Fights & Feuds

The "f***ing c***" barb that ex-ESPN reporter Marly Rivera hurled at a female journalist earlier this month was captured on video ... and in the footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see it all went down right in front of Aaron Judge.

The incident -- which resulted in ESPN firing Rivera from her role as a national baseball reporter earlier this week -- happened on April 18 at Yankee Stadium ... just before New York took on the Los Angeles Angels in the Bronx.

According to the New York Post, Rivera had set up an interview with Judge ... but grew frustrated when freelance reporter Ivón Gaete showed up at the same time looking to speak with the Yankees superstar as well.

The video shows Rivera got so livid with Gaete -- who the Post reported had been at the stadium to cover Angels star Shohei Ohtani for Tokyo Broadcasting -- she began to raise her voice at the woman in Spanish ... as Judge signed autographs and posed for pics with fans just feet away.

At one point, Rivera rolled her eyes and called Gaete a "f***ing c***."

Gaete was clearly taken aback by the remark -- and asked a nearby camera person if they had caught it on video.

The two reporters then lingered around Judge for several moments. When he finally left the area, it seemed Rivera wanted to apologize ... but it didn't appear Gaete was willing to accept it.

ESPN said on Wednesday it had parted ways with Rivera following the encounter. Rivera, meanwhile, told the Post she fully accepted responsibility for her actions.

"There were extenuating circumstances but that in no way is an excuse for my actions," Rivera said. "I am a professional with a sterling reputation across baseball and I do believe that I am being singled out by a group of individuals with whom I have a long history of professional disagreements."

Rivera has since deleted her social media pages.

Disney is escalating its beef with Ron DeSantis ... it's now suing Florida's Governor for what Disney claims is a targeted campaign of retaliation, and one that's hurting the company's bottom line.

The Walt Disney Co. filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against DeSantis, ripping the Republican presidential hopeful as being "patently retaliatory, anti-business, and patently unconstitutional."

In the suit, Disney claims DeSantis is waging a "relentless campaign to weaponize government power" to punish Disney's political views ... with Disney saying the Governor's actions are now threatening its business, jeopardizing its economic future in Florida and violating its constitutional rights.

Disney says it regrets having to sue DeSantis, but the company says he gave them no choice ... pointing out DeSantis recently talked publicly about wanting to tax the hell out of Disney and build a state prison next to Walt Disney World.

In the suit, Disney says it's being "forced to defend itself against a State weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment" ... with Disney claiming DeSantis is orchestrating a retaliation campaign against the company simply because Disney "expressed an opinion with which the government disagreed."

Although the suit references the "government" in several places, Disney is not suing the state of Florida.

Remember ... the beef started when Disney came out in opposition to Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation, which DeSantis has championed. DeSantis then started targeting Disney's special tax district, which has essentially allowed Disney to self-govern in Florida since the 1960s.

Disney says the lawsuit is a response to DeSantis' hand-picked board of supervisors moving to undo a recent development deal Disney struck to strip the board's power over WDW.

Larry Bakman -- an ex-TV judge on the reality show "Hot Bench" -- might end up having to answer to one himself because an attorney claims he got violent ... and has the whole thing captured on audio.

Fari B. Nejadpour -- who's been repping a woman in a DV case here in L.A. -- tells TMZ ... Bakman is representing the woman's husband. Nejadpour says the case started last fall but things took a nasty turn this week.

According to Nejadpour ... Bakman had filed a motion asking that Nejadpour be disqualified as the wife's attorney due to an alleged conflict -- namely, he'd repped the aunt of a client of Bakman's about a year ago ... something Nejadpour says is completely irrelevant.

He filed an opposition to Larry's motion, which was going to be heard Monday in an L.A. courtroom -- Nejadpour tells us that's when he ran into Bakman in a courthouse hallway.

Nejadpour says he confronted Bakman about his filing, and claims Bakman responded with hostility ... allegedly replying, "F*** you, ass****."

Nejadpour tells us he was shocked and told Bakman he was going to record him to show the judge how he was behaving. He says he turned on the recorder and started following Bakman, who he says was walking away to enter the courtroom.

