TMZ Sports - Page 4

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."

Evander Kane says his estranged wife, Anna Kane, is straight-up lying ... saying in a statement Wednesday he NEVER sexually or physically abused her during their relationship.

Anna, though, says he did in fact do those things ... spelling out the allegations in new court docs, according to the San Jose Mercury News, that were filed in Santa Clara County earlier this week as part of her divorce case against Evander.

In the docs, Anna claims Evander forced her to have oral sex with him in March 2019 -- just after a funeral for their baby daughter.

Anna alleges the San Jose Sharks player then forced her to have intercourse again days later ... writing in the docs that Evander told her when she denied his advances, "you can’t rape your wife.”

"Evander again forced me, against my will," she said in the documents, "to have sexual intercourse with him even though I had not healed."

Anna claims Evander also roughed her up after one of his playoff games against the Las Vegas Golden Knights.

In the docs, Anna says after Evander had found out she had been drinking before the game with some of the other players' wives -- he snapped.

She says after the game, which the Sharks had lost, the 30-year-old winger, "began screaming at me and punching me on the upper side of my head above the hairline."

She added, "Evander grabbed my blouse forcefully and pushed me into the wall of the room, slapping me across my face. Evander was screaming at me and threatened to hurt me even worse if I 'disobeyed' him and had any drinks without him."

Evander, though, says it's all B.S. ... denying the claims in a lengthy statement issued by his attorneys.

"To be clear," Evander's attorneys said, "Evander denies ever abusing Ms. Kane or their daughter Kensington, whom he cherishes."

"He recognizes that they have many years ahead of them as co-parents, during which they will have to work together, which makes it that much more frustrating that she has chosen this path."

The attorneys added they're confident Anna's "lack of credibility" will be exposed at future court hearings.

Of course, this isn't the first time Anna has hurled accusations at Evander ... earlier this summer, she claimed the hockey player would bet on his own NHL games from to time.

Evander has vehemently denied those allegations, saying, "I love the game of Hockey and would never do any of what was alleged."

The NHL has launched an investigation into the claims.

Meanwhile, Evander, in his own court filings, has accused Anna of getting violent with him on several occasions in the past, including an incident where he claims she punched him in the face multiple times.

Riddick Bowe will NOT be fighting against Lamar Odom next month -- the boxing legend has been yanked from the event as a result of Evander Holyfield's performance earlier this month, TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, the 53-year old former undisputed heavyweight champ was slated to go up against the NBA champ at James L. Knight Arena in Miami on Oct. 2.

But, after "The Real Deal" suffered a brutal technical knockout against Vitor Belfort at Triller Fight Club, Celebrity Boxing founder Damon Feldman decided it was best for everyone's safety to find a different opponent for 41-year-old Odom.

Bowe had been training hard leading up to the fight ... but ultimately, the idea was scrapped.

It's probably good news for all involved ... and plenty of folks in boxing will be happy to hear it.

After all, famous promoter Lou DiBella was LIVID with the idea of Bowe getting in the ring ... saying, "No. Just NO!!!! This is barbaric and beyond dangerous."

Now, Feldman is on the search to find Odom's replacement at the last minute ... so who knows, maybe we get an Odom vs. Aaron Carter II??

Robert Griffin III is open to going back to where it all began -- the current free agent says he'd LOVE to make a big comeback with the Washington Football Team ... but he's not gonna beg.

Of course, RG3 was the #2 overall pick to Washington back in 2012 after a Heisman-winning season with the Baylor Bears ... but things didn't necessarily go according to plan, as the QB faced several injuries throughout his time with the team.

With the injury bug biting the WFT as well in 2021, RG3 -- who hasn't played since 2020 -- was asked if he'd pick up the phone if coach Ron Rivera came calling ... and he sounds more than willing to listen to what he's gotta say.

"Yeah, I mean it could [work out], to be honest," Griffin said to "The Adam Schefter Podcast" on Tuesday. "But, for me to go back to Washington ... that would have to be something that coach Ron Rivera and the team would be open to."

"You never say never, is what I would say," he added. "Would I be open to it? Yeah ... I would love to go back and be able to have that come full circle. But, am I begging for that or pleading for that? Nah ... But, if your guy goes down, make the call."

It just so happens WFT QB Ryan Fitzpatrick is out several weeks with a hip injury ... and Griffin says he's still got that competitive fire in him.

