MMA

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."

Forget a bottle, get Alex Volkanovski a shoe ... 'cause that's what the UFC star was chuggin' champagne out of at the Raiders game, celebrating his win over Brian Ortega.

And, we got it all on video!

The 32-year-old Aussie fighter hit up the Dolphins vs. Raiders game on Sunday -- after his crazy unanimous decision victory the night before at UFC 266 -- and the football game was LIT!

Check out this clip ... you can clearly see AV enjoyin' himself in Allegiant Stadium's "Wynn Field Club," watching the game with his UFC belt and a crowd of people.

That's when Alex really starts to party -- in the most Australian way -- by chuggin' some bubbly outta somebody's shoe!

And, get this, it wasn't Volkanovski's sneaker ... it was some dude's navy Vans.

One drink wasn't enough ... the champ yelled 'give me some more!' -- and promptly got a shoe refill.

FYI, there's a name for this sorta thing -- a "shoey" -- a popular way to drink beer in the Land Down Under. Alex subbed champagne for beer ... he was celebrating, after all.

Of course, Volkanovski wasn't the only one in Vegas who got a W -- the Raiders secured an overtime victory, and are 3-0.

Now, who's thirsty?!?

"Dana White, if you're listening, this is a real message. Forget the cringe, forget the persona, this is straight-up me. I am the greatest combat athlete of all-time and I promise you, give me that opportunity, I will knock [Alex Volkanovski] out in less than 3 rounds."

That's 34-year-old Henry Cejudo making it crystal clear, he wants to un-retire and fight the UFC's featherweight champion, telling TMZ Sports he believes he'd KO 32-year-old Volkanovski in 15 minutes or less.

"Not only do I believe I can beat him, I know that I can stop him, dude." Triple C says.

"As much as I saw good things from Volkanovski, there still is a lot of holes. I believe my height will be a problem, because he is a couple inches taller than me. My speed, my wrestling, my experience, I've been in there with the best."

"Alexander 'The Average,' okay you had a great performance, it was a great fight, I just believe I have the 'it' factor to beat this dude, not only beat him, but stop him."

Of course, Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega at UFC 266 was a crazy 5 round war ... one that Alex won by unanimous decision.

Even Henry couldn't help but admit the fight was awesome.

"It was a great fight man. A great fight. 5 rounds, that's what a true mixed martial arts fight is. They showed striking, these guys wrestled, they showed submissions."

As for Cejudo's future, many people already consider Cejudo the most accomplished combat sports athlete ever. After all, Henry was a flyweight (125 lbs.) and bantamweight (135 lbs.) champ, in addition to an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling.

Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, and Amanda Nunes are the other fighters who have simultaneously been UFC double champs.

Simultaneous or not, no UFC fighter has ever been champ in 3 divisions ... which is exactly what Cejudo would become if he fought and beat Alexander.

Henry last fought in May 2020 ... when he beat Dominic Cruz via TKO with only seconds remaining in the 2nd round. He retired inside the Octagon following the fight.

Tekashi 6ix9ine might be on probation, but the dude isn't afraid to fire back if someone tests him out in public -- which is exactly what happened in Vegas this weekend.

The rapper showed up Saturday to the T-Mobile Arena for UFC 266 ... and as he was making his way in and past fans behind barricades -- he had a little face-off with someone who was NOT a fan.

Check out this video TMZ obtained of the altercation -- you see 69 ignoring the taunts from this dude, who's calling him a bitch and a ton of other insults. As he passes, the man appears to chuck something at his back, and it makes contact with Tekashi.

Eyewitnesses tell us it was the man's drink that he threw, and Tekashi circled back to look at him ... and to also a hurl a drink of his own. We're told it looked like coffee -- and it went splashing on others nearby. Security rushed in and broke it all up ... ushering T69 away.

No word on whether 6ix9ine was dealt with for this -- but sources on the scene say the guy who initiated it was, indeed, led away in handcuffs.

"I'm not trying to kill nobody. My whole thing is that I'm tryna break some faces, so come October 4, I'm going straight to this dude and I'm breaking his f***ing face."

That's 24-year-old Teofimo Lopez vocalizing his violent intentions ... telling TMZ Sports 28-year-old George Kambosos Jr. confronted his family in South Florida, while Lopez was battling COVID-19, and that's out of bounds -- so he must pay.

"From what I heard, because I wasn't in Miami, he was acting all big and bad and tough, I was over here having COVID and I was dying here in Vegas," Lopez says.

"I heard that he had screamed at my whole team, my whole family and cursin' at them while I wasn't there. He wouldn't have done that had I been there. So, it comes to show, like, that's just something that you don't do, especially with my mom, ya know?"

FYI, Teofimo (16-0) and George (19-0) are both undefeated. Lopez is the unified lightweight champion.

