Fights

Hulk Hogan will never forget the impact pro wrestling legend Billy Graham had on his life, saying Graham's influence on his career is one of the main reasons he became one of the greatest icons in WWE history!

Hogan reflected on his relationship with Billy after the 79-year-old wrestling legend died last week, recalling how he would take his father to watch Billy's matches  ... and was captivated by BG's larger-than-life personality on the microphone and stellar physique.

"I want to be just like him," Hulk used to tell his dad, referring to Graham, as he watched in awe whenever "Superstar" would flex his biceps at events.

Hogan says he modeled his career after Graham, a former WWE Champion, and WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes, aka "The American Dream."

"I stole a little bit from each of them," Hogan told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

Hogan said he and Billy became good friends over the years and shared a full circle moment  ... telling a story of how Graham came to watch him in the main event at Madison Square Garden after years of watching Billy headline shows.

"We just bonded and just got along great," Hogan said.

One of Hogan's career highlights was when he joined forces with Graham, a moment The Hulkster appreciates all these years later when he reflects on his wrestling legacy.

Selena Gomez was caught on camera yelling at a security guard while heading into a Beyoncé concert this week -- and it certainly has strong echoes of Taylor Swift.

The pop star/actress was one of several stars who hit up Bey's show in Paris Friday -- just one of many stops on her Renaissance tour -- and while she was crossing the main stage area ... you can see she had a heated confrontation with one of the dudes trailing her.

He's with security, no doubt, and it seems he might've done something to piss Selena off -- 'cause she was definitely chewing him out. You can see he comes over closer to talk to her and then points in another direction. As for what this was about ... there are some theories.

Some on social media are claiming the bodyguard -- who was seen following Selena at other points in the show, leading sleuths to believe he might actually work for her personally -- aggressively shut down a fan who was trying to reach/talk to Selena as she was passing by.

There's no evidence of that from what we can see, but it's plausible -- she was getting pretty close to the front row crowd as she was heading to her VIP area ... and was even high-fiving several along the way. Maybe somebody got a little too handsy past the barricade.

There's one video circulating that purports to show a group of people attempting to mob her on the stadium floor ... but, to be honest, it's hard to make out what's what in the clip.

Of course, right on cue, there are some haters who are criticizing SG over this -- suggesting she overreacted to a tactic used in her best interest -- and others who are praising her. But, again, nobody seems to actually know what this was all about -- it's pure speculation.

Now, if there's any truth to the security/fan story ... you'd naturally compare it to what Taylor recently did at one of her shows -- where she stuck up for a concertgoer who had a run-in with security down on the floor. That incident was much easier to parse, though.

Bill Cosby's Cliff Huxtable character is sparking a furious online debate over whether he should be named one of the top 10 TV dads -- this after all of his legal woes involving sexual assault.

Cosby played the role of Cliff -- the beloved doctor -- in the popular '80s sitcom, "The Cosby Show," and, as a result, became an instant icon to all families.

But all that came to a crashing halt in the 2010s when he was accused of drugging and raping multiple women. In one case, Cosby was prosecuted and convicted of aggravated indecent assault, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. But Cosby's conviction was later overturned, and he was released after nearly 3 years behind bars.

Twitter users have compiled a list of the 10 best TV dads -- starting with Danny Tanner (Full House), then Dan Conner (Roseanne), Tim Taylor (Home Improvement), Philip Banks (Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air), Carl Winslow (Family Matters), Phil Dunphy (Modern Family), George Lopez (The George Lopez Show), Andy Griffith (The Andy Griffith Show), Mike Brady (The Brady Bunch) and Al Bundy (Married... with Children).

People are asking whether Huxtable should be on the list for obvious reasons -- but it seems many on Twitter are arguing on his behalf, although they still have mixed feelings.

One person wrote, "So Cliff Huxtable is trending because he wasn't included in a list of top 10 TV dads. Who can't forget about a rapist who played an OBGYN that conducted vaginal exams in his basement?"

Another person said, "Cliff Huxtable was one of the greatest TV dads of all time. Bill Cosby is a sexual deviant who got away with rape because of a technicality. We can say one without compromising the other."

A third individual pointed out ... "Separating Cosby from Cliff Huxtable is a tough ask, but the character was undeniably a great one -- and an important one. He belongs on the list."

