Fights

Julianna Peña admits Amanda Nunes deserves an immediate rematch -- telling TMZ Sports she'll get it soon (after the "Venezuelan Vixen" goes to Disney, of course) -- this after the MMA fighter shocked the world at UFC 269.

We talked to 32-year-old Peña -- fresh off her decisive win over the G.O.A.T., Nunes -- and asked her about a potential rematch.

"[Amanda] was the champ for so long. She definitely deserves a rematch and she wants it. So, she wants it, and I want it, and I'm willing to give it. It looks like it just needs to be a matter of time before they set it up," the champ told us.

And, let's be honest ... if any former champ deserves to run it back right away, it's Amanda.

Before Saturday night, Nunes hadn't lost in 7+ years ... when Cat Zingano beat her via TKO at UFC 178 in September 2014.

Peña walked us through what exactly it was like to face Nunes ... and although she might've made it look relatively easy, it was anything but.

"I knew that I was going to be facing arguably the best women combat sports athlete ever. She came 100 percent. Her shots were amazing. Her leg kicks she threw with massive intent. It hurt, but I definitely knew that at the end of the day, if I could just keep my composure, that I would get my hand raised."

But first, Peña says she wants to celebrate her daughter's 4th birthday like many champs ... in style, at Disney.

"I've been grinding for so long, I just really think my daughter deserves a little bit of attention. Her birthday's coming up in January, I'd like to taker her to Disney World. And then, after that, I'm ready to go. So, whenever they decide, is probably gonna be good."

Something tells us Peña might again be the underdog ... but she surely isn't going to catch anyone off guard this time around.

Julianna Peña can fight her ass off ... and she proved it Saturday night.

A wrestler took things way too far during a match over the weekend ... stabbing a referee in the head with an iron spike so violently, the man was forced to go to the hospital.

The horrifying scene all went down at a World Class Pro Wrestling event in Irving, Texas on Saturday ... when Devon Nicholson -- AKA "Hannibal" -- was taking on "Carlito."

Nicholson -- who runs a popular YouTube page that has over 300,000 subscribers -- and Carlito put on a show for several minutes ... with Nicholson eventually pinning his opponent and winning the match.

Nicholson, though, did not leave the ring immediately -- and, instead, he began fighting with a referee inside the squared circle.

In video from the match, you can see at one point, Nicholson took out a spike and began ramming it into the ref's forehead over and over and over again.

The full video of the match shows Nicholson stabbed and scraped the man with the sharp object over a dozen times -- leaving him in a pool of blood in the ring.

Eventually, another wrestler pulled Nicholson off the ref -- and video from the event shows a public address announcer actually asked for a doctor in the crowd to help the ref.

The ref -- Lando Deltoro -- was ultimately taken to the hospital and required sutures to close his wounds.

Somehow, according to a statement on Deltoro's social media pages, he's expected to make a full recovery.

"Recovering at home," the ref said on his Twitter page. "Still a bit fuzzy and pain, yes lots of pain. But I'll live. Thanks you all for the outpouring of love and support."

World Class Pro Wrestling owner Jerry Bostic, meanwhile, said in a video message Sunday that he found Nicholson's actions appalling -- and announced the wrestler is now banned from all of his future events.

"World Class moving forward will not be associated with Devon Nicholson," Bostic said. "I cannot and will not condone what happened last night."

We've reached out to Nicholson for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Screw debates ... how's this for politicians settling a disagreement?!

39-year-old Simao Peixoto, mayor of Borba, Brazil ... participated in a 3-round slugfest with political rival, 45-year-old Erineu Alvas Da Silva, a former councilor in the area.

Da Silva had been critical of the mayor online, calling him a "scoundrel" (fightin' words!), so the politician accepted the fight ... which went down under MMA rules.

So, punches, kicks, elbows, takedowns ... all legal.

Peixoto ended up winning the fight -- which was streamed by his staff -- by decision, according to the Daily Mail ... despite eating a flurry of heavy leg kicks which clearly hurt the mayor in the first round.

Before the fight, the mayor said this while agreeing to lace up the gloves.

"I'm not a street fighter … I'm the mayor of the municipality of Borba."

Peixoto continued ... "But if he really wants to fight … we're ready to fight … I've always been a winner."

It's certainly a more entertaining way to settle a dispute.

Zac Stacy told cops the brutal attack on his ex was all "staged" ... claiming the woman set him up because she was "bitter" he didn't want to be with her.

The former NFL running back's conversation with officers was all captured on police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, just days after he ruthlessly beat his ex at her Florida home.

In the arrest footage, Stacy can be heard speaking with Orlando Police Dept. officers for several minutes about the events that led up to the Nov. 13 altercation ... insisting it all "was staged."

"It's just a case of just bitterness, man," Stacy told the policemen. "That's why she did this. The whole assault thing, she staged it. She set me up."

