Fights & Feuds

Justin Gaethje loves how the tables have turned with Conor McGregor ... telling TMZ Sports it's the Irishman's turn to wait in line for a fight.

"I get to pick between Conor and [Khabib Nurmagomedov] right now," Gaethje says.

"I can pick whichever one I want. That’s a spot every single person in the sport, I don’t care what weight class you’re in, would love to be in the spot that I am in right now."

"Timing is everything. To have Conor on his knees begging for a fight, it’s a testament for the hard work and believing in my ability to show up and perform."

As we previously reported, Gaethje had been calling for a fight with Conor for YEARS -- but the guy wouldn't sign a contract.

Now, it's McGregor who's been trying to bait Justin ... and JG loves it.

Justin says right now he's laser-focused on fighting Khabib to "prove that I'm the best"... but he isn't ruling out a brawl with Conor after that.

"I could fight those two fights and retire", Gaethje says. "Monetarily, that's huge for me."

"So, yeah, it's a great spot to be in."

As for Khabib, Justin shares a manager with the Dagestani superstar -- and they're all very cordial.

Still, Gaethje has a message for Khabib -- "When we fight, it's going to be huge."

"It’s going to be the two best in the world figuring out who's the best on that night for 25 minutes.”

As for where the fight could take place, Justin says he's down to have the scrap anywhere on the planet ... "Sh*t, I'll fight him somewhere in the heart of Dagestan or Russia."

This video is NUTS!!!

UFC fighter Marvin Vettori tried to fight his scheduled opponent Karl Roberson in a hotel lobby ... hours after Roberson pulled out of their scheduled bout due to weight cut issues.

AND MAN, VETTORI IS FUMING!!

Vettori vs. Roberson was supposed to be on the main card for the "UFC on ESPN+ 29" event Wednesday night in Jacksonville.

But, according to the UFC, Roberson experienced "medical issues unrelated to COVID-19 after his weight cut" and was subsequently pulled from the fight.

Well, Vettori wasn't happy -- he's been training for months -- and when he saw Roberson in the hotel where the fighters are staying, he exploded.

"Let's f*cking fight," Vettori screamed across the lobby ... "If you're a fighter then f*cking fight!"

Vettori's crew grabbed him and escorted him away from Roberson.

Now, Vettori is hoping to find another opponent ASAP -- as the UFC is hosting ANOTHER event in Jacksonville on Saturday.

Bad news for Conor McGregor ... Justin Gaethje will NOT agree to fight the Irishman before he gets his title shot with Khabib Nurmagomedov, this according to Justin's manager.

Conor has been trying to bait Gaethje into a big-time showdown on Fight Island in July -- calling out Justin on social media and threatening to kill him.

But, we spoke with Gaethje's rep, Ali Abdelaziz, who tells us the trash talk strategy just won't work -- Justin's already focusing on fighting Khabib next ... and there's absolutely NO SHOT at changing his mind.

"Khabib will never -- NEVER -- pass Justin Gaethje for Conor. Even if he made more money," Ali says.

"Justin Gaethje has so much integrity, he will never tell the UFC, 'Oh, I'm gonna fight Conor, forget about Khabib.' [Justin] wants to be a champion."

What's interesting ... Ali also represents Khabib -- so it's an easy fight for everyone (including the UFC) to make once the contracts are drawn up.

Plus, with UFC president Dana White recently saying he'd like to see Justin take on Khabib on Fight Island in June, it all but sinks Conor's plans.

Ali also tells TMZ Sports ... Khabib also has ZERO interest in fighting Conor because he feels McGregor has not earned the opportunity for a rematch.

"If [Conor] thinks he's gonna sit out and fight the winner [of Gaethje vs. Khabib] ... NO."

"Especially, if Khabib wins. Khabib said no. [Conor] needs more wins."

Ali added, "The UFC is not boxing. The best will fight the best and at this point [Justin and Khabib are] the two best guys."

That doesn't mean Justin isn't down to fight Conor down the road ... but for right now, he's got his eyes on the prize.

There's more ... we also asked Ali about Tony Ferguson -- who's beefed with "El Cucuy" over the years -- and Gaethje's manager says it's time for Ferguson to stop fighting.

"I believe, no disrespect to nobody, when you take this ass whooping that Tony Ferguson took, he's never gonna be the same."

Abdelaziz says Tony has a wife and kids ... and needs to stay healthy for them.

