Fights

Mercedes Mone is putting the wrestling world on NOTICE ... telling TMZ Sports she'll fight any wrestler, anywhere, anytime -- saying, "I turn down to nobody."

We spoke to Mercedes -- formerly known as Sasha Banks in the WWE -- after she captured the IWGP championship in her New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) debut last month ... and she was hyped about performing in front of her family and friends.

"It was a moment I'm always going to remember," Mone said. "It's probably my second favorite moment of my career thus far and that's saying a lot because I've done so much in professional wrestling."

Mercedes said competing in front of a sold-out crowd at the San Jose Civic Center in California -- close to where she grew up -- was special ... adding working with her opponent, Kairi, who she defeated to become champ, was an incredible experience.

Mone told us now that she's the IWGP champ, she's got big plans. In addition to showing off her gold on red carpets, she also called out Japanese pro wrestler AZM ahead of her scheduled appearance at Sakura Genesis in Tokyo on April 8.

"I wanna see who's ready for Mercedes Mone," the champ said. "I'm always here for the check. I'm always here for the bag and whoever has the biggest bag is where I'm gonna go."

Could an epic showdown between the Pauls and Furys happen at WrestleMania 39?! The Miz says he's totally for it ... telling TMZ Sports Logan, Jake, Tommy and Tyson are all welcome at the huge event this year.

Miz will be hosting both nights of the WWE's annual spectacle being held at SoFi Stadium in April ... and he says he's leaning into the theme "WrestleMania Goes Hollywood" -- telling fans to expect surprises throughout the weekend.

"You never know what's going to happen at WrestleMania," Miz told TMZ Sports. "Especially at SoFi Stadium. Los Angeles. We want to make some splashes. Make some noise."

When we brought up the possibility of seeing Logan tag team with Jake against the Furys on the heels of the younger bros' recent boxing match ... he welcomes the idea.

It would make complete sense -- after all, three of the four guys have history with WWE ... with Jake and Tyson participating in previous events, and Logan already being a Superstar.

Miz told us preparing to host WrestleMania is drastically different than when he's gearing up to fight inside the squared circle ... and called the opportunity a "dream come true."

The tradition of hosting WM isn't new ... Miz will join The Rock, Hulk Hogan (twice), Alexa Bliss, Rob Gronkowski, The New Day, and Titus O'Neil as superstars who've hosted.

Miz -- who's familiar with hosting thanks to his own show "MizTV" -- says he knows there's pressure to keep the crowd involved, but he's looking forward to the challenge.

Ultimately, Miz said his job is to make sure the show is "upbeat" and "fun" ... and encouraged fans to tune in on April 1 and 2 as WWE tries to create "buzz-worthy" moments.

Jake Gyllenhaal has transformed himself into a chiseled mass of pure muscle for his new role as an MMA fighter in the remake of the 1989 classic film, "Road House."

Check out this video showing the 42-year-old actor shooting a scene for the movie at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday.

Taking on the reimagined role of Patrick Swayze's John Dalton, named Elwood in the new film, Jake dashed onto the stage for a weigh-in, tipping the scales at 184 pounds for his middleweight fight against champion Jack Harris, played by ex-MMA star Jay Hieron.

After showing off his incredible physique to the crowd, Jake stepped off the scale and shook the hand of UFC President Dana White, who was standing nearby.

Hieron then jumped on the scale and faced off with Jake as both men talked smack to each other. Jake then slapped Hieron across the face, prompting a shoving match as White stepped in to break it up.

Who's the greatest UFC fighter ever?? It's one of the most hotly contested debates amongst MMA fans, and now Dana White's weighing in!

Anderson Silva, Georges St-Pierre, Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones are the names most often thrown out there (there's also Demetrious Johnson, Amanda Nunes, and a few others) ... and each one can surely stake their claim as the best.

But, with Jones about to return to the Octagon (first time in 1,121 days) against a bonafide beast in Ciryl Gane (11-1 pro record), and going up to heavyweight from the light heavyweight division which he dominated for a decade, Dana told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) earlier in the week that Bones is one win away from being the 🐐.