If you thought your bar tab was bad this weekend ... there's no way it topped Bruce Barnum's -- 'cause the Portland St. head coach revealed this week he dropped $14,000 to pay for fans' beers on Saturday!!

The coach -- who promised supporters he'd pick up ALL of their suds if they showed up to PSU's game against Western Oregon -- showed off the receipt Tuesday ... and it's pretty staggering.

Barnum ended up paying $14,448 for 786 Deschutes Fresh Squeezed IPAs and 1,260 Coors Lights -- a fairly shocking number, considering only about 3,000 fans showed up!

Of course, we're pretty sure Barnum was happy to foot the bill ... 'cause, after all, his team did beat the Wolves 21-7 in a laugher.

Unclear if Barnum is planning similar things for PSU's upcoming games -- but, hey, can't mess with something that's working, right?

Tom Brady is so upset with all the ticky-tack fouls in the NFL these days ... he's officially dubbing the league as "softer" now.

The quarterback explained his stance on his 'Let's Go!' podcast with Jim Gray this week ... saying the way penalties are being called has changed the game completely, particularly for quarterbacks.

Brady says he believes guys like Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes and other mobile signal-callers are thriving simply for the fact that defenders are more timid to hit now due to flag-happy refs.

"I think they're calling more penalties on defensive players for hitting, you know, for violent contact," Brady said. "There's a lot of plays and hits that are happening on quarterbacks now, that are flags for defensive players, that probably weren't that way 10 or 15 years ago."

"So I'd say the game is a little softer than it used to be."

Of course, this ain't the first time Tom has expressed some unhappiness with the league's direction this season ... just a few weeks ago he slammed the NFL for allowing defensive players to wear single-digit jersey numbers.

He also put himself firmly in the camp that criticized NFL officials this week for all of the excessive taunting penalties that were called on Sunday.

Canelo Alvarez no longer hates Jake Paul's boxing ventures with a burning passion ... telling TMZ Sports he thinks the Youtuber is "maybe" good for the sport after all.

Remember, Canelo told us back in December 2020 he was NOT a fan of the Paul Bros getting into boxing ... saying they had a "lack of respect" for the fight game.

Alvarez is now softening up big time on the topic ... admitting there might be a silver lining to guys like Jake bringing a new audience to the sport, but won't go as far to say he's impressed with what Paul's accomplished so far.

"It's hard to say that," Canelo told us at his pre-fight event with Caleb Plant on Tuesday (prior to all hell breaking loose on stage) ... "Maybe it's good for boxing bringing all their audience."

"We don't know ... it is what it is."

Worth noting, Canelo has previously kept the door open on a future fight with Paul, but said the 24-year-old had a lot of catching up to do before that happens.

Move over, 50 Cent, there's a new worst first pitch of all time ... courtesy of Conor McGregor's ceremonial toss at the Cubs game on Tuesday!!!

The sharply-dressed UFC superstar strutted to the mound for the first pitch before the Cubbies faced off against the Minnesota Twins at Wrigley Field ... and chucked his attempt about 20 feet to the right of home plate.

As Harry Doyle would say, it was "juuuuuust a bit outside."

On a positive note, McGregor's repaired leg looked great!

The fighter was a great sport about it all ... dapping up Cubs infielder Patrick Wisdom after the wild pitch.

Of course, this is Conor we're talking about ... so we're assuming (and hoping) he was just trying to give fans a fun time.

Then again, we've seen him throw a football before ... and he was mocked incessantly for that, too.

It's a safe bet Conor's pitch will now take honors for "worst first pitch ever" from Fiddy, who had a straight-up embarrassing toss that went wide left before a Mets game in 2014.

Conor's been living it up while rehabbing his leg ... from hanging with Justin Bieber to attending the VMAs (where he also tested out his arm with a different object) and hitting up just about every hotspot L.A. has to offer.

Never change, Conor ... but maybe try some practice throws next time???

A huge LAPD police union is going scorched earth on the Los Angeles District Attorney after he decided NOT to charge Jaxson Hayes with a felony, following the arrest of the New Orleans Pelicans star in July.

"George Gascon's latest criminal's first airball puts a target on the back of every police officer in Los Angeles," the Los Angeles Police Protective League tells TMZ Sports.