Stacy continued, "The whole thing was staged. All she's trying to do is get money out of me. She got a reaction out of me."

Stacy explained that he believes his ex -- the mother of his months-old son -- was upset with him because he didn't want to continue a romantic relationship with her.

The former St. Louis Rams and New York Jets player told officers the woman knew he wasn't in a good place mentally (he said he had just gotten out of rehab for anxiety and depression), and she used that to get "a reaction out of me."

"She knew I was down, she knew I was going through anxiety and depression," Stacy said. "She knew I was trying to close this gap that's between me and my son and she's just upset that she got caught and she's upset I'm not taking care of him like she expected. And now she took it this far."

Stacy added, "This is just a case of just girl is just bitter that I don't want to be with her and she's just trying to destroy my whole reputation 'cause of this s***."

Stacy then told the officers he knew his actions were "f***ed up."

"I don't know what man -- how any man could have handled that situation," Stacy said.

The 30-year-old was eventually taken to a local police station and booked on charges of felony aggravated battery and felony criminal mischief.

Stacy is currently out on bond.

Conor McGregor doesn't believe there's any doubt about who should fight UFC champ Charles Oliveira for the title next -- despite losing his last 2 -- 'cause it's obviously him!

"So what date am I fighting Oliveira," McGregor tweeted Monday morning.

McGregor's tweet comes just days after 32-year-old Oliveira picked up the 32nd victory of his great MMA career, beating Dustin Poirier by 3rd-round submission.

Oliveira -- though champ -- was a slight underdog in the fight.

Of course, it's nearly impossible to objectively say McGregor -- a former 2 weight class UFC champ -- deserves a title shot when he returns to the Octagon.

Not only will Conor -- currently the #9 ranked lightweight -- be coming off a devastating injury (broken leg) ... but he lost his last 2 fights to the guy who just lost to Oliveira (and 3 of his last 4 overall).

The Notorious wasn't done Tweeting.

He also referenced his epic win over Brazilian Jose Aldo ... posting a photo of the Irish flag and the Brazilian flag next to the number 2.

Remember, Conor starched the UFC superstar with a perfectly placed punch in only 13 seconds during their December 2015 fight.

Oliveria is a Brazilian star ... hence Ireland vs. Brazil 2.

Charles has not yet responded to Conor ... who also posed for a photo with his old UFC belt.

As for who he will fight next ... it'll likely be #2 ranked lightweight Justin Gaethje. But, Conor's still the biggest star in the sport ... and likely only a good win away from another title. shot.

Stevie J's trip to Atlanta was derailed this week, all because a buddy he was flying with wanted to take his boozy beverage to go -- a big enough no-no to get 'em booted.

The producer was escorted off of a Delta flight Friday at LAX, where it looks like cops were on hand to greet both Stevie and another passenger he appeared to be traveling alongside ... and we finally learned what the heck caused the whole ruckus.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us ... this man with Stevie had apparently purchased an alcoholic beverage in the terminal while waiting to board, and then tried carrying it on past the gate, something we're told Delta personnel was telling him not to do.

Sounds like he did it anyway, and once he was in the plane -- our sources he threw it away ... but the damage was already done because the Delta team insisted they exit for disobeying their orders.

We also got video of Stevie and this guy deplaning, and you can hear the man explain to everyone that there was no longer an issue ... asking why they were being shooed off.

As for Stevie ... he was pretty pissed about it all. There's another video someone captured of him talking to the gate attendant, threatening to sue them while also calling him a few things.

Delta wouldn't confirm names to us, but they did acknowledge something happened on Thursday that slightly delayed their flight to ATL due to two passengers exiting. They say they were only 8 minutes late as a result ... but wouldn't elaborate further.

Tyron Woodley says it was actually a blessing Tommy Fury got hurt and had to pull out of his December 18 fight with Jake Paul -- because nobody wanted to see that crap!!!

Hey, T-Wood said it ... not us.

TMZ Sports talked to the 39-year-old future UFC Hall of Famer just days before he's set to step in the ring with the Problem Child, and Woodley tells us the real winners here are the viewers.

"Nobody wants to see no f***ing Tommy Fury fight, come on now," Tyron tells us, saying, "Now his brother is lit. But, he can't ride the coattails of Tyson."

TW went on to say that Fury may go on to have a solid boxing career ... but as of right now,  he simply doesn't present the same threats as Woodley.

So, when we asked Tyron if he was a more difficult opponent ... he didn't hesitate.

"Of course I am, s***. That's why he took [the Fury] fight instead. He made a double wager and then didn't honor it because s***, why would he go back and give me the chance to finish off what I started now that I've been in there with him."

Of course, Tyron and Jake scrapped back in August ... a fight that the YouTuber turned boxing star won by split decision (Woodley wholeheartedly believes he won the fight).

