Fights & Feuds

Conor McGregor's manager says the Nate Diaz trilogy fight WILL happen soon ... but first, Conor has his sights set on Charles Oliveira and the UFC lightweight belt.

TMZ Sports caught up with Audie Attar -- McGregor's longtime rep and biz partner -- at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas ... and we asked who Conor will fight next if he gets a dub vs. Dustin Poirier at UFC 264.

"I think it'll be the title fight against Charles Oliveira. Oliveria is here, he's gonna be present at the fight, waiting to see who he's gonna fight next."

We also asked Audie about the fight just about every MMA fan wants to see ... the rubber match with Nate Diaz.

Of course, Diaz submitted McGregor in their first fight in March 2016. Later that year, Conor bounced back and beat Nate via decision at UFC 202.

The third fight has arguably been the most anticipated fight in the entire sport ... a matchup that Audie says will certainly go down.

"The trilogy fight is gonna happen. Conor publicly said it has to happen. And, I know both fighters intend to make it happen. I think it's just gonna happen in the near future, just not next, immediately."

Attar added ... "He wants the belt next."

We also asked Attar about a future Jake Paul fight ... a fight he says Conor and his team aren't even considering.

Britney Spears has a front-row seat for a battle royale between her father and her personal conservator, Jodi Montgomery, who's firing back at Jamie Spears ... claiming she's the only one moving Britney closer to her ultimate goal of freedom.

Montgomery filed docs Friday, blasting Britney's dad for attempting to lay blame at her feet for Britney's brutal testimony about her treatment under the conservatorship. In the docs, Montgomery says she's received "countless" messages about one thing -- getting her father out of her life and the conservatorship.

Jodi says, "It is ironic that Mr. Spears now wants the conservatorship to 'reflect her wishes' since it is no secret that Ms. Spears has wished her father out of her life for years."

As for Jamie implying, in a previous filing, that Jodi or others have prevented him from communicating with Britney ... Jodi's attorney writes, "Ms. Spears is the one who cut him off ... That is her choice not Ms. Montgomery's."

According to the docs, Jodi also says it's absurd for Jamie to suggest she's making decisions without him, because "everything costs money," and all the expenses go through Jamie in his role as conservator of Britney's estate.

Jodi insists she is actively working to address the concerns Britney raised during her testimony by working with her medical team to develop a "comprehensive care plan" that will create a path to ending the conservatorship.

The driving point Jodi's making is ... she's down with Britney's desire to be free of the conservatorship, but wants to do it responsibly with input from her doctors -- and she's implying Jamie is not.

In the docs, she points out Britney's father has never fully relinquished control, as he's remained either a sole or co-conservator for the last 13 years -- and she claims he's left open the possibility he'll be the last man standing to claim full control.

As we've reported, several entities have recently jumped ship -- including intended co-conservators of the estate, Bessemer Trust, Britney's attorney, Sam Ingham, and her longtime manager Larry Rudolph ... although he was not directly involved in the conservatorship.

Jodi says she's "committed to staying" so she can complete Britney's new care plan and eventually dissolve the conservatorship. Something she calls "a goal that may not necessarily be shared by Mr. Spears."

Tristan Thompson appears to have beef with Lamar Odom ... and Khloe Kardashian is smack in the middle of things.

Here's the deal ... Khloe posted an Instagram photo Friday showing her taking an outdoor shower in a skimpy bikini, and Lamar complimented her in the comments, telling her she's a "hottie" ... a response Tristan's not taking kindly.

Tristan tagged Lamar in the comments and then seemed to loft a threat his way, writing ... "@lamarodom God brought you back the first time. Play if you want, different results 🤷🏽‍♂️🤷🏽‍♂️"

The comment is obviously referring to Lamar's infamous 2015 drug overdose at a Nevada brothel, which nearly killed the former NBA stud.

As you know ... Tristan's got a child with Khloe, but she's got a long history with Lamar. Khloe and Odom were married from 2009 to 2016 and they had their own reality show, "Khloe & Lamar."