The LAPPL -- which reps over 9,000 cops in L.A. -- continued, "Gascon's refusal to prosecute Jaxson Hayes for violently attacking and injuring an officer during his n-word laced tirade is nothing more than a declaration that it's open season to attack cops and it's shameful."

The union is livid that Gascon's office decided against charging Hayes with any felonies ... despite the fact he seemingly pushed an officer on video.

FYI, Gascon is a polarizing figure. His critics have accused him of being soft on crime ... and failing to protect law enforcement officers.

Still, Hayes isn't totally out of the water criminally ... it's still possible the city attorney could levy a misdemeanor charge(s) against Jaxson.

We broke the story, 21-year-old Hayes -- the 8th overall pick in the 2018 draft -- was arrested for battery on a law enforcement officer after Jaxson got physical with a cop who was investigating a domestic violence call after Hayes' GF allegedly said she was scared her hooper BF was going to physically harm her.

Police released body camera footage ... and it seems Hayes pushed an officer, injuring him in the process, according to LAPD.

What happened next has caused some controversy.

Cops eventually got Hayes to the floor, but the struggle continued. An officer deployed his taser at least once. At one point during the arrest, Hayes said he couldn't breathe.

As a result, LAPD launched an investigation to determine if excessive force was used. That investigation is still ongoing.

As for the LAPPL, they weren't done ... they also went in on the NBA for failing to discipline Hayes, or condemn his actions.

"As for the NBA, their silence is deafening when it comes to one of their players assaulting an officer and thwarting a domestic violence investigation. Apparently, their policy on preventing domestic violence was created more for SportsCenter than it is to actually hold its players accountable. Real classy."

We reached out to the DA's office ... but they declined comment.

Canelo Alvarez and Caleb Plant couldn't wait 'til November to try to punch each other in the face ... 'cause the two just exchanged blows at a pre-fight event, with Alvarez making Plant bleed.

The boxers stared each other down before taking questions from media members in Los Angeles ... when suddenly, things got intense between the two.

Broadcast cameras showed Canelo shoved Plant ... and then repeatedly called him a "motherf***er."

That's when Plant came back and tried to land a huge haymaker ... which Canelo appeared to dodge.

Canelo then tagged Plant with a flurry of punches -- knocking off his sunglasses and causing the fighter to bleed from his right eye area.

Eventually, the two were separated ... but Plant needed a white cloth to get the cut to stop oozing blood.

The drama, though didn't stop there ... 'cause the guys got heated, yet again, later in the press conference, with Plant calling Canelo a "motherf***er" as well as "a bitch."

Fight night is officially set for Nov. 6 in Las Vegas ... but it's clear the two certainly wouldn't mind trying to beat the hell out of each other multiple times before then.

Devin Clark sustained one of the most gruesome injuries you'll ever see in a combat sports event ... and now the UFC fighter is answering the question -- how much it did hurt?!?

"It was probably a 7 or 8 after the fight. You fight the fight. He got his hand raised. Then that adrenaline starts coming, and it comes down quick. And, by the time I'm leaving the cage, I'm like, 'Okay, that hurts,'" Clark tells TMZ Sports.

If you didn't see the injury (lucky you) ... it was incredibly gross. Devin was fighting fellow light heavyweight fighter Ion Cutelaba at UFC Fight Night Saturday afternoon.

31-year-old Clark ate a heavy knee in the 2nd round ... a shot so hard it literally displaced Clark's teeth.

It was bothering him so much during the fight, he went back to his corner before the 3rd round, and told his team something was wrong with his teeth.

The ringside doctor even examined Clark at one point ... but somehow let him continue.

And, continue he did, despite the pain.

After the fight, Clark went to the hospital and they patched him up. On Tuesday, he plans to see his dentist ... and the road to recovery won't be easy or quick.

Aaron Rodgers is letting his trolls HAVE IT today after he returned to MVP form against the Lions ... slamming his critics and calling their vitriol last week "absolute horses***."

"It's chicken s***," the Packers star said on "The Pat McAfee Show" on Tuesday afternoon. "It's so ridiculous that people get a platform to do this and it's the same type of people."

Rodgers was lambasted by media members and even one of his former teammates, Jermichael Finley, after he was awful in Green Bay's opening game against the Saints.

Finley said Rodgers looked like he had lost his "hunger" to play ... and added to TMZ Sports that he believed the Packers should seriously consider benching the guy for backup Jordan Love.