"This guy has a family. I don't want to see him drinking soup from a straw."

"If he was my guy, I'd be like, 'Yo, you gotta retire.'"

Boxing superstar Ryan Garcia tells TMZ Sports he's gunning for a 2-fight deal with Henry Cejudo -- one boxing, one MMA -- and he's ready to scrap on the 4th of July.

Garcia and Cejudo have been talking A LOT of trash to each other ever since the UFC superstar's surprise retirement after his victory over Dominick Cruz on Saturday night.

Cejudo called the undefeated 21-year-old boxer an "Oscar De La Hoya wannabe" ... and threatened, "I’d make you bend the knee in your own sport."

When we spoke with Garcia, King Ryan told us he's sick of talking -- he wants to fight already.

"Chicken Little, he got very disrespectful in my honest opinion," Garcia said.

"I came at him in a respectful way but he came at me in a disrespectful way so, in that regards, that needs to be handled."

"I haven't found an opponent for July 4th but I feel like we can make that happen if he really wants that work."

And, get this, Garcia says he has a secret weapon to help him lock up a deal with Cejudo -- TOM BRADY!!

"I'll hit up Tom," Ryan says ... "Me and him are cool. He's a partial owner of the UFC. I feel like he's a fan of both sports and I think he's a fan of both of us. I know he follows me and I know that that's gonna cause interest in him so I feel like I can hit him up and be like 'Lets make this happens' so I might do that today."

As for how the 2-fight deal would work, Ryan explained it to us this way ...

"First, we gotta have it in the boxing ring cause he called me out ... Once I knock him out, as a man I'll respect him enough and be like 'Aight, I'll hop into your thing now.'"

"There's no way he'll KO me in the Octagon. The only thing he'll ever do to me is submit me ... and I'm cool with that."

'Tiger King' star Joe Exotic allegedly managed to have a helicopter fly over his old zoo and freak out all the animals -- at least that's what Joe's ex-business partner and owner of the zoo, Jeff Lowe, thinks ... but Joe's team is calling BS.

According to the FAA ... it received an official complaint about a chopper illegally flying over Lowe's Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma. We're told an investigation is underway.

Sources close to Jeff tell TMZ ... the helicopter violated restricted air space and at one point was hovering right over the zoo's gift shop. We're told this caused the animals to go nuts and stressed out the endangered ones, which violates the Endangered Species Act.

As for the connection to Exotic ... our sources say Lowe's people got the chopper's tail number as it buzzed nearby, and discovered it matches with the one featured in a video produced by Joe's legal team.

We broke the story ... the legal team made the video to ask President Trump to free Joe, claiming he was framed for putting a hit out on his foe, Carole Baskin.

We're told Jeff's wife, Lauren, called and reported the incident Monday to the FAA.

Joe's rep, Eric Love, tells us ... Team Tiger has no knowledge of the incident. Love says no one on the team was involved, and says the helicopter used for the video was one they chartered ... it's not theirs.

Of course, the whole thing raises eyebrows. As you may recall from 'Tiger King' ... Joe once flew a helicopter over Baskin's Big Cat Rescue park in Florida to check it out, which she also claimed caused the animals distress.

Tom Brady just SNAPPED over a report he had beef with Josh McDaniels in New England ... calling the whole thing "nonsense" and pleading with journalists to "be more responsible."

Brady is alleged to have left New England for Tampa, in part, because of a "deteriorating relationship" with McDaniels, this according to longtime NFL reporter Gary Myers.

Myers claimed per an "excellent source" that TB12 was "worn out" from playing under Josh the past decade-plus ... and wanted a change of scenery.

But, Brady went scorched earth on that notion Monday ... writing on social media, "Please stop this nonsense!"

"Please be more responsible with reporting," the QB added. "19 years together and brothers for life."

McDaniels has held some sort of role on the Patriots staff for all but 3 years since 2001 ... and has been Brady's offensive coordinator for most of those seasons.

And, Tom's sure making it known he didn't hate the guy when he finally broke away from the Pats in March.

"I am going to f**king butcher you"

That's a fired-up Conor McGregor making some serious threats to Justin Gaethje -- telling the UFC's interim lightweight champ that he's coming for Gaethje's head.

"Your teeth. I’m going to put them on a f**king necklace," Conor said to Justin.

