TMZ Sports - Page 50

TJ Dillashaw took care of business in short order Saturday night, knocking out mortal enemy Cody Garbrandt for a second time ... and retaining his bantamweight title.

The bad blood between the 2 fighters was evident ... they didn't touch gloves when the fight began and both were clearly out for blood. TJ took the title from Cody last November and for Cody -- this was a revenge fight.

TJ ended the fight flurry with a flurry of punches at 4:10 of the first round.

Henry Cejudo stunned everyone with a split decision win over Demetrious "Mighty Mouse" Johnson. It's all the more impressive because Mighty Mouse hadn't lost a fight in nearly 7 years and was widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the UFC.

DJ had staved off 11 fighters in a row in title fights ... until Saturday night at the Staples Center in downtown L.A.

Odell Beckham is taking training camp ice baths to a whole 'nother level ... 'cause the NY Giants star just got a handful of diamonds implanted onto his tooth!!

OBJ had the procedure done a few days ago ... and it wasn't cheap -- coming in at around $5,000 -- and his dentist tells TMZ Sports it wasn't exactly easy to do, either.

"I got my ceramist to make a porcelain veneer that looked just like his tooth," New York dentist Dr. Lee Gause says.

"And then, on that porcelain veneer, I got a diamond cross made from Odell's jeweler that he actually made on a 3D rendering that I printed and sent to his shop."

Gause tells us he then locked in the jewels on Odell's canine tooth ... and they ain't removable unless Beckham returns to the dentist's chair.

Val Chmerkovskiy has become the latest in Hollywood to recruit a member of the LeBron family ... with the two-time Mirror Ball trophy winner callin' out Bronny to join the cast of "Dancing with the Stars: Juniors"!

Remember ... L.A.'s biggest celebs have already lined up to work with LeBron now that he's a Laker -- and just a few days ago, Jackie Christie begged Savannah to join "Basketball Wives."

Now ... Bronny's getting the Tinseltown pitch, courtesy of new 'DWTS: Juniors' judge Chmerkovskiy -- who tells TMZ Sports he really wants to see LBJ Jr. on the dance floor.

"It'll be awesome for you," Val says. "You're welcome, you should come on the show!"

It wouldn't be the most farfetched thing we've ever seen ... after all, we already reported Scottie Pippen's 9-year-old daughter is slated to be on the show.

NBA player Denzel Valentine got embarrassed at the Drew League in L.A. recently ... and now the man responsible for dropping 44 on DV is telling us why it had to be done in such savage fashion.

The man's name is Frank "Nitty" Sessions ... the reigning Drew Leauge MVP and triggerman for The Game's team, "Birdie's Revenge."

Sessions' beatdown of Valentine instantly went viral ... and when he spoke with TMZ Sports, he told us in this case it was a little more than a day's work ... it was PUNISHMENT.

"He said something that bothered me, that most NBA guys I play with would never say to me."

We asked Nitty what Valentine said to him ... and, while he wouldn't say exactly, he gave us an idea when we asked if DV referenced the difference in the two men's bank accounts.

"Oh, of course he did. That's why I lost it. It's two lines and we both playing for free right now. In between these lines that don't got nothing to do with it."

BTW -- Sessions ain't broke. He's been getting money playing ball overseas for years, and basketball pays all the bills for him.

Frank says he wants to test his game against Chris Paul or Patrick Beverley next ... but until that happens, relive what he did to Valentine below ... might not be suitable for kids, it's that nasty.

Reggie Theus says HE'S the reason Michael Jordan is what he is today ... and he's waiting on Bulls fans to finally respect that -- telling TMZ Sports, "I'm looking for a check actually."

The former NBA star was leaving LAX when he explained to us that if it weren't for him, the '90s Bulls might have never been a thing.

"I take a lot of credit for their success," Reggie says. "Because, if we weren't so bad, they would have never gotten Michael Jordan."

Theus laughs off the comment ... but Reggie WAS part of the Chicago team in the 1983-84 season that was so awful, it allowed the Bulls to get the No. 3 pick and take M.J. the following season.

