Celebrity Feuds

Derrick Lewis says he's in the best shape of his life -- he's been training 3 hours a day to go the distance with Daniel Cormier ... and predicts a KO in the last few seconds of the 5th round!

Of course, Lewis famously said his cardio was terrible after his last second victory over Alexander Volkov earlier this month (he also complained his balls were hot) ... but he's been kicking his own ass in the gym and looks super leaned out.

"I'm training 3 hours a day instead of 30 minutes," Lewis tells TMZ Sports ... "I'm prepared to go 5 rounds."

Lewis and Cormier will square off for the UFC heavyweight title on Nov. 3 at UFC 230 -- and even thought Derrick's the heavy underdog, he's advising everyone to BET MONEY ON HIM!!

"I'm the underdog just about every fight," Lewis says ... "Whoever betting on me, I'm making you money!"

So, what's next for Derrick if he wins?

UFC badass Anthony Smith wants to fight Jon Jones ... and says he's 100% sure he can take out the all-time UFC great.

Smith -- who's DESTROYED his last two opponents, Shogun Rua and Rashad Evans -- fights Volkan Oezdemir Saturday on FS1, but tells us after that fight he's got his sights on a much, much bigger face off, and that's with Jones.

"Once I go through Volkan and do what I think I'm gonna do to him. I'm gonna stomp my foot in the ground and stake my claim."

His claim -- he feels -- is to be the #1 light heavyweight in the world ... and in order to do that he's gotta go through Jones, something he says only he can do.

"I'm not afraid of Jon Jones. And, there's probably not that many people in the division that can say that," Smith tells us ... "I'm 100% not afraid of Jon Jones. And, I really believe deep down in my soul that I can beat him."

Of course, Jones has some work to do first too ... he's got a fight against badass Alexander Gustafsson at UFC 232 in December -- his first fight since July 2017.

This could get awesome.

Ashanti is giving 50 Cent a taste of his own medicine after he dissed her hard on social media -- labeling him a social media bully while using one of his least favorite nicknames!

We got Ashanti Thursday at LAX, and asked her about Fiddy's latest attack over a concert she recently canceled due to low ticket sales. If ya missed it, he said ... "Do basement parties then it can still feel like it's lit." Trolling. It's definitely his thing.

Aside from saying he's 100 percent a bully, Ashanti put a nice twist on her rebuttal ... refusing to call him 50 Cent. Check out the vid -- she threw major shade with a title referencing an old rumor about the G-Unit boss being a snitch.

If you thought you knew everything about the Rajon Rondo vs. Chris Paul fight, boy were you wrong ... Donnell Rawlings has the only breakdown you need to hear, and he's telling it to TMZ Sports.

We got Rawlings out in L.A. and asked him about all things Lakers, and that's when the "Chappelle's Show" star gave us a blow-by-blow, and a spit-by-spit analysis of the brawl Saturday night.

Highlights include ...

- The exact type of spit that was used, and how it affected the melee.

- How race was a factor (we know what you're thinking, you just gotta listen).

- Why the type of punch that was used meant that CP3 never had a chance.

Tracy Chapman is going after Nicki Minaj, saying she straight-up stole her song, "Baby Can I Hold You," when she recorded "Sorry."

Chapman says in June 2018, Minaj and her reps made multiple requests to license "Baby Can I Hold You" and all requests were rejected.

So imagine Tracy's surprise when "Sorry" came out in August 2018 ... it was supposed to be featured on Nicki's album, "Queen." Tracy says her song comprises half of the lyrics and vocal melody of "Sorry."

According to the suit, Funkmaster Flex played "Sorry" on Hot 97 and lots of Internet users picked up the song and sent it around. It was also played on "The Breakfast Club" with Charlamagne Tha God.

The day the track was played, Nicki tweeted, "Sis said no," which, according to the lawsuit, refers to Chapman's denial to her request to use "Baby Can I Hold You." Nicki and crew pulled the song from "Queen" and tried to make it disappear, but Tracy says the damage was done.

It was fight night at the Staples Center when players from the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets got into an intense fist fight ... marring the hometown debut of LeBron James.

It all went down Saturday night late in the 4th quarter. Lakers forward, Brandon Ingram, shoved Rockets Guard, James Harden, for which Ingram received a technical foul. Moments later, Houston PG, Chris Paul and Lakers PG Rajon Rondo began trading punches.

It is unclear why Ingram shoved Harden in the first place ... he was visibly upset and took out his frustrations on the ref after being called for the shove. The shoving continued between Rondo and Paul before Rondo threw a punch, igniting the fight.

Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram are sure to be socked with suspensions.

LeBron says he tried his best to calm things down and he didn't speak to his team after the game.

Sorry, fight fans ... Floyd Mayweather's making it clear -- the Manny Pacquiao tilt is off.

"I don't give a f*** about what's going on with Pacquiao," Floyd tells TMZ Sports.

Remember ... Floyd was singing a little different tune just a few weeks ago -- when he said, "I'm coming back to fight Manny Pacquiao this year another 9 figure pay day on the way."

