Fights & Feuds

John Boyega is leaving 2019 in a blaze of glory ... defending himself to the death after he was accused of being sexist over a joke he cracked about his female costar, Daisy Ridley.

The 'Star Wars' actor responded to a ton of mega fans Tuesday after a screenshot of a comment he recently left on someone's Instagram post went viral -- which shows him saying, "it's not about who she kisses but who eventually lays the pipe. You are a genius."

His comment was in response to some rando who made light of the fact John's character, Finn, doesn't get the girl at the end of 'Rise of Skywalker.' If you haven't seen it, this is a spoiler ... Rey kisses/falls for Kylo Ren and Finn's apparent love for her goes unrequited.

After his pipe joke, JB got blown up (metaphorically speaking) on Twitter, with people calling him misogynistic, sexist and bitter over Finn's fate and the end of the franchise. He's been hitting back, though, making fun of everyone who's taking it so damn seriously.

He even put up a meme mocking Rey and Kylo Ren's "romance," which mostly shows them fighting and Rey in complete distress. It appears to be in good fun, but folks are still coming for him over what many perceive to be a remark made in bad taste and harmful.

Still, he kinda doubled down on his pipe line, but later suggested he was just talking about the characters in a joking manner, and didn't mean for it to translate to real life. In response to one user, he wrote ... "i was talking about Rey from Star Wars. When did I speak about women in general? Where did I even mention holes? ... Bye now."

People have noted John doesn't have any more 'Star Wars' obligations, and that might be why he's speaking so freely. Either way ... the guy obviously doesn't care about Reylo shippers, or those easily offended as the decade comes to an end.

"Look at Urban Meyer. He was going to spend time with his family, went to this game instead."

That's a comment an ESPN anchor made on-air during a highlight package of Ohio State's game against Clemson on Saturday ... and it had Urban Meyer's wife FURIOUS!!!

Of course, Meyer said he was stepping down from OSU's head coaching role last season to spend more time with his fam after health issues ... but when he was spotted on the Buckeyes' sideline during their huge Fiesta Bowl game over the weekend, it raised some eyebrows.

So much so, "SportsCenter" host John Anderson made a flippant joke about it all ... and Meyer's family quickly rushed to blast the network for the remark.

"I am DEEPLY offended by this off-hand rude/ignorant comment by someone who knows NOTHING about our family," Urban's wife, Shelley, said.

"We were ALL together this bowl trip-urbans job was limited to a couple hours the 26th/27th and more on the 28th (not that it’s anyone’s biz)-still WAY less than coaching."

Meyer's oldest daughter, Nicki -- whose husband is an assistant on OSU's staff -- also blasted Anderson and ESPN ... saying Urban's trip to the Fiesta Bowl WAS a family function

"How is this type of commentary even acceptable? The entire family including grandkids went to support my husband and the buckeyes. We had the best week in AZ," Nicki said.

"@ESPN have some class. This is bad. I’d @ this guy but don’t know who it is. Pass it along friends."

The beef between Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster is BACK ON ... AB just went after the Steelers star once again, calling him "boo boo" and a "bum."

Unclear why Brown decided to reignite his war with his former teammate ... but he went after the receiver HARD Monday, writing on Twitter, "Boo Boo Shoester was ready under 500 U Bum learn some Respect"

Of course, AB and JuJu really got into it earlier this year after Brown was traded from Pittsburgh to Oakland ... with Brown shading JuJu for his 2018 fumble issues.

JuJu fired back on social media by writing, "Crazy how big that ego got to be to take shots at people who show you love! Smh"

But, it seemed JuJu was ready to bury the hatchet on it all ... 'cause Smith-Schuster told us back in April that Brown is "my guy."

Yet, clearly, the beef still remains ... 'cause AB only needed about 24 hours after the Steelers' season ended to take a shot at JuJu's down stat line this year (just 552 receiving yards in 12 games).

There's more ... AB also appeared to take a shot at his former quarterback in Oakland on Monday, getting in a dig at the possibility Jon Gruden might cut bait with Derek Carr in 2020.

"Tell Derek Carr I’ll buy his house in Vegas," Brown wrote.

SAVAGE!!!

Donald Trump and former President Barack Obama are equally admired in the eyes of the world ... according to a recent poll that has a lot of people upset for different reasons.

2019 marks Obama's 12th time in the top spot of Gallup's annual men's poll, and he's got some company this year ... Donald Trump is making his first appearance. Michelle Obama is the most admired woman for the second year in a row.