In an angry Twitter rant Monday, McGregor says he wants to fight Justin next -- and it seems the hostility comes from a 2019 tweet Justin sent criticizing Conor as a "sh*t human, father and husband."

Conor remembered the tweet and responded ...

"Speak on my skills as a father? You are f**king dead."

McGregor added, "Don’t ever say you represent the great nation of the United States of America ever again."

For his part, Justin has been calling for a fight with Conor for a while -- telling TMZ Sports back in 2019 he actively tried to get Conor to sign a contract but the Irishman wouldn't do it.

"I wrote him a message like f**king 7 months ago just trying to be his friend. I’ve tried every route," Justin said.

"I’m trying reverse psychology. I’m trying to be his friend. I’m trying every f**king route that there is to draw this man out. And I can't draw him out. And he’s calling out Frankie Edgar. So, it’s a slap in the face to me, to all the lightweights, and to really the standard that we f**king do here."

Of course, Justin beat the hell out of Tony Ferguson at UFC 249 on Saturday ... and says he now wants to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for the real lightweight title.

But, a Conor fight could be a bigger payday for Justin ... so it seems like he's got some decisions to make.

MORE MIKE TYSON TRAINING VIDEO -- AND GOOD LORD, HE'S GONNA MURDER SOMEBODY!!

The 53-year-old legend just dropped some brand new training footage after that 5-second teaser last week ... and it's scary good.

After throwing multiple ferocious combos -- and putting his trainer through hell -- Iron Mike looks at the camera and declares, "I'm back."

It's the same two words Evander Holyfield says in his comeback video, which he just dropped last week.

As we previously reported, both Mike and Holyfield are interested in getting back in the ring to raise money for charities through exhibition fights.

We spoke with Holyfield about a possible 3rd clash with Tyson -- the man who bit off his ear in 1997 -- and he told us he's down.

Now, the question is ... when can we get this 3rd fight going -- and how much money his at stake?!

We know Tyson has been getting multimillion-dollar offers from multiple organizations and promoters ... but ya gotta think the biggest payday could come by way of a Tyson vs. Holyfield III.

For the record, Holyfield won BOTH of their previous fights -- but the way Tyson looks now ... yeesh!!!

Michael Jordan says he socked Steve Kerr in the face during a fight at Bulls practice back in 1995 ... and said he felt so badly about it afterward, he had to call the guy to apologize.

"I'm in the shower and I'm saying, 'I just beat up the littlest guy on the f*cking court,'" Jordan said. "And, I felt about this small."

Jordan admitted to all of it in the eighth episode of "The Last Dance" docuseries Sunday ... explaining how Phil Jackson calling "ticky-tack" fouls in a training camp workout led to MJ roughing up the future head coach of the Golden State Warriors.

Jordan says in the preseason after his return to the NBA from a failed baseball career ... he was trying to get his new teammates like Kerr to understand what it would take for Chicago to win another championship.

Yet MJ claims Jackson attempted to "tone me down" in one particularly aggressive practice ... and that pissed off the NBA legend to the point where he intentionally fouled Kerr.

That's when Steve says he punched MJ in the chest ... and Jordan responded with this -- "I just haul off and hit him right in the f*cking eye."

Jordan says he knew he was wrong almost immediately ... and called Kerr shortly after to say he was sorry.

"I feel bad," Jordan says he told Kerr.

But, the good news? Kerr says standing up to Jordan was "the best thing that I ever did" ... and says their relationship "dramatically improved" afterward.

Of course, later that season the Bulls won 72 regular-season games and took home the NBA championship ... prompting Steve to say, "that season has to be the best team I've ever been a part of."

Nikki Bella says she was PISSED WWE decided to introduce Ronda Rousey on the night of a historic all-women's event ... calling the move "a bit of a slap in the face" to the female wrestlers that came before her.

Of course, WWE hosted it's inaugural ladies-only Royal Rumble in Jan. 2018 ... with 30 wrestlers (including Nikki) duking it out for an hour straight. After the Rumble, "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey came out of the tunnel for the first time ever and pointed to a Wrestlemania sign hanging in the rafters.

The moment was supposed to tease Ronda's wrestling debut -- which went down at Mania in April '18 -- but Nikki felt the move essentially stole the thunder from the history-making Rumble.

While Bella says she has no beef with Ronda, she explains her frustrations in the Bella Twins' new book, "Incomparable," which came out this week.