Tristan and Khloe recently called it quits (again) after allegations of cheating (again) ... but he wished her happy birthday last month on his IG and often comments on her posts.

Tyson Fury has COVID-19 and his super fight with Deontay Wilder will almost certainly be postponed ... so says boxing insider Teddy Atlas.

Fury and Wilder are scheduled to fight July 24 ... their 3rd fight. The 1st was a draw ... and Fury KO'd Deontay in their 2nd bout in February 2020.

But, earlier today, rumors were swirling that someone in Fury's camp contracted the virus ... but it was unclear if that was accurate -- and if Tyson had the virus.

But, when Atlas joined the Wise Kracks Podcast with Bill Krackomberger and Jon Orlando ... he dropped some bombshell info.

“It looks like Fury actually has COVID. He had 1 shot. He didn't get both shots, both vaccines. And, it looks like he has the COVID,” Atlas says.

So, if Fury has COVID ... it seems all but a sure thing the trilogy fight will be postponed. There are rumors the trilogy fight could be moved to September ... but Teddy says he doesn't know if that's enough time.

“They're talking about pushing it back to September. I don't know if that's enough time.”

On Thursday, a Top Rank spokesperson -- Fury's promoter -- gave us the following statement.

“We continue to monitor the health status of Tyson and his team and the status of the event has not changed to date.”

Story developing ...

Tekashi69 is back on his grind to be the Internet's #1 celeb troll, and this time he's targeting Blueface over a fresh tattoo.

So, get this ... Blueface recently got a tattoo on the side of his head and it raised a lot of eyebrows because the precious real estate the "Bleed It" rapper carved on his dome was reserved for his celebrity jeweler ... NYC Luxury.

The clowning was swift ... and Tekashi got right in the mix by chiming in on DJ Akademiks' IG post with not-so-veiled comments implying Blueface is broke and can't pay for his bling.

Tekashi wrote, "He definitely owed them money for unpaid jewelry" ... followed by "NYC Luxury" and a bunch of laughing and skull emojis, as in ... dead ass laughing.

Not helping matters is the fact Blueface -- who already sports Yves Saint Laurent and Corvette logos on his head -- doesn't exactly look thrilled with the finished product.

In any event ... the trolling is a far departure from when Tekashi vowed a little over a year ago to be on his best social media behavior after being sprung from prison early.

TMZ broke the story ... Tekashi's attorney, Lance Lazzaro, said the rapper wouldn't start beef or troll other artists because the feds would be watching. Sure, 69 has no restrictions regarding his social media use ... but he still vowed not to post anything inflammatory.

That all seems to be out the window. Remember, Tekashi nearly came to blows with Meek Mill in Miami earlier this year ... and now this. It's also pretty ironic for 6ix9ine, of all people, to be commenting about anyone getting ink on their face or head. Pot and kettle much?

"I couldn’t care about them 2 dingbats."

Conor McGregor is days away from one of the biggest fights of his career, but the UFC superstar's still getting grilled about Jake and Logan Paul ... saying he has no intention of ever fighting the YouTubers-turned-boxers.

... but he's not counting it out for good!!!

"The Notorious" -- who's seeking revenge against Dustin Poirier at UFC 264 on Saturday -- was asked if he'd ever step in the ring with the two bros this week ... and his answer is very interesting.

"I don’t see so, but never say never," Conor said. "If they’re gonna keep competing and what not, who f***in' knows? But dingbats, the 2 of 'em."

In other words -- SO YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE!!!!

Remember, Jake has incessantly gone after McGregor for months ... offering $50 million to make the fight happen, even releasing a wild video claiming the superstar and Dana White are scared to set it up.

Conor -- who loves making money -- has kept his options open about fighting Jake in the past ... and you'd think there's gotta be a reason for that.

Britney Spears made a compelling case that the conservators have abused her and upended her life, but we've learned the conservators are going to present a very different story to the judge.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, various people involved in different elements of the conservatorship claim Britney's story doesn't mesh with the facts.

