MMA

Andrew Berto says Tenshin Nasukawa has a huge chance ... the chance to ruin Floyd Mayweather's legacy FOREVER, all he's gotta do is go in there and beat Floyd.

Mayweather is 50-0 and has beaten everyone from Canelo Alvarez to Oscar De La Hoya ... but, according to Berto, that all goes out the window if he loses his December 31 exhibition match with Tenshin.

"It would tarnish it for sure. You cant be 50-0 fighting some of the best fighters in the world then get knocked out by some kid."

Berto faced off against Mayweather back in 2015, and says the chances that Tenshin gets the upset in Tokyo are SLIM ... but sees one strategy he can use to pull off the upset.

"Go in there and try to knock his head off, and if you throw a kick ... f**k it."

It's going down in a couple days, 3 3-minute rounds for an eight figure payday, a lot of fun, and maybe Floyd's reputation ... could it happen?

They were teammates and roommates ... but now MMA rising star Kayla Harrison says she's gunning to take Ronda Rousey's place as the greatest female fighter of all time.

"Ronda always used to call us 'Frenemies,'" Harrison tells TMZ Sports ... "I've always kinda had a chip on my shoulder. Like, anything Ronda could do, I could do better."

"She's always sorta been my motivation behind the scenes."

Kayla trained with Ronda every day for 7 years back when they were coming up in the judo world together ... but says they're very different people.

Harrison won 2 gold medals in her Olympic judo career -- one in 2012 and another in 2016. Now, the 28-year-old is focused on destroying people in MMA.

"I want to be the best fighter in the world. I want to go down in history as one of the most dominant female combat athletes there ever was."

Kayla is 2-0 as a pro MMA fighter, and takes on Moriel Charneski at the PFL 2018 World Championship on New Year's Eve at Madison Square Garden.

As for her next opponent, Kayla's manager Ali Abdelaziz says he's got his sights set on Cris Cyborg.

The brutal decision wrestler Andrew Johnson was forced to make didn't have to end the way it did, because dreadlocks can be reattached ... but not in his case, because we've learned all the hair that was cut off was thrown in a dumpster.

Fact is ... dreadlocks can be reattached in a number of ways. It's a process that typically takes a few months to complete, but it's doable. Dreads can be fused together, even after some are cut off.

We're told almost immediately after the referee for Andrew's wrestling match gave him the impossible ultimatum, the dreads were swept up -- no questions asked -- and thrown in the trash.

Sources connected to Johnson's family tell TMZ, Andrew has done nothing with his hair since it was butchered at the meet. He's gotten a bunch of offers from various hair care professionals, but so far he's made no decisions.

As we reported, Andrew and his family have not decided whether to pursue legal action against the referee or the school. They're waiting for the results of the investigation by the New Jersey Attorney General's Division on Civil Rights.

Even the President of the United States has issues with his cable provider ...

Donald Trump has a bone to pick with DirecTV -- after he ordered a UFC fight back in July ... but didn't get to see how it ended.

According to Dana White, Trump REALLY wanted to see UFC 226 -- Daniel Cormier vs. Stipe Miocic -- and ponied up the $65 to order the pay-per-view on DirecTV.

But, Dana says some "Presidential stuff" went down during the July 7 event, and Trump had to step away from his TV.

A few days later, when Trump finally got some free time to finish the fight -- White says the fight was already gone from his DVR ... and he couldn't watch the end on demand.

"So, he said, 'If I paid for the fight, shouldn't I get to watch the rest of the fight whenever I'm ready to watch it again?'"

Dana says he sees Trump's point and thinks POTUS is probably right ... but it's a beef the President needs to settle with DirecTV.

Of course, Dana and Trump are longtime friends -- with Dana even giving a speech for Donald at the Republican National Convention back in 2016.

Jon Jones wants to see Conor McGregor get another crack at Khabib -- telling TMZ Sports he LOVED the first fight ... and really hopes Dana White locks 'em both in for a rematch.