"It was nothing against Ronda -- it is thrilling that she is at WWE -- but it was a bit of a slap in the face to all the historic women wrestlers who had come out for the match, the main event, only to have the moment upstaged by the Ronda announcement."

Nikki says she had planned to retire after the historic event due to a neck injury ... and it sucked to have her grand finale overshadowed by the UFC superstar.

"It just didn't need to happen like that," Nikki says in her book (by way of E!).

Nikki canned her plans and took a match after the Rumble -- and ultimately went on to retire later that year after losing to Rousey in a championship match for the Raw Women's belt at Evolution.

6'9", 450 lb. Hafthor Bjornsson and 6'3", 375-ish lb. Eddie Hall -- arguably the 2 STRONGEST MEN EVER -- have beef ... strongman beef.

Let's explain.

Thor aka "The Mountain" from 'GoT' deadlifted 1,104 lbs. on Saturday ... breaking Hall's previous world record of 1,102 lbs.

Hall -- the 2017 World's Strongest Man winner -- was the first human being to break the 1,100-pound barrier in 2016 ... a lift many thought was impossible.

So, what's the issue??

Well, Eddie set his record at Giants Live World Deadlift Championships -- an official meet -- complete with other competitors and a packed room of rowdy fans.

Thor's record -- 'cause of the global coronavirus pandemic -- was done at his home gym ... which Eddie claims makes the lift and record, bogus.

We talked to Bjornsson ... and uhh, let's just say it's clap back szn.

"I honestly just think that [Eddie] is trying to protect the thing that he had. For him, that meant a lot to him to have [1,102 lbs.] world record," Thor tells us.

"He's just trying everything he can to make people believe that my record doesn't count. But, it does count. It is a world record and that's just how it is."

Contrary to Hall's claim, Bjornsson says the home gym conditions actually made the lift wayyy harder ... not easier.

"With my experience, and I've been in the sport more than a decade. When you can compete with the crowd, that gives you an adrenaline rush, and gives you the extra strength you need to perform better."

"Doing it with just a referee, camera crew," Thor says ... "It doesn't feel the same."

Any way you look at it, the lift was crazy impressive ... but Thor says he could've pulled significantly more if he wanted to truly push himself.

Just how much more?

"I can sit here and say that I could of pulled comfortably [1,124 pounds]. That's just me being completely honest. I do believe that I could have pulled possibly, with a grind, about [1,146 pounds]."

BTW, if you dig these 2 giants -- former-friends-turned-enemies -- going at it ... they're boxing in Vegas next year ... and The Mountain says he's ALREADY training to beat Eddie's ass.

Chris Cornell's former bandmates are digging in their heels in an escalating legal war against his widow -- and are now wondering where the money she raised from a charity concert really ended up.

Soundgarden is once again responding to Vicky Cornell's lawsuit, filed last year, in which she claims to be the rightful owner of 7 tracks she says she found on Chris' computer after his death.

The band is firing back now, claiming Vicky has been unwilling to provide sufficient information on the proceeds from a tribute concert after Cornell's death.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, the surviving band members say they performed for free based on her promise the proceeds would go to charity, but they claim Vicky never explained where all the money went. They say she's only mentioned $643K going to a medical research charity. The band wants a full accounting of where any other revenue was donated.

Vicky posted a statement, saying, "When you attack the foundation, you attack my husband's legacy. The foundation has nothing to do with who owns Chris' vocal recordings. Their knowingly false allegations are a deliberate attempt to harm not just my credibility, but the foundation my husband and I created and everything WE stand for."

Soundgarden wants damages and for the judge to declare once and for all that they are the rightful owners of the unreleased tracks.

Designer Michael Costello's not shedding any tears over this year's canceled Met Gala, because he believes the funds raised at the pricey benefit should be going to charities now.

The former "Project Runway" star tells us there's no love lost between the famous fashion gala and him -- he's never been invited -- and he doesn't understand where all the money from the event goes.

The annual New York City gala's been around since 1948, and since 2005 it's been held the first Monday in May. That would've been tonight, but the coronavirus had a different plan.

Michael says tickets to attend go for $30-50,000 a pop ... something he suggests is both ridiculous and suspect.

He tells us even though he looks forward to what celebs and designers bring to the table every year, he'd never dish out that kind of dough to go ... and believes it should go to helping people in need instead.

That's what Costello's been doing lately. As we told you, he's converted his factory into a mask-producing operation in L.A. to benefit frontline workers.