"There will be no arguments over who the G.O.A.T. is if he beats Ciryl Gane on Saturday," White said.

As for the other fighters ... they're all inactive in the UFC.

Silva is the former middleweight champion. He defeated everyone from Chael Sonnen, Vitor Belfort, Forrest Griffin, Dan Henderson, Rich Franklin and so many more. He held the UFC title for longer than anyone in the history of the promotion ... 2,457 days, defending his belt successfully 10 times.

GSP, a former 2x welterweight and 1x middleweight champ, had a professional record of 26-2, only losing to Matt Serra (2007) and Matt Hughes (2004). St-Pierre beat the likes of Michael Bisping, Johnny Hendricks, Nick Diaz, Jake Shields, Carlos Condit, Dan Hardy, B.J. Penn and just about every other fighter of his generation.

Khabib is the only of the fighters in the G.O.A.T. conversation to go undefeated, retiring with a 29-0 record. Nurmagomedov defeated Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier, Edson Barboza, Michael Johnson, Rafael dos Anjos and Conor McGregor.

There's much more with Dana ... we talked to the UFC honcho about everything from Valentina Shevchenko's resume, to 3x NCAA wrestling champ Bo Nickal's UFC debut.

Paddy Pimblett's beef with Jake Paul is still very much a thing ... and, uh, so much for not kickin' a guy when he's down!

The UFC star recently spoke to TMZ Sports, and let's just say he wasn't impressed with The Problem Child's performance during his 8-round, split decision loss to Tommy Fury last Sunday in Saudi Arabia.

"It seems to me like Tommy Fury was boxing bad against his last few opponents on purpose, know what I mean? Or Jake Paul's just a terrible boxer, even more worse than I thought. I was giving him more credit than I thought he deserved," Pimblett told us.

Of course, one judge scored the fight 75-74 (4 rounds apiece, but Jake had a 10-8 round in the 8th), while the other two had it 76-73 (6 rounds to 2 for Tommy).

"Tommy won anyway and I thought it wasn't a split decision, either. I thought it was a unanimous decision. He won most rounds."

Now, the 28-year-old speaking out against Paul isn't new -- remember, the two stars went back and forth last year after Pimblett suggested his fight against Anderson Silva was fixed.

Jake even offered Paddy $1 million if the UFC fighter could beat him in a 5-round sparring session. That hasn't happened, yet ... so we asked Pimblett if he's still down to do it.

"Yeah, if he wants to," Pimblett said. "I don't give a f***. I'll spar with anyone."

In the meantime, Pimblett's getting into the fitness business, releasing a workout supplement, Paddy “The Baddy” Everything Ultimate Pre-Workout with ABE that's only sold at The Vitamin Shoppe ... and he's stoked.

"It's my lil' boost of coffee in the morning to wake me up and make me get up and actually get out and see the day," Pimblett said.

A college basketball player was socked in the face by a vicious punch during a dispute in a game on Thursday night ... and the wild skirmish was all captured on video.

It happened at the Ford Center in Indiana ... when Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and UT-Martin were squaring off in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.

In the broadcast video of the game, you can see UT Martin big man Rifen Miguel rushed into the paint in an apparent attempt to grab a rebound late in the first half of the contest ... but slammed into the back of SIUE forward DeeJuan Pruitt in the process.

Pruitt clearly didn't like the contact, and immediately raced to get into Miguel's face to let him know about it.

Miguel then leaned on Pruitt as he made his way back down the court -- when, suddenly, Pruitt rocked him in his jaw with a huge right hand.

Miguel turned to go after Pruitt ... but both benches cleared, and players, coaches and officials intervened before things escalated further.

Miguel was noticeably shaken up after the altercation ... needing to be held up by his teammates.

Both dudes, meanwhile, were eventually ejected from the contest.

Jon Jones spent his entire career in the light heavyweight division, but, not anymore ... the UFC legend is now a heavyweight, and we're seeing JJ's physique for the first time!

35-year-old Jones posed for promotional photos on March 1 ahead of his UFC 285 fight with 32-year-old former interim champ Ciryl Gane ... and you can clearly see 6'4" Jon packed on some serious size.