But, Floyd tells us that's now off, saying, "We not going to make that happen right now. Not right now. We must take that fight and let that fight build. And then, down the line, let that fight happen."

So, what happened??

Mayweather says it's kinda complicated ... but, basically, since Pacman's now signed with Floyd's manager, Al Haymon -- they wanna go a different route.

"I think the best fight for Pacquiao -- what I told Al Haymon -- was probably the Adrien Broner fight. And then we got Errol Spence and Terence Crawford."

In the meantime ... Floyd seems sure as hell set on getting in the ring with Khabib and/or Conor McGregor.

Anderson Silva has a message for Conor McGregor -- FORGET A REMATCH WITH KHABIB and fight ME instead!

Remember, before UFC 229 earlier this month ... Conor told reporters he'd be interested in a superfight with Silva after he got through Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Obviously, the loss put a wrench in Conor's plan -- but Silva says he's still down to scrap as soon as Conor is ready to get back in the Octagon.

"I just waiting," Silva told us outside his new Spider Kick MMA gym in West Hollywood ... "I accept the challenge for Conor."

Silva says it makes perfect sense for Dana White -- "Two big names. Two big legends. And, why not?"

"It's not about money, Conor. It's about martial arts challenge."

If that can't happen, Silva says he'd still love another crack at Nick Diaz -- since their first fight in 2015 was essentially scrapped from the books, because they both tested positive for banned substances.

As for Spider's new gym, Silva says he's created a new elite facility to pass along all of his fight knowledge -- and it looks AWESOME!!!

Oscar De La Hoya believes Floyd Mayweather is angling for a rematch with Canelo Alvarez -- claiming he's a broke-ass fraud who desperately needs a money fight to stay afloat.

The head of Golden Boy Promotions was celebrating the record-breaking $365-MILLION contract he made for Canelo Alvarez ... when we asked about his rekindled beef with Floyd.

As we previously reported, Floyd dug up an old photo of Oscar on Thursday and blasted him on social media saying some pretty offensive stuff.

But, Oscar didn't seem too bothered at the Intercontinental hotel in L.A. Thursday night -- saying Floyd is simply trying to ruin Canelo's moment because he's a jealous, bitter man.

"How fair is it that Canelo announces this big monumental deal and then here you have Floyd crawling out of his little rock, trying to sabotage or trying to steal the thunder."

"That's who he is," Oscar says ... "He's a lowlife."

Oscar tells TMZ Sports ... he honestly believes Floyd has blown through his fortune and needs money in a bad way -- and he's trying to pick a fight with Canelo to goose him into making a deal.

Oscar says he'll happily make the deal -- because Canelo wants it -- but believes Floyd's too chicken to make it happen.

"Floyd, stay under your rock dude."

J Prince has a warning for Pusha T -- move on from the beef with Drake, or prepare to have your career squashed like a bug!

The Rap-A-Lot Records CEO told us Pusha's nothing more than an ant, and he issued a warning for the rapper. Some might hear that warning as more of a threat, but he says Pusha's got nothing to worry about, but only because he's not on Drake's level.

Despite the fact both Drake and Pusha have been dredging up ... J Prince assured us it's over and done.

You'll recall, Drake dredged up the old feud recently by ripping into Kanye West for betraying his confidence to Push. Then Pusha went on Joe Budden's podcast, claiming Drake's producer was the one who went all Judas to reveal Drake's secret son.

Despite the renewed jawing on both sides ... J Prince assures us the feud is dead and buried.

The feud between Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather is getting extremely personal -- and nasty -- with Oscar now calling out Floyd's domestic violence conviction to humiliate him.

Floyd went after Oscar earlier Thursday -- posting an old photo of De La Hoya wearing fishnet stockings and heels -- and saying, "I fought her and her name is Oscar 'Golden Girl' Dela Hoya."

Floyd then implored his fans on social media to "leave the most disrespectful caption you can think of" about Oscar.

Now, Oscar is firing back ... saying, "Hey, [Canelo Alvarez] someone is salty about your record breaking contract with @dazn_usa. Good thing we will never resort to hitting women."

He added some hashtags -- "#DomesticAbuser #DomesticViolence #Salty #antidomesticviolence #FloydMayweather #SaltyFloyd #FloydSaltyMayweather #whyyoumad."

Of course, Floyd was convicted of domestic violence in 2011 stemming from an incident where he attacked the mother of his children. He cut a plea deal and served jail time.

Unclear what Floyd's endgame is in regards to the feud with Oscar and Canelo -- since it seems he's already 86'd the idea of a rematch with Canelo.

Maybe these guys just don't like each other.

So, this is how it's gonna be -- Kevin Cadogan is so done waiting for Third Eye Blind to cough up cash, the ex-lead guitarist is suing the band and its frontman, Stephan Jenkins.

In the suit, obtained by TMZ, Kevin says he's never been paid his cut from the band's re-released debut album -- and, as a founding member, he says he's owed at least 25 percent of the profits.