It looks like KFC's found its next Colonel Sanders -- The Mountain from "Game of Thrones" ... and he's in the Colonel's duds doing something very Mountain-esque.

TMZ got video of Hafthor Julius Bjornsson -- aka Thor, the 2018 World's Strongest Man -- decked out in the famous white suit for a one-of-a-kind video shoot ... for the record books.

We're told it was a success, and along with also being a 4-time Europe's Strongest Man winner and a 7-time Strongest Man in his native Iceland ... he now holds the record for pulling the most fried chicken!

That's finger lickin' impressive.

It's unclear if The Mountain's officially joining the club of actors turned KFC spokesmen like Darrell Hammond, Norm Macdonald, Jim Gaffigan, George Hamilton and Rob Riggle, but if he does ... he'll easily be the strongest of the group.

Melania Trump's not going to bat for her husband after his derogatory and utterly disrespectful tweet Friday night ... and is instead lending her support to LeBron James.

Scoreboard?

FLOTUS addressed Donald Trump calling both LeBron and Don Lemon dumb, through a statement by her spokesperson to CNN saying ... "It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation."

According to her statement, Melania would also be open to visiting LeBron's I Promise School in his hometown of Akron as part of her "Be Best" initiative.

So -- instead of backing POTUS on this one -- seems like the First Lady's more down to team up with Bron.

Donald Trump, the man who callously separated children from their parents and forever traumatized them in the process, has viciously attacked LeBron James, the man who just opened a school for hundreds of poor children and probably saved them in the process.

The most vile President ever to hold office tweeted late Friday night, "Lebron (sic) James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon. He made Lebron (sic) look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike."

LeBron was on CNN this week, unveiling plans for the I Promise School in his hometown of Akron -- which has opened its doors to 3rd and 4th graders, and set to expand to 1st - 8th graders by 2022. LeBron is giving every student all sorts of benefits, from bicycles to free tuition at the Univ. of Akron.

Trump, who bumbles through speeches and brags how he is unprepared, is clearly continuing his campaign of hatred and prejudice.

What's especially amazing ... LeBron actually exercised restraint on Lemon's show in criticizing the President. The grossly insecure President, who is manic over and obsessed with cable news, simply cannot handle criticism and responds with wild and baseless personal attacks.

Don Lemon responded by saying, "Who's the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages? #BeBest."

10:15 AM PT -- Michael Jordan just weighed in on Trump's tweet, as well, telling NBC News ... "I support LJ. He’s doing an amazing job for his community.”

It's the least surprising thing this week ... that sports stars and other celebs are appalled by the President of the United States calling LeBron James dumb in a late Friday night tweet. If this were a limbo contest, Donald Trump would blow everyone away, because no one could go lower.

Here's a sampling.

NBA All-Star Karl Anthony-Towns

WNBA Star Elena Delle Donne

NBA Rookie Sensation Donovan Mitchell

Ohio Gov. John Kasich

YG, whose song "Big Bank" triggered a fierce war that goes to the heart of civil rights and racial prejudice in America, says the Madden CEO called him to express regret over editing out Colin Kaepernick from the song ... but it may be too little, too late.

YG was leaving Craig's in WeHo Friday night, before his album release party, and he said Andrew Wilson, the CEO of Electronic Arts, which got on the horn to say Colin's name would be back in the Madden game come Monday.

As you know, YG's version included Colin but it not-so-mysteriously disappeared when the game was unveiled, triggering outrage. It can only be viewed as kneeling to NFL fans who embrace Donald Trump's version of America.

The UFC will not discipline Conor McGregor for the bus attack at Barclays Center in New York -- with Dana White explaining that his punishment through the legal system is good enough already.

TMZ Sports spoke with the UFC honcho about the upcoming superfight between Conor and Khabib Nurmagomedov and how he put things together behind the scenes.

"Obviously, I've been telling you guys forever we had to wait until Conor's stuff was handled in New York. [That] got done. It was very favorable for Conor. Time to roll."

As we previously reported, Conor was sentenced to 5 days community service and ordered to complete an anger management course as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

We asked Dana if the UFC had considered slapping Conor with a suspension as well.