At this point -- which we're told is when the audio starts to pick up -- Nejadpour claims Bakman quickly turned around and punched him in the chest with both hands ... which Nejadpour says sent him crumbling to his feet and writhing in pain.

He tells us he checked into a hospital that day, where he currently remains. Nejadpour claims to have suffered a laceration to the right side of his chest and an injury to his knee ... he also says he wants Bakman prosecuted.

LAPD tells us a battery report was filed, and they're investigating. We're told Bakman hasn't been arrested.

We also reached out to Bakman, who declined to comment.

Ryan Garcia is keeping his head held high despite suffering his first career loss on Saturday ... stopping by a celeb-favorite restaurant just days after getting stopped by Gervonta "Tank" Davis.

24-year-old "King" Ryan was friendly with the crowd of cameras outside Wally's in Beverly Hills on Tuesday ... answering questions as he made it to his G-Wagon.

You have to give the young star credit for remaining in good spirits following defeat ... as he gave our TMZ Sports camera a positive medical update.

"I'm good, yeah," Garcia said just minutes ago. "Life's good."

The restaurant is known as a celeb hot spot, complete with lots of paparazzi ... so it's clear Ryan had no issue with being seen.

Garcia's undefeated streak ended when Davis planted a body shot that sent him to the canvas in the seventh round ... which had all of T-Moblie Arena freaking out.

The fight was a huge success ... and many believe it will go down as the biggest boxing event of the year.

As for his future plans, Garcia says he's planning to "come back stronger and make changes, come back stronger and rack up some wins ... and hopefully, down the line at the right time, get a rematch."

The Crazy Town boys are living up to their band name -- 2 of the members got into a good old-fashioned fistfight after a show this weekend ... and it was ugly.

TMZ has obtained video of the throwdown that unfolded Sunday in Myrtle Beach, SC -- where CT was performing ... only to have their lead singer, Shifty Shellshock, not show up 'til the very end. Co-vocalist Bobby Reeves had to fill in ... making for a very rocky show.

There's video circulating of Reeves attempting to handle frontman duties -- at times, forgetting lyrics to songs -- while publicly expressing his frustration with Shifty for bailing.

Eventually, Shifty did show up and another clip that's made the rounds shows him and Reeves in a heated argument by an SUV -- with BR rocking a fresh black eye. Now, we know how he got that shiner ... they were trading haymakers after the Myrtle Beach gig.

In our video, you can see Shifty wailing on Bobby ... and they're arguing about money SS believes Bobby stole. Bobby denies that, and goes on to make some pretty vile threats against Shifty's family members ... including his kids.

Eventually, Bobby sneaks in a sucker punch and they go at it again -- only to finally be pulled apart by others. Sources close to the band tell TMZ this brouhaha went down as soon as they got off stage, but in the aftermath, they've supposedly settled things.

We're told it was a "fight between brothers." Unfortunately, this is just the latest mishap in Crazy Town -- one night prior, Shifty got into it with a sound guy during a show in North Carolina. FWIW, the guy's publicly battled addiction for years.

We'll see how long the band peace treaty lasts.

Coi Leray got hit with a stray shot thanks to Latto's new "Put It On Da Floor" track, but it's not gonna lead to all out beef ... as both rappers have reached common ground.

Latto closed her Coachella weekend 2 performance on Sunday with her Nicki Minaj diss "Put It On Da Floor" once again and offered an explanation behind the lyrics that Coi took offense over ... publicly telling the crowd, "Aye, Coi. By the way, I love your body, baby."

Coi was triggered by Latto's bars, "Smokin' on that gas, blunt big as Coi Leray" ... and, in response, insinuated Latto was in no position to give anyone body critiques.

However, after letting things settle, she's accepted Latto's clarification -- which means this crisis is averted!!!

Sage Northcutt is about to fight for the first time in 4 years, and the MMA star says it won't be a one-time deal -- he's back, and it's for good.

"I'm planning on being back. I have this fight set for May 5th, I got my eyes zoned in on this fight. But after this fight I'd like to be super active for ONE Championship. You know I like having fights and trying to put on a show."

