Fights

NHL winger Marcus Foligno looked less like a hockey player and more like a UFC fighter Tuesday -- 'cause he threw a WILD Superman punch to kick off an epic on-ice brawl.

Foligno and Jets defenseman, Brenden Dillon, dropped the gloves in the first period of Minnesota's game against Winnipeg ... and it didn't take long for Foligno to try the famous MMA move.

Just seconds into the tilt, the Wild forward leapt into the air and threw the punch ... but fortunately for Dillon, it just barely missed.

The two -- known as some of the best fighters in the NHL -- then traded blows for a few seconds ... with Foligno at one point connecting with a HEAVY uppercut.

The guys were ultimately separated by the refs after about 30 seconds ... and based on the reaction of the two, Foligno clearly felt he won the scrap.

Both guys were hit with penalties for fighting ... though they each returned.

Foligno ended up getting the last laugh on Dillon -- the Wild won in crazy fashion in overtime, 6-5.

Corey Anderson ain't mincing words ... telling TMZ Sports the winner of his fight with Vadim Nemkov will without question be the best light heavyweight fighter in the world.

The debate's raged on since 32-year-old Anderson beat the former champ, Ryan Bader, in just 51 seconds over the weekend ... sending "Overtime" into the Bellator light heavyweight tourney finale against 29-year-old Nemkov.

Fighters like Jan Blachowicz have weighed in ... claiming the world's best 205-pound fighters reside in the UFC -- not Bellator.

But, when we talked to Anderson ... we asked him if the fight was for the best LHW, and he said yes, and called BS on the narrative that the UFC has better 205-lb fighters.

"A hundred percent, hundred percent. Especially If I win it, and I already beat two guys fighting for the belt in another promotion. Let's say Glover goes out there and beats Jan, which I think he will, the last time Glover lost was to who? Corey Anderson."

FYI, Blachowicz and Glover Teixeira are fighting for the UFC title at UFC 267 next weekend ... 2 guys Corey has previously beaten.

Anderson fought Jan twice ... winning 1 (2015), losing 1 (2020). Corey beat Glover in 2018 by unanimous decision.

We also asked Corey how important it'd be for him to become champ after being so close in the UFC .. but falling just short of winning the belt.

"That's the most important thing. The financial thing is great, but it's just the cherry on top. We can live the life, my family can live the life. Wife get a new car, I get a new car. Whatever you wanna do. That's all great and dandy."

Anderson continued ... "In the end, I’m in this sport to be the best. I got here to be the best. To finish with that belt around my waist, that means I did it. I reached the pinnacle, I reached exactly what I wanted to do, be the best, and then I did it and made a lot of money while doing it."

"The money is great but gold is the goal."

A Minnesota Vikings fan was sent crashing to the ground after being socked in the face during a wild melee at the Panthers game Sunday ... and all of the violence was captured on video.

The scene went down at some point during the Vikes' win over Carolina at Bank Of America Stadium ... when a man clad in purple got into a verbal altercation with several Panthers fans.

In footage of the fracas, you can see the Minnesota fan immediately started scrapping with a man in a Jaycee Horn jersey ... before yelling at others in the area.

Several people stepped in to intervene ... and pushing, shoving and screaming ensued.

Eventually, the altercation turned seriously violent ... with the man in the purple shirt being thrown to the ground and then being hit by a thunderous punch.

The guy laid on the floor for several moments ... but got up and appeared to try to continue the fight.

Meanwhile, another woman was knocked to the ground amid all of the chaos.

It's unclear what started the brawl, if there were injuries or if any arrests were made. We've reached out to cops, but so far, no word back yet.

Of course, fighting at NFL stadiums has unfortunately been commonplace this year ... with violent scuffles -- including one at the Bears vs. Rams game earlier this season -- breaking out seemingly weekly.

"Tank's gonna knocked the f*** out. And, whoever believes otherwise can go f*** themselves."

That's 26-year-old, undefeated rising boxing star Rolando Romero -- aka Rolly -- declaring that he will not only beat Gervonta Davis when they fight December 5 in Los Angeles, but Tank will get flatlined within 3 minutes!!!

It's an incredibly bold prediction ... especially considering most experts have picked Davis to beat the very talented Romero.

But, Rolly -- who we spoke with leaving Wilder-Fury 3 -- is adamant he isn't just running his mouth ... he believes he's got a size and power advantage.

"The best thing about Tank is that he's a puncher, and I'm a bigger puncher and bigger person. What the f*** does he have?" Rolly tells us.