"Suspended? He hasn't fought in 2 years. How much longer should we suspend him?"

"He's obviously lost lots of money. Millions of dollars in what went down in New York. What more could we do to him? He went through the legal process and got what he got. That's it!"

Al Sharpton is very skeptical of EA's statement on why it removed Colin Kaepernick's name from the Madden 19 soundtrack ... telling TMZ Sports, "I'm questioning their intentions."

The creators of football's top-selling game issued an apology after it was discovered they scrubbed the Kaep reference from YG's song "Big Bank" ... and blamed the whole ordeal on a licensing issue.

Sharpton ain't ready to buy any of that ... explaining to us their actions sound more like evidence of NFL collusion than an honest mistake.

"It clearly looks like it is an agreement among the owners," Al says.

"They keep [Kaepernick] isolated -- they keep him off the field. And I think that is something that is un-American."

WWE legend Mick Foley says he couldn't be more proud of his good friend Kane for becoming the next mayor of Knox County, Tennessee ... saying, "I think he'll do a great job!"

Foley campaigned for Kane -- real name Glenn Jacobs -- touting his friend's longtime interest in politics and the fact he's a super smart dude in real life.

So, when Kane won the election this week, Foley wanted to assure the people of Knox County they're getting a winner!

"He's a very wise man and caring person, and I think he'll do a great job in Knox County."

Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden understands what Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, and Darkwing Duck have already proved ... that if you're gonna be a hero, you gotta have some theme music.

We got Harden cruising the streets of Hollywood yesterday (in a car fit for a superhero) and asked him what his theme music is when he pulls up to L.A. clubs to stunt.

In true superhero fashion, Harden says very little (okay, maybe Deadpool is different), but rolls down his window for our guy and blares his answer as he pulls off into the Los Angeles sunset.

In case you were wondering, the song is "Petrafyde" by NinaN9ne and 8ig Hungry ... which is a jam fit for a hero to be sure.

BTW -- we didn't make up the rules for heroes and their theme music ... Keenen Ivory Wayans did.

Nate Diaz tells TMZ Sports he's considering dropping out of UFC 230 over a serious dispute with the UFC ... telling us he'll only fight if he "feels like it."

Diaz stormed out of the UFC media event on Friday while Dana White announced the Conor McGregor comeback fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov ... and we got him outside.

Nate claims he's been ineligible to fight due to a legal dispute with his former manager. As we previously reported, The Ballengee Group sued Diaz, claiming he never paid them their cut for negotiating his deal for the McGregor fight at UFC 202.

This seems to be the case Diaz is referring to.

Diaz is upset, claiming White has been "bad-mouthing" him by saying he's turned down multiple fight offers over the past 2 years. Nate insists he's "never turned down a fight in my life."

Diaz says he finally settled his lawsuit last month and can fight again -- which is why he agreed to fight Dustin Poirier at UFC 230 in November.

But, something at the media event rubbed Diaz the wrong way and now he tells TMZ Sports ... the UFC "better start acting right and start over-promoting [me] instead of under promoting."

There's more ... we also asked Nate who he's got in the Conor vs. Khabib match -- and he replied, "I whipped one's ass and I slapped the f*ck out of the other one so they're both my little bitches."

Diaz then told us about an incident in which he smacked Khabib in the face in front of "all his Russian friends" and they "didn't do sh*t."

Here's how 36-year-old Tyron Woodley feels about fighting 25-year-old Darren Till:

"I'm 10 years older than this dude. I've got underwear his age!"

The UFC welterweight champ took some time away from training camp to shoot this week's episode of 'The Hollywood Beatdown' ... where he told us how he's gearing up to defend his belt at UFC 228.

"Man, I'm ready to f*** Darren Till up, man. I'm not gonna bulls**t."

There's a lot more ... Woodley also tells us why he's not mad at Cody Garbrandt for using the n-bomb on his Twitter page and why he can't hate on Nate Diaz.

Make sure to watch all the way to the end of the clip when Tyron tells us how he stays motivated and focused in the gym ... it'll get you fired up!!!