Jones systematically bulked up, adding muscle over the last 2+ years. When his fight with Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last fall, Jon told the crowd he weighed 255 lbs.

It's unclear how much he tips the scales at now, but Jon previously stated he was aiming to weigh 270 lbs. heading into fight week, before cutting a few pounds to make the heavyweight limit of 265 lbs.

FYI, Jones weighed 204 lbs. for his last fight against Dominick Reyes ... which he won by unanimous decision.

Of course, Jones is the greatest LHW (205 lb.) fighter to ever step foot in an MMA cage ... but, there's a reason weight classes exist. Size matters, despite what you've heard.

As for his opponent, Gane is a bonafide heavyweight. He's 6'5", and weighed 247 lbs. for his last fight against Tai Tuivasa.

Alvin Kamara just pled not guilty to two criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the beatdown of a man outside of a Las Vegas nightclub last year.

The New Orleans Saints superstar appeared in a Vegas courtroom on Thursday morning with his attorneys to enter the plea.

He wore all black, and said very few words during the hearing.

A trial date for the 27-year-old was tentatively set for July 31 -- right around the time the Saints will kick off their 2023 training camp.

Kamara's co-defendants in the case -- which includes Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chris Lammons -- also pled not guilty to the charges at the hearing.

Prosecutors have charged Kamara with one gross misdemeanor count of conspiracy to commit battery and one felony count of battery with substantial bodily harm after they say he attacked a man inside The Cromwell Hotel and Casino in February 2022.

According to a lawsuit filed by the alleged victim, Darnell Greene, the altercation happened after he and Kamara got into an argument over the use of an elevator outside of the hotel's popular Drai's Nightclub.

Video of the incident, obtained by TMZ Sports, appears to show Kamara throwing multiple blows at Greene ... while others kicked and punched the man as well.

Kamara was initially arrested over it all after the 2022 Pro Bowl game. He went on to play the entire 2022 season, starting 13 games and rushing for 897 yards.

Willie McGinest is now facing serious time behind bars for his role in a December restaurant beatdown ... TMZ Sports has learned the ex-NFL star has just been charged with two felonies.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office filed the charges this week ... hitting the New England Patriots legend with one count of assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury.

Each charge carries up to four years in prison.

McGinest's arraignment in the case has been set for April.

We broke the story, McGinest was initially arrested in the case back in late December ... after video showed him and several others beating the hell out of a man on Dec. 9 at Delilah in West Hollywood.

The footage appears to show McGinest socking the guy in the face ... before later picking up a bottle and smashing it into the man's head.

McGinest eventually apologized for his role in the brawl -- calling everything a "lapse in judgment and behavior."

"To my family, community, friends and youth I mentor," the 51-year-old said, "please know I feel horrible for my actions and take full responsibility."

Travis Scott is the suspect in a police investigation into an alleged assault at a NYC nightclub ... TMZ has learned.

Law enforcement sources tell us around 3 AM Wednesday the rapper got into it with someone at Nebula, a club on 41st Street. We're told Scott allegedly punched that person and damaged property -- possibly a cell phone.

At this time, cops want to talk to Travis and his reps, but the official report is for an assault and criminal mischief.

As for why he was in town, it appears Don Toliver had a show in NYC Tuesday night, bringing out Travis -- much to the delight of fans.

Travis is set to headline Rolling Loud California in Los Angeles Saturday night ... unclear if that appearance will be impacted at all because of the investigation.

We've reached out to Travis' team ... so far, no word back.

New troubling allegations surrounding the alleged pickup basketball brawl between Ja Morant and a teenage boy in July ... with the young hooper claiming the Memphis Grizzlies superstar flashed a gun at him during the altercation.

TMZ Sports broke the story in January -- Morant is accused of punching a 17-year-old boy after getting in an argument during a game at Ja's residence in Tennessee ... which resulted in a lawsuit filed in September.