"I would love to see that again," Jones said after the UFC 232 press conference ... "That was a great fight."

Of course, Khabib dominated Conor during the Oct. 6 bout at UFC 229 ... ultimately submitting the Irishman in the 4th round.

But, Jones believes one fight shouldn't define an athlete -- and he's confident McGregor still has the skills to compete with the best in the world.

"Wins and losses happen when you're fighting at the level that guys like Conor and I are fighting at ... it happens and it's a big part of the game but its not a race."

"As a martial artist, one fight never defines an athlete. It's a journey. It's about how you finish the race."

WWE superstar Becky Lynch is already dreaming of "WrestleMania" dominance -- telling us she's dying to "slap the head off Ronda Rousey."

Lynch was supposed to battle Rousey at "Survivor Series" back in November -- but she suffered a serious injury to her face and was pulled from the match.

But, Lynch says she still has a sense of "unfinished business" with Rousey ... and wants to settle things once and for all on April 7 at MetLife Stadium.

Despite the rivalry, Lynch praised Rousey for all that she's done for women's pro wrestling, women's judo and women's MMA ... but warns that she "just hasn't faced a real test yet!"

Meanwhile, Lynch is training her ass off -- recently hitting up Conor McGregor's famous training center in Ireland, the Straight Blast Gym ... where she worked out with Conor's trainer, John Kavanagh.

"John Kavanagh put me through the ringer," Lynch said ... "It was great."

McGregor has raved about Lynch -- praising his fellow Irish superstar publicly and telling her to call "any time you need backup."

So, will the two connect and beat some ass as the greatest Irish tag team ever? Don't rule it out ...

Alexander Gustafsson says he's "ready for war" -- telling TMZ Sports he guarantees victory over Jon Jones at UFC 232 on Saturday ... "I will dominate every round."

Alex has been cool, calm and confident despite all the drama surrounding the rematch -- and explains he wasn't surprised when Jones tested positive for PEDs again.

"This guy gets confidence by putting sh*t in his body," Alex says ... "He's always been like that, I'm not surprised."

For his part, Jones denies using steroids for the Gustafsson rematch -- and says he only tested positive for an extremely tiny amount of oral Turinabol which was still in his system from a previous incident.

Jon Jones says Daniel Cormier's attack on his wife's "flat" booty doesn't faze him at all -- telling TMZ Sports ... Cormier is right!

The UFC rivals have been going back and forth on social media -- but things got crazy personal on Dec. 23 when they brought their wives into the feud.

Jones started it ... saying to Cormier, "I could slap your wife on the ass and you could literally do nothing about it. You're my bitch D.C. that will never change."

Cormier responded ... "You couldn't do sh*t you steroid abusing junkie! I swear I would never touch your wife's flat ass lol."

So, when we saw Jones after the UFC 232 press conference on Thursday, we asked if Cormier crossed the line by going after his wife's cakes.

"He said my wife got a flat ass? She DOES have a flat ass ... but I love it!

He continued, "Oh, I love it. It's nice. It's good. I love my wife's flat ass!"

2:45 PM PT -- Dana White says the decision to move UFC 232 from Las Vegas to Los Angeles cost roughly $6 million.

White says he did NOT want to cancel the fight and worked to find a venue where it could happen when problems arose in Nevada.

White says once they found out The Forum in L.A. was available, they booked it and the rest is history.

Alexander Gustafsson just went off on Jon Jones to his face -- saying the guy is a "terrible" cheater who's spewing "bullsh*t" about his positive PED test.

The two exchanged shots at the UFC 232 press conference -- Gustafsson says he's convinced Jones is a cheater, but didn't want to back out of the Dec. 29 fight because he wants to beat the guy's ass.

"I'm here to fight," Gustafsson said ... "He will eat it Saturday night."

UFC 232 was supposed to go down in Las Vegas -- but was moved to L.A. after Jones tested positive for Turinabol, an anabolic steroid.