While Rodgers didn't mention Jermichael by name in his rant Tuesday ... he made it clear after balling out on "Monday Night Football" that he heard ALL of the negative rhetoric thrown his way after the Week 1 loss -- and he didn't like it one bit.

"I was just surprised after Week 1 that there was such a story out there," Rodgers said. "What's crazy to me is to let one storyline, by a person who has no contact with me, who I have zero relationship, to that become some sort of narrative that's out there that now I somehow don't care about ball because of my Zen attitude in the offseason, that's the bulls*** I was talking about last night."

Rodgers did say he anticipates more ups and downs throughout the season ... but he's clearly hopeful the criticism is kept to a minimum as Green Bay goes through it all.

The Superdome caught on fire Tuesday morning ... with thick smoke and flames billowing out of the famed New Orleans arena's roof.

It's unclear what caused the issues at the Saints' stadium ... authorities so far have only told us "the fire is not burning anymore."

We're working to get further details.

As we previously reported, the Saints have relocated out of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Ida -- moving their Week 1 game against the Packers from the Superdome to Jacksonville.

The team -- which beat Green Bay in the opener but lost to the Panthers in Carolina on Sunday -- is not currently scheduled to play in the N.O. stadium until Oct. 3 against the New York Giants.

No decision yet has been made regarding the location of that game.

Jake Paul says Tommy Fury has been ducking him left and right ... claiming he's offered the boxer the biggest payday of his life, but TNT won't sign on the dotted line.

"Tommy 'Fury' has denied 2 abundant offers from my team," Jake tweeted on Tuesday.

Jake is now taking negotiations public ... saying this is his last chance to take on the biggest fight of his career.

"Timmy 'Fury' ... this is your last offer ... $1 million, 8 rounds. 4x more than you have ever made," he added.

"Either step up and fight OR accept that you and your Dad don't believe in you @tommytntfury."

The Problem Child has been going IN on Fury recently ... even mocking his recent shirtless club appearance.

As for Tommy, he previously told us he'd make quick work of Jake ... saying he'd knock out the YouTuber-turned-boxer in 3 minutes.

Tommy said Tuesday he was hoping to get back in the ring "ASAP" ... and Jake replied by saying he's down to fight in December.

32 years after their controversial rematch -- a blockbuster fight billed "The War" -- Sugar Ray Leonard is admitting judges got it wrong ... and Tommy Hearns should've been declared winner of the super fight.

"1989, you should've won. You should've got the decision," Robinson told Hearns, as the boxing greats stood face-to-face on an L.A. sidewalk Monday, talking to TMZ Sports.

We talked to 65-year-old Leonard and 62-year-old Hearns as they were leaving Doug Ellin and Kevin Dillon's "Victory The Podcast" ... where they commemorated the 40th anniversary of their first fight in 1981 (Ray won by 14th round TKO ... handing The Hitman his first L).

But, it wasn't the 1st fight we were discussing ... it was the highly disputed rematch that followed 8 years later in 1989.

The fight was very close ... and the scorecards proved as much. One judge scored the fight 113-112, Robinson. Another scored it 113-112, Hearns. Meanwhile, a third judge had it all knotted up at 112-112 ... meaning the fight was declared a draw.

No official winner ... despite the fact man fans and the television announcers believed Hearns won fair and square.

And, now, decades later, Sugar Ray himself is admitting he lost the rematch.

We asked Tommy if it was the first time Ray admitted he should've won ... and sure enough, Hearns said it was.

"Yes, the first time. It's not gonna be the last time," The Hitman laughed.

Bottom line ... these Hall of Famers are two of the greatest fighters who have ever lived, and it's awesome to see they're buddies all these years later!

Ben Simmons' time in Philadelphia appears to be all but over -- the NBA star will reportedly bail on Sixers training camp next week ... and has given the team the cold shoulder for more than a month.

The 25-year-old has been rumored to want out of the City of Brotherly Love this offseason ... and according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Simmons appears to be standing his ground.

Woj also says Simmons is fully prepared to be fined or suspended until he is shipped off to a new team.

If it is, in fact, the last time the guard plays for Philly, his last appearance will leave a bad taste in fans' mouths -- he averaged 9.9 points a game in the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Atlanta Hawks this past postseason.

Despite the offensive struggles, NBA/BIG 3 star Joe Johnson told us last week BS' jump shot is NOT broken ... and said it's a confidence issue more than anything.