Fights & Feuds

Take a hard look at Aljamain Sterling when he fights Sean O'Malley at UFC 292 'cause it could be the last time Aljo competes in the bantamweight division ... the UFC champ tells us he wants to move up and dethrone featherweight champ Alex Volkanovski.

Whether or not it is his last scrap at 135 lbs., 34-year-old Sterling seemed to indicate he may not be around the Octagon much longer.

"I think [it could be my last at 135]. I think I go out there, dominate O'Malley the way I think I'm gonna dominate him, send that naked mole rat back to wherever he's from, the hole he crawled out of," Sterling told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

The bantamweight king continued ... "We set our sights on Volkanovski. Go up to 145, cause some terror there. Win the belt, become champ-champ, and then from there, possibly defend the belt one or two times and maybe that's all she wrote for the MMA career."

Of course, in order to be double champ, Aljamain must defeat Suga on August 19 in Boston ... a fight that's been talked about for years.

"It's cool to be going to Dana White's backyard and bringing in a good show. We're the headliners. We get to end the night, try to end the night on a good night, on a high night, and it's an opportunity for me to really make more history, get another bag, and rob the bank."

"I'm looking forward to robbing the bank vs. Sean O'Malley and showing Mr. High Fructose Corn Syrup why there's levels to this game."

If Sterling does ultimately retire from MMA in the near future, we asked him what he do as his second act.

"Maybe I start boxing after," Aljo said, laughing.

Jake Paul can train nonstop for the rest of his life, but there's no way he'll come close to beating Nate Diaz in an MMA fight -- so says former UFC champ Rafael dos Anjos, who tells TMZ Sports The Problem Child will NEVER beat the MMA legend in his own sport!

We caught up with RDA ahead of his big matchup against Vicente Luque at UFC Fight Night on Saturday ... and considering dos Anjos once beat Nate in the Octagon, we had to ask about Jake calling out Diaz for a rematch in the PFL SmartCage.

Of course, Jake previously said on Logan's "Impaulsive" podcast he'd be able to handle Nate in an MMA fight if he had eight or nine months of training under his belt.

But dos Anjos thinks Jake needs to be brought back down to earth.

"Nate is a fighter," dos Anjos said. "He got good jiu-jitsu, he has that mentality, the fighter mentality. It's a real fight. When you go to the ground and elbows and knees -- it's a different game."

"I think Jake Paul can train as much as he wants, he don't beat Nate Diaz in an MMA fight."

As for his fight with Luque, RDA said he's expecting a war ... and doesn't see it being left up to the judges.

We also spoke with Luque about the matchup ... and he said it's an honor to go up against dos Anjos because he's a bona fide legend in the sport.

Claressa Shields resigned with PFL ... and as the boxing superstar prepares to get back in the MMA cage, she says she's getting some tips from the one and only Conor McGregor.

"Conor McGregor inboxed me," Shields told TMZ Sports.

"Conor actually gave me some of the best advice today actually. He was just like 'Don't take away from your boxing. You need to get comfortable being on your back and comfortable with your wrestling.'"

Shields, who signed a multiyear deal with the MMA promotion this week, went 1-1 in the cage under the PFL banner in 2021. In the ring, she is regarded as one of, if not the best female boxer in the world.

Any struggles Claressa has had in MMA resulted from being taken down ... and that's something she intends to work on with The Notorious, himself.

"That's an honor and that's a privilege for me, so thank you to Conor McGregor for that, and I look forward to working with him some."

Claressa says McGregor's not the only one who reached out ... and as she's "reconstructing [her] whole team," Shields says she's also been in contact with Cris Cyborg.

"[Cyborg's] one of the toughest and roughest female combat fighters in the world and she reached out. I may do some work with her. I don't know."

As for when she plans to get back in the cage, Claressa says ... "I know it'll be next year, I don't know if it's February, March, or a little bit after that. I just really wanna hone my skills."

We also talked to Shields about Jake Paul (who coincidentally) is also signed to PFL. But, if you thought that'd mean Claressa wasn't coming for "The Problem Child," you're mistaken.

Shields says she is down to fight Paul ... and she's sure she'll beat him.

"I would really fight Jake Paul in a fight, honestly, and I would win. He knows that. He knows that."

