Fights & Feuds

Jon Jones is going nuclear on Dana White and the UFC -- claiming the company is lying about his contract demands to fight Francis Ngannou ... and now Jon is calling for his release.

Here's the backstory ... Jon and Francis have been trying to set up a super fight -- but Dana White said it wasn't going to happen because Jon was asking for too much money.

"He told my lawyer he wants what Deontay Wilder was paid [for the Tyson Fury fight],” White said Friday ... "I think it was $30 million, was what Deontay Wilder was paid."

Now, Jon is calling BS on social media -- and trashing the company in the process.

"Don’t be a f**king liar," Jones tweeted ... "My reputation has already taking enough hits. I don’t need this bulls**t Dana."

"I never asked for Diante Wilder‘s [sic] numbers. And how about since Diante is making 30 million, we settle for half of that. Since you said I’m the goat and everything."

Then, Jones called for action ...

"I don’t even make half of half of what Diante Wilder makes. If my reputation causes you to undervalue me this much. Just go ahead and release me from my UFC contract altogether. I’m sure some promoter somewhere will be more than happy to pick me up."

There's more ...

"And if I wanted to compare money to someone else, I would compare money to my brothers."

Both Chandler Jones and Arthur Jones are NFL players.

"I see firsthand the way the NFL treats their champion athletes, there’s a huge difference. I’ve kept my mouth shut my entire career."

"Do I make 5+ per fight yes. Should I stick to that number for my super fights? No. If you don’t agree with me you just don’t know business. I certainly didn’t ask for 30, never even threw out a number."

Tim Tebow's ex-teammate just went scorched earth on the Mets over the former QB's 2016 signing ... calling the move a "mockery" and saying it only happened to help the team sell tickets.

Andrew Church -- a 2nd-round pick by the Mets in 2013 -- just exploded on his former squad after they officially released him this week ... taking aim at Tebow's signing in the rant.

“The Mets made a mockery of our team by putting a celebrity on it to sell more tickets,’’ Church wrote. "I saw players lose their jobs because of it."

He added, "We weren’t playing to win, we were playing to make everyone else money. Not the players. We never saw a cut. Well, allegedly one player did."

25-year-old Church never directly named Tebow in the post ... but it's pretty clear he's talking about the former Heisman Trophy winner -- whom Church was minor league teammates with in 2017.

Of course, Tim officially signed a minor league deal with the Mets in '16 ... and at the time, NY general manager Sandy Alderson said the move was strictly made because of Tim's baseball potential.

But, Alderson reportedly later admitted he inked Tim to a deal "partly because of his celebrity, partly because this is an entertainment business."

32-year-old Tebow has shown some flashes of being a potential big leaguer in his minor-league career ... but it's largely been a disappointment for the ex-NFL player -- he's batted .231 or worse in all but one of his seasons.

Church, meanwhile, also ripped the Mets for an injury he suffered in his career ... claiming they forced him to pitch when his body wasn't ready.

Church says he decided to go forward with his rant Thursday because "now that it’s officially over with them I’d like to say some things."

"Entitled and spoiled? Mf watch yo mouth."

Damian Lillard just went OFF on ESPN's Dan Orlovsky over his criticism of the NBA star ... and the former Lions QB took the heat so hard, he issued an apology to Dame within minutes of the rant.

Here's the backstory ... Lillard said earlier this week he would sit out NBA games this summer if the league didn't provide his Trailblazers a "true opportunity" to make the playoffs.

Orlovsky took issue with those comments on Thursday's "Get Up!" ... and ripped the Portland superstar for coming off as "spoiled" and "entitled."

When Lillard got word of the name-calling ... he didn't hold back, taking aim at Orlovsky on social media, "Entitled and spoiled? Mf watch yo mouth. My background, family, and character couldn’t be further FROM entitled and spoiled. I said what I said!"

Lillard didn't stop there ... bashing Orlovsky for being a career backup in the NFL -- saying, "You sat out ya whole career basically."

To his credit, Dan was quick to backpedal off his comments ... writing back to Lillard, "No you’re right I was wrong to use that phrase at the end. That’s my bad."

"My comment started with saying I hope we all realize nothing is meaningless anymore. And if it’s about protecting loved ones-100%. I shouldn’t have said entitled or brat and that’s on me and my bad."

Doesn't seem Lillard cared much for the mea culpa ... 'cause he fired right back, "Go back on TV w @realskipbayless and tell all those viewers that."

