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Jake Paul's fight against Nate Diaz was on the same level as one of the most popular fights in combat sports history -- so says former boxing champ Shawn Porter, who tells TMZ Sports Saturday's event felt "just as big as" Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor!

Porter -- who was on the mic in Dallas for the big matchup -- said the vibes were off the charts throughout the Jake vs. Nate fight ... calling the experience Super Bowl-esque.

"This was just as big as Mayweather and McGregor," Porter emphatically told us on Monday.

FYI -- Floyd vs. Conor is widely reported as the second-highest-selling fight in Pay-Per-View history (behind Floyd vs. Manny Pacquiao) ... so to compare the energy at Jake vs. Nate to that is quite a compliment.

Of course, "Showtime" is no stranger to the biggest events in the sport -- whether he competed in or attended them, he's witnessed some electric crowds over the years.

But Porter said the spectator support of Diaz was second to none ... adding, "I've never heard anything like that before."

"MMA fans, man. They show up, they show out, they have a lot of fun and they are extremely loud. I was loving it."

As for the fight, Shawn gave Jake a C grade on the night, despite getting the victory ... explaining the Problem Child still has to work on finishing off his opponents after landing big punches.

American actor and comedian Daniel Curtis Lee was just 12 years old when he was first cast as Simon Nelson-Cook  ... aka "Cookie" -- the techie middle schooler and Ned's best friend on Nickelodeon's comedy series "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide" -- back in 2004.

Daniel shared the spotlight with Devon Werkheiser as the smart kid who gets into some mischief with his friends, Ned, and Lindsey Shaw as Ned and Cookie's level-headed friend who excels in sports.

Actor Austin Butler was also part of the cast, playing the background role of Zippy for two seasons.

Megan Thee Stallion is still reeling from the Tory Lanez shooting incident ... she says she can't bring herself to be in the same room as him and hasn't found peace.

The "Savage" rapper was NOT in court Monday for Tory's sentencing, despite prosecutors hinting otherwise, but she did provide a statement that was read in court ... and it was emotional.

Meg says she struggled with showing up to court because she couldn't bring herself to be anywhere near Tory, who is awaiting sentencing after being convicted of shooting her.

What's more, Megan says she hasn't had a moment of peace since the July 2020 shooting ... and she ripped Tory, accusing him of making a mockery of her emotional trauma, treating it like a joke and refusing to take accountability.

Megan says Tory's blaming everyone but himself ... she says he first tried to blame the system but is now blaming his childhood trauma ... and she says if he had ever shown contrition she may have been able to heal her emotional wounds sooner.

Tory was expected to be sentenced Monday, but the hearing ran over time and will pick back up Tuesday.

Prosecutors want a judge to sentence Tory to at least 13 years behind bars, though he's seeking a shorter sentence.

The "Barbie" movie is getting mad props from an animal rights organization for dressing Ryan Gosling's Ken doll in a faux fur coat instead of the real thing.

Remember, Ryan's got a few scenes where his character is wearing a white fur coat -- which would normally get a huge thumbs down from PETA -- but now it's PETA-approved because as it turns out, the wardrobe piece is faux mink.

PETA Senior Vice President Lisa Lange tells TMZ … "From his fabulous faux mink coat to his rad vegan leather boots, Ken serves looks that mirror actor Ryan Gosling's own kindness to animals and refusal to wear fur."

Ken's coat is already being sold online as a Halloween costume, and Lisa tells us ... "PETA encourages everyone to be Kenough this Halloween by following in Gosling's footsteps and keeping animals' skins out of the mojo dojo casa house."

The U.S. Women's National Team is at a fork in the road after their incredibly disappointing World Cup, according to former soccer star-turned-analyst Taylor Twellman, who tells TMZ Sports the team has to make changes, or they'll be passed up by the world.

The ex-USMNT forward -- who played professionally from 2000 to 2010 -- didn't pull his punches when analyzing the USWNT's shocking loss to Sweden in Melbourne, Australia ... and their overall performance in the world's biggest soccer tournament.

"In this World Cup, technical, tactical -- they were completely outdone!" the 43-year-old said. "It was obvious."

Twellman continued, not mincing his words ... "They didn't score a goal in 238 minutes. You are the number one nation in the world, that's inexplicable. So now this is a watershed moment."