The bad blood originates from earlier in the summer ... when Lopez was forced to pull out of their originally scheduled June 19 fight because he caught COVID.

Kambosos was pissed, believing he sacrificed time with his family to train for the fight, but it never happened.

Things were said ... and Teofimo believes George took the trash talk to a place it shouldn't go -- families.

"This is the fight game, but when you take it to that next level, and I think everybody understands that family -- you don't ever cross that," Lopez says.

"I think that's where it comes down to and I just look at it now where I'm at the point where look, he has kids of his own so I'm praying for his health afterwards, but in the meantime, nah man, I'm trying to break necks."

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida -- a 13x BJJ World Champ -- just put the whole MMA world on notice, after notching his 1st win with a crazy impressive performance at ONE Revolution.

31-year-old Buchecha submitted Anderson "Braddock" Silva in Singapore using a North-South choke only 2:55 seconds into the 1st round.

Only hours after the ONE Championship fight (the card was 🔥), TMZ Sports talked to the BJJ great about his foray into a new sport.

"Man, it was something amazing. It's hard to describe with some words. I had a great career in jiu-jitsu. I have done so much in this sport, and I feel like I didn't have anything left to prove. So I moved my challenge, and I'm just 31 years old."

Buchecha's been fighting for almost his entire life ... but this is a new sport. So, was he nervous?

"I was pretty nervous because I didn't know what to expect. It was first time. But I was feeling great. Before the fight I was really calm. Then going to the arena I was really tense. Then I got there and was calm again. It was kinda like a roller coaster."

Now, it's likely his future competitors who are nervous ... especially when they hear this.

"Anything that I do in my life, I put my passion in it mixed with hard work," Buchecha says.

"That's what I did my whole career in jiu-jitsu and it really worked out well for me. I will have the same mindset for MMA."

Speaking of impressive debuts ... we also talked to 32-year-old fighter, James Yang, and his mentor, MMA legend Demetrious Johnson.

Remember, we spoke to Yang before the fight about his experiences as a teenager in a Shaolin temple in rural China.

Yang beat Roel Rosauro by TKO in the 2nd round ... but how did Mighty Mouse think his protégé looked?

Check out the clip!

Well, this is terrifying.

Tyson Fury has a short, yet super menacing, message for his rival Deontay Wilder ahead of their trilogy fight next month ... saying, "I'm gonna smash your f***ing face in, you prick ... how's that for a message??"

Of course, the two boxing superstars have been going at each other for years ... and it's clear the hatred is continuing to fill every ounce of Fury's being.

Deontay has vowed to get his revenge after his shocking loss back in February 2020 ... most recently saying, "I just want to beat Tyson Fury's ass."

The guys even had a pretty bizarre moment at a recent press conference ... when the two stared at each other for MINUTES without speaking before being pulled from each other.

Remember, Tyson and Deontay fought to a split draw the first time around in 2018, with Fury taking the rematch in 2020 ... which Wilder partly blamed on his extravagant entrance outfit.

UFC star Jon Jones was arrested early Friday morning in Las Vegas for domestic violence and tampering with a vehicle, and is currently behind bars, TMZ Sports has learned.

Our law enforcement sources tell us they received a call from Caesars Palace around 5:45 AM. Cops responded to the hotel ... where they made contact with the UFC superstar.

34-year-old Jones was ultimately arrested for misdemeanor domestic violence and injuring or tampering with a vehicle, a felony.

Jones is in Vegas this week because his 2013 fight against Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.

The fight was inducted Thursday night ... just hours before he was arrested.

It's not the first time Jones has been in trouble with the law. He's previously been arrested for DUI, among other crimes.

The circumstances that led to the arrest are not yet clear.

Israel Adesanya says it was his dream to fight in New Zealand -- the country in which he resides -- but now it'll NEVER happen ... 'cause the UFC star says the country's bureaucrats have treated MMA fighters like crap in the wake of COVID-19.

“You will never see me fight in New Zealand ever again, ever again,” Adesanya said on YouTube.

“All that money, they can get it from somewhere else. The rugby, the cricket, and all the others they’re f***ing giving exemptions to. But for me, you will never ever see me fight on these shores [again]."

FYI, 32-year-old Adesanya was born in Nigeria, but moved to New Zealand at the age of 10. He's lived in NZ since.

Izzy explained he's pissed because the NZ government -- which has very strict COVID protocols in place -- have allowed other sports teams exceptions to train ... meanwhile, he says MMA fighters like himself and Dan Hooker have been shut down by the politicians.

In fact, Israel, Dan and the rest of the City Kickboxing team previously set up a tent/bubble in Auckland where Hooker could prepare for his upcoming UFC 266 fight ... but they were forced to close up shop when police slapped them with a warning, accusing them of violating COVID protocol.