No surprise ... the results are divided sharply along party lines ... 41% of Democrats name Obama and 45% of Republicans name Trump. According to Gallup, 12% of Independents chose Obama and 10% picked Trump.

As for the rest of the list ... no other man was mentioned by more than 2% of respondents. Rounding out the rest of the top 10 ... President Jimmy Carter, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, Pope Francis, Bernie Sanders, Adam Schiff, the Dalai Lama and Warren Buffett.

“Why don’t you come down here and tell me that to my face?!?”

Baker Mayfield clapped back at hecklers HARD Sunday ... challenging guys who were talking smack to straight-up come down to him and meet him face to face!!!

The Cleveland Browns superstar was warming up in the team tunnel to play the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium ... when fans decided to throw some shade his way.

Unclear exactly what the guys were verbally hurling toward the QB (there appeared to be some barbs about losing to a 1-14 team) ... but Baker snapped.

He challenged the guys to come down to him ... but they playfully responded, "We’re not allowed to, you know that!"

Unfortunately for Baker, the trash talk toward him didn't end there ... 'cause hours after the Browns ultimately fell to the Bengals and fired head coach Freddie Kitchens, Dez Bryant hopped on social media to trash the QB.

"Had a stud cast around him under performed and got out performed by somebody he talked down on Danny dimes..." the ex-Dallas Cowboys superstar said.

"Big mouth and being a one read QB not going to cut it.. kitchens put the game in his players hands."

To his credit, Baker at least had one supporter in his corner after a rough weekend ... his wife, Emily Mayfield, wrote on her Instagram page, "Disappointing season… but still couldn’t be more proud of this guy, and the class he has shown through it all."

Evander Holyfield ain't giving up on Andy Ruiz -- telling TMZ Sports he strongly believes the former champ can win his belts back ... if he busts his ass!

Remember, Holyfield and Ruiz go WAYYYY back -- they famously sparred back in the day when Evander was training for his comeback in 2011.

Ruiz was a nobody way back then ... but Evander has said he could tell Andy had killer potential and wasn't shocked when he beat Anthony Joshua back in June.

Of course, Ruiz lost the Dec. 7 rematch -- and blamed himself for eating and partying way too much -- but Holyfield says if Ruiz can get focused again, he's a legitimate contender.

"Joshua became champion again, right? He made an adjustment," Holyfield tells TMZ Sports.

"People who make adjustments, their chances is still good. He made some bad choices. When you make bad choices, you gotta be accountable. If you're accountable, you can make adjustments."

Holyfield -- who knows all about coming back after losing a belt -- also had some advice for Ruiz.

"Go back to the work plan. Do whatcha daddy tell you to do. All these years, he's been right, what makes you think he's goin' be wrong?"

There's more ... boxing superstar Terence Crawford also believes in Andy ... telling TMZ Sports he understands why Ruiz lost his focus but strongly believes he can bounce back.

In fact, Crawford says he's good friends with Ruiz and knows what he's capable of doing in the ring when he's not raging outside of it.

What would you do if someone handed you a check for $1 MILLION!?!?!? New Ferrari? Big ass mansion? Pet tiger?

MMA fighter Jordan Johnson has MUCH different plans if he wins the big PFL $1 million prize fight on New Year's Eve ... dude says he wants a Kia!

The 31-year-old light heavyweight fought his way into the championship match against Emiliano Sordi -- where the winner takes home that 7-figure payday. Not bad.

Johnson says he ain't trying to count his chickens before they hatch ... but he'd be lying if he said he hadn't given some thought about how to spend the money.

"Ya know, I'm not gonna make any crazy purchases, but maybe a new car is something we've kinda been talking about."

And the dream ride?!

"I love Kias. We've been talking about the Telluride. But, I just saw the Stinger for the first time the other day. Most people laugh about this, 'You have a million dollar payday and you want to go buy a Kia?'"

Don't laugh ... the 2020 Telluride MSRP's for about $32k, and was named SUV of the Year by Motor Trend.

Sure, it doesn't go 200 MPH ... but do $300k sports cars hold 8 passengers and have an ungodly amount of cupholders? Nope.

Eastern Michigan University quarterback Mike Glass III accidentally socked a referee -- sending him crashing to the floor -- before being thrown out of the football game.

EMU and Univ. of Pittsburgh were playing in the Quick Lane Bowl Thursday night in Detroit when a scuffle broke out late in the 4th quarter. Glass smacked Pitt LB Cam Bright in the face mask … before unloading a strike intended for another Pitt player that hit a ref in the face.

The referee immediately went down … while the other officials attempted to restore order.