Of course, the team, tourney-betting favorites, were looking to make history by becoming the first country to win 3 World Cups in a row. Unfortunately for American fans, that didn't happen.

After beating Vietnam 3-0 (they were around 7 goal faves), the U.S. tied both Portugal and the Netherlands, barely squeaking into the knockout round of 16, before losing to Sweden on penalty kicks. The loss dashed any hopes of a third straight W.C. ... and sent the women on a flight headed back home.

Now, for how to fix things ... Twellman has an idea of what needs to be done.

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. I think top to bottom, the United States Federation on the women's side has to look at development, they have to look at the collegiate part of it, they have to look at the development within the professional leagues," Taylor said, continuing, "Are the professional leagues developing the players the right way? Is technique a huge part of it, or is it just about being bigger, faster, and stronger than the other countries? It's not gonna work anymore."

Twellman added ... "This women's World Cup has exposed the failure of the United States women to develop, and this generation I think did not carry on the mentality that winning comes first, everything else is secondary, and I think some of that criticism has been correct on that."

Of course, the mentality is precisely what U.S. soccer legend Carli Lloyd pointed out last week when she called out her former team for celebrating in the wake of another subpar performance.

"I really think it's telling that she brought it up because what we saw during the World Cup kind of backs Carli Lloyd's opinion," Twellman said.

We also talked to Taylor, who is Apple's top soccer analyst, about Lionel Messi's amazing start with Inter Miami ... and just how far the team can go with the soccer immortal playing at this level.

"I get it, Lionel Messi and [Sergio] Busquets just showed up but this is the worst team in Major League Soccer regular season," Twellman said.

Kanye West just officially made his return to the stage, all thanks to Travis Scott, who like Ye, is very familiar with the masses turning against him.

Travis is currently performing a massive show in Rome -- on the heels of the release of his "Utopia" album -- and surprised the crowd by bringing out Kanye. Before Kanye appeared, Travis told fans there's, "Only one human being on this mother f****** planet that has ever walked side by side with me through anything and every mother f****** thing."

The crowd erupted as Ye got on stage, performing "Praise God" -- a song featuring Travis from his "Donda" album. Clearly a bit rusty, Ye missed most of his lyrics but was saved by the backing track. He also went on to perform crowd favorite "Can't Tell Me Nothing."

Kanye's appearance marks his first big performance since he made antisemitic remarks, more than doubled down on said remarks, was dropped by Adidas, and lost billions. Remember, he told Alex Jones he loved Hitler -- among other things.

Many in music and entertainment have distanced themselves from or totally cut Kanye out, but Travis still clearly has an allegiance to his friend.

Sandra Bullock's boyfriend, Bryan Randall, has died, after a private battle with ALS ... TMZ has confirmed.

Bryan's family tells us, "It is with great sadness that we share that on August 5th Bryan Randall passed away peacefully after a 3 year battle with ALS."

They say Bryan decided to keep his struggle with ALS a private matter, adding, "Those of us who cared for him did our best to honor his request."

They add, "We are immensely grateful to the tireless doctors who navigated the landscape of this illness with us and to the astounding nurses who became our roommates, often sacrificing their own families to be with ours."

People was first to report the news.

Sandra and Bryan first met back in 2015 when he photographed a birthday party for her son, Louis -- they went public later that year. Despite keeping things between them mostly under wraps, she called him the "love of my life" in 2021 during her time on "Red Table Talk."

She even said at the time that they shared her 2 kids together -- 13-year-old Louis and 10-year-old Laila, both of whom she adopted.

There were reports that the couple was on the rocks and were allegedly living separately last year ... although his battle with ALS could've contributed to living apart.

Bryan was 57.

Kanye West just can't seem to get enough of Bianca Censori's backside ... grabbing a handful of booty while out in Rome for Travis Scott's concert.

Ye packed on the PDA with his wife Monday in the Italian capital, hugging and touching each other's butts. Apparently, it's not always poison.

Kanye seemingly kept an eye, and a hand, on Bianca at all times ... admiring her figure as she showed off her curves in a skin-tight outfit.

It wasn't just lust though ... Kanye and Bianca shared some sweet moments too, lovingly holding hands on the street.