"And tell skip I can answer his question as well 'what have I done' since y’all got so much to say. And I don’t know either one of y’all."

Apparently not -- Skip Bayless hosts 'Undisputed' on FS1 these days and hasn't been on ESPN in years!

Insane scene in the squared circle Wednesday ... Mike Tyson kicked off a benches-clearing brawl by shoving Chris Jericho -- and UFC star Henry Cejudo was in the middle of it all!!

The fracas all went down toward the end of AEW Dynamite in Jacksonville, Fla. ... when Jericho called out Iron Mike for betraying him during a WWE match back in 2010.

Chris demanded Tyson apologize ... but Mike -- whose in-ring entourage included Cejudo and other MMA stars Vitor Belfort and Rashad Evans -- was having none of it.

Tyson straight up mocked Jericho ... ripped off his shirt, and taunted the guy right to his face!!

Then, Mike shoved Chris ... Chris pushed back -- AND ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE!!!

We know ... it's scripted ... BUT IT'S AWESOME!!!

Check out the footage, the melee featured damn near every wrestler in the building -- with Cejudo, Evans and Belfort all mixing it up too!!

Eventually, Tyson and Jericho were restrained ... with the help of Cejudo and the other MMA stars -- but it all begs the question, is this the return to the ring Tyson's been teasing?!

As we previously reported, Mike's been training like a mad man and has said he wants to return to boxing for charity ... and is even open to a rematch with Evander Holyfield.

But, Iron Mike's now played a role in TWO AEW storylines the last few days -- remember, he got on the mat Saturday night for a Pay-per-view event -- so, could this be a legit future for the boxing legend as well???

As for Cejudo ... he retired from the UFC this month -- and a TON of MMA stars like Ronda Rousey and Ken Shamrock have made the leap to pro wrestling in their post-fight careers.

Justin Theroux's ongoing war with his neighbor is getting uglier ... because he claims the guy's been making threats of domestic abuse against his elderly wife.

The actor's filed legal docs -- obtained by TMZ -- seeking civil or criminal punishment for his NYC neighbor, Norman Resnicow, because he alleges Resnicow's rage-filled outbursts violate a restraining order put in place as part of their ongoing litigation.

Justin asserts Resnicow's prohibited from harassing or intimidating potential witnesses in the case, including other residents of the building ... which includes his 71-year-old wife.

Theroux claims he's heard Resnicow threatening her with violence multiple times since Governor Cuomo issued a stay-at-home order in March. He says 2 days after the order ... Resnicow locked his wife out of their home because he was mad she wasn't wearing a mask, and angrily screamed at her to leave.

Justin recorded the incident, as well as the second incident later that night, when he says he heard Resnicow "erupting in rage" at his wife back at their home. Resnicow's heard calling her a "stupid woman" and "f***ing moron" on the recordings ... and Justin says he feared for her safety and police were called.

About a month later on April 30, there was another alleged incident which prompted Theroux to call the cops ... but he says Resnicow pretended to not be home when they arrived.

Then, on the evening of May 3, Justin claims he heard a loud verbal attack by Resnicow on his wife and began recording. According to the audio, Resnicow's angry that his wife wants to go out, and says to her ... "No you don’t, because I’ll break your teeth. No, you sit down in your f***ing seat. Sit down in your fucking seat and watch the show."

Resnicow accuses her of "going out deaf" because she listens to podcasts, and adds ... "Sit down and shut up. You’re not going anywhere. You’re not going anywhere. You’re not—you’re gonna watch. Wanna get it? You want broken teeth? I’ll break your f***ing teeth."

Theroux says he called 911 again and police arrived, but he does not know the outcome of their encounter with the Resnicows.

Justin claims other residents in the building have filed affidavits saying these incidents can be traumatic, and Justin says the outbursts caused him "anxiety that continues long after the incidents themselves have ended."

He's asking the court to hold Resnicow in contempt and potentially impose a fine or imprisonment on him. As we've reported ... the nasty fight between the 2 neighbors has gone on for 3 years -- but this is another level.

Hundreds of protesters gathered at the intersection where George Floyd was killed after a forceful encounter with police ... and things got pretty tense.

The protest began Tuesday night in Minneapolis, with people lining the streets carrying banners reading "KKKops" "Again?" "Black Lives Matter" and "Justice for George."