Glass -- who was 28-50 for 311 yards and 2 TDs and an interception -- was hit with 2 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and ejected from the game.

Glass' Michigan squad lost the game to Pittsburgh, 34-30 … ending their season.

After the game, EMU head coach Chris Creighton told reporters Glass was "in tears in the locker room" ... devastated by what unfolded on the field.

"I love him 100 percent. And thank God he is highly competitive, but absolutely zero excuse for what happened, and [Mike] knows it," the coach said.

Glass, EMU's senior captain, took to Twitter to apologize for his actions … saying, “I let God and my family down!”

As for the official -- who appears to be okay -- the incident sparked a heated internet discussion … did the ref flop or was he KO'd??

It's the season of giving ... which means boxing superstar Errol Spence got himself an AMAZING Cartier watch for the holidays ... and it's got a $100k price tag!!

TMZ Sports has learned, the champ wanted to treat himself at the end of the year ... so he hit up his go-to guy, Iceman Nick, to make him a one-of-a-kind diamond Cartier watch!!

We're told it's a one-of-one 2-tone Santos de Cartier Skeleton watch ... which is decked out with 30 carats of VVS diamonds, 18k rose gold screws and bezel, 7-sided crown set with a faceted sapphire, blue-steel sword-shaped hands and a sapphire crystal case back.

Yeah, fancy stuff.

And, after surviving a near-fatal Ferrari crash in October -- we totally get why the boxer would want to spend a little money on himself!

Of course, Iceman Nick is also the guy behind Errol's sick, $400k "Man Down" chain ... so you know the dude loves what he sees.

Tyron Woodley says he was "disgusted'" with the Kamaru Usman vs. Colby Covington fight ... admitting, "I wanted to throw up [over] the fact I lost to Usman."

"F**k both of them."

The former UFC welterweight champ spells it all out on this week's 'Hollywood Beatdown' -- saying both guys looked weak during their UFC 245 title fight ... and neither man fought smart.

"As far as IQ, moving your fucking head maybe!? ... I didn't see a lot of that."

Woodley also says when it comes to power -- neither guy showed anything special, despite the fact Kamaru broke Colby's jaw in the 2nd round.

"If I would have punched Colby, he may be on life support right now."

Of course, Usman is the guy who beat Tyron to take his welterweight belt back in March. Tyron hasn't been back in the Octagon since ... but says he's looking for a big-money fight, even if it's in the boxing ring.

Woodley says he's getting his boxing license in California and Nevada and is seriously hoping to land a fight with Canelo Alvarez.

There's a lot more in this episode ... from Tyron's thoughts on Conor McGregor vs. Cowboy Cerrone to his upcoming plans with the FaZe Clan and why he's got a ton of respect for Jorge Masvidal.

Robert De Niro has a very interesting item at the top of his holiday wish list -- he'd very much like a bag of poo to hit President Trump right in his face.

He doesn't say what kind, though.

"The Irishman" star revealed his desire on Michael Moore's podcast Friday, telling the documentary filmmaker ... "I'd like to see a bag of s**t right in his face. Hit him right in the face like that and let the picture go all over the world."

De Niro added ... "And, that would be the most humiliating thing because he needs to be humiliated."

The famous actor's overall point, after sifting through all the s**t talk, is he believes whichever Dem ends up taking on the Prez in 2020 needs to stand up to him ... and embarrass him as much as possible.

De Niro says this person has to "confront him and put him in his place, because the people have to see that, to see him be humiliated."

This isn't the first time Robert's gone after Donald in an audacious way ... you'll recall he dropped a "F**k Trump" at the 2018 Tony Awards, ripped him during an American Icon Awards Speech, called him crazy on CNN and has mocked him multiple times on 'SNL.'

Nick Cannon's feud with Eminem just got intensely racial -- he's dropped a new diss track in which he calls Em the "KKK of his generation!!!"

Nick's latest dig is dubbed "Canceled: Invitation" ... and Nick pulls old lyrics he claims are from an unreleased Em track from before he made it big. If it's really Eminem ... they're pretty indefensible -- he rapped, "Black girls are bitches, black girls are dumb."

Nick loops that line in his diss track.

Legendary swing coach Hank Haney says a past beef with Tiger Woods is why he was fired from his popular radio show ... claiming the PGA Tour got him canned to settle the score -- and now, he's suing.

Haney got axed as host of "Hank Haney Golf Radio" on Sirius XM just a few months ago ... and the reason appeared to be for comments he made about the LPGA.