Jones has insisted he only had trace amounts of the PED in his system -- remnants of the last time he tested positive. He's adamant the Turinabol in his system is not new.

The UFC -- along with the California State Athletic Commission and other officials -- believe Jones, which is why the fight was greenlit in CA.

During the event, Jones doubled down on his claim that he's not a cheater and will eventually be vindicated by tested organizations.

Jones says it's "hilarious" that people think PEDs are the reason for his success.

Good news ... high school wrestler Andrew Johnson is doing well and in "pretty good spirits" after the haircut incident earlier this month -- but we've learned the family is still weighing their legal options.

Johnson has gone under the radar ever since the Dec. 19 wrestling match when referee Alan Maloney (who is white) told the 16-year-old black wrestler to either chop off his dreadlocks or forfeit the match.

But, a source closely connected to the family put it this way -- "Andrew is in pretty good spirits. He hopes for things to return to normal and he's looking forward to competing with his wrestling team again soon."

There are reports the family has already decided not to pursue legal action over the incident ... but sources with direct knowledge say those reports are inaccurate.

In fact, we're told the family is considering all options. One thing they want before making any decisions ... the findings of the NJ Attorney General's Division on Civil Rights. That Division is in the midst of its investigation into the incident.

Johnson's teammates at Buena Regional High School in New Jersey had a scheduled meet Thursday -- but Johnson did not participate because he's felt overwhelmed by the media attention.

Several huge stars have tried to reach out to Johnson to lend their support -- and some UFC fighters have offered to personally train him -- but it's unclear if Johnson has spoken with anyone yet.

As for the ref, sources connected to Maloney tell us he's adamant he was following the rules and race had nothing to do with the situation.

He's already built like a superhero ... now MMA star Sage Northcutt has a real shot at landing a role in a Marvel superhero flick!

Northcutt recently parted ways with UFC after his contract expired and signed with the ONE Championship.

Sage says he has no bad blood with UFC and praised Dana White -- but says one of the perks of his new company is ONE is sponsored by Marvel, and they're hoping to take advantage of that relationship.

"[The people at ONE] were talking about, one of the incentives for me fighting for them was getting me into movies, commercials, all sorts of stuff like that."

Acting ain't new for Sage ... he told us in the past he was working with an acting coach -- and even campaigned to play Ivan Drago's son in "Creed II."

Marvel movies are HUUUGE -- "The Avengers," "Guardians of the Galaxy," "Black Panther" are just a few of their monster hits -- and a role in their movies could launch the MMA star's acting career.

"That'd be pretty sick."

Stay tuned ...

Jermell Charlo says he's down to fight Conor McGregor for his next big scrap ... and tells TMZ Sports it can be boxing OR MMA!!!

"We always on standby," Charlo says ... "Especially for an MMA fight. Why not?!"

Of course ... Conor's next opponent IS up in the air after he got mauled by Khabib in October -- and Charlo's also lookin' for a fight after he takes on Tony Harrison Saturday night.

So, could it happen? Maybe ... especially 'cause Charlo seems down to sweeten the pot by steppin' out of the ring and into the Octagon.

"It's wherever he want to fight. Conor's a grown man. He knows what to do. And, he knows who to call!"

UFC star Aljamain Sterling says the haircut incident with high school wrestler Andrew Johnson is "so f*cked up" ... but he was so impressed with the kid, he wants to train him personally.

"It's so messed up on so many levels," Sterling tells TMZ Sports ... "I felt bad."

Sterling says he's spent a lot of time coaching high school wrestling and has NEVER seen a situation where an athlete was forced to cut his hair.

In fact, Sterling says if he was the coach that day, he would have pulled his team out of the gym in protest and forfeited the rest of the match.

"We're not gonna stand for no sh*t like this," Sterling says.