Similar chants of "I can't breathe" and "No Justice, No Peace" broke out among the demonstrators, who eventually marched more than 2 miles to a city police precinct ... with some causing damage along the way.

Things escalated to a point where protesters were met by cops in riot gear, who fired tear gas canisters and projectiles into the crowd. Some kicked the canisters back toward police, and made a makeshift barricade of shopping carts at a Target across the street from the station.

Though steady rain lessened the crowd, skirmishes lasted late into the night.

As we reported ... Floyd died shortly after officers arrested him for an alleged forgery in progress. Footage of the incident shows one cop pressing his knee down on George's neck for several minutes -- ignoring his pleas that he couldn't breathe -- while witnesses shouted that he was being killed.

Floyd's family lawyer, Ben Crump, told us the violent incident -- along with other similar stories recently -- has black people believing it's "open season" on them in America right now.

Clearly, the protesters in Minneapolis want to put a stop to it.

Michael Jordan is contradicting Michael Jordan ... and it's all on tape.

Remember when MJ said on "The Last Dance" that he didn't have any specific involvement in blocking Isiah Thomas from being on the legendary dream team?

Yeah, well ... now audio has surfaced from an old interview in which MJ says straight-up he told 1992 Olympics selection committee member Rod Thorn he's OUT if Thomas makes the team.

It's all on Jack McCallum's 'The Dream Team Tapes' iHeartRadio podcast -- here's the transcription.

"Rod Thorn called me. I said, ‘Rod, I won’t play if Isiah Thomas is on the team.' He assured me. He said, 'You know what? Chuck [Chuck Daly] doesn’t want Isiah. So, Isiah is not going to be part of the team.'"

So, which Michael Jordan do you believe?!

Of course, there was SERIOUS bad blood between MJ and Thomas after the Pistons walked off the floor without shaking hands with the Chicago Bulls in the '91 NBA Playoffs.

For his part, Thomas admits he's still "personally hurt" he was not asked to be a part of that legendary '92 dream team -- and back in April, he said it's all because he didn't shake Michael Jordan's hand.

The snitch is back!!! That's probably how the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast will react after learning Yovanna Momplaisir's returning next season as an official cast member, so get ready for more of her drama involving NeNe Leakes.

Sources close to the production tell TMZ ... producers invited Yovanna to sign on for season 13 as an official cast member. We're told the contracts went out to all the ladies after they filmed the reunion. More on that later.

As for Yovanna's role next season ... our sources say her main storyline for the upcoming season will piggyback off the scandal that erupted during season 12. As diehard 'RHOA' fans know ... the so-called SnakeGate drama roped in the entire cast after the ladies found out Yovanna came on the show as a friend/spy for NeNe, who wanted Yovanna to gather intel to see which of the ladies were trash-talking NeNe behind her back.

The ladies ultimately were led to believe NeNe asked Yovanna to record the conversations. During a trip to Canada, they peppered Yovanna with questions, but she danced around everything. As it turns out, Yovanna never recorded anything and admits NeNe asked her to record the conversations. The cast's reaction ... "so you're a snitch?" Ouch.

UFC star Edson Barboza says he deserved the W in that controversial loss to Dan Ige ... and now he's gonna get another shot to prove it -- 'cause Ige tells TMZ Sports he's down to run it back!!!

Of course, Ige (14-2) and Barboza (20-9) had an epic featherweight bout at Fight Night 176 last weekend ... with Fifty K coming away with the decision after 3 rounds.

Barboza has been adamant he believes he won the fight -- and claims Dana White even admitted his hand shoulda been raised.

We spoke with Ige -- who took the fight on short notice -- about Barboza's comments ... and he says Junior needs to check his facts and watch the fight again ... 'cause there's NO WAY he won.

"I just feel kinda bad for him," Ige says. "The guy's a legend, the guy's been around. He's been in the top 10, top 5 of the world for the past 10 years."

Ige says despite all Edson's talk, he still hasn't called for a rematch ... but tells us he'll grant Barboza one if he wants.

"I understand how bad he wants to win, but you know what ... the guy, for how much he's saying he won the fight, not one person from his team has asked for a rematch."

"I'll give him a rematch. I beat him on 2 weeks notice, give me 8 weeks and see what I can do to him."

Well this is not going to paint a pretty picture of Florida ... nevertheless, just enjoy.

