Fights & Feuds

They almost fought in line at a Vegas buffet in 2019 -- but UFC star Colby Covington and fighter manager Ali Abdelaziz have buried the hatchet in 2020 ... with a little help from Donald Trump.

First, some backstory!!!

Ali represents some of the biggest names in MMA -- from Khabib to Justin Gaethje, Kamaru Usman, Henry Cejudo and more.

Back in early 2019, Colby was trying to set up a welterweight title fight with Kamaru ... and the trash talk got so personal, things came to a head at the buffet at The Palms in Vegas.

Colby was in line ... and Ali gets in his face -- and Kamaru had to hold Abdelaziz back! Intense!!!

So, what happened since?

Ali -- along with Henry Cejudo and Justin Gaethje -- were invited to hang with Trump at his rally in Nevada on Sunday ... where Covington was also a VIP guest of the President.

Ali tells us ... since the two men were forced to hang out, they made the best of the situation and talked things out. And, as of now, they're cool.

"I don't hate the kid, I don't have no ill will towards him. He was there to represent the President, I was there to represent the President. If he fought Kamaru or Gilbert or any of my guys again, he becomes the enemy again, it's simple."

"But, right now he's not the enemy. He's a guy trying to make a name for himself."

As for meeting Trump, Ali says it was one of the highlights of his life -- and says Trump treated him like one of the boys!

There's more ... Ali also talked about the upcoming matchup between Kahbib and Gaethje (both are his clients) and explained why it could be one of the greatest fights in MMA history!

Dr. Dre's estranged wife says he secretly transferred valuable assets to himself after they split -- in particular his stage name and "The Chronic" -- but sources connected to Dre call her claim "ridiculous" and an attempt to embarrass him into submission.

Nicole Young just filed legal docs claiming the mogul created a solely-owned, brand new holding company and transferred into it what she claims is joint property -- trademarks for "Dr. Dre" and "The Chronic." Nicole says it's a blatant attempt to hide assets that are community property."

Sources connected to Dre tell TMZ, "They were married in 1996. Chronic came out in '92 and Dr. Dre used his name since the 80's, so it's all his and his alone."

According to Nicole's legal docs, she says Dre transferred the trademarks after he allegedly kicked her out of their home and before he threatened on June 27, 2020 to divorce her. Nicole beat him to the punch ... filing for divorce just 2 days later.

Nicole calls Dre's move an "epic failure and reveals the true nature of his character, or lack thereof.” Nicole says the Dre trademark was first filed in 1997 -- when they were already married.

Our Dre sources fire back, "It's the act of a desperate woman who finally realized that the iron-clad prenup she signed doesn't win her the lottery." As we reported, they had a prenup, which Nicole says she signed under duress. She also says he ripped it up several years into the marriage. He strongly denies he ever ripped it up.

Nicole also claims she was the victim of physical, emotional and financial abuse during their marriage. She does not outline specific instances of abuse. Our Dre sources say to that ... "In their 26 years together, there has never been any hint or claim of threatened or actual physical violence and the insinuation is an insult to actual victims of domestic abuse." A Dre source adds there was one incident of violence 30 years ago -- not involving Nicole -- and Dre copped to it and "paid the price for it."

Tyron Woodley says Colby Covington isn't really a "MAGA" poster boy at heart -- claiming it's all an act for attention.

Tyron and Colby go back years -- they used to be teammates at American Top Team before becoming enemies.

Now, they're set to settle their beef once and for all on Saturday -- and Colby has been promoting the fight as a Republican vs. Democrat throw down.

"You got red versus blue," Colby said Thursday ... "You got me, capitalism, versus him, communism. And, you got me, MAGA, versus him, maggot."

You may have seen Colby hanging with President Donald Trump over the weekend -- POTUS showered Covington with praise.

But, Tyron says the REAL Colby is NOTHING like the character he pushes to the public ... insisting he used to be a "culture vulture" who was "in my gym doing the Nae Nae"

Tyron says Colby "created this entire image and culture based upon trying to get my attention ... and guess what, now you got it."

So, who's the real Colby?

"Colby Covington is a lost soul," Woodley says ... "He's a selfish individual. He's burned so many bridges. Burned a bridge with Jon Jones as a roommate, Jorge Masvidal as a roommate, a teammate and friend, myself, American Top Team and the list just goes on."

Tyron says he's excited to finally stop the talking and fight it out on Saturday. #CantWait

Tyron Woodley is trolling Colby Covington before their fight on Saturday -- mocking CC's trademark MAGA hat with a red cap of his own.