Now, because of the way they were treated, Adesanya says he'll never fight in NZ.

"That was one of my dreams, to headline a stadium in my backyard. That dream's dead in the water. That's just the way I feel right now."

But, Izzy didn't stop there ... he went on to accuse some people in New Zealand of being racists who don't like an outspoken Black man representing Kiwi people.

"They're racists, some of them are f***ing racists," Adesanya said.

After 6.5 years away, Nick Diaz is about to make his return to the Octagon, taking on Robbie Lawler ... but Dana White admits he doesn't know if the star from Stockton will fight again after UFC 265.

TMZ Sports talked to the UFC prez on Wednesday, days before Diaz is scheduled to fight for the first time since January 2015 (a no contest vs. Anderson Silva) ... and we asked if the comeback meant Diaz was back now as a full-time fighter.

"I don't know. I never know that either. We'll take it one fight at a time," Dana told us.

FYI, it's not the first time the men have fought. Diaz beat Lawler via 2nd round knockout way back in 2004.

Despite the long layoff, Nick's one of the most accomplished MMA fighters of all time... with wins over everyone from B.J. Penn to Frank Shamrock.

But, with over 2,400 days between fights, will it take time for Nick to reacclimate himself to the Octagon?

"Ring rust is absolutely real and especially when you haven't been in here that long, but you never know what to expect from the Diaz brothers. You know what everybody does though? On Saturday, they show up and they fight -- that's it!"

Valentina Shevchenko is also on the card ... where she's a MASSIVE favorite over Lauren Murphy.

Last week we asked The Bullet if she was interested in a trilogy fight with Amanda Nunes ... and she said she was definitely down.

We asked White about making Nunes-Shevchenko 3 ... and he warned that no one should overlook Woods.

"Obviously, you can't look past Lauren Murphy and start looking at Amanda Nunes again. Lauren Murphy has a lot of knockdowns and submissions in her career. So, when you have women that are that size that can actually knock out other women, it's impressive."

But, with that said, Dana made it clear he isn't against pairing arguably the 2 best female MMA fighters in the world against each other.

"Listen, Valentina Shevchenko is a savage. I mean, her and Amanda Nunes are two of the greatest female fighters to ever walk the face of the Earth and if she gets through Lauren Murphy on Saturday, maybe there is a fight for them down the road."

We couldn't let Dana go without asking about Conor McGregor's (terrible) 1st pitch at the Cubs game earlier this week ... the epitome of the reason White says he ALWAYS says no when he's asked to throw the ceremonial pitch.

Knives pulled, hit with bottles. Spiders, snakes. No heat or Internet. That's just some of what MMA fighter James Yang -- Demetrious Johnson's protégé -- experienced while living at a Shaolin martial arts academy in China ... and he says that adversity helped prepare him for his first pro fight.

TMZ Sports talked to 32-year-old Yang ahead of his highly anticipated debut at ONE Championship's ONE: REVOLUTION later this week ... and James broke down his experience living in the temple as a 17-year-old, and it sounds scary.

"I was living in rural China, and it was out in the farmlands where we barely had any heat. We had no Internet, very bad. And, just the living conditions were just horrible. But, that adversity is something that made me who I am today. Some people would look at it as a bad thing, but for me, I looked at it as all beneficial."

Yang says at the time, foreigners weren't accepted in the region where he was living ... so venturing out of the temple grounds could get very dangerous.

"I seen guys get bottled in the head. I had knives pulled on me. These kinda things happen out there. But, it made me stronger. It didn't make me weak or anything."

If his time in China didn't already make him the most interesting MMA fighter in the world ... James also detailed his time spent performing with Cirque du Soleil.

Yang ultimately chose fighting over performing ... and has been training with Mighty Mouse at AMC Pankration in Washington.

Now, it's almost time for Yang -- a featherweight -- to fight ... and he's taking on MMA vet, Roel “Akiyama” Rosauro.

Rosauro last fought in January 2020 ... and won by unanimous decision.

Yang's fight -- as well as 3 title fights -- all go down Friday morning at 6:30 AM ET ... and is available live on Bleacher Report, B/R's YouTube Channel, and B/R's app.

In closing, we asked what fans can expect from his first MMA fight ... and James delivered an ominous answer.

"Brutal violence. That's it. Brutality."

Oscar De La Hoya is gunning for a fight with one of the greatest boxers of all-time, Floyd Mayweather, telling TMZ Sports he's got $100 MILLION for Money if he accepts.

And, he wants to fight this year.

We got 48-year-old De La Hoya leaving Rossoblu in L.A. with girlfriend Holly Sonders ... and we asked the boxing legend how he felt after being hospitalized with COVID.

