Sports

Francis Ngannou and Rico Verhoeven were both combat sports stars who went into boxing and were arguably screwed by bad decisions ... and now both fighters could find themselves in a ring together, according to The Predator!

TMZ Sports talked to 39-year-old Ngannou, coming off a first-round knockout against Philipe Lins, when we asked him about his next move.

"[Rico] is very compelling. Very interesting. But nothing has been done yet, so I'm looking forward to it," Francis told us.

Jalen Brunson wants a guest gig on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" ... and one of the show's biggest stars is "absolutely" on board with the idea.

TMZ Sports caught up with Detective Elliot Stabler himself -- Christopher Meloni -- out in NYC fresh off the Knicks' championship win this week ... and had to ask about the Finals MVP wanting to show off his acting chops.

Meloni gets it -- after bringing the Larry O'Brien trophy back to the Big Apple after a 53-year drought, Brunson can essentially do whatever he wants as King of New York ... and that includes making his way in front of the SVU cams.

Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos hopped on a private jet heading to Florida on Friday ... with all signs pointing to the former engaged couple spending Father's Day weekend together.

TMZ Sports obtained pics of the two boarding the plane with their daughters and nanny at McKinney National Airport around 11:45 AM ... with Miami being the final destination.

Worth noting, Ramos is from the Sunshine State, so perhaps a bigger family gathering is part of the itinerary.

Morocco captain and Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi will stand trial in a rape case ... but he insists the matter is only moving forward because he's a celebrity.

The 27-year-old defender -- who is currently playing in the World Cup -- will have a future date in court after a woman accused him of raping her at his home near Paris in March 2023, when she was 24 years old.

Hakimi fought a February decision over the allegations ... but the Versailles appeals court ordered him to be formally charged, citing sufficient evidence against him to stand trial.

Josh Hart is clearly happy the Knicks' 10-week sex ban is over ... 'cause he had no problem telling the world he was busy after the New York Knicks' championship parade.

The hilarious nugget of info came after fans saw Hart and his wife, Shannon, enjoying their time together during Thursday's festivities -- at one point, she grinded on his crotch ... and in another, she put her hand up his booty.

Hart addressed the grinding clip directly ... and told his 730k X followers, "Yea I’m in there tonight 😏🤪."

Perfect case of adding insult to injury on Thursday -- Jazz Chisholm Jr. took a foul ball to the family jewels during the Yankees' loss to the White Sox ... and while he was in a world of pain, his teammates certainly got a kick out of it.

The unfortunate incident went down during the fourth inning ... when the second baseman made contact with a pitch -- but it bounced off the dirt and went right for his crotch.

Chisholm fell to the ground as he winced ... and didn't get up for several minutes.

USA and Australia are about to duke it out in the World Cup ... and ya know who's shaking in his Chelsea boots?! TMZ DC's Charlie Cotton -- 'cause he's making a wager with Senator Tim Kaine!!

Cotton -- who is Australian A.F. -- ran into Hillary Clinton's former running mate on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon ... and mentioned how they're enemies as soon as the two countries kick-off in Seattle.

Kaine -- clearly rooting for the home team -- suggested the two take part in a beer bet (Foster's and Samuel Adams, obviously) ... but Cotton threw a ton of alternatives in his direction, and he shut down each and every single one.

Floyd Mayweather is being sued by a boxing promoter who claims they paid the legendary pugilist $4.65 million in advance money for mega fights against Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao ... only for Floyd to walk away from the deals.

According to the explosive lawsuit filed Thursday in New York and obtained by TMZ Sports, CSI Entertainment claims they paid millions for exclusive rights for two major Mayweather bouts.

The first, they say, was for an exhibition fight vs. Iron Mike ... followed by a rematch with Manny, where Floyd would be risking his unblemished 50-0 undefeated record.

New York Knicks fans are so excited celebrating their first championship in 53 years, even getting pantsed in the street ain't gonna ruin the vibes ... and for proof, look no further than this wild scene from the parade!

Video is going viral online, capturing a moment straight out of Studio 54 back in the day ... it all begins with one Knicks fan ripping another off a streetlight and throwing her down to the ground.

The woman who got rag dolled quickly brushes off the WWE-style move ... running up and pulling the other woman's shorts down, revealing her basketball-shaped backside.

This is NYC, though -- no time for embarrassment in the Big Apple -- and the woman flaunts what she's got, twerking right in front of the other's face ... basically, dunking on her in the process.

Jalen Brunson heard all the chatter surrounding the New York Knicks this season ... but he got the last word at their championship rally on Thursday -- telling the crowd there's no need to address the haters!!!

The Knicks took the stage in front of City Hall minutes ago ... with several local politicians, head coach Mike Brown, and the Finals MVP getting time on the mic.

Brown set the vibes with yet another "Who Let The Dogs Out?" chant ... and when Brunson took over, he admitted he has tried several times to make coach stop.

Knicks fans waited 53 loooong years for a championship ... and they damn sure weren't letting anything (or anyone) block their view of the parade!

Millions of orange and blue lunatics flooded the Canyon of Heroes along Broadway in Lower Manhattan Thursday morning, turning the entire route into a real-life jungle gym, and TMZ Sports was on the ground.

We got videos showing hundreds of fans scaling street signs, lamp posts, traffic signals, and anything else they could to catch a quick peek of the Kings of New York as they were riding by on floats.

What they saw was a movie.

The biggest party of the year just went down in Lower Manhattan -- the New York Knicks held a parade down Broadway to celebrate their NBA Finals championship ... and it was wild!!

The fans were lined up for hours ... but that's nothing compared to the 53 years they had to wait to witness a Larry O'Brien trophy return to NYC. Officials said the area reached full capacity ... and that was hours before it was slated to start!!

The route went through the Canyon of Heroes all the way to City Hall, where the champs are expected to receive keys to the city.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is partying like a champion on Thursday ... joining the New York Knicks on their float for their NBA Finals parade -- and showing off his moves that would make Fat Joe proud!!

The mayor was spotted right next to Karl-Anthony Towns during the massive gathering in Lower Manhattan ... and when the cameras cut to the duo, they did their best "Lean Back" dance as the man himself performed the hit song.

It's par for the course for this celebration ... as there are plenty of notable names sprinkled through the festivities. On top of the familiar faces, there are so many fans in attendance that officials said the area was at full capacity hours before the parade was slated to start.

The New York Knicks' NBA Finals celebration is underway ... but one glaring error has folks buzzing more than the champions on the floats down Broadway.

City Hall is draped in banners honoring the members of the 2026 roster ... and bench player Dillon Jones' tribute includes his name with the number 33.

One problem -- Jones never wore those digits for the Knicks, as it was retired in honor of Patrick Ewing back in 2003. His number in New York is actually 1.

BLACKPINK's Jennie can sing AND swing -- the K-pop superstar has been putting in work on her golf game when she's not rocking the stage -- and the results are impressive!!

KPGA Tour pro Jang Jae-geun shared footage of their training on Thursday ... showing off some serious progress over the course of several sessions.

Check out the footage -- the two work through all the techniques in front of a simulator before taking it to a real golf course.

Could the White House go from jabs to jump shots?

Dan Hurley's certainly on board ... telling TMZ DC he'd love to have his UConn Huskies play on the South Lawn next after the recent UFC Freedom 250 extravaganza!!

Coach Hurley -- who attended the elaborate MMA event on Sunday and other UFC fights in the past -- lit up when Charlie Cotton pitched the idea of getting some college basketball at 1600 Penn next.