27-year-old Northcutt will return to the cage early next month against Ahmen Mujtaba ... Sage's first fight since he lost to Cosmo Alexandre in May 2019. In the loss, SN's face was broken in 8 places, requiring nearly 10 hours of surgery.

Many fans doubted Sage, who is 11-3 as a pro, would ever fight again. But, he says he actually was supposed to return long ago, but COVID had other plans.

"As the 4 years went by, it's been longer than what I expected. I was planning on coming back, I actually had a fight set to come back a couple years after, just about 2 years ago I had a fight set to come back," Northcutt told us.

"You know how the world's been with COVID, shutting things down. I caught COVID as I had a fight scheduled, literally, a week before flying overseas, I caught COVID. That was unfortunate timing. But coming back, it's about time."

Come May 5, Sage believes he'll open the eyes of many MMA fans.

"For ONE Championship, I haven't really had the chance to show all the hard work that I've been putting in," Northcutt says, adding, "I've been training very hard. Training with a great team, great coaches, great fighters, so I'm looking forward to displaying stuff that I've been putting a lot of hard work into."

We also asked Sage what advice he'd offer Raul Rosas Jr. ... the 18-year-old who became the youngest fighter to sign with the promotion. Rosas Jr. recently lost his first fight. We asked Northcutt, who fought as a 19-year-old, what advice he'd offer the young man.

As for his upcoming fight ... it's less than 2 weeks away, and he's ready to roll.

Nate Diaz had a trouble-filled night Friday ... he first chucked a water bottle at reality star Chase DeMoor and then choked a young man into unconsciousness in separate confrontations.

The UFC legend kicked off his wild night by attending the Misfits Boxing 6 event in New Orleans to watch Chris Avila beat Paul Bamba in the main event.

While Diaz was enjoying the bout in the front row, he got into a heated argument with DeMoor, who was seated behind him. Video shows DeMoor heckling Diaz and calling him a "p****." Diaz then pitched the water bottle at DeMoor, and the two would have come to blows if onlookers hadn't stepped between them.

Hours later, Diaz was filmed getting into a physical altercation with a young man on the sidewalk outside the venue. Nate put the guy in a choke hold until his body went limp and he fell to the ground unconscious. Diaz then casually walked away.

The extent of the man's injuries was unknown, nor was it clear if he was taken to a hospital. It’s also unclear if police got involved.

Video of the assault has since gone viral. UFC boss Dana White and former UFC champ Conor McGregor reacted on social media to the video. White suggested the man attacked by Diaz could be pro boxer Jake Paul's brother, Logan (It wasn't, though). McGregor laughed and praised Diaz for his "rampage."

Coi Leray isn't cool with Latto using her name in a punchline attack in her supposed Nicki Minaj war -- and defended her honor in an onslaught of tweets.

On Friday, Latto dropped her new track "Put It On Da Floor" -- the same song she premiered at Coachella last weekend where fans assumed she was dissing Nicki.

Latto put Coi in the crosshairs with the lyrics, "Smokin' on that gas, blunt big as Coi Leray/Bitches like to run their mouths but I'm the type to run the fade" ... a low-blow according to Coi, as she's constantly fending off body-shamers online.

Coi thinks Latto truly used her name because she's secretly jealous of Coi's body, and remarked the "Big Energy" rapper has no place to be a body judge towards anybody, for whatever reason.

She also shed light on the ongoing narrative that female rappers have taken on masculine roles, including their lust for rap beef. Coi says she doesn't know the rap chicks in real life and they should keep their negativity out of her general direction.

Latto seemingly geared up for a rap battle against Nicki Minaj while performing at Coachella, but Akademiks says the "Big Energy" rapper doesn't have the bars to win the war!!!

Ak gave his honest assessment of Latto's potential timeline for engaging Nicki in a rap beef, and thinks Latto would be better suited pushing her career away from this saga.

As the more experienced MC, Ak notes Nicki's bars will come off as more clever and fans will gravitate to everything she says. In other words, disses about ass shots will only fly so far.