"Make Racists Catch The Fade Again"

38-year-old Woodley's fashion choice was no accident. Colby -- who's 32 years old -- has been a very vocal Trump supporter who was a VIP guest at the president's rally Sunday in Henderson, Nevada.

Before that, Trump has thrown his support behind Colby ... inviting him to the White House, and calling Covington to congratulate him after his 2019 victory over Robbie Lawler.

Tyron -- the former UFC welterweight champion -- is NOT a Trump supporter ... and has been very critical of the president for years.

Politics aside, Tyron and Colby -- have been beefing for a very long time.

Covington is 15-2 as a pro, and is coming off a loss to current welterweight champ, Kamaru Usman. Woodley -- the former 170 lb. champ -- is 19-5-1 and also coming off 2 tough losses to Gilbert Burns and Usman.

They are former teammates who had a bad falling out and have been trying to settle their issues in the Octagon since 2018.

Tamar Braxton beat the crap out of her ex-boyfriend and threatened to kill him ... at least that's what he claimed while seeking court-ordered protection from her.

The singer's ex, David Adefeso, filed for the restraining order, alleging Tamar attacked him while he was driving his car, and threatened to have him killed.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, David claims Tamar started punching him during an argument while he was driving his Rolls-Royce. David claims Tamar violently socked him in the jugular, disorienting him and nearly causing him to crash.

According to the docs, David claims he parked the car and Tamar started trashing it -- allegedly smashing the camera and rearview mirror. He claims he suffered bruising to his neck and shoulder area along with the damage to his Rolls.

Since the alleged attack, which he says led to their breakup, David's ex claims she's been threatening to kill him. In docs, he says Tamar told him her ex-husband wanted to "send goons" to kill him 6 months ago, but she stopped it. He claims she's now threatening to let those "goons" loose.

David beelined it to court, filing for a temporary restraining order.

If true, the allegations are another sign of the turmoil in Tamar's life. As we reported, David called 911 recently saying she'd attempted suicide ... and he claimed it was all over beef with WeTV.

Remember ... family sources connected to Tamar have told us they think she changed while dating David, and we'd also been told he seemed controlling in her upcoming WeTV spinoff reality show.

R. Kelly got put in a really bad spot by guards at the Chicago prison where he's locked up, and then they ignored his concerns of being in danger before he got attacked ... according to his legal team.

The disgraced singer's attorneys, Steven Greenberg and Nicole Blank Becker, tell TMZ ... a lot of the animosity toward Kelly within the Metropolitan Correctional Center is due to some of the prison guards telling the inmates that they had to go on lockdown because of protests outside the facility for R. Kelly.

Kelly's legal team suggests it's strange for guards to make such announcements, and believe this caused the other prisoners to become upset with him.

We're told, 3 weeks before Kelly's attack, he overheard his alleged attacker -- a fellow inmate -- outside his cell talking on a phone and saying things indicating he might attack the singer.

According to Kelly's side ... he expressed his concerns the next day to a prison guard when Kelly had to ride in the same elevator as the allegedly menacing inmate, saying he didn't trust him. We're told they had to ride together anyway.

A few days later ... Kelly allegedly told a doctor from medical he wished guards would stop telling everyone he's the reason for lockdowns because the other inmates were getting mad.

The singer claims he also told at least 2 other guards he feared for his safety in the 2-3 weeks leading up this his attack ... but says they didn't take his concerns seriously.

We broke the story ... a pissed off inmate allegedly walked into Kelly's cell and began kicking him. The fight didn't last long and Kelly didn't suffer any major injuries, but the altercation shows he's not immune to being a target of violence.

Ahmaud Arbery's mom says her son's death has become a full-blown business for one of her son's friends, a former coach and others -- and she's blasting all of them for profiting off tragedy.

Wanda Cooper-Jones says she's alarmed by the "I RUN WITH MAUD" social media pages, which were initially started as a memorial to her son. She says Ahmaud's friend, Akeem Baker, came to her with the idea and she was on board at first, but doesn't like the fact the page is now being run like a business.

She also says she's being denied administrative access to the page.

Wanda claims Akeem even started a GoFundMe page for her son -- which she never asked him to do -- and it's raised nearly $2 million. The page says the money's going to Wanda, but she's already back to work.

Ahmaud's mother is also incensed someone filed for an "I Run With Maud" trademark. She doesn't say who did it, but does say the applicant never even knew Ahmaud.