Since, Woodley has all but demanded a rematch ... but Paul shot him down. That is until Tommy pulled out of the fight last week with a chest infection and broken ribs, per his reps.

So, Tyron's in ... and this time he says he will not leave things up to the judges.

"I just feel like, definitely, I can't leave any doubt."

Jussie Smollett is a guilty man, but the only thing Bola Osundairo is guilty of is having hot hands ... as he demonstrated in the boxing ring just as the actor's fate was sealed.

Bola's been fighting for well over a year now, and it just so happened he had a match Thursday night in Louisiana while a jury found Jussie guilty on 5 of 6 felony charges for falsely reporting a hate crime.

As you can see from our video, Osundairo was dominant, winning a unanimous decision against his opponent Ezri Turner. The fight was part of the 2021 USA Boxing National Championships ... Bola won his previous contest as well.

Minutes after the jury read its verdict, Bola's brother, Ola, shared a few words with reporters outside the courthouse ... but he didn't talk about the case, just shouted out his brother's fight and exclaimed "Nigerian-American lives matter!"

TMZ broke the story, Bola and Jussie were friends -- even hitting clubs together -- in the weeks leading up to the staged attack. Ola and Bola maintained from the beginning that Smollett had paid them for the hoax because he wanted press.

NHL star Zdeno Chara beat the hell out of his opponent so badly during an on-ice scrap on Thursday ... the dude needed seven stitches to stop the bleeding.

The fight all went down during the Islanders' game against the Predators ... when Chara began throwing haymakers at Yakov Trenin after the Nashville center had hit one of Chara's teammates.

You can see in footage of the play, 6-foot-9 Chara pulled Trenin's jersey over his head -- and then whaled on him with a violent flurry of punches.

All of the blows appeared to land flush -- and after refs separated the two ... Trenin's face looked like it had just been beaten by a golf club.

Trenin had to leave the ice to get his face sewn back together in the locker room ... but somehow, he ended up returning, and actually got the last laugh.

Trenin scored the game-tying goal in the third period, and Nashville ultimately won the contest in overtime.

Afterward, Trenin's coach praised him, saying, "I was really impressed with him."

Memphis star Dillon Brooks went off on the officials who threw him out of the Grizzlies' game vs. the Mavericks on Wednesday -- calling the refs' actions straight-up "bulls***."

The 25-year-old wing didn't hold back in his postgame press conference -- which took place just minutes after he was ejected from the Grizzlies' contest -- accusing the refs of not protecting the players on the floor throughout the night.

"I felt like this crew came out there and just made it about them and that's bull," Brooks said of the refs, who called a total of 44 total fouls during the game.

"This crew did not protect the players," he continued. "They just wanted to get the game over with and that's bulls***. That's bulls*** from the very beginning. That's bull."

Brooks was tossed from the Grizzlies' loss late in the 4th quarter after he screamed at refs over their whistles.

In video of the ejection, you can see Brooks was so furious, he needed to be held back by Memphis assistants as he charged toward the referees.

No punishment for Brooks has been announced yet ... but you can bet a fine is coming for the Grizzlies player as early as later today.

Tyron Woodley says he's gonna beat Jake Paul on December 18 ... and then he's gonna do it again, 'cause the former UFC star tells TMZ Sports there's a rematch clause in his contract.

We talked to 39-year-old T-Wood fresh off signing on to once again box the YouTube star in Tampa on less than 2 weeks' notice ... and while we were talking, Tyron revealed a third fight is in the works if he wins next weekend.

"Yes, there is a rematch clause in there," Woodley says, adding, "After I knocked you out Mr. Betting Man, are you gonna run, or are you gonna wanna try to fight someone else, or are you gonna come get this work."

Of course, Jake -- who was originally scheduled to fight Tommy Fury -- won the first fight by split decision when they faced off on August 29 (a fight Woodley believes he actually won). So, a Woodley dub would even them up at one win apiece.

As for what he's going to do this time around, Woodley tells us to expect violence.

"I bet I beat his ass. I bet if he get up, I bet I do it again. I bet if he get up, I bet I knock his ass down again."

First things first ... Woodley has to win. Then, do it all again.

The mom of ex-NBA player Corey Benjamin's daughter has been charged criminally in California after allegedly directing her daughter to sucker punch an opponent during a H.S. hoops game.

44-year-old Latira Shonty Hunt was hit with 2 misdemeanor charges ... battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. If she's ultimately convicted, she faces a year in jail.

While announcing the charges, Orange County DA placed the blame right on the mother's shoulders, saying “In my opinion, it would have not happened, but for mom’s words."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... the girl absolutely decked her 15-year-old opponent, sending her crashing to the hardwood floor.

At the time, police in Garden Grove, CA told us they were investigating the incident. After reviewing the video and talking to witnesses, officials decided to charge Hunt.