"I punch way harder than him. Ask anyone that knows us both. They'll tell you straight up."

Of course, Tank is known as one of the hardest punchers, pound-for-pound, in the entire sport. All but 1 of his 25 wins are by knockout ... and the uppercut he dropped Leo Santa Cruz with is one of the most devastating punches of all time.

But, Rolly's power definitely isn't anything to scoff at ... all but 2 of his 14 wins are also by KO.

So, Romero's prediction?!?

"I'm gonna knock him the f*** out."

When?!?

Conor McGregor allegedly got in another fight outside the Octagon ... this time a DJ claims the champ punched him in the face and broke his nose.

Francesco Facchinetti, a famous DJ from Italy, says he and his wife were hanging out with Conor and his fiancee in Rome and, at around 2:30 AM Sunday, Conor threw a punch landing on his face. Facchinetti says the attack was unprovoked.

Facchinetti, who posted a video that clearly shows injuries, says they were all "having fun" earlier in the evening ... so much so, Conor invited them to tag along to another party. It appears they didn't leave because Facchinetti says that's when Conor threw the punch in front of 10 witnesses.

Facchinetti was quick to say he's suing Conor ... “I took a punch for nothing. That punch could go to anyone. My friends, my wife, or other friends. That’s why I decided to sue Conor McGregor because he is a violent and dangerous person.”

Facchinetti's wife posted what she claims went down ...“Then out of nowhere, he threw a punch in the face of Francesco. He was inviting us to another party. Francesco said, ‘Okay, let’s go’ and he hit him. Luckily, he [Francesco] was very close so he [Conor] couldn’t load up on his punch. Francesco flew back, fell on the table, and then on the ground. The first thing that came to mind was ‘are we kidding? Is it a show?’ Then I was paralyzed.

She went on ... "I turned around and saw that his friends were holding him against the wall because he wanted to continue beating Francesco. Then they took him away. I turned on the light and the guards turned them off. Francesco was bleeding. I wanted to help him and the guards chased us away. He will stay in Italy until October 26th. If you see him stay away from him. Don’t go near him and ask for autographs because he is an unstable and dangerous person.”

How good is #5 ranked UFC Lightweight, Islam Makhachev? His manager, Ali Abdelaziz, believes he could be one of the most dominant fighters of all time.

"I think [Islam's] gonna be one of the greatest fights ever. I think he's a better version than Khabib. I truly believe he is. He's not now, but he can be. He's a future world champion, for sure," Ali tells TMZ Sports.

Obviously, Nurmagomedov (literally) NEVER lost ... finishing his legendary career with a 29-0 record. He beat Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, and Conor McGregor.

If you're not familiar with 30-year-old Makhachev ... he's a beast. Islam's 20-1 ... with his sole defeat coming in his 2nd UFC fight way back in 2015.

Ever since ... he's dominated.

Next on the agenda is #6 ranked Dan Hooker at UFC 267 on October 30 ... a fight Abdelaziz says Hangman can only win with a fluke punch.

"Dan Hooker, great fighter, great guy, he's showing up for a paycheck. The only way he can win is a lucky punch."

Ali says he's personally witnessed Makhachev beat much bigger UFC stars in the gym.

"Let me tell you something, Islam Makhachev, I see him in the gym beating D.C. (Cormier), beating Luke Rockhold, beating some of my guys who's top 5 middleweight. Beating guys in the top 5 at welterweight."

This is one of the most brutal head kick knockouts you'll ever see -- courtesy of combat sports star Superbon Banchamek -- who starched opponent Giorgio Petrosyan with a perfectly placed strike, to win the ONE Championship title.

31-year-old, #2 ranked Superbon fought 35-year-old, #1 ranked Petrosyan Friday in Singapore for the inaugural ONE Championship Featherweight Kickboxing Championship.

The knockout happened in the 2nd round of a scheduled 5-round fight ... with 2:35 minutes remaining.

Just beating Petrosyan, one of the best kickboxers in the world, is an awesome accomplishment ... he's got a pro kickboxing record of 104-3-2.

If you're not familiar with Superbon ... he signed with ONE in 2020. He made his debut with the promotion last July, beating Sitthichai Sitsongpeenong.

The Predators vs. Kraken game Thursday looked more like a Mike Tyson fight -- at least in the stands -- 'cause fans of the two teams got in a wild brawl where they threw HEAVY uppercuts at each other.