For instance, Britney told the judge last week she was forced to go on her 2018 European tour. She said, "I was on tour in 2018. I was forced to do ... my management said if I don't do this tour, I will have to find an attorney and by contract, their own management could sue me if I didn't follow through with a tour. He handed me a sheet of paper as I got off the stage in Vegas and said I had to sign it. It was very threatening and scary. I couldn't even get my own attorney, so out of fear, I went ahead and did the tour."

Sources connected to the conservatorship tell TMZ, people involved in the tour will tell a very different story at the next court hearing. We're told they will say the following ... when Britney was at the tail end of her Vegas "Piece of Me" residency, she realized "she had nothing on her calendar for almost all of 2018. She then asked Management to find something for her to do so she wouldn't be bored for a year."

The sources claim Management came back to her and suggested a European tour, adding, "She literally begged to do the 2018 European Tour run. She was very excited about it and called repeatedly to ask to have it confirmed. There is a text message exchange between Management and Britney on December 16, 2017, where management provides her with the tour routing. She asks a few questions, and expresses how excited she is to do it."

The sources say once she was on tour, "she simply didn't want to be there so she was trying to find every excuse to leave the tour, at which time she made up the story about being forced to do it."

Britney said she was forced to sign a document committing to do the European tour. Sources connected to the conservatorship say she was asked, not forced to sign, and she did. Furthermore, the sources say the conservatorship changed protocols because Britney would agree to do various things but when it came time to do them "she would lie and deny having agreed to do it. The conservatorship was then forced to put into effect protocols requiring management to get her to sign off on all professional obligations so the conservatorship could show it to her to 'remind her' that she consented to the obligation."

The sources say Management did indeed ask her to sign the document committing to the tour, because that was the protocol the conservatorship had in place, and Britney "willingly signed."

We're told various people in the conservatorship will dispute many of Britney's claims involving getting married, having a baby, being denied the right to see her kids, not knowing she could end the conservatorship ... among other things.

NFL legend Bruce Smith says the Packers are SCREWED if they don't remedy the Aaron Rodgers situation ... telling TMZ Sports Green Bay is NOT a contender without the QB.

Smith didn't mince words when talking about the Cheesehead drama ... saying straight-up, "With [Rodgers], they are a contender. Without him, they are not!"

Of course, the Packers certainly know that -- Rodgers is one of the greatest football players EVER -- but for some reason, they still haven't been able to squash the beef.

Rodgers has made it clear he's upset over his contract situation ... and reportedly, the 37-year-old ain't too happy with some of the team's personnel moves over the past few years either.

Smith is warning the Packers to get it all behind them quickly ... explaining the drop-off from Rodgers to Jordan Love in 2021 could be significant.

"My advice would be to hash out their differences," Smith said.

Smith tells us at the very least, the Packers have to figure out a way to hold onto Rodgers for at least one more year before they move on.

"It would be in everyone's best interest that Aaron is happy going into this season or he at least knows what his future is going to look like after the season is over."

Patrick Beverley wasn't the only one acting up after the Clippers got booted from the playoffs on Wednesday ... 'cause several L.A. fans got into an all-out brawl in the stands!!

The footage is wild -- at least 3 dudes decked out in Clippers gear appear to go after a tall man in a black shirt at Staples Center ... with one of the fans using what looks like a beer can during his attack.

Of course, there's a bit of violent history between both teams' backers -- as we previously reported, Suns and Clippers fans threw haymakers in Phoenix after Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

And, even before that series, the "Suns In 4" guy went viral for getting into it with a pair of Denver Nuggets fans in the semifinals.

NBA writer Farbod Esnaashari posted footage of the newest brawl from Wednesday night ... claiming the guy in the black shirt is a Suns/Lakers fan.

The man in the black shirt impressively takes on multiple guys punching at him at once ... before being pushed down into the row below him.

Thankfully, it looks like no one was badly injured ... the guy in black is well enough to give the Clippers fans 2 BIG middle fingers while on the ground.