For some strange reason, at least 4 men at a Tampa Home Depot got heated in the loading zone right outside the store Wednesday and began brawling ... using paint cans as weapons.

At one point, one of the tools picks up a shovel or large garden tool and swings it at another ... but the majority of the action is between a hefty paint-covered man and a smaller guy.

The beefy boy charges at the little dude while slapping at him, but the smaller man holds his own and eventually chucks a can full of white paint at him ... forcing a retreat.

The big fella's not done, though -- he attacks another guy with some violent swings before things finally cool down ... leaving several men, the parking lot and a pickup truck sloppily covered in paint.

What's wilder ... the men reportedly all know each other and work together, and declined to press charges. It's unclear what led to the messy mayhem or if Home Depot will take any action against the crew.

A Domino's Pizza delivery guy let frustration get the best of him over a zero-tip order ... with video showing him going off on a couple of teenagers, but their dad tells us it was all just a huge misunderstanding.

The father of the 2 teenagers tells TMZ ... he was recently out of town when his 13-year-old daughter back home in Albuquerque called him, asking if she could place a sandwich order with Domino's.

The dad said sure, and he gave her his credit card info over the phone. He says she placed the order, but when the delivery arrived, the teen signed the receipt and left the tip amount blank ... thinking the delivery charge was the driver's tip.

That's where the video starts. The dad said it was his daughter's first time signing for a credit card and clearly she was just confused. He says she handed the receipt to his older teenage son, who then handed the receipt to the delivery man wearing a protective mask ... 'cause, y'know, the pandemic and all.

You can see the delivery guy -- unclear if he's a teenager himself or an adult -- sarcastically tell the teenage son, "Thanks for the tip." The teenage boy shrugs him off, but this appears to set off the delivery guy who calls the teenage son a "douchebag" and tells him, "f*** you, bro."

The teenage son laughs but reiterates he didn't place the order and appears to shift the blame to his sister. The delivery guy claps back, "Well, tell her. I don't make f***ing money if I don't get tipped ... I just brought you your [order] with my gas."

The kids continue laughing, but the dad makes it clear -- especially in these times it's important to tip service workers. The dad said, "On top of all this, the order was wrong. She ordered a sandwich but received cheese bread. Go figure."

You be the judge.

We all thought it ... but now some confirmation -- Dennis Rodman intentionally went after Karl Malone during the 1998 NBA Playoffs to help push a pro wrestling storyline involving both NBA stars.

... this according to former WCW president Eric Bischoff.

Remember, Rodman famously slapped Malone on the ass during Game 6 of the NBA Finals, Bulls vs. Jazz.

Of course, both NBA stars would clash at the WCW pay-per-view event, "Bash at the Beach," just a short time later ... begging the question, was the in-game altercation scripted beforehand?

The answer ... sort of.

Bischoff admits he encouraged Rodman to mix it up with Malone -- but not in any way that would affect the outcome of the game.

"Now, what I said to Dennis, not to Karl was, 'Hey Dennis, if anything were to happen off court while there's a timeout, while there's no gameplay ... so that the feud between Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman is real, on a kind of a 360-degree basis, not just what happens on our TV show,' that wouldn't piss me off at all."

In other words, Bischoff says he didn't give a direct order -- but didn't talk Dennis out of it either.

Bischoff also tells TMZ Sports he made sure both his boss at Turner Sports and the NBA knew that the Rodman vs. Malone story "didn't interrupt the gameplay."

Bischoff says he LOVED how it all played out during the game -- "I chuckled like a little kid because it accomplished so much."

"As a wrestling producer, to be able to create a moment ... that played out on a platform so huge as the NBA playoffs was really satisfying."

So, how did the wrestling match turn out?

Rodman and Hollywood Hulk Hogan went on to defeat Malone and Diamond Dallas Page in a tag-team match.

The situation was featured on the ESPN docuseries, "Last Dance" -- which also touched on the time Rodman skipped out in a Bulls practice between Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals to appear live on WCW Nitro.

"I certainly didn't expect Dennis to skip practice and participate in Nitro," Bischoff says ... "That decision was all Dennis."

Master P and Romeo were done with the fake s**t ... and they desperately tried conveying that to "Growing Up Hip Hop" producers during a heated argument caught on camera.

TMZ's obtained video of Master P going at with producers during a 'GUHH' shoot in NYC back in early March. The issue P and Romeo were beefing with the show about involved what they called "fake drama" over a manufactured storyline involving Romeo and Angela Simmons.