The scrap all went down at some point during Seattle's 4-3 win over the Preds in Nashville ... when two guys kicked off an insane melee by throwing hands.

Two separate witnesses filmed the fight ... and you can see in the clips, it appeared to begin when a Kraken fan began throwing right hands at a Predators' fan's face.

At some point, though, the Preds supporter was able to break free ... and he threw some huge uppercuts of his own that appeared to land flush.

Another man came into the scrum several seconds later and landed a big punch on the Predators fan ... but, eventually -- and thankfully -- everyone was held back before more damage could be done.

Unclear if the guys were injured, or if they were arrested. We've reached out to cops, but no word back yet.

"Conor McGregor, a guy who can't even beat guys in the UFC, went 10 rounds with Floyd Mayweather. You have to tell me Kamaru cannot go 12 rounds with Canelo and beat him?"

That's Ali Abdelaziz, Kamaru Usman's manager, telling TMZ Sports he wants to answer the question, who's really the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world, by boxing Canelo Alvarez, the best pugilist in the world.

And, he believes his guy can, and will, win.

The 34-year-old welterweight champ is rematching Colby Covington at UFC 268 in November, but after that fight, Ali has his sights set on 31-year-old Alvarez.

"Let's get the pound-for-pound king in boxing vs. the pound-for-pound king in MMA. We're not into this fake fight, gimme fight," Abdelaziz says.

"If you think you're the pound-for-pound king, Kamaru is the pound-for-pound king. Let's have 2 kings fight each other. No takedowns allowed."

FYI, Canelo-- the super middleweight champ -- hasn't lost in 8 years ... since his fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

But, beating Alvarez isn't all Ali has planned ... he says he then wants his fighter to go to 185 lbs. (from 170 lbs.) and fight Israel Adesanya.

"After [Canelo,] I've always said it, I want Kamaru to go up a weight class and fight for Middleweight title. I believe that today Kamaru can go up and be 2 division champion."

It's a tricky fight to make ... Usman and Adesanya have been resistant to even talking about a fight against each other because of their shared connection to Africa. Both men were born in Nigeria.

Deontay Wilder is finally showing respect to Tyson Fury -- the Bronze Bomber is breaking his silence after the incredible heavyweight matchup on Saturday ... thanking and congratulating the Gypsy King on his win.

Of course, Wilder sang a different tune right after the fight ... telling Tyson, "I don't respect you," and refusing to shake hands moments after the KO.

Now, Wilder has had a few days to reflect ... speaking out on Instagram and taking a humble approach to the loss.

"I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed in the outcome but after reflecting on my journey, I now see that what God wanted me to experience is far greater than what I expected to happen," Wilder said Thursday.

"We didn’t get the win but a wise man once said the victories are within the lessons. I’ve learned that sometimes you have to lose to win."

Wilder added he hopes to be a role model for his fans ... proving no matter what happens, you can get back up and fight again.

Wilder then moved on to Fury, shouting him out for the 11th round TKO.

"Last but not least I would like to congratulate @gypsyking101 for his victory and thank you for the great historical memories that will last forever."

A UFC champ is no match for Halle Berry -- at least that's how it looks in the trailer for the actress' new UFC flick, where she goes head-to-head against Valentina Shevchenko ... and beats her face in!!

The Academy Award winner has been working on her Netflix project, "Bruised," for years -- teaming up with big fighters like Brian Ortega and training at Cris Cyborg's gym in Huntington Beach to prepare for the role.

Now, the first glimpse of the movie has been released -- and it's pretty badass.

FYI -- Berry plays a fighter aiming to make a comeback in the sport while battling her own demons ... all while raising her young son.

Shevchenko plays Berry's rival fighter in the movie ... and the trailer shows their characters facing off in the Octagon for a bout.

Berry looks like the real deal in the clip ... and remember, she claimed she broke several bones after taking shots from "Bullet" while filming the flick.

"She had to throw some real kicks and I had to really take them and that really broke some bones," Berry said on "The Tonight Show."

"She’s a beast but I couldn’t have asked for a better teacher, a better scene mate, a better fight partner."

While the Dodgers were fighting for their playoff lives against the Giants Tuesday -- their fans in the stands were fighting each other, landing punches in a wild skirmish that was all caught on video.

At some point during L.A.'s playoff game with San Francisco at Dodger Stadium ... several fans got into an altercation in a walkway at the venue that turned violent.

