Fights

Jon Jones is NOT the most dangerous heavyweight MMA fighter in the world, despite dominating Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 ... according to Francis Ngannou, who says that distinction belongs to him!

TMZ Sports spoke with the former UFC heavyweight champ turned PFL MMA and boxing star following Bones return to the Octagon on Saturday at Madison Square Garden ... and we asked him, promotion aside, whether JJ was the best out there.

"You can't deny what [Jon] has done as a heavyweight," Ngannou said, "but I personally cannot classify him as the best heavyweight of all time. C'mon, man."

Big Boom A.J. is shifting his focus from demolishing Costco's double-chunk chocolate cookies to teaching wrestling star Q.T. Marshall a lesson ... and he tells TMZ Sports he's out for revenge Saturday at AEW Full Gear!!

We caught up with the TikTok sensation -- who blew up over his Costco-related content -- before he goes up against Marshall in the ring ... and he said NO ONE gets away with making a diss track about him and goes unpunished.

Of course, A.J.'s referring to Q.T. making a diss track titled "We Bring the Doom" -- a parody of his family's smash hit, "We Bring the Boom," that went viral earlier this year -- and he tells us Marshall's in for a rude awakening.

Sydney Thomas -- the ring girl who went viral during the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight -- is opening up on her newfound fame ... telling TMZ Sports she's received a ton of new business opportunities in the days following her breakout appearance.

Thomas was quickly dubbed the "real" star of the night after El Gallo defeated Iron Mike ... with social media showing serious love for her throughout the big event.

We caught up with Thomas one week after the night that changed her life ... and she said it's been "insane" in the best possible way.

Jake Paul, in the wake of his historic fight with Mike Tyson, has been called out by everyone from Andrew Tate to heavyweight champ Daniel Dubois, who just flattened Anthony Joshua. The question -- is the Problem Child interested??

Yes -- down the line -- according to Nakisa Bidarian, Paul's business partner and MVP co-founder ... who joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week after their record-setting night on Netflix.

"I think Jake views that he would do well against Daniel Dubois in the next couple of years. Not today. He just fought at heavyweight for the first time. But that's the fight that definitely interests him," Bidarian said.

The ring girls for the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight found out about their viral fame in real time ... with two of the breakout stars from the night telling TMZ Sports their phones were blowing up like crazy throughout the event!!

Lexi Williams and Raphaela Milagres were among the five stunning models picked to work the massive card ... which drew 108 million viewers on Netflix, making it the most-streamed sporting event of all time.

The two -- who already had large followings on social media -- tell us they noticed a big bump in their followers and direct messages ... surely from the folks tuning in to the festivities who wanted to learn more about them.

Despite streaming issues ... tons of people from all corners of the world flocked to Netflix to catch Jake Paul and Mike Tyson throw down Friday night -- with an estimated 108 million people streaming the bout!!

Paul and Tyson, according to Jake's Most Valuable Promotions, have become the most streamed sporting event ever with 65 million global concurrent streams ... with 35 million coming from the good ol' U.S. of A.

The fight reportedly had an average minute audience of 108 million live viewers .. with that number jumping to 125 million over the weekend.

Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury II might be on the horizon ... 'cause the only guy to ever beat El Gallo in the boxing ring says he's ready to run it back in a rematch!!

Fury was asked about his nemesis during a press event for his upcoming bout against former UFC fighter Darren Till ... when he revealed there's unfinished business with Paul.

"[A rematch] with Jake Paul? In a heartbeat," Fury said to ESPN on Tuesday. "Yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, I think me and him are set in stone."

The streaming quality during the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight was so bad, Netflix has actually just been hit with a class-action lawsuit over it, TMZ Sports has learned.

Court documents we obtained show Ronald "Blue" Denton filed the suit in Florida on Monday ... just three days after he says he and thousands of others struggled to watch Netflix's broadcast of El Gallo's big win over Iron Mike.

Denton claims that as soon as he and others tuned in to the broadcast at around 8 PM ET on Friday -- they "were faced with legendary problems, including: no access, streaming glitches, and buffering issues."