The unveiling of a Princess Diana statue at Kensington Palace should be cause for a royal celebration, but instead, the tension leading up to the event between Prince William and Prince Harry caused it to be a much smaller, somber affair ... so claims a famous photographer.

If you hadn't heard ... Diana would have turned 60 today, and her 2 sons just unveiled a statue in her honor in the gardens of Diana's home ... the home where Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement.

The ceremony was originally planned as a large gathering, but the royal brothers recently decided to cut the guest list down to a handful of close relatives ... blaming the change on renewed COVID concerns.

But, Arthur Edwards, Royal Photographer for "The Sun," is calling BS -- he says the ongoing friction between the princes is the real reason for the scaled-down event.

Edwards says the garden area is quite large, so if they wanted to have a nice-sized crowd that could still socially distance ... they could have easily figured that out.

The photog points out that 40,000 people were packed into Wembley Stadium recently to watch England beat Germany in the Euro ... so he says it's sad so many people who were close to Diana -- including Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Edwards himself -- can't attend the unveiling.

Elton John reportedly was also axed from the guest list ... but there are plans for a later tribute for Diana in September.

7-time NBA champ Robert Horry is defending Phil Jackson ... saying he does NOT believe the man is racist -- but admits there were times he had to "check" the legendary coach for comments made towards his players.

Horry is responding to bombshell allegations Scottie Pippen made earlier this week ... when the Hall of Famer told the 'Dan Patrick Show' he believed Jackson was racist.

Big Shot Bob -- who played for Jackson on the Lakers from 1999-2003 -- shared his personal experiences with the coach on his podcast this week ... saying straight-up -- "I don't think Phil is racist."

Horry explains there were times he had to call out Jackson over his choice of words ... but he did not believe the coach had racist intent.

"We were in the huddle and Phil was like, 'You need to know the sound of your master's voice,'" Horry said on the 'Big Shot Bob Pod' on PodcastOne. "I looked at him, I was like, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa, nah, we don't do that. I'm from the South."

Horry says Jackson was quick to backtrack ... claiming he didn't mean it the way it came out.

"I said, 'Dude, that's too close, that's too close,' and I knew where he was trying to come across as saying, because, in the arenas, you need to understand and hear your person that is trying to lead you."

Worth noting -- Phil has been dubbed the "Zen Master" due to his coaching techniques ... but given Horry's description of the exchange, that wasn't really what he was going for either.

Horry continued ... "I understand, I said, but there's certain words you can use and I'm like, 'We ain't that close yet.'"

Regardless, Horry says he does not agree with Pippen's take.

Riddick Bowe is back!!

We're told the 53-year-old former 2x heavyweight champion has inked a deal with Celebrity Boxing to fight October 23 in Miami.

Bowe -- who last fought to a unanimous decision victory in December 2008 -- does not yet have an opponent.

Back in his day, Riddick was one of the BADDEST dudes in the world. His pro record stands at 43-1 (33 KO's) ... with 1 of those big wins coming at the expense of the legendary Evander Holyfield.

Bowe is just the latest 50-something former champ to re-lace up the gloves.

Late last year, Mike Tyson and Roy Jones Jr. fought an exhibition match that ended in a draw.

Speaking of 55-year-old Iron Mike ... we're told Bowe actually has interest in fighting Tyson.

It's a fight boxing fans badly wanted back in the day, but the stars never aligned for Mike and Riddick.

Scottie Pippen just unleashed some serious allegations against Phil Jackson ... claiming the legendary NBA coach is a "racist" in a bombshell interview Monday.

The ex-Chicago Bulls great has been going OFF on his former team over the past week ... including making a bold claim that Jackson's decision to set up a game-winning play for rookie Toni Kukoc in the 1994 playoffs was a "racial move."

Pip doubled down on his stance on the "Dan Patrick Show" on Monday ... when he was asked to clarify if he meant Jackson is actually racist.

Here's the exchange:

Dan Patrick: "By saying a 'racial move,' then you're calling Phil Jackson a racist."