Remember, the 64-year-old made flippant remarks about female Korean golfers on-air ... and he was ripped for them, with Michelle Wie calling them "racist and sexist."

But, in a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports, Haney claims his firing had NOTHING to do with his comments ... saying the PGA Tour used the backlash over them as an opportunity to get back at him for his past criticism of Tiger.

Haney -- who famously coached Woods from 2004 to 2010 -- has blasted the golf legend over the years ... and he says the PGA Tour has harbored a "vendetta" against him because of it.

Haney says Sirius XM officials did NOT levy punishment for his comments until the PGA Tour got involved, saying the org "instructed" and pressured Sirius XM officials to can him.

Haney adds the firing caused him to lose important business with Callaway, saying if he had been able to keep his radio gig, the famous golf company would have continued working with him.

As a result, Haney says the PGA Tour cost him "millions."

Haney says this isn't the first time the league has tried to "disrupt and interfere" with his business ... claiming it tried to block his "The Big Miss" book sales back in 2012.

Haney also accuses the PGA Tour of playing a huge role in the cancellation of his popular 'Haney Project' show on the Golf Channel.

Seems Anthony Joshua is already regretting his public offer to spar Tyson Fury -- admitting, "When I look back at some of the s**t I say, I think, 'Why did I say that?'"

Joshua had appeared on Sky Sports and said he'd be down to help Fury prepare for his upcoming rematch with Deontay Wilder ... even offering to be his sparring partner in camp.

So, why?

AJ says he thinks if Fury wins the rematch, "He'd be more inclined to fight me next and quicker" than Wilder.

The funny thing ... Fury actually ACCEPTED Joshua's offer and wants to train with the guy.

When Joshua was asked about the awkward situation (sparring his next likely opponent), the heavyweight champ says he WILL follow through on his offer.

"Sparring Fury is only going to do me good, in my opinion. So, I'm never too big for my boots where I can't learn anymore," Joshua said to iFL TV.

"Fury is a world-class fighter and I'm a world-class fighter that is still trying to improve so I can become like an elite-level fighter when I'm fighting."

"So, that opportunity, for me to spar Fury, is for my own benefit as well."

Here's UFC star Mackenzie Dern showing her holiday spirit ... rocking a tiny bikini in Brazil, where it's 80 degrees and sunny in the middle of December!

The 26-year-old jiu-jitsu champion is coming off an impressive fight against Amanda Ribas -- who she fought in October, just 4 months after Dern gave birth to her daughter, Moa.

Dern lost the scrap, but the fact she was able to get back into fighting shape in just 124 days -- and fought Ribas all the way to a decision after three 5-minute rounds is pretty damn amazing!

Now, Dern is back home in Brazil where she's getting in some quality beach time with her family -- including longtime boyfriend Wesley Santos, a pro surfer.

No word on when Dern will return to the Octagon and fight again -- but she's been back in the gym and we're told she's planning on taking a fight in early 2020.

Floyd Mayweather is mocking Manny Pacquiao -- and he wants the world to see it -- more proof he's trying to bait the fighter into a rematch in 2020.

The undefeated 42-year-old was signing autographs at the Art of Music shop inside the MGM Grand in Vegas over the weekend ... when a fan asked Floyd to sign a ticket from the 2015 Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight.

Get this ... fans were NOT allowed to carry cell phones while interacting with Floyd, but when Mayweather saw the item, he told the fan to go out and grab his phone so he could record "something special."

When the guy returned, Floyd put on a show -- saying, "So, what I'm about to do right now is sign 'Victim 48,'" Floyd said ... a reference to Manny being the 48th fighter Floyd defeated.

"So, what I'm gonna go for you ... I gotta cross him out!"

That's when Floyd grabbed a pen and scratched a big ol' "X" over Manny's face!

As we previously reported, Floyd is dead serious about a boxing comeback in 2020 -- he wants two more fights -- and one of his main targets is Manny.

Floyd is a master of promotion and knows better than anyone how to drum up interest in a major pop culture event ... just ask Conor McGregor!

Of course, Floyd handily defeated Pacquiao when they first clashed back in 2015 -- but Manny was nursing an injured shoulder at the time.

Since then, Manny's been VERY impressive in the ring ... defeating top fighters like Adrien Broner and Keith Thurman.

Floyd knows a rematch with Pacquiao could generate another 9-figure paycheck ... and this seems like a very calculated first step to get the ball rolling.

BTW, the fan with the 1-of-a-kind signed ticket is trying to cash in ... 'cause he's put it up for auction with eBay.

Stay tuned ...