Mike Tyson isn't the only nearly 60-year-old former boxing champion returning to the ring ... Oliver McCall -- known for shocking the world with his knock out of Lennox Lewis in 1994 -- will be fighting at 59 years old!

McCall -- who last fought in 2019 -- will face 54-year-old Stacy Frazier in a four-round sanctioned fight at the Troubadour Theater in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday.

The two men faced off with each other at weigh-ins on Tuesday, with McCall tipping the scales at 251.2 pounds ... and Frazier coming in at 228.4 pounds.

Peyton Manning wasn't all that impressed with Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul .... 'cause the Hall of Fame signal-caller took a shot at the fight during the Cowboys-Texans "Monday Night Football" game!

The roasting happened during the "ManningCast" ... when a skirmish broke out in the first quarter of the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Bill Belichick, a weekly guest on the show, mentioned the stadium hosted a big fight on Friday ... Tyson vs. Paul, which went down at Jerry's World, too.

Manning laughed ... and offered this quip back.

Boxing fans want to see Jake Paul take on a "real" challenge after beating Mike Tyson ... and well, they might get their wish -- 'cause heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois just called him out for a fight.

The 27-year-old IBF title holder extended the offer to El Gallo ... saying, "Hi Jake, good business on the weekend but how would you feel fighting for the legitimate heavyweight championship of the world this is Daniel Dubois calling you out."

"Let's get it on."

Logan Paul is issuing a public apology for his actions following Jake's big win over Mike Tyson ... claiming he wasn't trying to upstage his little bro's moment in the ring.

The WWE Superstar was positioned right behind El Gallo for the post-fight interviews at AT&T Stadium ... and at one point, he shot some W spray in the air and knocked Jake's hat off in the process.

Apparently, some folks online thought the Maverick was purposely stealing the spotlight after Jake's career milestone ... but on Monday, he said he really just wanted to promote the boxer's new body care brand -- but his enthusiasm and shoddy motor skills got in the way.

Mike Tyson scored a boatload of cash for his fight against Jake Paul, but if he wants to add a bit more on top ... all he's gotta do now is show off his rump once more!

A spokesperson for CamSoda -- a popular adult website -- tells TMZ Sports ... after Netflix viewers got a glimpse of Iron Mike's cheeks during an interview just ahead of his boxing match with Paul on Friday ... they now want him to flaunt his bare butt on their screens.

The site says it's willing to shell out $250,000 for the sight ... and all he's gotta do is flash his derriere on a live webcam show for merely one hour.

Mike Tyson is just a few days removed from his fight with Jake Paul ... and he's already got another potential opponent lining up to take a shot at him -- his former rival, Evander Holyfield!!

Real Deal -- whose last sanctioned fight was in 2011 -- reached out to 58-year-old Tyson on Monday via Instagram ... fresh off losing via unanimous decision in an eight-round bout at AT&T Stadium.

62-year-old Holyfield shared a message to the 50-7 fighter along with a mockup flyer ... saying, "The fans want it 🥊 #unfinishedbusiness."

Offset's no longer living in CET time after his wild entourage fight in Paris last week, and looks to have put the whole thing in his distant memory bank -- by moving forward with fan meet-and-greets!!!

We caught up with Offset leaving the Chateau Marmont just a day after his crew clashed with French rapper Gazo's boys out in those Paris streets ... and mum's the word for his side of the story.

We broke the story ... Offset and Gazo were supposed to shoot a music video for the record they did, but requirements were not met and money wasn't returned, so things got heated and violent fast.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz hasn't tapped out of his career just yet ... as the future Hall of Famer tells TMZ Sports he wants to put on the gloves one last time and step back into the UFC Octagon.

We caught up with 39-year-old Cruz, who is currently in Mexico City at the UFC Performance Institute, and he said he is in the process of "building myself up" for a bout.

"I'll tell you, I think I got a last dance," he said. "I want one last dance in me. Just go out there and have fun. And when I say fun, I mean fight to the bitter death and see what I have in me."