According to the docs, the boy claimed he "accidentally" hit Ja in the face after throwing the ball in his direction ... and the All-Star guard retaliated by hitting him with a closed fist and knocking him to the ground.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that not only did the teen accuse Morant of punching him at least 12 times, resulting in a "large knot" on his head ... but the 23-year-old also went into his house and returned with a gun in his waistband -- with his hand on the weapon.

The boy told detectives Ja's dad, Tee, then yelled at him ... telling him to go back inside.

When Morant was questioned about the incident, police mentioned the boy's claims of exposing a weapon, but did not explicitly ask if he had a gun. The outlet notes Morant and his attorneys did not deny the claim.

As for the altercation, Morant told detectives he did, in fact, hit the teen ... but claimed it was out of self-defense after he was hit with the ball. In his eyes, "The ball was the first swing to me."

As we previously reported, Morant filed a police report of his own a few weeks later ... claiming the teen threatened to "come back and light this place up like fireworks" and he feared for his safety.

Police investigated the allegations for several weeks ... before they submitted the case to the district attorney's office on Oct. 4. Less than a month later, cops say the D.A. declined prosecution, citing a lack of evidence.

Mike Perry says Jake Paul's trainer was livid he posted a fake "script" purporting to break down what'd happen during each round of Paul vs. Fury ... telling TMZ Sports he received an angry message in his DMs.

Once Perry shared the document titled "Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury Script - Revision #4 - Final" with his hundreds of thousands of followers, it went viral. The script indicated Jake would beat Tommy Fury by TKO in the 8th round of their fight.

Obviously, that's not what happened (Fury beat Paul via split decision). Still, the script played into the conspiracy theorists' narrative that Jake's fights aren't real, and that clearly ticked off his team. The timing didn't help, either. It was released just hours before the fight and caused a headache for all involved.

"It was an Instagram post I think my buddy sent me," Perry said, explaining how he wound up with the script.

"I tweeted it and it's probably my best tweet of all time, probably. It got a lot of attention. People talked a lot of trash on me for it. Whatever."

But, Mike says it wasn't just Jake's fans that were angry, but also people close to the Problem Child.

"Jake's coach wrote me and was upset about his reputation," Perry says, explaining how Paul's coach made the case they always treated the former UFC star with respect.

But, Mike doesn't see the situation the same way.

"Ya know I was thinking, well, Jake never cared about my reputation when he posted a video of what I said to him at practice, trying to coach him up and be a part of the team, and give him that work. And he put that [training footage] out there," Perry countered, referencing Jake's decision to post training footage where Paul got the best of Perry while sparring.

We asked Mike how he responded to Jake's trainer BJ Flores -- whom Perry implies was the coach who sent the message.

"I didn't really respond to his coach's messages. I didn't respond to it. I just kind of looked past it. It's part of the game."

FYI, Flores is Jake's head coach and was a respected boxer in his own right. In fact, BJ fought for a cruiserweight world title in 2016.

Despite the drama, MP says ... "I like BJ Flores," but clearly he has no regrets about posting the script.

"The script was hilarious, it was funny, I guess just a joke."

We also talked to Mike about his thoughts on the actual fight (he says he wasn't very impressed with either boxer), and whether he has any interest in fighting Jake and/or Tommy.

"I could beat either one of those guys. Maybe they're not ready for me, and someone of my experience," while making it clear he's open if fans want to see either bout.

K'Andre Miller's spit will keep him off the ice for a bit ... 'cause the New York Rangers defenseman was suspended three games for hocking a loogie on an opponent during Sunday's matchup against the Los Angeles Kings.

The 23-year-old was caught on live TV spitting right in Kings star Drew Doughty's face during a skirmish in the first period of the game at Madison Square Garden.

The official saw it, too, and removed Miller from the game ... and handed down a match penalty to go along with it.

Miller did apologize shortly after ... releasing a statement the following day saying it was "completely accidental," as he has respect for Doughty.

"I would never intend to do something like that on purpose, it goes against everything I am as a person and player," Miller said on Monday.

The sorry didn't do much for the NHL Department of Player Safety ... which handed down a three-game suspension on Tuesday.

"NY Rangers’ K'Andre Miller has been suspended for three games for unsportsmanlike conduct on Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty," the NHL Player Safety said.

A massive brawl broke out at an Oklahoma high school basketball game, where players, spectators, and even cheerleaders were goin' at it -- and the insane melee was caught on video!

The fight happened after Star Spencer H.S. girl's team lost to Tulsa Central High at Regionals last Friday in Morris, Oklahoma.

What started the fight is unknown, but someone sitting in the bleachers had their camera rollin' when it began ... showing two female players on the ground pulling each other's hair while several people tried to stop them.

However, their efforts were futile, and actually started a larger altercation ... as people started pushing, shoving, and fighting. Players. Fans. Cheerleaders. Everyone.

In fact, you can see a man viciously throw a player during the brawl.

Morris Police Department officers were able to break up the fight, according to KFOR, and no one was injured or arrested.

Oklahoma Public School's spokesperson tells us they're investigating the incident and "students involved have been disciplined according to our Student Code of Conduct."

"This was an unfortunate incident and does not reflect the values or sportsmanship that OKCPS expects of our students and fans," the spokesperson said. "OKCPS officials worked with Tulsa Public Schools and the OSSAA to investigate the incident."

Several adults have also been banned from Tulsa Public Schools athletic events for the rest of the year.

Despite the incident, the Central Lady Braves played the following day against Millwood and won ... making them the Regional Consolation Champs.

Shawn Porter had the best seat in the house for Jake Paul vs. Tommy Fury -- he called the fight -- and the former 2x welterweight world champion tells us the judges screwed up ... The Problem Child won!

"I did not agree with the decision. I thought that Jake Paul pulled it out," Porter told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1), before knocking the overzealous referee's impact on the fight/scoring.

"Definitely hard to score the fight when you have a referee in there trying to control the action a little bit more than I personally felt he should've been."

Of course, 26-year-old Paul lost by split decision to 23-year-old Fury. One of the judges had Jake winning, 75-74. But, the two other judges both saw it the same way, with Fury winning on their scorecards, 76-73.

"Overall, I thought both guys did a fantastic job in terms of handling the moment, handling the ring itself, and everything that came along with it. But, overall, I thought Jake pulled it out," Porter said.

Tommy and Jake have both been criticized for not being real boxers (whatever that means) ... but Shawn says this was nothing besides a great night for the sport.

"This was a 50/50 back-and-forth match, ya just gotta appreciate it, man. Ya gotta appreciate boxing. It really was true boxing, the art."

We also asked Shawn -- who only lost four fights in his great career -- what advice he'd give Jake as he attempts to get over the first loss of his career.

"Go home, go back to Puerto Rico, get with your family, friends, people that love you, keep them around you right now, and just really decompress and get some space away from boxing right now."

Porter also talked about the hate Jake's surely receiving after the loss, advising him to steer clear of the haters.

"Boxing is a very vicious sport especially if you're misunderstood in the sport, you get a lot of people coming after you, and I'm sure he's been used to that for some time now, but exhaust yourself more? Take some time away from it all and just be with family and friends."

Now, Jake and Tommy will hammer out an agreement for a rematch ... but Shawn says we may actually see more than two fights.

Tommy Fury went from using his hands to using his pipes after beating Jake Paul on Sunday ... singing his heart out with his brother, Tyson, in the locker room to celebrate the huge win.

TNT was the happiest guy in the world after going 8 rounds with the Problem Child in Saudi Arabia ... and the man of the hour received a hero's welcome after exiting the ring.

"There's only one Tommy Fury," the crowd chanted as Tommy entered the room. "Walking along, singing a song, walking in a Fury wonderland."

Tyson couldn't have been more proud of his brother ... smiling from ear to ear as Tommy walked in with his new belt draped over his shoulder.

Tommy has all the bragging rights, but Jake has made it clear he's not riding off into the sunset ... and a rematch seems inevitable.

Jake took his first loss with respect ... thanking his fans for their support and praising the event.

"S*** happens, I guess," Jake said after the fight. "This is still the best job in the world."