While her daughter isn't facing any charges, she has been punished. The league permanently banned her from competing.

As for her former professional hooper dad, Benjamin apologized for his daughter's actions, saying, "As a father, I’m shocked and disappointed at my daughter’s behavior as this is not a reflection of the values and standards that my family holds. Nor does it exemplify the values, character and spirit of sportsmanship that the game of basketball requires.”

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson wants all the smoke -- the mixed martial artist tells TMZ Sports he's dead serious about fighting Shannon Briggs ... and when he does, "he's gonna f*** him up."

"That guy's a f***ing a**hole," Jackson told us this week. "I want to box and I think that his old ass would be a perfect match to be my first boxing match."

"I'ma f*** him up. I'm sick of that guy. All he does is troll me. Imma f*** him up."

Rampage didn't stop there ... "He think I'm playing with him. He think it's all fun and games. That man 50 years old. He too old to be acting like that," he continued.

Jackson says his desire to clash with the former heavyweight champ came after Briggs called him out following his last loss.

"I told him I wanted to have a boxing match and Shannon agreed to get in there with me," Jackson said. "We putting MMA fans vs. boxing fans."

The feud between Jackson and Briggs ain't new -- last month, they got into a shoving match at a Triad Combat weigh-in (the two were captains of opposite teams) ... an event that pitted MMA fighters against professional boxers.

Jackson tells us that any clash he has with Briggs will be bigger than just pride and ego ... saying that he's gonna show the world that MMA fighters are the best.

"I'm coming to get that respect," Rampage said. "You boxers, y'all don't respect us. Better put some respect on my name."

We might not have to wait much longer to see the former champs lock horns ... 'cause Rampage also told us that we could see the highly anticipated bout sometime in the new year.

Chelsea soccer player Samantha Kerr ain't fond of fans on the field --- 'cause she straight-up leveled an intruder who interrupted a match this week ... and the video is wild.

It all went down Wednesday night during the 87th minute of the Champions League match between Chelsea vs. Juventus ... when a man in a black jacket and grey sweats walked onto the pitch and tried to get selfies with the players.

His attempt had consequences, 'cause when he walked towards the Chelsea forward, she hit him with a ferocious body check that sent him flying to the turf.

The crowd was very impressed with the 28-year-old's maneuver, yelling "ooooohhh" while the fan was laid out on the ground.

He eventually got up and ran away ... when security finally came through and took him away.

The crazy part?? Kerr was actually penalized for the defensive stop on the intruder ... receiving a yellow card from the refs.

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes spoke about Kerr's actions ... saying, "it should serve as a reminder to us all in our stadiums and with our stewards we've got to put out player protection first."

Amanda Nunes says Julianna Peña is straight-up "delusional" for thinking she's gonna take a belt off the champ-champ ... but the Lioness tells TMZ Sports that doesn't mean she's sleeping on the Venezuelan Vixen's skills in the Octagon.

We talked to the 33-year-old UFC star just days before her big UFC 269 fight with Peña ... and Nunes is ready to goooo.

"[Julianna] is delusional, but it doesn't mean I'm not taking her seriously. I do. I trained very hard and very smart, I'm very sharp for her. A lot of things she says are not true, she's being delusional."

We also asked Nunes, a heavy favorite in the fight, how she envisioned beating Peña.

"Honestly I don't see this fight going to the judges at all. Honestly. I'm very sharp. I know she's gonna make a lot of mistakes like she always does."

Amanda added ... "I know I'm gonna catch her many times."

As you might suspect, 32-year-old Peña -- the #3 ranked bantamweight -- believes Amanda isn't taking her seriously ... telling us that's a mistake because she's coming to win.

"I feel like a lot of people are sleeping on me and they think I'm a sacrificial lamb but I definitely think that, you know, I know that I'm definitely not a sacrificial lamb and everyone loves an underdog," Peña told us.

There's more ... we also talked to Amanda and her wife, fellow UFC star Nina Nunes about their adorable baby daughter, Reagan.

American Airlines is on the hot seat for booting a couple off a flight after they got into an argument with 2 flight attendants that turned physical -- all while the mother was cradling their 7-week-old baby.

As you can see in the video -- shot Sunday on a flight from Charlotte to Philadelphia -- the mother was trying to explain her side of things to a flight attendant who came over after the initial argument ... which was all over a different AA staffer asking her to stand up to let another passenger get to his seat.

The father was recording video of the convo until a third flight attendant approached from behind and smacked the phone out of his hand. That's when things got way more heated, and the couple was eventually removed from the plane.

While in the Charlotte airport terminal, the mother involved in the incident says she did nothing wrong and was met with aggression and unfair treatment from the start.

Sources familiar with the situation say that the family was removed from the flight, and AA booked them on a later flight to Philly. A spokesperson for American Airlines tells TMZ... "We are investigating the incident and working to understand what took place."