If Logan Paul needed any more motivation to kick Dillon Danis' ass in October, he has it now -- the Bellator fighter went full savage mode by posting a fake nude image of The Maverick's fiancée, Nina Agdal, on social media ... just days after their fight was announced.

Danis has been on a tear on X all week -- he started posting pics of Nina with her past boyfriends, Leonardo DiCaprio and Reid Heidenry ... before going a bit too far in trying to get under Logan's skin.

Danis shared a NSFW edited pic of a topless Nina to his page on Wednesday ... and while Agdal has posed nude in the past, he was immediately met with backlash as it was a clear attempt to humiliate his opponent.

"dude this is f***ed up," influencer Alissa Violet replied. "are you ok??"

"way too far. she has literally nothing to do with this. just beat him in the ring god d***."

Danis responded by bringing up Violet's history with both Paul brothers ... doubling down on his decision to bring Agdal into the beef.

Shakur Stevenson vs. Devin Haney will likely NEVER happen, despite being one of the most coveted fights in boxing, according to SS himself ... 'cause DH knows it's a fight he won't win.

26-year-old Stevenson, 20-0 (10 KOs), joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... when the convo turned to 24-year-old Haney's future plans after the undefeated fighter recently announced he's moving up a weight class.

"It ain't really a hope, it's 'I dare him,' like I dare him to come back to 135 [lbs.] and try me. Like I pray that that's what he plans on doing and I can show the world I'm the truth," Shakur said.

"Right now, we're looking at [Vasyl] Lomachenko, but after everything unfolds and he fights Regis [Prograis] and I fight Lomachenko and they can build and make that a big fight, I dare him to come down to 135. I dare him!"

Of course, the fighters, who evolved from phenoms to bonafide stars, have been on a collision course for years ... and even exchanged words in the ring back in May after Devin scored a controversial decision win against Lomachenko.

For the time being, Haney is on his way up to the 140 lb. weight class ... despite the Stevenson fight being there for the taking. We asked Shakur why Devin wouldn't want the opportunity to prove he's a superior fighter.

"I don't know. I'm here but I think as far as for him to come back down and fight me is dangerous," Shakur told us.

"It's a dangerous thing to do. I think that's maybe the reason, I'm a big risk. I'm hard to deal with for anybody and I think he knows that. He's been around me for years so it's hard to deny the fact that I'm a big risk."

We followed up ... asking Shakur if he believes Devin doubts he would win the fight.

"Yes! Yes! I think he believes in himself, but I think when it comes down to me, he knows deep down inside, he knows that I'm the truth."

Then, in his heart of hearts, does Stevenson believe the fans will get the fight they want? Shakur isn't very optimistic.

"If I'm being honest, I'd say 20% [chance the fight happens]."

Shakur continued ... "The logic that they're putting out there is [Devin's] gonna go up for this one fight and then come right back down and fight me for the belts but, like, I just don't see him being that bold. I don't think he got that in him, so I'd say 20% chance."

Top Dawg Entertainment rapper Reason is getting a harsh dose of criticism from the very label exec who's overseeing the album Reason's about to release. Awwwkward!!!

Reason was venting his frustrations with TDEl to Smac and T Rell on the "Back on Figg" podcast last night ... when TDE co-president Anthony “Moosa” Tiffith Jr. called into the show and cut down Reason's mutiny by, essentially, calling him a lazy artist.

Reason's last album dropped back in 2020, but the California rapper blamed Top Dawg Ent. for stalling him out on release dates, and failing to get him Latto and EST Gee features for his upcoming album.

At one point, Moosa put both Smac and T Rell on the spot and asked them to name 10 songs from Reason, which they couldn't ... effectively embarrassing him on the spot.

To add insult to injury, Moosa claimed former TDE co-president Dave Free -- who's since started his own label with Kendrick Lamar -- never wanted to sign Reason and compared his star power to a "substitute teacher!!!" There's a spitball that hurts.

Moosa said other TDE artists such as Doechii and Ray Vaughn are doing more with less than Reason and doesn't feel an EST Gee feature could elevate his career.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone absolutely lost it on an umpire during New York's game Monday night ... becoming so enraged, he actually mocked the guy in front of the entire stadium at home plate.