He says he's still focused on that, and won't even check in on the virtual Met Gala going down Monday night on YouTube.

Vogue's calling it "A Moment with the Met" -- but Michael won't even give it that much time.

Tory Lanez got into it an argument with a woman, and his formerly rumored girlfriend allegedly attacked her before they made a getaway ... according to a police report.

The alleged victim -- who TMZ's learned is model Celina Powell -- claims she was outside the rapper's Miami condo building Friday when he confronted her and tried to grab her phone.

She claims when she tried to walk away, she got blindsided by Kaylin Garcia. Kaylin's been previously linked to Tory ... she's also a supporting cast member on 'Love & Hip Hop' who used to date Joe Budden.

According to the report ... Garcia approached Powell from behind, wrapped an arm around her shoulder and neck, and yanked her to the ground. Powell told cops Garcia tried to kick her too ... but she was able to roll over and get up.

At that point, Garcia allegedly hopped in Lanez' white Bentley and they took off together ... along with the rapper's bodyguard. According to the report, there's surveillance footage of Lanez getting into his ride, but not the altercation.

Powell tells TMZ ... she lives in the same building as Tory but never met him face to face until Friday. She claims he was upset over her contacting him on Instagram and making fun of him about his hairline ... and the 2 have had online beef before, as well.

Powell tells us she blacked out during the assault and when she awoke, she was badly bruised with back and neck pain. She refused medical care at the scene, according to the report, but she claims she was treated at the hospital later for her injuries.

So far, no arrests have been made, and to be clear ... Garcia is the suspect in the incident, not Lanez.

Heather Locklear's ready to make nice. And, the feeling's mutual with cops 2 years after she went on the attack against them.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Heather's recently been working to repair her relationship with law enforcement, starting with simple acts like stopping Sheriff's deputies around town and saying hello. She's also bought a few cops coffee and chatted.

Then there's this ... in recent months we're told the "Spin City" star attended a Ventura County Sheriff's "Tip-A-Cop" event -- where cops serve as waiters at a local restaurant -- for lunch and returned for dinner.

As for the tip ... we're told she left a super impressive $1,500, which went to a Special Olympics charity. That Heather's taken the steps to bridge the gap with law enforcement has not gone unnoticed with cops. It's a stark contrast to what went down beginning in March 2018.

TMZ broke the story ... police hit up her Thousand Oaks home armed with a search warrant to go look for a gun, this after she told cops "If you ever come back to my house I will shoot you" following her felony domestic violence arrest.

But, things really turned for the worse 3 months later. As we first reported ... Heather was busted after allegedly punching a deputy and kicking an EMT. Heather ultimately pled no contest to 8 misdemeanors and was ordered to 30 days in a residential mental health facility.

Just when it seemed Heather was putting the whole episode behind her ... the EMT -- a single mother of 3 -- wound up suing Heather in November 2018 claiming Heather wished death by AIDS on her children. The suit was ultimately dismissed.

We saw Heather out a month after the EMT filed the lawsuit and she couldn't look any better. She was smiling, being chatty with our photog and enjoying time with her family. She looked just as happy out celebrating her daughter Ava's 22nd birthday.

Heather's incredible turnaround, we're told, has cops beaming. Sources tell us they never took her actions personally and understood she needed help. Now that she's gotten it, we're told cops are ecstatic to see her overcome life obstacles ... especially because they know sobriety is no small feat.

UFC star Tyron Woodley says he's sick of talking -- if Israel Adesanya wants the smoke, "stop being a bitch" and let's scrap.

Tyron and Israel have been going back and forth on social media lately -- but Woodley wants to set the record straight ... he's down to fight, period.

It's actually more respectful than it sounds ... Woodley thinks Israel -- the reigning middleweight champ -- is a dope fighter. He's said so multiple times.

But, Tyron recently said he wants to jump up a weight class from welterweight to middleweight ... which could set up a showdown with Izzy.

Tyron thinks Adesanya took his comments as a threat -- which escalated the trash talk.

Now, Woodley says he senses "a little bitch in the blood" and is basically calling out Izzy.

"If you ever wanna do it, get in touch with me. I'm not hard to find."

There's more ... Tyron also tells us about his immediate fight plans and why he's itching to get back in the Octagon as soon as possible.

Plus, hear why he's saluting Halle Berry!