Next on her list is Foundation 2.23 ... which refers to the date Ahmaud was killed. Wanda says it was founded by Jason Vaughn, a local high school coach who did not have a close relationship with Ahmaud. She says the org held a big fundraiser, but wants to make it clear the foundation is not affiliated with her family.

She says she could not stay silent in the face of what she sees as injustice. Wanda's bottom line is ... she's not asking for any money, because no amount of cash can change the fact she had to bury her son.

This video shows the level of tension that we have come to know as 2020, as a Trump supporter goes nuts on a Black guy who dared to stand in his lane on a running track.

It appears the track is somewhere in Maryland. The white guy is apoplectic because the black guy was standing and exercising in the lane he was using.

It could almost be an episode right out of "Seinfeld" ... a fight over nothing. There are dueling cellphones at work as the groups' jawbones back and forth. No racial epithets are hurled during the verbal confrontation, but it seems the white guy thinks he's being set up to look racist.

Check out the white girl in the video. She's just hanging out in one of the lanes, and the guy isn't objecting to her presence. The girl asks why it's okay for her to stand in a lane but not the guy ... and the black guy's friends say that's exactly what's up.

It appears the white guy has used the track for years, and seems to feel some entitlement to use the lanes as he sees fit. He could have just walked or ran around the guy who was standing on the track, but that wasn't in his playbook.

It's small comfort, but Americans aren't the only people who want to fight over wearing a mask, because a cop and a passenger went ballistic on a Liverpool train over face coverings.

The passenger was sitting on the train without a face mask, when he was approached by a British Transport cop, who explained the drill ... you wanna ride the train, wear a mask.

The cops reportedly got involved after someone called in and said a man was coughing on passengers. Cops boarded the train and encountered 34-year-old Anthony Baldwin, and things quickly turned physical.

Baldwin claimed he had underlying health conditions and, under the laws of Great Britain, he would be exempt from wearing face coverings.

The officer was having none of it and began grabbing at Baldwin, trying to get him off the train. Other passengers are screaming at the cop for getting aggressive, claiming the man had a medical condition. At the end of the video, it appears the cop unloads what appears to be pepper spray on Baldwin.

Alistair Overeem -- the last man to beat Brock Lesnar -- says the WWE superstar will NOT return to the UFC 'cause he's old, washed up ... and no one gives a crap about him!!

TMZ Sports asked the 40-year old UFC star -- who defeated Lesnar at UFC 141 in December 2011 -- if he believes Brock will step back into the Octagon now that his WWE contract expired.

Remember, earlier this week, Dana White told us he was open to making a Jon Jones vs. Lesnar fight ... IF both fighters were down.

But, Overeem tells us, he doesn't believe there's a chance in hell Lesnar comes back to fight.

"He's not coming back. He's 43-years-old. He's flunked tests. It's over with. He's not coming back."

Overeem admits he didn't think Brock was going to return to fight Mark Hunt in July 2016 ... but he did.

So, does Alistair -- who's fighting #9 ranked heavyweight Augusto Sakai at UFC Fight Night 176 -- want to run it back with Brock if the 6'3", 265 lb fighter does opt to return?

"I have beat him up. So, if someone wants a rematch, it would've been him, right? I already did it."

Overeem wasn't done throwing shade ... he took one last parting shot at Lesnar.

R. Kelly's alleged attacker just ID'd himself in court docs, claiming he’s the one who beat up Kelly behind bars ... and he has gang ties and murders on his record.

Jeremiah Shane Farmer filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, claiming he’s the pissed off inmate who went on the attack and jumped Kelly in his jail cell.

In the docs, Farmer claims "the government made me attack" Kelly -- although he doesn't explain why -- and says he pulled it off in hopes of shedding light on government corruption. As for what the "corruption" is ... he feels he was done dirty by the justice system.

TMZ broke the story ... Kelly got a taste of jailhouse justice last month inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago.

Farmer's admission is part of legal docs filed in a federal appeals court. Records show he's representing himself and is being housed at MCC just like Kelly.

R. Kelly's attorney, Steven Greenberg, tells TMZ Farmer is indeed the one who attacked the singer.

As we reported ... our federal sources and Kelly's attorneys said the inmate went on the attack because he was angry about MCC being placed on lockdown a few times, largely due to Kelly protesters outside the jail.

Farmer also included a Bureau of Prisons incident report in his filing, which says the alleged attack happened around 9:45 AM Aug. 26. The report says Farmer appeared to repeatedly punch Kelly in the head and torso, with a prison employee using pepper spray to end the alleged assault.