On this occasion, Kanye was barefoot while Bianca was wearing heels, which is kind of her thing ... and Yeezy was rocking all black while his wife dressed in all white.

As we've reported ... Kanye's shown a huge affinity for Bianca's booty this year, be it in Santa Monica or in Japan, and it's more of the same over in Italy.

One of the white men involved in the viral riverboat brawl in Alabama is feelin' the heat online by way of his small business ... which has been getting nothing but 1-star reviews since going viral.

Chase Shipman shared his involvement in the Montgomery, AL fight on the Facebook page of his shop, "Vasser's Mini Mart" ... about 50 miles away in Selma.

He claimed he was one of the first to try and get away from the situation, but when folks connected the dots and saw him right in the middle of the melee, they flocked to the store's Yelp page and let him have it.

Since Saturday's brawl, Vasser's has gotten over 300 1-star reviews -- and virtually all of them seem to be in the days following the viral attack ... with many calling the owner "racist," "liar," and "gross."

One even wrote, "DO NOT SUPPORT THESE MONSTERS!!!"

As we reported, the wild fight went down after a riverboat was trying to pull into the dock, but was being blocked by some people in a pontoon boat. The security guard tried telling them to move, which is when all hell broke loose.

While folks online have been coming after Chase and his friends for the attack, they're also praising the other Black individuals who hauled it down to the ruckus to help defend the guard.

William Friedkin, the famed filmmaker who directed "The Exorcist," has died.

The news was confirmed Monday by his wife, Sherry Lansing, who says he passed in L.A. -- but the exact details of his death have yet to be revealed. It's a big hit to the film community -- as Friedkin was an influential force behind some of the 20th century's most iconic movies.

While he might best be remembered for his work on the 1973 horror flick -- which, by all accounts, changed the genre forever -- WF had several other notable credits to his name ... including the Oscar-winning "French Connection," which he also directed.

Other films he helmed included ... "The Brink's Job," "Sorcerer," "Cruising," "To Live and Die in L.A.," "Rampage," "Deal of the Century," "The Guardian," "Blue Chips," "12 Angry Men," "Rules of Engagement," "The Hunted," "Killer Joe" and lots of others.

He also directed a handful of episodes for memorable TV shows ... like "Tales from the Crypt," "The Twilight Zone," "Rebel Highway," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "CSI" and more.

Friedkin was a diverse director ... dabbling in all types of flicks, from horror to drama, and even comedy. While some of his work is more well-known than others, he was respected in all regards -- and certainly carved out his own corner in pop culture.

The last time we saw him, he was out here in L.A. signing autographs and talking "Get Out."

Friedkin was 87.

RIP

Aqib Talib's brother, Yaqub Talib, has been sentenced to 37 years behind bars for his role in the shooting of a youth football coach last summer.

Yaqub learned his fate inside a Dallas County courtroom on Monday morning. Aqib was in attendance for the proceedings. The older Talib was remanded into custody immediately following the sentencing.

Neither brother spoke to reporters as they made their way inside of the courthouse ... and prosecutors say Yaqub did not speak during the sentencing hearing either.

Yaqub was accused of shooting Michael Hickmon during a heated dispute at an Aug. 13, 2022 youth football game involving a team that the Talib brothers were helping coach.

According to a lawsuit against the Talibs filed by Hickmon's family, the Talib brothers were upset with Hickmon -- who was helping coach the opposing team -- over a call on the field ... and confronted him over it after abruptly ending the game.

During the altercation, Hickmon's family claimed Yaqub pulled out a handgun and fired five shots at Hickmon, striking him multiple times ... leading to his death.

40-year-old Yaqub was charged with murder shortly after the incident ... and he eventually pleaded guilty last month.

Aqib's attorney said in a statement at the time of Hickmon's death that the ex-NFL star was "very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life" ... though the former Super Bowl champion has not spoken out over it all since.

Chrisean Rock spent a good chunk of her Sunday pouring her heart out to thousands of her IG followers, vowing she and Blueface will never be together again in any capacity ... despite their forthcoming baby together.

The pregnant reality star accused Blueface of physical and emotional abuse but ultimately blamed herself for her own issues.

According to Chrisean, she turned a blind eye to Blueface's bad behavior, drank too much alcohol and neglected her mental health -- but she's optimistic motherhood will keep her on the right path.