So we gotta ask ...

AEW star Darby Allin, known for his death-defying stunts and daredevil personality, tells TMZ Sports he's "dialed in" ahead of his Fatal 4-Way championship match ... and believes a victory could catapult his career to the next level!

Allin faces three other men -- Jack Perry, Sammy Guevara, and the current AEW World Champion Maxwell Jacob Friedman -- at AEW's Double or Nothing event at the T-Mobile Arena in Vegas on Sunday, and he's excited about the opportunity to become the champion.

"My first ever main event in the whole entire company," Allin said. "That's something I've strived for since day one. To be the face of the company. And to be the face of the company, I really believe you need to be champion."

Darby admits he never envisioned headlining an event of this magnitude when he signed with AEW, but now that the moment's almost here, he's got "all the confidence in the world."

"I'm ready to rock it," Allin said.

"This Sunday is going to be special. You got a bunch of young, hungry guys. I guess we all have chips on our shoulders. We got something to prove out there. We're on last, we have to close the show. Got to bring the heat. I'm ready."

Allin -- who once jumped 96 feet over his house in a jeep (he also recently told us he plans to climb Mount Everest next year) -- also told us the stunts he performs have prepared him to be in this main event.

Shakur Stevenson vs. Devin Haney is a fight virtually everyone in boxing wants, but it's still not the biggest scrap out there for the star boxer from Jersey, who tells us a matchup with Gervonta "Tank" Davis is actually number one!

"I think both [Davis and Haney] fights is great fights for me," the 25-year-old undefeated lightweight told Babcock when he joined the "TMZ Sports" TV show this week (airs weekdays on FS1).

"Obviously, I think me and Tank is a bigger fight, but me and Dev is a fight where I could establish who I am as a fighter."

Stevenson (20-0, 10 KOs) has made it clear ... he wants smoke with all the top 135 lb. fighters, including the champ, Haney (30-0), Davis (29-0), and Vasiliy Lomachenko (17-3), who many believe actually beat Devin last Saturday night in Vegas.

Now, there's talk Devin, who has to cut a lot of weight to make 135, could go up in weight class ... and if he does move to junior welterweight, Shakur says he'll understand, because cutting weight sucks. But, it's not the move he'd make with so many doubting whether he truly won his last fight.

"If [Devin] can't make the weight and he don't feel the same, then just go up, but if it was me, if I was in his shoes, I would have the [Loma] rematch," Shakur told us, adding, "I would have to show the world that that dude can't f*** with me. That's how I would do it."

Regardless of what the other top fighters do, Shakur has a plan mapped out.

"It's definitely some great fights to make," Shakur told us, adding, "If [Devin] stays, I think me and Dev should fight next. If he doesn't stay and he decides to go to 140, I think me and Lomachenko should bang it out. I think that's the big fight and the world get to see who I truly am, how special I am."

Stevenson clearly has a lot of respect for Lomachenko ... and believes the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer proved he's not done with his performance against the younger and bigger Haney.

"I feel like Lomachenko just showed the world that he's not washed. He's not washed up. Now that we know that, I think it's only right, throw me in there with him, and let's see if I'm the truth. I'll keep saying I'm the truth."

There's much more ... we talked to Stevenson about his take on the Haney-Loma fight (which has changed a bit now that he's rewatched it on TV), what he and Devin said to each other in the ring after the Loma fight, and whether there's truly a chance boxing fans get these super fights.

Turns out, not every Yankee fan was in a good mood following the Bronx Bombers' thrilling walk-off win on Tuesday ... 'cause several Pinstripes supporters were seen getting into a brawl on a New York sidewalk following the victory -- and it was wild!!

According to a witness who posted video of the skirmish on Twitter ... the altercation happened after the combatants initially began arguing inside Billy's Sports Bar -- a popular watering hole located just feet from Yankee Stadium.

The social media user said despite Anthony Volpe's clutch, 9th-inning sacrifice fly that gave the Yanks a 6-5 win over the Orioles ... the argument escalated into a full-on fight outside of the restaurant.

You can see in the footage, two men clad in Yankees jerseys jumped on top of each other on the sidewalk ... and began wrestling. Not long after, fists started to fly.