"5 days of hell" is how ODLH described the virus ... but what he really wanted to talk about was returning to the ring.

"You know who I'm gonna call out for my next fight? Floyd Mayweather."

And, that's when Oscar threw out the crazy lucrative proposal, saying ... "I'll offer Floyd Mayweather $100 million."

Remember, De La Hoya hasn't fought since losing to Manny Pacquiao in 2008 ... but was scheduled to return to the ring against Vitor Belfort earlier this month -- before he came down with COVID.

As for 44-year-old Floyd, he's been far more active. His last pro fight was against Conor McGregor in 2017, but he's had several exhibition fights since, including a June 2021 scrap against Logan Paul.

Of course, boxing fans will know Oscar and Floyd -- who had 10 division titles between them -- fought back in 2007 ... in one of the biggest fights of the decade. Mayweather defeated De La Hoya via a split decision.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller has officially been hit with felony domestic violence and resisting arrest charges, TMZ Sports has learned ... stemming from an incident where he allegedly roughed up his GF, and barricaded himself in a bathroom.

We broke the story ... Miller was arrested early in the morning last Friday, when cops received a call from a woman who was screaming for help. They rushed to the scene -- a home in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley -- and ultimately arrested Mayhem after cops say they found the woman with visible marks on her face and neck.

The L.A. County District Attorney filed criminal charges this week -- corporal injury to a spouse -- saying the MMA fighter "willfully inflicted corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition" on his girlfriend.

Because he has multiple prior convictions for violent crimes, if convicted, Miller could face a lengthier prison sentence.

He was also charged with felony resisting arrest.

And now we're learning more about what allegedly happened during the incident.

Our law enforcement sources tell us Mayhem locked himself in a bathroom and refused to come out ... so cops were forced to knock down the door, in order to contact him.

We're also told the alleged female victim hopped out of a window to escape Miller.

For the two felony charges, Miller is facing years in prison.

The former UFC fighter is also currently being investigated for an alleged bar fight where he's been accused of breaking another man's ribs ... an incident that allegedly went down only days before his arrest for domestic violence.

Talk about getting smashed up ... UFC fighter Devin Clark is going to be spending LOTS of time in the dentist's chair this week, because his teeth are a mess after losing a fight.

It's pretty gruesome ... Clark went the full distance against Ion Cutelaba, but it wasn't easy.  Clark was pummeled the first 2 rounds, and that appears to be when the damage was done.  Cutelaba smashed in the bottom row of Clark's teeth.

The fight, at the UFC Apex in Vegas Saturday night, almost ended after round 2. Clark told his corner his teeth were messed up and there was talk about throwing in the towel, but he came out for the third and final round.

Things got even worse in round 3 when Cutelaba bashed Smith's head into the canvas.

The decision was unanimous in favor of Cutelaba.

"Crazy that after 17 years we're back in it, we're still in the mix, fighting on a big card. All the fans are excited, so its nice to go out there and put on a show for the fans."

That's Robbie Lawler telling TMZ Sports about fighting Nick Diaz ... 6,386 days after first battling his fellow MMA legend at UFC 47 (we're at 266 now).

FYI, Lawler lost by knockout in the 2nd round.

We asked 39-year-old Lawler whether there's anything he can take from the 2004 fight ... but Ruthless Robbie said the fight happened just too damn long ago.

"Not too much [to learn], 'cause I mean I've evolved so much from that fight, learned so much from that."

To make prep even harder for Lawler ... 38-year-old Diaz hasn't fought since his no contest against Anderson Silva at UFC 183 in 2015.

But, Lawler doesn't expect a rusty or run-down Nick ... he believes he'll get a prime version of the fighter from Stockton, Cali.

As for Lawler's future (he's lost his last 4 against guys like Colby Covington and Rafael dos Anjos), we asked him if it's possible next Saturday will be the last time we ever see him in a UFC Octagon.

"Nah, it's not possible. I've been doing this for a long time. My body feels good. Just waiting for good fights that get me excited, and this is one of those fights. Nick Diaz is a big name, and this is gonna be a big event."

Logan Paul has clearly been benched from boxing because we just got this pic of him in Europe with a busted hand.

Logan was at the airport in Berlin Saturday, on his way to Reykjavik, Iceland. His right arm was covered in blue Plaster of Paris. An eyewitness says when he got on the plane he was posing with a large stuffed penguin and a footlong golden egg.

Logan doesn't have his next match scheduled, so he'll have time to heal. We don't know how it happened, the extent of the injury or the timeline for recovery, but it's definitely a problem. Logan, BTW, is a right-handed fighter.

Now it's always possible this is a stunt -- it's half the Paul Bros for cryin' out loud -- but this seems like the real deal.