She also claimed her new quasi-skinhead hairstyle was due to Blueface allegedly ripping her braids out during a brawl, and not a rebellious fashion statement.

But, the "Moonwalking in Calabasas" rapper says those are all lies and he's not letting them go unchecked!!!

Blueface and his girlfriend/child's mother Jaidyn Alexis reacted to Chrisean's IG explosion with their noses turned up ... claiming it's Chrisean who starts the physical confrontations and then hides behind her pregnancy.

He also tells fans don't believe any of her crocodile tears ... and posted alleged DMs of Chrisean attempting to cuddle with him right after her final bow.

Nelly and Ashanti are displaying the kind of PDA you'd expect from a pair of platinum-selling artists ... through a loving karaoke session, of course.

On Monday, the "Country Grammar" rapper shared a vid of him and Ashanti posted up in a restaurant booth while singing their hearts out to Usher's "Nice & Slow" ... which could also be a metaphor for their relationship's pace!!!

It's a pretty adorable moment; Nelly and Ashanti keep their heads locked together as they belt at the top of their lungs and Ashanti even provides the adlibs.

Nelly and Ashanti publicly rekindled their romance earlier this year but have been mum on labels or intentional plans. They're just going with the flow and the tides have been turning in their favor.

Beyoncé's fans had to wait out a storm in D.C. just to see her perform live, and she returned the favor by shelling out a lot of dough to make sure they could get home afterward.

The singer's show Sunday was hit with really bad weather just before the concert was set to begin at FedEx Field in neighboring Maryland -- with lightning storms and a downpour of rain coming down in the area ... and forcing everyone to shelter in place for a hot minute.

There's tons of video showing the D.C. Beyhive huddling up by the thousands in and around the stadium as they waited for the green light ... reports say they were waiting about 2 hours.

Eventually, the elements subsided enough so that the show could start -- but even as Bey did her thing on the big stage, it was still pretty freaking wet out there, as you see.

More importantly, because things were running late from the jump ... the local Metro's train service hours had to be extended, something that doesn't come cheap -- and an expensive tab that somebody had to cover.

In the end ... Bey's 'Renaissance' tour company footed the bill, coming out to $100,000, all told. This allowed the trains at the surrounding 98 stations to run for an extra 60 minutes, and it sounds like that might've bled into the wee hours of Monday morning.

Donald Trump is dancing on the U.S. Women's National Team's grave after its early exit from the World Cup ... mocking Megan Rapinoe and dogging the squad for being too woke.

#45 went to Truth Social to sound off on Team USA after their disappointing loss to Sweden over the weekend ... and he pointed the finger at their political beliefs for getting in the way.

"The 'shocking and totally unexpected' loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden," Trump said.

"Many of our players were openly hostile to America -- No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close. WOKE EQUALS FAILURE."

Trump -- who has famously beefed with Rapinoe after she said she wasn't going to visit the "f***ing White House" to celebrate USA's 2019 World Cup win -- also singled her out for airmailing her penalty kick attempt that could have helped the Red, White and Blue advance to the next round.

"Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!!! MAGA."

Of course, Rapinoe has always been outspoken in support of equal pay, LGBTQ+ rights and social justice ... even kneeling for the national anthem in recent years, something that left Trump pissed.

"Barbie"s worldwide box office domination has expecting parents thinkin' plastic when it comes to baby names ... because folks are interested in naming their kids after the popular dolls.

BabyNames.com tells TMZ ... their site has seen a 300% uptick in searches for "Barbie" in the month of July. "Ken" has also blown up, with searches increasing by 200% in the same month.

Not as much as Barbie, but that holds up -- he's just Ken.

We're told a handful of users are also adding the titular names to their favorites list. According to the website, Barbie means "stranger," while Ken means "handsome." Barbie peaked in popularity in 1964, while Ken peaked in 1963.

As we reported, the Greta Gerwig flick has been crushing it in theaters -- it pulled over $162 mil in the U.S. alone in weekend one ... and it's already passed $1B worldwide.

The fan-favorite character, Allan -- played by Michael Cera -- has had a positive outcome on the Mattel reseller game ... because eBay listings for the rare doll have skyrocketed after the movie's release.

Sadly, we're told there's been no search increase for the name "Allan" when it comes to baby names. Sorry, dude.