Another man jumped into the scene in an apparent attempt to break things up -- which only enraged a woman nearby.

The video shows the woman threw a few punches of her own ... before, thankfully, cooler heads prevailed.

It's unclear if any arrests were made -- we've reached out to authorities, but so far, no word back yet.

About a dozen travelers got into an all-out brawl at Chicago's O'Hare Airport with lots of fists flying, hair pulling and rolling around on the floor.

Check out video, posted to Twitter, which shows guys and girls getting into the knockdown, drag out fight Monday night at the baggage claim area of Terminal 3.

Unclear what triggered the violence ... but the scene quickly turned chaotic, and the participants started wailing at one another.

You see 3 men wildly throw punches on the luggage carousel. Women try to pull out each other's hair while grappling on the ground. One woman is barefoot, having lost her shoes during the WWE-like Battle Royal.

Thankfully police arrived to break up the fight before anyone got seriously hurt.

An argument between a parent and a referee at a youth basketball game over the weekend escalated into a wild brawl right on the court ... and the crazy scene was all captured on video.

The fight happened Saturday at the SportONE Parkview Fieldhouse in Fort Wayne, Ind. ... when, as you can see in the footage, a man left his seat in the stands to have a word with a ref in the middle of a game involving little kids.

The two appeared to exchange words for several moments -- before, suddenly, the man threw punches at the game official.

The ref then went for the takedown, shooting, and getting a double leg ... before dumping the parent to the floor.

The fighting didn't stop once they hit the hardwood ... the men continued to go at it, struggling for position. Thankfully, spectators jumped in to break it all up.

Witnesses told WANE 15 the parent was then escorted out of the venue ... and did not return. It's unclear what sparked the initial altercation.

We've reached out to the venue for comment, but so far, no word back.

Michael Bisping briefly came out of retirement Saturday night, choking Steve-O unconscious in a UFC Octagon ... while the Jackass star refused to tap!

It all went down at the UFC APEX Center on Saturday in Las Vegas. Steve-O was in the building to watch the UFC Fight Night card ... but got in on the action himself after all of the fights were settled.

The clip starts with 44-year-old Bisping standing behind Steve-O, and he has him in a rear naked choke. Michael applies pressure ... and after 11-12 seconds, and a refusal to tap out, Steve-O went to sleep.

Bisping, former Middleweight champion (although not known for his submissions), then laid Steve-O down on the canvas while everyone waited for him to wake up.

After a few seconds, Steve-O popped his head up and said ... "Oh s***!", as everyone cracked up.

Bisping told Steve-O ... "You crazy bastard. Are you okay?!"

Mercedes Moné may have given us a preview of things to come when she fights this weekend ... 'cause the former WWE Superstar beat the s*** out of "Mojo" Muhtadi, making the TMZ Sports cohost tap out with her signature "Statement Maker" finisher.

Moné will fight Stephanie Vaquer, a Chilean professional wrestler, at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA, on Sunday, during New Japan Pro Wrestling's "Resurgence" ... in the first round of the Strong Women's Championship Tournament.

But, first, she sent a message to her challenger ... at the expense of Mojo!

Muhtadi went to give Mercedes, his good friend, a high five, but she turned it into the "Statement Maker" (aka the "Bank Statement" in the WWE), a maneuver she's used on countless opponents throughout her wrestling career, culminating in multiple championships.

Mercedes also broke down this weekend's tourney ... explaining a win over Stephanie would catapult her to the championship match against her translator from Japan, Momo Kohgo, or AEW wrestler Willow Nightingale, to crown the first-ever NJPW Strong Women's champ.

Following her split from WWE, Mercedes returned to the ring in February ... and was an instant hit in NJPW, where she defeated Kairi to win the IWGP Championship in her debut.

Unfortunately, Moné dropped the title to Mayu Iwatani at the Stardom All Star Grand Queendom event in Tokyo in April.

A customer lost his s*** and totally trashed a Chipotle Mexican Grill in D.C. -- and it was all because his tacos weren't made fast enough!!!

Fox 5 in Washington D.C. obtained surveillance video of the food fight, which starts off with the man standing at the counter waiting for an employee to prepare his food after he ordered the tacos.

