plant ... and then repeatedly called him a "motherf***er."

That's when Plant came back and tried to land a huge haymaker ... which Canelo appeared to dodge.

Canelo then tagged Plant with a flurry of punches -- knocking off his sunglasses and causing the fighter to bleed from his right eye area.

Eventually, the two were separated ... but Plant needed a white cloth to get the cut to stop oozing blood.

The drama, though didn't stop there ... 'cause the guys got heated, yet again, later in the press conference, with Plant calling Canelo a "motherf***er" as well as "a bitch."

Fight night is officially set for Nov. 6 in Las Vegas ... but it's clear the two certainly wouldn't mind trying to beat the hell out of each other multiple times before then.

Devin Clark sustained one of the most gruesome injuries you'll ever see in a combat sports event ... and now the UFC fighter is answering the question -- how much it did hurt?!?

"It was probably a 7 or 8 after the fight. You fight the fight. He got his hand raised. Then that adrenaline starts coming, and it comes down quick. And, by the time I'm leaving the cage, I'm like, 'Okay, that hurts,'" Clark tells TMZ Sports.

If you didn't see the injury (lucky you) ... it was incredibly gross. Devin was fighting fellow light heavyweight fighter Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night Saturday afternoon.

31-year-old Clark ate a heavy knee in the 2nd round ... a shot so hard it literally displaced Clark's teeth.

It was bothering him so much during the fight, he went back to his corner before the 3rd round, and told his team something was wrong with his teeth.

The ringside doctor even examined Clark at one point ... but somehow let him continue.

And, continue he did, despite the pain.

After the fight, Clark went to the hospital and they patched him up. On Tuesday, he plans to see his dentist ... and the road to recovery won't be easy or quick.

Jake Paul says Tommy Fury has been ducking him left and right ... claiming he's offered the boxer the biggest payday of his life, but TNT won't sign on the dotted line.

"Tommy 'Fury' has denied 2 abundant offers from my team," Jake tweeted on Tuesday.

Jake is now taking negotiations public ... saying this is his last chance to take on the biggest fight of his career.

"Timmy 'Fury' ... this is your last offer ... $1 million, 8 rounds. 4x more than you have ever made," he added.

"Either step up and fight OR accept that you and your Dad don't believe in you @tommytntfury."

The Problem Child has been going IN on Fury recently ... even mocking his recent shirtless club appearance.

As for Tommy, he previously told us he'd make quick work of Jake ... saying he'd knock out the YouTuber-turned-boxer in 3 minutes.

Tommy said Tuesday he was hoping to get back in the ring "ASAP" ... and Jake replied by saying he's down to fight in December.

32 years after their controversial rematch -- a blockbuster fight billed "The War" -- Sugar Ray Leonard is admitting judges got it wrong ... and Tommy Hearns should've been declared winner of the super fight.

"1989, you should've won. You should've got the decision," Robinson told Hearns, as the boxing greats stood face-to-face on an L.A. sidewalk Monday, talking to TMZ Sports.

We talked to 65-year-old Leonard and 62-year-old Hearns as they were leaving Doug Ellin and Kevin Dillon's "Victory The Podcast" ... where they commemorated the 40th anniversary of their first fight in 1981 (Ray won by 14th round TKO ... handing The Hitman his first L).

But, it wasn't the 1st fight we were discussing ... it was the highly disputed rematch that followed 8 years later in 1989.

The fight was very close ... and the scorecards proved as much. One judge scored the fight 113-112, Robinson. Another scored it 113-112, Hearns. Meanwhile, a third judge had it all knotted up at 112-112 ... meaning the fight was declared a draw.

No official winner ... despite the fact man fans and the television announcers believed Hearns won fair and square.

And, now, decades later, Sugar Ray himself is admitting he lost the rematch.

We asked Tommy if it was the first time Ray admitted he should've won ... and sure enough, Hearns said it was.

"Yes, the first time. It's not gonna be the last time," The Hitman laughed.

Bottom line ... these Hall of Famers are two of the greatest fighters who have ever lived, and it's awesome to see they're buddies all these years later!

A Chargers fan was socked in the face repeatedly by Dallas Cowboys supporters in a wild, violent brawl Sunday ... and the insane scene was all captured on video obtained by TMZ Sports.

The crazy fight began in the parking lot area of SoFi Stadium following the Cowboys' win over the Chargers ... when two women got into a heated argument.

You can see in the footage -- the two screamed at each other ... and then nearly came to blows.

As the scuffle was escalating, though ... one Cowboys fan screamed to a man trying to break up the tiff to "control your bitch."

That's when the L.A. supporter lost it -- calling the man a bitch as well, before charging at him and yelling, "F*** you!"

Complete chaos then ensued ... with several Cowboys fans rushing the man and whaling on him.

At one point, you can see in the clip, a man in a Troy Aikman jersey brutally tagged the Chargers fan in the face with a flurry of punches.

Eventually, the combatants separated ... and witnesses tell us the aftermath was bad, with blood all over one car -- while another car's side mirror was busted.

We're also told despite bystanders calling for cops and security ... nobody showed up until the fight was long over.

The brawl was far from the only altercation at the stadium following Dallas' big win ... with one scrap escalating so heavily, it ended up with people inside the stadium's water feature.