Kevin says he co-wrote and co-created the songs "Kiss Goodnight," "Scattered," "Heroin" and the band's "Semi-Charmed Life." All 4 are featured on the re-released debut, so he's expecting to get paid for them.

Further, Kev -- who left the band in 2000 -- says Stephan cut him off from royalties on a slew of the band's other hits.

He's suing for a court order establishing him as a copyright holder on all the disputed tracks ... as well as an accounting on how much money the songs have generated. His ultimate goal? Getting his fair share of the pie.

Cardi B is getting a ton of stuff off her chest ... railing on social media, baby pics and a TMZ post about her new music.

Cardi was hot as fish grease when she hopped on IG live -- taking issue with our story about whether she's going to diss Nicki Minaj on some new music she's recording.

She's also pissed about the photos of her and baby Kulture on a Miami hotel balcony. And, she's pissed because she claims that photogs were stalking her. For the record, we weren't involved in taking those pictures -- but they did come to us, and we did post them.

While unloading -- for nearly an hour from the backseat of her ride -- she said celebrities didn't sign up for this, but insisted she could handle it ... 'cause she's a "tough bitch."

She also ripped into fan blogs, some she's had to block, and compared the music industry to the strip club biz. She said stripping is exactly like being a rapper in many ways, but also made it clear ... "I don't want to go back to the strip club!"

And, then there was the sex talk ... LOTS and LOTS of sex talk. Cardi shared in graphic detail why she knows Offset's never leaving her. In a nutshell, "Cardi B got that fat bitch p***y." And, that's the tamest thing she said about her sexual skills.

Canelo Alvarez says he's sick of watching Floyd Mayweather try to make fights that hurt the sport of boxing -- like Conor and Khabib -- and says if he really wants a challenge, LET'S REMATCH!

"He wants to continue hurting boxing by making fights that don't make sense ... and not giving boxing the credibility it deserves," Canelo tells TMZ Sports.

"If he wants to return, I ask him to look my way to give a great fight to the fans."

"Let's do the second fight. It's very important. We have something pending there, so let's make the second fight."

Of course, Canelo and Floyd fought back in 2013 -- but Alvarez has improved A LOT since then, and clearly believes he would smash Floyd if they met again.

Canelo just signed a brand new $365 MILLION contract with the DAZN streaming video service to have 11 fights over the next 5 years ... and a Floyd rematch would be a dream for the company.

But, if it doesn't happen, Canelo tells us he's down for a 3rd fight with Gennady Golovkin -- and in the meantime, he's prepping for his Dec. 15 fight against Rocky Fielding at Madison Square Garden.

As far as his new contract is concerned -- the richest in the history of pro sports -- Canelo says he's not about to go on a spending spree because he's already rich and has everything he wants.

... especially when it comes to cars!

George Lopez attacked a man in a Hooters restaurant who simply wanted a pic of the comedian and only used a Trump reference to get George to smile ... so says the man.

We spoke with the guy who Lopez grabbed by the neck in a shocking video taken at the wing joint in New Mexico. Sources close to George initially told us Lopez went off after the man had allegedly followed and egged him on all night with Trump references.

The guy in the video tells a different story, saying he only approached George at his table once that day to ask for a pic. He says George grabbed his phone and started filming his own crotch ... but never hit record.

We're told George eventually gave the phone back and, wanting to make him smile and ease an awkward situation, the guy said, "On the count of 3 say Make America Great Again!" Lopez clearly didn't find the comment funny ... because he was on his way out of the restaurant when our video starts.

As for why he chose a Trump reference, the guy says he was aware of Lopez's disgust for 45 and just wanted to crack a joke. For what it's worth, the guy in the video tells us he's a Democrat on paper.

10:05 AM PT -- Delta says Tara's got it all wrong. A spokesperson tells TMZ ... first class seats do not allow bags at your feet -- and, as a result, a flight attendant DID suggest Tara put her dog's carrier in overhead ... NEVER the dog itself.

The rep says Tara was told plainly she could keep her dog in her lap or by her feet.

Additionally, Delta says she didn't go quietly and was "very unruly and disruptive" ... according to flight attendants and other passengers.

Tara Reid is drastically changing her story on why she was escorted off a Delta flight -- now saying she was told to stow her dog in an overhead bin, and simply refused.

The actress posted a statement Wednesday clarifying what she says went down Monday when she deplaned a Delta flight from LAX to NYC with her pup. She says the dog is an emotional support animal -- for which she has paperwork -- but Delta's staff still wouldn't let her dog ride on her lap ... only offering overhead or cargo hold storage options.

She says she had pre-arranged to bring the 3-month-old dog on board, but after flight attendants made it clear they were not on board with the plan ... she says she calmly boarded another flight.

You can see and clearly hear from the video ... Tara didn't have a choice -- she was escorted off the plane.

Tara now says we got our reporting wrong, but the fact is ... we spoke directly to her Monday and she told us she was upset about not getting a window seat and feeling cramped in her seat because the person in front of her reclined theirs.

We reached out to Delta to comment on Tara's latest version ... so far, no word back.