Pippen: "I don't got a problem with that."

DP: "Do you think Phil was, or is?"

Pippen: "Oh, yeah."

While he did not give specific instances to back up his claim, Pippen went on to bash the coach for writing a "tell-all" about Kobe Bryant after leaving the Lakers in 2004 ... just to return a year later.

"Who would do that?" Pippen said. "You name someone in professional sports that would do that. I think he got to expose Kobe in a way that he shouldn't have."

"You're the head coach. You're the guy that sits in the locker room and tells the players, 'This is a circle, and everything stays within the circle' because that's what team is about."

Scottie added ... "But, you as the head coach open it up and now you go out and you try to belittle at that time, probably one of the greatest players in the game."

Patrick fought back, saying that would bring Jackson's loyalty -- not alleged racist views -- into question ... but Pippen was adamant his personal experiences speak for themselves.

"I was in the locker room with him," Pippen said. "I was in practices with him. You're looking at him from afar."

A Mexican Baseball League hitter was so livid after he was drilled by a fastball Wednesday ... he straight-up attacked the pitcher with his bat AND helmet -- and the wild scene was all caught on video.

It all went down in the Toros de Tijuana game against Rieleros de Aguascalientes in Tijuana ... when Toros catcher Gabriel Gutierrez absolutely lost his mind in the 8th inning.

Things between the two teams had been chippy all night -- and when Gutierrez appeared to be purposely drilled by a pitch ... he snapped.

Check out the footage of the chaos, Gutierrez launched his bat and then his helmet at Rieleros pitcher Brandon Quintero ... and then all hell broke loose.

The two teams' benches cleared and several skirmishes broke out ... with some of the fights even including wild haymakers!!!

Eventually, the two teams were separated ... with three players ultimately being booted from the game over the incident.

The Toros went on to win, 5-3 ... and afterward, Tijuana star Leandro Castro said in Spanish everything was essentially the Rieleros' fault.

He pinned the blame on them being upset over a previous matchup between the two teams ... and added he REALLY hopes a similar scene never happens again.

"Come pussycat! You call yourself 'El Pantera.' I feel like 'El Pussycat' fits you more better."

Those fightin' words come courtesy of UFC rising star Giga Chikadze ... who challenged Yair "El Pantera" Rodriguez while talking to TMZ Sports.

Here's the deal ... Rodriguez -- the #3 ranked UFC featherweight -- was scheduled to scrap with #1 ranked Max Holloway on July 17.

Unfortunately, Blessed had to pull out with an undisclosed injury ... leaving Yair without an opponent.

Cue 32-year-old, #10 ranked Chikadze ... who's on an 8-fight win streak -- and badly wants to step in the Octagon with Rodriguez.

"It would be a pleasure to fight [Yair]. Actually, UFC called me about this fight and I agreed right away, of course."

But, Giga says YR ... and a bunch of other top 10 ranked guys are intentionally avoiding him.

"I'm a new guy in division and I see everyone is ducking me. I just got in top 10 and all the top 10 guys, they were ducking me."

So, Chikadze's parting message to Yair?

"Prove me wrong in Vegas!"

Bryce Hall's fighting days ain't over -- at least not yet -- the social media star tells us "of course" he'll be back in the ring soon.

But, the bigger question is ... who's he gonna fight?

The 21-year-old superstar -- coming off a loss to Austin McBroom -- was all smiles as he hit Boa Steakhouse on Sunset Blvd. on Thursday night ... a wild scene with fans, paparazzi and his own personal rapper?!!

Yep, some dude was freestyling for Bryce right in front of the restaurant ... spitting bars about the fight (maybe not the best idea, considering he lost).

As for Bryce's fighting future, he recently told Drama Alert’s Keemstar he plans on continuing his training ... but wouldn't confirm his next opponent.

There's talk he could face KSI's younger bro, Deji -- but Austin said they're actually friends and he doesn't want to punch someone he actually likes.

"I couldn’t just fight somebody if I don't have beef with them," Hall told Keemstar.