In the footage, you can see two men -- both dressed in Dodgers gear -- argued with each other ... before one of the men unloaded a right on the other's face.

All hell then broke loose, 'cause the two guys began wrestling with each other and throwing more punches.

Eventually, another Dodgers fan came in and threw a huge haymaker that appeared to land flush.

Finally, after several seconds of fighting, security guards raced into the fracas to break it all up.

It's unclear if anyone was injured ... or if any arrests were made.

As for the action on the field -- the Dodgers won their fight with the Giants, 7-2, and will now face their rival in a winner-take-all Game 5 on Thursday.

Boosie Badazz was arrested, spent a night in an Atlanta jail and is already a free man after an incident that resulted in a fight at one of his shows … TMZ has learned.

A spokesperson at the Fulton County Jail tells TMZ ... Boosie was taken into custody Monday and charged with criminal damage to property, inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and criminal trespass.

We're told the rapper was released Tuesday afternoon after signing his own bond.

TMZ broke the story ... a Boosie performance earlier this month in Atlanta came to a screeching halt when a fight broke out on stage, and cops were called.

As we told you, the Atlanta Police Department responded to a vandalism call ... and cops said Boosie and his entourage had dashed on stage during the show, damaging items belonging to a production company and allegedly destroying property owned by the arena.

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury will literally go down as one of the greatest fights ever, according to Mike Tyson, who says both fighters "reached all time great status" on Saturday.

If you watched the fight this weekend, you surely see Tyson's point. The two giant heavyweights went at it from the start, each dropping the other fighter multiple times throughout the fight.

Fury ultimately prevailed ... KO'ing Wilder in the 11th.

"Fury vs Wilder fight will go down as one of greatest," Tyson said on Tuesday via Twitter, "Not for skill but for action and excitement. That fight was all guts, heart & determination," Tyson says.

"Everybody won Saturday night. The fight was bigger than the hype. Both of them reached all time great status."

Tyson doesn't stop there -- he also gives major kudos to Wilder's new coach Malik Scott, who replaced longtime trainer Mark Breland after the February 2020 rematch loss.

"Wilder’s coach Malik Scott won the night with great coaching. When you are an amateur you have a coach, they nurture you, guide you and are with you every step of the way."

"Once you turn pro you get a trainer. A trainer is in your life as long as the checks are coming."

"A coach is with you for the rest of your life. A coach feels every punch you take and give too."

Tim McGraw's sending a pretty menacing message to his fans -- boo me, and I'm gonna get in your face, which is exactly what he did to a couple ... bringing his concert to a grinding halt.

TMZ's obtained video of the tense confrontation that went down at Tim's show Saturday night at the Nugget Event Center in Reno, Nevada. We're told he was performing "Just to See You Smile" when fans noticed something was amiss.

Some folks in the crowd thought his voice sounded off, but also ... he forgot some of the lyrics. You can see at first Tim waves off the criticism, but then he seemed triggered ... as he stood up, stuck out his chest and stared down the hecklers.

The country star asked the hecklers why they were mocking him, and essentially told them, if ya don't like it, just leave -- but that wasn't enough. Tim jumped off the stage, and got in the couple's face. It's unclear what was said, but it is 100% clear Tim wasn't happy.

Some people in the audience were pissed too, because they wanted Tim to continue the show.

He ultimately addressed this head-on, telling the crowd he'd been shooting the "Yellowstone" prequel, "1883" for 48 hours straight. His point being ... forgive me if I forget a word or two.

Chuck Liddell was arrested early Monday morning for domestic violence ... and the UFC legend is currently sitting in a Los Angeles jail cell.

TMZ Sports has learned the L.A. Sherriff's Department received a call about a fight at a Liddell's Hidden Hills home. When cops arrived, they investigated ... and determined the 51-year-old former fighter was involved in a verbal argument that turned physical.

We're told the alleged victim is Liddell's wife. She did not require medical attention.

Chuck was taken to jail ... where bail was set at $20,000. He's listed at 6'2" and 240 pounds on his booking sheet.

Of course, Liddell -- AKA The Iceman -- was once one of the UFC's biggest stars and best fighters in his heyday ... with wins over Tito Ortiz, Vitor Belfort, Randy Couture and Alistair Overeem.

Liddell last fought Ortiz in 2018 ... and last year, said he was retiring for the time being.

Liddell has stayed in the fighting scene in retirement ... recently serving as referee for the Aaron Carter vs. Lamar Odom Celebrity Boxing match.

Story developing ...