The wild scene all happened in the eighth inning ... as the Pinstripes were down 2-1 to the visiting Chicago White Sox.

Laz Diaz -- who's zone had been questioned by Yankees players and coaches throughout the evening -- called Anthony Volpe out on strikes ... and that's when Boone blew a gasket.

NY's bench boss initially began barking at Diaz from the dugout ... but he left to get into Diaz's face. The guys then traded words for several moments, before Boone went to the dish to embarrass the 60-year-old.

He drew a line in the dirt where he thought Bryan Shaw's last pitch went ... and then he mocked Diaz with an over-the-top punchout gesture.

Boone's tirade, though, didn't stop there ... 'cause he got in Diaz's face once more -- and appeared to tell him repeatedly, "You stink!"

Boone was given the boot ... and, mercifully, he went back to the clubhouse to let the game continue.

Jake Paul's fight against Nate Diaz was on the same level as one of the most popular fights in combat sports history -- so says former boxing champ Shawn Porter, who tells TMZ Sports Saturday's event felt "just as big as" Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor!

Porter -- who was on the mic in Dallas for the big matchup -- said the vibes were off the charts throughout the Jake vs. Nate fight ... calling the experience Super Bowl-esque.

"This was just as big as Mayweather and McGregor," Porter emphatically told us on Monday.

FYI -- Floyd vs. Conor is widely reported as the second-highest-selling fight in Pay-Per-View history (behind Floyd vs. Manny Pacquiao) ... so to compare the energy at Jake vs. Nate to that is quite a compliment.

Of course, "Showtime" is no stranger to the biggest events in the sport -- whether he competed in or attended them, he's witnessed some electric crowds over the years.

But Porter said the spectator support of Diaz was second to none ... adding, "I've never heard anything like that before."

"MMA fans, man. They show up, they show out, they have a lot of fun and they are extremely loud. I was loving it."

As for the fight, Shawn gave Jake a C grade on the night, despite getting the victory ... explaining the Problem Child still has to work on finishing off his opponents after landing big punches.

Donald Trump is dancing on the U.S. Women's National Team's grave after its early exit from the World Cup ... mocking Megan Rapinoe and dogging the squad for being too woke.

#45 went to Truth Social to sound off on Team USA after their disappointing loss to Sweden over the weekend ... and he pointed the finger at their political beliefs for getting in the way.

"The 'shocking and totally unexpected' loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden," Trump said.

"Many of our players were openly hostile to America -- No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close. WOKE EQUALS FAILURE."

Trump -- who has famously beefed with Rapinoe after she said she wasn't going to visit the "f***ing White House" to celebrate USA's 2019 World Cup win -- also singled her out for airmailing her penalty kick attempt that could have helped the Red, White and Blue advance to the next round.

"Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!!! MAGA."

Of course, Rapinoe has always been outspoken in support of equal pay, LGBTQ+ rights and social justice ... even kneeling for the national anthem in recent years, something that left Trump pissed.

3:07 PM PT -- Elon Musk might need more time to train and get ready for a cage match against Mark Zuckerberg -- but the Facebook founder says he's ready now.

Zuck fired back at Elon's chirping this weekend, taking to his own platform (Threads) to point out that he's all set to rumble, and at a moment's notice. He also says he suggested a date of August 26 when Elon first challenged him -- but claims EM is stonewalling.

Finally, MZ takes a jab at Elon's proposal of streaming the bout on X -- suggesting Threads would be a better place for generating actual revenue (for charity). Twitter/X has been in dire financial straits for months now.

Elon's teased the fact that he's pumping iron in preparation, but also notes ... Mark probably has him beat on stamina -- and that if they duke it out, he'd wanna end it quickly.

Elon Musk plans to make some loot for his company formally known as Twitter, because he's planning on live-streaming his highly anticipated fight with Mark Zuckerberg on X ... so he declared Sunday.

TMZ has been reporting, Zuck and Musk are both all in for mixing it up in the UFC octagon.  There were actually talks between UFC and the Italian Foreign Ministry about holding the fight at the Coliseum, but our sources say that's not going to happen.

We're also told if the fight goes down, it will likely take months. We're surmising from what we're hearing Elon needs more time to train ... something Zuck has been doing for a long time.