Check out the video ... Master P's talking to a producer and he's fuming over how Romeo's being portrayed. He feels the story should instead revolve around Angela finding herself in wake of her ex-fiance and father of her child being murdered in late 2018.

Romeo also feels his relationship with God's being exploited on the show, and he's not having it anymore.

Master P tells TMZ, "These companies only care about ratings and creating negative edits, short cuts of scenes, focusing on drama for headline clicks and gossip that have been destroying families for years on tv. That's the real reason my son didn't want to talk on camera anymore because he knew that his words would be altered like they did mine."

ICYMI ... Romeo quit the show a few months ago over this very issue you're seeing play out in the video. He had been one of the OG cast members when the show premiered in 2016 on WE tv.

Is UFC star Henry Cejudo -- a 33-year-old champion in his prime -- actually retiring?!

The answer is a big hell no ... if you listen to his friend and manager -- Ali Abdelaziz -- who tells TMZ Sports there's no way he can see Triple C hangin' up his gloves.

"Do I think Henry's gonna retire? Absolutely not. I don't think Henry's gonna retire."

Remember, Cejudo TKO'd Dominick Cruz -- considered the greatest bantamweight of all-time -- at the end of the 2nd round at UFC 249 last weekend. During his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Cejudo announced he was retiring from the sport.

But, Abdelaziz says a lot of fighters have the urge to walk away right after going to war in the Octagon ... but that quickly fades.

"Khabib, every time he fights, 'I think I'm done,'" Ali says ... "2 weeks later, 'Who you think I should fight next?' Because these guys are at their prime. Henry's coming into his prime. How you gonna retire in your prime?"

Matter of fact, Ali believes Cejudo will not only fight again ... but it'll happen sometime over the next 3-4 months.

"Henry has everybody on their knees right now. I don't think he's gonna retire. You're gonna see him fight by the summer."

Question is, who will Cejudo take on next?

Triple C and boxer Ryan Garcia recently beefed online, and T.J. Dillashaw -- who comes off his drug suspension early next year -- has been crystal clear in his desire to avenge his Jan. 2019 loss to Cejudo.

But, Ali says that ain't happening ... ever.

"Henry will never fight T.J. I don't think any clean athlete should ever fight T.J. Dillashaw. The man cheated for a long time."

Abdelaziz continued ... "If you cheated this long, you think you're gonna come back and get a title shot? It doesn't even make sense."

"Henry for sure will never fight him. I know that for sure. Cause he beat the man while he was on the juice. Why's he gonna fight him?

Mark Henry has a warning for ex-WWE wrestler Lio Rush ... stop defaming me, or my (Harvard educated) lawyers are going to file a lawsuit against your ass!!

Let's explain ... earlier this week, Rush -- who was recently released by WWE -- fired off a barrage of Tweets attacking the Hall of Famer.

Rush accused Henry of torpedoing black wrestlers' careers, writing ... "This is why African American talent on the biggest platform will continue to not have equal opportunity because people like you constantly tear your own people down. A damn shame honestly.”

TMZ Sports talked to an extremely upset Mark Henry ... who says Rush's comments are straight-up nonsense.

"If you go down to the performance center at NXT, probably 25 I think, people of color in the facility, probably about 80 plus percent of them I helped get them there. I mean, it's completely opposite."

So, if it ain't true, why'd Rush write what he did?

Mark tells us Lio's clout chasing ... using his name and fame to promote his music career.

"He knew that I get a lot of attention. I have a lot of followers and he released the album, or song, or something, and he wanted to use that to get some attention. Get some buzz," Henry says.

Mark's adamant if Rush would've just asked for help, he would've plugged his music -- no problem -- but what he did instead was wayyy out of bounds.

"If he would've called me, I would've done it anyway. We would've just worked it. I would of really talked it up, we would of made world news, but now he said something slanderous."

"And, you can't question my blackness. Like nobody can question my blackness, pull my black card. No, not allowed. Nobody."

Mark's so mad ... he tells us he's seriously considering filing a lawsuit.

"My lawyer went to Harvard. I don't know what kinda lawyers he's dealing with, but I got those Ivy League people around me, and they're pissed!"

But, there is one thing Lio Rush can do before he finds his ass in a courtroom ... say sorry, and really mean it.