Britney Spears is making it clear -- she doesn't trust her dad and wants the public to hear what he and other professionals are doing to keep her in the conservatorship, and she also says the #FreeBritney movement's not only real ... she supports it.

Britney's lawyers just filed docs opposing her dad Jamie's motions to seal parts of her ongoing conservatorship case ... because she wants everyone to know what's up.

Britney is fighting her dad's move to appoint a co-conservator of her estate [handling business matters] to a lawyer who was deeply involved in her conservatorship for years. She wants someone independent to take the reins.

Britney argues there are no medical issues or sensitive issues with her children to protect, so there's no reason to keep the hearing secret.

The lawyer says, "... Britney herself is vehemently opposed to this effort by her father to keep her legal struggle hidden away in the closet as a family secret."

The lawyer adds, "Far from being a conspiracy theory or a 'joke' as James [Jamie] reportedly told the media, in large part this scrutiny is a reasonable and even predictable result of James' aggressive use of the sealing procedure over the years to minimize the amount of meaningful information made available to the public."

A fired college baseball coach allegedly hijacked Twitter accounts and started a social media war with the school after he got the axe ... and now, the university is suing the guy over it.

Here's the deal ... Saint Xavier University in Chicago, Ill. says in a new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, it hired Rocco Mossuto to coach its baseball team back in 2014.

The problem ... the university says after officials canned the guy in 2020 -- he hoarded all of the team's Twitter account passwords and refused to give them back to the school for WEEKS.

In fact, the university claims during that time period ... Mossuto tweeted out a bunch of inflammatory things about the school from the official accounts -- blasting the sports programs on multiple occasions.

Eventually, the school says Mossuto returned the accounts ... but claims the drama didn't end there.

In the lawsuit, SXU says Mossuto created more accounts that were almost identical to the university's official ones -- with similar bios, pictures of the team mascot, and handle names -- and they say it was all an effort by the ex-coach to disparage the school.

Now, SXU is suing Mossuto for trademark infringement and conversion ... and is asking for unspecified damages.

Multiple attempts to reach Mossuto for comment were unsuccessful.

Mossuto had found some success coaching the Cougars before his termination this year ... his team won the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament in 2016 and was runner-up at the same event the following year.

The NBA just hit Marcus Morris with a $35,000 fine for that hard foul on Luka Doncic during Game 6 of the playoff series between the Clippers and Mavs.

Morris and Doncic had been going after each other for the entire series -- things were chippy -- but things came to a head in the 1st quarter of Game 6 when Marcus hit Luka in the face while Doncic was going up for a layup.

A scuffle ensued. The players had to be separated. Morris was ejected from the game.

Now, to make matters worse for Morris ... he's gotta come out of pocket to the tune of $35k for "recklessly striking" Doncic, according to the NBA.

"The amount of the fine was based in part on the fact that Morris has been disciplined on several prior occasions for physical altercations on the court," the NBA said.

Later in the game, a rattled Doncic lost his cool over a foul call -- and threw the ball at the feet of one of the refs.

Doncic argued that he didn't intend to hit the ref -- just bad luck.

The NBA has fined Doncic over that incident to the tune of $15,000.

The Clippers ended up winning the game and the clinching the series, sending Doncic and the Mavs out of the NBA Bubble.

Utah Jazz superstar Donovan Mitchell is going OFF on MLS team owner Dell Loy Hansen for comments he made about player protests ... demanding he sell the team if he doesn't approve.

Of course, several MLS games were postponed following the Jacob Blake shooting ... including Hansen-owned Real Salt Lake's match-up with LAFC.

Hansen appeared on a radio show Thursday morning to express his frustrations with the game being postponed ... comparing the feeling to being stabbed.

"It’s a moment of sadness," Hansen told X96’s Radio From Hell. "It’s like somebody stabbed you and you’re trying to figure out a way to pull the knife out and move forward. That’s what it feels like."

"The disrespect is profound to me personally."

Hansen also claimed the players do not care about local issues, the city or the organization ... and hinted at losing interest in improving the team.

"It’s taken a lot of wind out of my sails, what effort I want to put into recruiting players and building a great team," Hansen said. "It just seems that’s not a very good path to take."

Enter Mitchell -- who got wind of Hansen's comments and came up with a simple solution for his frustrations.

"WOW... if it’s taken 'the wind' out then sell the team... I stand with (Real Salt Lake) players,'" Mitchell tweeted.

Soccer star Jozy Altidore agrees with Spida ... and says he's even in the process of forming a group to buy the team.

"He needs to sell the team then," Jozy tweeted. "I’m involved in a group that’s ready to purchase it. Time for change."