Despite their height and weight disparity -- Zuck's 5'7" and 150 lbs, while Musk towers over him at 6'2" weighing 230 -- M.Z. had a big edge when it comes to stamina.

The more these guys jawbone back and forth, the more likely it is they'll fight, because neither one is prone to blinking.

Stay tuned.

Rachel Leviss' possible return to "Vanderpump Rules" remains shrouded in mystery ... but as filming keeps rolling along, her costars are becoming convinced she won't join the fold.

Sources connected to the hit reality show tell TMZ ... 'VPR' cast members are now feeling more than confident Rachel will NOT return for Season 11.

There's reasoning behind the consensus ... the cast has been filming since late June and Rachel hasn't shot a single scene, either solo or with any other 'VPR' stars.

Bottom line ... it's going to be hard to integrate Rachel into the storylines.

What's more, we're told none of the cast, aside from Tom Sandoval, has been in touch with Rachel since they saw her at the emotional reunion show in late March, which was shot just before Rachel checked into a mental health facility, which she recently left after a lengthy stay.

However, never say never ... we're told 'VPR' stars wouldn't be shocked if Rachel shows up to film at the 11th hour to tell her side of the story about the Scandoval.

Still, our sources say other cast members strongly believe Rachel's therapists convinced her to steer clear of the show and the accompanying drama that led her to seek professional help in the first place.

Lisa Marie Presley's oldest daughter, Riley Keough, is now the one and only in charge of her mother's estate ... this after settling with her grandmother, Priscilla Presley.

An L.A. County Superior Court judge signed off Friday, so Priscilla is officially out of the picture.

Riley is now a substantial owner of the Elvis Presley Graceland Estate, but according to the settlement, Priscilla will be allowed to use it as her final resting place. TMZ broke the story, during negotiations between Priscilla and Riley, Priscilla wanted to be buried right next to Elvis, which would have displaced Elvis' mom and dad. Remember, Priscilla was divorced from Elvis at the time of his death.

As we reported, Riley paid Priscilla millions to back off from challenging who administers Lisa Marie's trust ... a trust which benefits Riley, along with Lisa Marie's twins, 14-year-olds Harper and Finley.

Buckle up ... Jorge Masvidal's opened the door to a possible UFC return. He also wants to smash Conor McGregor's face ... preferably in the street, not an Octagon.

The 38-year-old MMA superstar sat down with Michael Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... when the topic turned to the BMF title.

"I think I'm going to have to come back and snatch that belt up real quick. Something like that. But not at [155 lbs.], they gotta come up to [170 lbs.]," Masvidal said.

Gamebred continued ... "A UFC fight. Not now, but at some point, I think I gotta come back."

Of course, Jorge was the OG BMF belt holder ... he defeated Nate Diaz at UFC 244, and took home the belt, which was presented to him by The Rock.

Last weekend, Masvidal, who retired after his April fight with Gilbert Burns, was on hand in Salt Lake City ... and presented the belt to Justin Gaethje after he defeated Dustin Poirier.

We asked Jorge ... who would you want to fight in your return?

"Whoever's got the BMF belt," Masvidal started answering ... and that's when McGregor came up.

"Really I would like to fight Conor because he's such a bitch. I can't stand that dude. But him on the street for free, 'cause he'll never fight me in the ring."

"He never mentions my f***ing name in a comment," Jorge said, adding ... "[Conor's] calling out Dustin and Justin. Shut the f*** up, and do the due process. You f***ing bitch!"

If you're a fan of Masvidal, you know before Strikeforce, Bellator, or the UFC, he got his start fighting in the streets ... alongside the great Kimbo Slice.

"Conor doesn't want [a fight with me]. He's shut it down like 3 or 4 times and he's told people that I'm too big for him, yet he's at my weight class, 170," Masvidal said, explaining why he doesn't believe the fight would ever happen anywhere besides the street.

"He knows that the way that I'd beat him is the way that he wins fights. Stand up, f***ing punching his teeth in and kicking his ribs in, so I know it's just not good for his brand."

Even though Jorge hasn't been fighting, it doesn't mean he hasn't been busy.

Since retiring, Masvidal's launched his very own fight promotion, Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA ... and he's proceeded to book big fights with combat sports superstars.