He also doubted Latto and Nicki would ever cross paths to exchange words in person ... à la Cardi B and Nicki's near-brawl during 2018 New York Fashion Week.

Ak thinks Latto's only chance to best Nicki is to recruit other female rappers who've had their own personal problems with "The Pinkprint" rapper -- like Megan Thee Stallion and Doja Cat -- and shame her with low blows about aging and being a big ol' hater!!!

Latto seems to have no problem picking at the scab covering her Nicki Minaj beef ... and debuted a new song at Coachella that has fans thinking she once again is firing at her!!!

The "Big Energy" rapper provided exactly that Sunday when she premiered a new track on the Sahara stage ... rapping ether like, “Bitches acting like they running shit, they really ran through” and “She thought I would kiss her ass, she mustn’t have took her meds.”

The biggest clues the song was about Nicki came during Latto's song-ending ad-libs ... "Say she got a problem, imaginary smoke/ Bitch, you said it’s up, then put on the floor”

She then walked off the stage yelling, “Pussy hoe… Let a bitch know, we tired of the subtweets this year” ... as she and Nicki's very public Twitter spat is still heavy fodder for her fans as well as the Barbz.

The two fell out after the 2022 Grammy Award noms were released -- where Nicki's "Super Freaky Girl" was absent while Latto's "Big Energy" record made the cut.

From there, an all-out war ensued, complete with leaked phone calls sparking a rift that still hasn't been resolved.

Russell Westbrook got into a heated confrontation with a fan Sunday night ... and, at one point, told the man, "Watch your mouth, motherf***er," and it was all captured on video.

It all went down during game 1 at the Footprint Center in Phoenix ... Russ, on video, repeatedly told the guy wearing Suns gear to watch his mouth as the two exchanged words.

It's unclear what led to the encounter ... but it happened in the club area during halftime of Game 1 of the Clippers-Suns first-round matchup.

According to a Suns insider, visiting players have been going through the club area where the incident occurred all season to get to the visitor's locker room.

As for the game ... Westbrook struggled to hit shots all night, scoring just nine points on 3 of 19 shooting from the field.

However, the former MVP was a presence on the glass, securing ten rebounds and making the game's defensive play, blocking Devin Booker's shot and sealing the deal for the Clippers.

Mike Tyson isn't 100 percent done with boxing ... the former heavyweight champ -- who last fought Roy Jones Jr. in 2020 -- tells TMZ Sports he's still open to fighting again if the price is right.

We spoke with the boxing legend this month about a potential rematch with Jones Jr. -- who just lost to former UFC star Anthony Pettis on April 1 -- and he didn't close the door on a return to the ring against the Hall of Famer at all.

In fact, the 56-year-old told us, "I could be persuaded."

Then, when we asked about another possible rematch, one that would pit him against his former rival, Evander Holyfield -- Tyson said the same thing.

Iron Mike wouldn't reveal the dollar figure that it would take to persuade him to agree to future bouts with the boxing legends ... though he did say he has been recently approached by people in Saudi Arabia who want "me to do this stuff too."

"I don't know," he said ... before adding, "When I see the money people for the end of the product, my mind works clearer. I can't express myself right now financially."

Tyson fought Jones Jr. in a wildly successful exhibition match back in 2020. He also fought Holyfield twice in two memorable tilts in 1996 and 1997, but lost both bouts.

Tyson had previously agreed to an exhibition match with Holyfield in 2021, but negotiations fell through.

WrestleMania 39 is over ... but Dolph Ziggler is already eyeing a spot on next year's card, telling TMZ Sports he's down to fight UFC star Conor McGregor on "The Grandest Stage of Them All" at WrestleMania.

We spoke to Dolph -- whose last WrestleMania match was in 2020 against Otis -- out in Beverly Hills recently ... and the former WWE Intercontinental Champion is already imagining what a feud with McGregor looks like on the heels of the WWE and UFC merger.

"Why not make it a best of 3?" Ziggler asked. "Octagon. Boxing match. Wrestling. Fighting. WWE. And then set it all up for the best out of seven at WrestleMania."