The good news ... Sterling trains with other huge UFC stars like Al Iaquinta and Chris Weidman with the Serra-Longo fight team in Long Island, NY -- not too far from Johnson's high school in New Jersey.

UFC welterweight champ Tyron Woodley is FIRED UP over the high school wrestling ref who made a black kid cut his dreadlocks before a match ... and he's calling for NJ officials to FIRE HIS ASS.

Before dominating the UFC, Tyron was an All-American wrestler at the Univ. of Missouri ... and before that, he was a FORCE in the high school wrestling community.

Tyron tells TMZ Sports ... the ref, Alan Maloney, should have been fired years ago when he reportedly made a racist comment to an African-American man back in 2016.

Woodley's bigger issue is he's sick of people with a history of racist behavior being allowed to have positions of authority. And, that includes police officers.

As for the recent incident with high school wrestler Andrew Johnson, Tyron thinks the way the high school wrestling community handles hair maintenance ... specifically with black athletes ... is ridiculous.

A shocking recording of the Rachael Ostovich domestic violence incident has surfaced -- in which her MMA fighter husband allegedly screams, "I'm going to f**king murder you."

A neighbor used a cell phone to record the scene on Nov. 27 -- when Arnold Berdon allegedly brutalized Ostovich during an argument at their home in Hawaii.

The footage is mostly dark -- but you can definitely hear voices.

In the video, obtained by Hawaii News Now, you can hear a male voice make several threats ... including, "I’m going to murder you. I’m going to f**king murder you."'

At the end of the 9-minute video, you can see a nude female jump off the lanai and try to escape.

We broke the story ... Berdon was arrested and charged with 2nd-degree assault.

Ostovich suffered serious injuries to her face, head and body -- and pulled out of her January fight against Paige VanZant.

Ostovich later got a second opinion from another doctor who cleared her to fight -- so it's now back on.

8:22 AM PT -- McGregor’s spokesperson Karen Kessler tells TMZ Sports …"This complaint is a routine but sad attempt to grab publicity in a case that should have been resolved months ago. We are pleased that Chiesa’s quick recovery allows him to continue fighting."

UFC fighter Michael Chiesa claims Conor McGregor's steel dolly attack was a publicity stunt intended to hype his fight with Khabib ... and now he wants ALL of Conor's UFC 229 profits.

Long story short ... Chiesa (who was injured in the bus attack) claims NY law bars people from profiting from criminal activity and requires them to turn over ill-gotten gains to their victims. It's called the Son of Sam law.

In new court docs filed by Chiesa, the UFC fighter argues the April 5 dolly incident drove up interest in UFC 229 and boosted sales of Conor's Proper 12 whiskey brand, so all profits should be handed over.

It's not a small number -- Conor publicly stated he expected to make $50 MILLION for the Oct. 6 fight against Khabib ... plus MILLIONS more from the sales of Proper 12.

Here's how Chiesa spells it out in his lawsuit ...

"By his own admission, [McGregor] engaged in the aforementioned conduct and acts with the premeditated intent and purpose of inflicting severe personal injuries and/or murdering Nurmagomedov, and sought to promote his brand and profit from his criminal activity."

He also cited Conor's UFC 229 press conference ... when McGregor reflected on the bus incident and said Khabib would be "dead" if he had stepped off that bus that day.

Chiesa was a passenger on the bus and suffered cuts to his face when he was struck by shattered glass.

Chiesa claims he was unable to compete in his scheduled fight against Anthony Pettis at UFC 223 that weekend -- and lost an even BIGGER opportunity to fight Khabib when Max Holloway pulled out of the main event.

In his docs, Chiesa claims the UFC had reached out to him about filling in for Holloway in the title match at UFC 223, but Chiesa says his injuries prevented him from taking the fight.

Chiesa says he suffered from depression following the ordeal -- and claims his inability to fight at UFC 223 hurt his overall standing in the UFC.

Chiesa claims Conor deliberately created "havoc, mayhem and injury" that resulted in his injuries.