In fact, former UFC heavyweight champions Junior dos Santos and Fabricio Werdum are fighting on September 8 at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, FL ... a rematch of their UFC 90 scrap (2008), which FW won by KO.

There's much more with Jorge ... including his plans for his promotion, who he'd like to sign next (Derrick Lewis, anyone?), his renewed beef with Ben Askren, and of course, that coveted return to the cage!

Tyron Woodley isn't done with the Paul brothers just yet -- the former UFC champion tells TMZ Sports that after two fights with Jake, he now wants Logan!!

"The Chosen One" was giving us his take on Jake's upcoming bout against Nate Diaz on Saturday ... when the conversation turned to his own boxing career.

We asked Woodley whether he would volunteer to be Logan's opponent for his event with KSI and Tommy Fury on Oct. 14 ... and a lightbulb went off in his head.

"I would love to fight Logan Paul," Woodley -- who lost to Jake in August and December 2021 -- told us.

Of course, the two have a bit of history ... and Woodley remembers the older Paul bro running his mouth back when he was feuding with Jake.

"Logan, what's crackin'? You was talkin' mad s*** while I was fighting your brother and I almost kicked your Polaroid off the boxing ring because he was distracting the fight, talking and hitting the canvas and taking pictures."

Woodley also claims Logan was supposed to be on the same card as his scrapped fight with KSI ... saying Paul was going to fight Dillon Danis until he injured himself in WWE.

"So, if y'all wanna do it again and flip the coin, let's get it cracking ... I was about to get to training anyway, let's get it in."

Eminem's critics have awakened the bear in 2023!!!

The legendary rapper unloaded fiery disses on The Game, Melle Mel -- and Generation Z rap fans too young to remember his heyday -- after they've all been dragging his name through the mud.

The lyrical retaliation arrived Friday on the track "Realest" -- the debut single for Em and Dr. Dre's new artist Ez Mil -- but it was Slim Shady who stole the show.

As we reported last year, Game spent a full 10 minutes dissing Em on his last album and later claimed superiority over him for never having his songs played in the club.

Em says Game's songs only get club play because those are the range of his performance bookings and is a little jelly of his career. Melle Mel also got shredded by Em, after having boosted his profile earlier this year by ripping Em for being a white rapper who benefits from the audience majority share.

Em openly admits to being a "guest" in Hip Hop on the track, a term used to acknowledge Black culture birthed Hip Hop … but points out how his success helped the genre boom across the globe.

He proceeded to roast Melle's gym rat legacy with a clever jab at the notion he uses steroids rapping, "And I’ll be the last to toy with a juice-head whose brain is like half destroyed like a meteor hit it/ Well, there went Melle Mel, we lost his ass to 'roids." Get it? Asteroids!!! ☄

The young whippersnappers of Gen Z who criticize Em arguably felt the worst of his wrath ... some of them weren't even born when he dropped his first studio album back in 1999, and Em coldly credited their era for elevating the country's school shootings!!!

"Y'all need to stick to what you do best/Shootin' schools up, gat/Go load up rounds in your parents' gats, and go to class and let off with the strap and go to town," Em fumed at the kids.

The violence simply couldn't wait for Saturday night -- the Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz press conference ended in an all-out brawl involving both fighters' security ... with multiple punches thrown.

The chaos went down minutes ago in Dallas ... shortly after Jake and Nate jawed back and forth in their last media event prior to their big fight at the American Airlines Center.

Something happened on stage as Nate and Jake faced off ... and a huge scuffle ensued.

It appears Nate was exchanging words with Jake's manager, Nakisa Bidarian ... when Paul's security intervened.

In footage from the incident, you can see punches thrown ... but thankfully, the scrap was handled rather quickly -- and both boxers appeared to steer clear of it.

Jake and Nate unleashed on each other earlier in the event ... with Paul saying, "I'm going to bend him over and f*** him like a cowboy."

"I'm gonna ball on his face, like Luka Doncic dropping 40 on his face. Knock him out, Luka Doncic on his head ass."

There were also some homophobic comments made ... with Diaz referring to Paul as the f-word during a heated exchange with a member of Betr Media.

The real fight goes down in just two days ... getcha popcorn ready.