"That's just where the money is, but not everybody can go and back it up. But some of us can," said Ziggler, the 2012 men's Money in the Bank ladder match winner.

ICYMI -- McGregor posted a pic of him holding a WWE and UFC championship belt with the hashtag, "It's inevitable," one day before WWE sold to UFC's parent company, Endeavor.

After Vince McMahon announced he sold WWE and joined forces with UFC to create a new $21 billion sports company ... Ziggler wasted no time going after The Notorious.

"ABSOLUTELY AMAZING #WrestleMania PS: If I can drop 45 more pounds, I can drop anyone talking trash! seems even easier to get the deal done now, right @TheNotoriousMMA," Ziggler tweeted.

So, will we see Ziggler vs. McGregor at WrestleMania 40 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia next April?!?

Rudy Gobert says he apologized to his teammate, Kyle Anderson, for punching him earlier in the week during Minnesota's final game of the regular season  ... and says he has nothing but love for Kyle.

Gobert rejoined his team Thursday after the Timberwolves sent him home from the arena and suspended him for one game ... and Rudy told the media he and Anderson are both putting Sunday's incident behind them.

"We both apologized to each other, and you move on," Gobert said. "I still love Kyle. He's still my brother. I tell people, 'Sometimes you fight with your family. Sometimes you fight with people that you have a lot of love and respect for.'"

He continued ... "It's life. No one is perfect. Mistakes happen, and then you grow, and you move on."

Anderson echoed similar sentiments as Gobert did on Tuesday ... saying the two "hashed it out" and reminded people that grown men fighting "happens all the time in sports."

"We're teammates at the end of the day," Anderson said. "I don't want it to be a Kyle vs. Rudy thing. That's never the case. I always got my teammates' back, and we moved on."

Meanwhile, Gobert's status for Friday's elimination game against the Thunder remains uncertain as the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winner deals with lingering back pain.

Jorge Masvidal says he ain't getting a fair shake in his aggravated battery case ... claiming in new court documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, that Colby Covington received preferential treatment from cops during their altercation in Miami last year.

In the docs, Masvidal says he has evidence that on several occasions during their confrontation on March 21, 2022, outside of a popular restaurant ... Covington was treated with "favoritism" by the Miami Beach Police Department.

Specifically, Masvidal says after the alleged attack ... Covington did not call 911 -- but instead phoned a high-ranking MBPD sergeant who was the UFC star's "pal and training partner ... so he could receive concierge police intervention."

Masvidal claims after Covington called the sergeant, the officer then radioed the matter into the station as a "Code 3" -- which, according to Masvidal, is "reserved for shooting and active dangerous felonies." Masvidal also says the sergeant "made additional calls to individual officers to 'get over immediately' to the scene" -- while also diverting "over 20 officers from their duties and responsibilities" to make sure they got Covington help.

In addition, Masvidal says Covington made a statement during a podcast interview prior to the street encounter that he "rolls with the Miami Beach Police Department" -- which Masvidal claims further proves he may have gotten special treatment on the night of the alleged attack.

Masvidal's attorney, Bradford Cohen, now wants several things -- including Covington's podcast comment -- to be admitted into evidence for the UFC fighter's impending trial in the case ... believing it will help prove his client is getting a raw deal.

"From our investigation and witness depositions it's clear that protocol was not followed that evening and Mr. Covington received preferential treatment," Cohen said in a statement this week. "Sadly, the people of Miami Beach that needed an officer that night, at that time probably suffered due to over 15 officers responding to a misdemeanor offense."

We've reached out to the Miami Beach Police Department for comment -- but so far no word back yet.

As we previously reported, Masvidal is facing serious jail time in the case after he was hit with charges of felony aggravated battery and felony criminal mischief following allegations that he punched Covington twice in an ambush outside of Papi Steak.

Meanwhile, Covington -- who claims to have suffered a brain injury, a chipped tooth, and a damaged Rolex watch in the attack -- appears to have recovered from the altercation ... as he's been rumored to be the next opponent for UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards.