Health

Alexander Volkanovski says he was only moments away from losing consciousness when Brian Ortega had him in a guillotine at UFC 266, telling TMZ Sports there were 2 options -- get out or go out.

... 'cause he was NEVER gonna tap.

We talked to the UFC featherweight champ following his dominating win over Brian Ortega ... and although AV won via unanimous decision, things got dicey in the 3rd round when Ortega had Volkanovski in a choke so tight that Alex's surroundings literally started to change colors.

"It was getting close where I couldn't breathe," Volkanovski says.

"It was definitely close. But, again, I was never going to stop trying to get out of it and I was never going to tap."

Then, almost out of a movie scene, Volkanovski says he imagined going home to his family without his championship belt.

"I remember I had like a moment, it was weird 'cause I was literally thinking of my family, and I was like man, I might not be taking this belt home to my family. You can't let it end like this."

"I literally had a moment like that, like s*** you see in the movies."

Bottom line, if you thought Alex wasn't in trouble, you're wrong ... 'cause "mate, it was deep. It was deep."

We also talked to Alex about the controversy in between the 3rd and 4th rounds ... when Volkanovski believes Ortega was incorrectly provided precious time to recover, while Herb Dean and the doctor attempted to determine if T-City was fit to continue fighting.

AV says the fight should've been stopped right there.

"[Brian] was stumbling when they were asking him to move. They definitely should've ... I didn't even realize his corner picked him up and put him on the stool, which you're not allowed to do. You hear things like that and you're like, 'I'm surprised that they didn't stop it.' But, all good."

Matter of fact, Alex says he's sorta happy the fight wasn't stopped ... because fans got a helluva 5-round fight.

So, what's next for the featherweight champ? He's got options.

Conor McGregor tweeted about Volkanovski following the fight, writing ... "Not a bad fight. Congrats shartsy"

Is Alex interested in a fight at 155 pounds with The Notorious? We asked him.

"Of course you'd want that."

In fact, Alex says because Max Holloway (#1) and Yair Rodriguez (#3) aren't fighting until the end of the year (the winner likely being his next opponent in the featherweight division) ... he's got some time to kill.

And, a big money fight with McGregor, in AV's words, "sounds like a good time."

(Worth noting, Conor broke his leg only 80 days ago, and won't be ready to fight until sometime next year.)

Then there's Henry Cejudo ... who just told us he wanted to fight Alex at 145 lbs., and become the first UFC fighter to hold belts in 3 divisions.

Unfortunately for the man on a quest to become Quadruple C, Alex says he isn't interested.

"Nah, there's no point even wasting energy with it."

Britney Spears' lawyer has taken off the gloves in his war with Jamie Spears, calling him a "reported alcoholic and gambling addict," and that's just for starters.

Attorney Mathew Rosengart has gone on the attack, after Jamie filed legal docs challenging the person Rosengart has tapped to replace Jamie temporarily as conservator of Britney's estate.

TMZ broke the story, Jamie claimed CPA John Zabel is unqualified to assume that position, but Rosengart's new legal docs refer to Zabel as a "highly-esteemed, nationally-recognized, award-winning CPA with an impeccable record of serving in positions of trust."

Rosengart finds it rich that Jamie is blasting Zabel, saying Jamie has "zero financial background or experience in financial matters, who previously filed for bankruptcy and has a Domestic Violence Restraining Order currently in effect against him."

Rosengart's legal docs challenge Jamie's request for fees for himself and Jamie's lawyers. He calls Jamie incompetent and rails on what he says is "abuse of his daughter (which evidently goes back to her childhood), and the dissipation of Estate assets."

Bam Margera got a ride to a Florida rehab facility ... in the back of a police car.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... deputies took the "Jackass" star to rehab after responding to a Sunday morning call about an emotionally distressed person at the Don CeSar Resort Hotel in St. Pete Beach.

When cops arrived, we're told deputies were given the heads up about a court order directing Bam to go to rehab, so police assisted. We're told Bam was NOT arrested and he doesn't have any pending charges.

Bam's unfortunately no stranger to rehab ... as we've reported, his life has been pretty turbulent lately, with his wife recently asking for custody of their 3-year-old son, Phoenix Wolf.

What's more, BM's also been booted from the fourth installment of the "Jackass" franchise and beefed with Johnny Knoxville and director Jeff Tremaine.

Justin Tucker's 66-yard game-winning kick Sunday wasn't just painful for Lions fans ... it also REALLY hurt a Ravens assistant coach, who blew out his hamstring celebrating!!!

Baltimore headman, John Harbaugh, explained the situation to reporters Monday ... saying linebackers coach, Drew Wilkins, popped his hammy while jumping for joy after Tucker's epic boot.

Harbaugh took a little bit of joy in announcing the injury ... joking with media members that the wound was all due to Wilkins' poor gym habits.

"Drew is philosophically opposed to exercise," Harbaugh said with a big smile. "He's made that clear over the years, kind of emphatically. He's a staunch believer in not exercising. You can see where that gets you."

Video of the celebration is pretty funny -- even though it's got to be pretty painful as well -- 'cause you can see in the clip Wilkins tumbled hard after rushing the field to celebrate Tucker's kick.

Unclear how long Wilkins' recovery process will be -- Harbaugh joked the MRI results are not in yet -- but we're pretty sure a come from behind, improbable 19-17 win will make the pain a little easier to swallow.

The Brooklyn Nets are without part of their "Big Three" to kick off the 2021-22 season ... 'cause Kyrie Irving will not attend the team’s media day due to New York City's COVID-19 protocols.

Irving is believed to be in the roughly 10% of the league that has not been vaccinated ... with Rolling Stone reporting he's actively engaging with wild anti-vax conspiracies on social media.

Considering there's a mandate requiring NYC-based NBA players to have at least one vaccine shot before practicing or playing indoors, Irving had no choice but to miss the team's event on Monday ... and now, his status for the season is in jeopardy.

29-year-old Irving is coming off one of his best seasons as a pro ... dropping 26.9 points on 50.6% shooting and averaging 6.0 assists and 4.8 boards.

Irving certainly figures to be a crucial part of any hopes the BK Nets have to win a title this season ... but unless he gets a religious exception from the league (Andrew Wiggins' request was denied), there is a slim chance he can suit up until the city's protocols change.

Irving's teammate -- Kevin Durant -- was asked about why he isn't concerned about KI's vaccination status ... and he downplayed the whole situation.

"That's his personal decision," KD told the media. "What he does is not on us to speculate. I expect us to have our whole team at some point."

Now we all know, Irving marches to the beat of his own drum ... but that drum may not be at a championship parade if things don't change.

While his NYC availability is up in the air, Irving is expected to travel with the team to San Diego later Monday for training camp.

Story developing ...

Kelly Price is finally addressing going MIA from her family and sharing an incredible story of her hospitalization with COVID ... telling us at one point, she was medically dead.

Price tells us she was never actually missing, despite some of her family members insisting she had vanished without a trace. Kelly says she isolated herself as she recovered from COVID, and was avoiding her family, who she says she doesn't routinely stay in touch with.

Price's battle with COVID was a serious one ... she says she actually flatlined at one point, and had to be brought back to life by doctors and staff. She tells us she was literally on her death bed -- but miraculously bounced back.

That's not to say she's out of the woods yet -- far from it, in fact ... Kelly is still on oxygen and at times had a tough time speaking with us, but wanted to get her story out. We asked Kelly's attorney, Monica Ewing, if she had been vaccinated, but Ewing would not specify.

As for why there's a disconnect between Kelly's family and her whereabouts, Kelly touches on that as well ... sounds like there's some BTS drama between her and her sister, and perhaps others.

We also spoke to Ewing who outlined the steps they'll need to take in order to get Kelly off Georgia's missing person list -- which is what kickstarted this frenzy to begin with.

Sounds like there's still a few hoops she has to jump through, but everyone can rest assured that Kelly is alive and still working on her recovery.

Scary night for Josh Norman on Sunday ... the 49ers star reportedly coughed up blood after leaving S.F.'s game against the Packers -- and needed to be hospitalized.

Norman bowed out of the Niners' loss to Green Bay in the first half with a chest injury ... and, according to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, it was so bad, he was spitting up blood.

The 33-year-old was then taken to the hospital, per Garafolo, where he remained throughout the night for observation and testing.

Fortunately, early indications are Norman is going to be okay ... with Garafolo reporting, early tests have revealed no significant damage.

Tony Robbins can be added to the long list of folks spewing COVID-19 misinformation with misguided jokes and phony statistics, and unfortunately ... he spread his message to a bunch of salespeople.

The controversial self-help guru was a featured speaker at something called Funnel Hacking Live in Orlando, a 3-day conference held by Russell Brunson ... aimed at boosting attendees' sales success by listening to motivational stories.

Of course, that's right up Tony's alley, but he used his time to mock science and the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic, while firing up the anti-vaxxers in attendance by questioning the effectiveness of the vaccine.

Let's break it down -- first, Tony rips nighttime curfew laws in Australia by joking the virus only comes out at night. As most everyone knows, the curfew is designed to keep people from packing indoor bars and clubs and spreading COVID.

Next, Robbins pokes fun at the concern over the unvaccinated spreading the virus, when in reality ... the unvaccinated population largely accounts for the spread of the Delta variant and the lion's share of hospitalizations and deaths.

Finally -- like many others before him who have spewed false info about COVID -- Robbins equates it to other everyday risks like driving your car ... but makes up his own statistics to fit his narrative.

Tony claims 1,200 people die per day in the U.S. in car accidents, when the actual number is closer to 100 daily, while ignoring that more than 2,000 people have died from COVID every day over the past 2 weeks.

Devin Booker says he's currently fighting COVID ... revealing on a Twitch stream over the weekend he's been battling the virus for about a week -- and it's sapped him of his taste and smell.

The NBA superstar -- who's been famously dating Kendall Jenner for the past year -- broke it all down for his followers while playing "Call of Duty" on Sunday.

"I got the 'vid, man," Booker said ... adding later in the stream, "Honestly, I'm feeling straight, man. Only thing that I'm dealing with is no taste, no smell. Which is the worst part of it."

"But," Booker continued, "I'm about a week in. I'm going to be back in no time. No time."

Booker -- who vacationed all over the globe with Jenner in August -- declined to say if he was vaccinated or not ... but did mention on the stream, "You can still get COVID with the vaccine."

Booker is now expected to miss the start of the Phoenix Suns' training camp while he recovers from the virus.

It's unclear, meanwhile, if Jenner has also contracted COVID.

Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is doing much better after being transported to the hospital Sunday ... with the team announcing he's resting and in "stable condition."

The legendary coach was taken away in an ambulance after feeling ill following the Chiefs' loss to the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium ... with ESPN's Adam Schefter reporting it was for a "precautionary observation."

The Chiefs provided an update on Reid's status late Sunday night ... and it's all good news.

"Head Coach Andy Reid felt ill at the conclusion of the game," the team said. "He was evaluated by our medical staff in the locker room, & as a precaution, was transported to The University of Kansas Health System for further evaluation."

"Coach is doing well, currently resting & in stable condition."

While the Chiefs did not get into detail on what Reid was battling, Dan Graziano reports he was treated for dehydration.

Chiefs star Tyrann Mathieu shared his well wishes for Reid after the game, saying, "I’m praying for my Head Coach & I’m hoping you can send up prayers with me!!"

"One of the best men & teachers I’ve been around!!! GOD please show us your mercy!"

As for the game, the Chargers shocked the Chiefs, winning 30-24 as KC falls to 1-2.

Get well soon, Andy!!

Ryan Garcia is back from his hiatus with a plan ... telling TMZ Sports he now wants to KO JoJo Diaz Jr. next -- and then set up a mega-fight with Gervonta Davis.

The 23-year-old undefeated boxing phenom broke it all down for us at the Canelo Alvarez vs. Caleb Plant pre-fight event in L.A. this week ... saying he's in a way better place after taking some time away from the ring to focus on his mental health.

And, now, he tells us he's ready to fight Diaz Jr. in his first tilt back ... with a contract with the 32-1 former champ "95 percent" done.

"He's going to get knocked out," Garcia said of Diaz Jr. "He's going to get caught with a shot sooner or later, and he doesn't have really that good of defense."

After that, Garcia -- who's 21-0 as a pro -- says he wants Tank ... telling us, "I've been chasing that fight for so long."

"He's always going to be there. I'm hunting him down."

As for finally hammering out a deal for that huge fight with Davis ... Garcia seems to think it should be pretty easy if he makes quick work of Diaz Jr. like he expects.

"I'll make you rich," Garcia said in a message to Davis. "And, then I'll continue my great career."

Anthony Johnson's family is no longer burdened with funeral costs ... thanks to the generosity of celebs like Offset.

The late actor's widow, Lexis Jones Mason, tells TMZ ... Anthony's funeral has now been paid for, with nearly $70,000 in donations pouring in from famous folks and thousands of random donors.

We're told the Migos rapper chipped in $5,000 for the service, with Lil Rel Howery donating another $4k on the family's GoFundMe.

Lil Rel's rep tells us the comedian/actor felt compelled to help out because he sees comedy as a brotherhood.

Michael Blackson also helped raise $10,000, and in addition to donations, Anthony's widow tells us she received a flurry of calls this week from celebs like Fat Joe, D.L. Hughley, Faizon Love, Michael Colyar, Tommy Davidson, D.C. Young fly, Tyrin Turner and more.

We're told folks who called expressed their love, sent condolences and talked endlessly about how much they loved the "Friday" star.

TMZ broke the stories ... Anthony was found lifeless in a Los Angeles store earlier this month before being pronounced dead, and his family was scrambling to pay for his funeral.

With the services paid for, Anthony's widow says she's giving some of the extra money to his 4 children and she wants to use other funds to start a standup comedy school for underprivileged youth.

We're told Anthony didn't have life insurance, so Lexis wants to use some of the money to spread awareness and begin advocating for comedians and actors to get life insurance.

Gospel singer Kelly Price is NOT missing and is safe, at least according to her attorney.

Monica Ewing, Kelly's rep, tells TMZ ... the singer is continuing to recover from COVID at an undisclosed location.

We're told Kelly's legal rep reached out to Cobb County police to notify law enforcement Kelly is accounted for ... even though she's now listed as missing with the National Crime Information Center.

TMZ broke the story ... Georgia officials say Kelly has been listed as a missing person, following last weekend's welfare check conducted at her home.

Before going missing, Kelly revealed in July she had COVID and was battling symptoms, and her family says she was eventually admitted to a hospital and ended up in the ICU.

Kelly's family told us her kids recently got a call that she was discharged, which surprised them because she was apparently not fully out of the woods.

The family says Kelly has gone radio silent and they told police her boyfriend is allegedly keeping her children from visiting her home ... and it led the fam to have cops conduct a welfare check.

We asked Ewing to clarify why Price had seemingly been ignoring her family and what her current status was with her fiancé, Ewing reiterated Kelly is safe and recovering from COVID and is trying to get well and will further address the story later.

A group of rowdy anti-vaxxers in New York have their own weird twist to Patrick Henry's liberty demand -- they're demanding freedom, alright ... food court freedom.

Check out this surreal scene that unfolded at the Staten Island Mall, where a swarm of people came barging into the Food District area with American flags ... a place they're not technically supposed to enter without proof of vaccination.

A bunch of them were chanting "USA, USA" ... and some even appeared to be wearing QAnon shirts. Eventually, one guy took the lead and told everyone what they oughta do next now that they'd broken through -- apparently past security -- and had their run of the place.

He essentially said ... go order something and sit down to eat. And, sure enough, it seems everyone started to do just that. At one point, the group of about 60 protesters or so started a new chant ... "F*** Joe Biden" -- this as bewildered spectators looked on.

Who they should be directing their anger at, however, is Mayor Bill de Blasio ... who enacted a city-wide vaccine mandate, making it impossible for folks who aren't vaxxed to dine indoors, hit gyms, and a ton of other inside activities. He's put his foot down on getting the jab.

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.

Gospel singer Kelly Price has gone missing in Georgia, TMZ has learned -- and it happened shortly after she was released from the hospital after battling COVID.

According to officials in Cobb County ... Kelly has been listed as a missing person following a welfare check conducted at her home last Saturday.

We're told the authorities found no evidence of foul play and spoke with Kelly's boyfriend at the residence, BUT ... she's now listed as missing with the National Crime Information Center.

As for what led to this ... Kelly posted a video July 29 revealing she had COVID and was struggling with symptoms. According to Kelly's family ... she was admitted to the hospital about a week later and ended up in the ICU because her condition worsened.

Her family tells TMZ ... they were in touch with Kelly while she was in the hospital in early August, and her children visited her several times. However, 3 weeks after she was admitted ... we're told her kids got a call that she'd been discharged, which was surprising because she was apparently still not fully healthy.

The family says Kelly has not been heard from since, and they told cops her boyfriend is allegedly keeping friends and family members from visiting her home.

We're told this concerned many people close to Kelly, and led to someone alerting the authorities to do a welfare check last week.