It doesn't take long for him to go completely bonkers. He reaches over a glass partition and scoops up a pile of lettuce and other ingredients and hurls them at the worker, who ducks for cover in a room behind the counter.

But the unruly patron isn't done yet. He picks up a stack of trays, bags and napkins and throws them across the room. He even grabs a computer monitor and tosses it.

According to a police report, obtained by Fox Business, the man became furious simply because the worker failed -- in his view -- to serve the tacos at a more rapid pace.

After making the mess, the suspect jumped on a scooter and drove off.

The Metropolitan Police Department has launched an investigation and is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to the man's arrest.

Cris "Cyborg" Justino might've re-signed with Bellator, but that doesn't mean a scrap between Kayla Harrison and the MMA legend is off the table for good, with the Brazilian fighter telling us the super fight can still happen!

37-year-old Cyborg, the Bellator women's featherweight champion, opted to stay with CEO Scott Coker's company, inking a new deal with the promotion.

The downside -- many believed the re-signing to be the final nail in the coffin for anyone who hoped to see Cyborg fight Kayla.

In fact, the PFL star herself said the odds of it happening were "slim" and "decreasing, not increasing" ... though the 2x Olympic gold medalist may now have a glimmer of hope after hearing what Cyborg told us this week at LAX.

"Yes, she can call Scott Coker and make this fight happen. She can come to Bellator."

Obviously, the giant catch is changing promotions ... but the bottom line is Justino's saying there's a chance.

"If she wants to make a great fight, I think the best division is in Bellator. We have a full division at featherweight," Cyborg told us.

"If she wants to make something great, she can go [to Bellator]."

If the fight does happen, it'd pit two of the most dominant female MMA fighters ever against one another. Cyborg's a trailblazer ... and has only lost twice (Erica Paes in her first ever pro bout and Amanda Nunes) in 28 professional fights. Cris has smashed her opps going back two decades.

As for Kayla, she's newer to the sport, but no less dominant. Harrison is 15-1 ... and coming off the only defeat of her awesome career (she lost to Pacheco in November). A sign of KH's dominance ... 9 of Harrison's 15 wins were first-round knockouts or submissions. Outside of Larissa, no one's even come close to beating her.

If the fight does ultimately go down, it's not going to happen imminently. So, it's likely Cris will face Cat Zingano next, the number 1 contender.

We asked Cyborg about that matchup ... and she gives us an update on contract negotiations.

KSI's win over Joe Fournier is no more -- 'cause just days after the businessman/boxer filed an appeal claiming he was illegally elbowed, not punched, the boxing commission overturned the victory.

KSI vs. Fournier is now officially a "no contest."

Of course, the two met in the ring at the Misfits Boxing event at the OVO Arena Wembley ... where each fighter traded punches for two rounds before KSI landed the final blow to Fournier's jaw.

At first, it looked like KSI landed a clean punch ... but upon further review, it was clear the ref missed the illegal hit -- an elbow.

Many were furious with the result ... as KSI would certainly not have been declared the winner if the official noticed what went down.

The fight was Saturday night, and by Monday, Joe had already appealed to the Professional Boxing Association. After reviewing video from the fight, the PBA ultimately decided a no contest was appropriate.

The PBA noted the elbow was not thrown on purpose ... and was "accidental."

Fournier, as you'd expect, was thrilled with the decision ... and made a video reacting to the news online.

As for KSI, he sarcastically congratulated Fournier ... and posted a few memes for good measure.

A Dodgers fan was knocked out cold during a wild melee after a game earlier this week ... and the scary scene -- which featured multiple people brawling -- was all captured on video.

The fistfight broke out just minutes after L.A. had lost to the Twins at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night ... after several fans got into a verbal argument.

You can see in the footage, captured on a bystander's cell phone, a couple of men began pushing and shoving each other ... before they started to trade blows.

At one point during the fracas, a guy in a Clayton Kershaw jersey was socked so hard in the face after running toward a man in a blue Dodgers shirt ... he crumpled to the ground.

As his body made its way to the pavement, though ... you can see he hit his head hard -- leaving him completely unconscious.

One witness, Johnathan Lopez, told KTLA that security guards ultimately stepped in to break things up ... and loaded the injured man onto a stretcher. His status remains unclear.

"I honestly don’t know what started it," Lopez said. "You could tell some of them were drunk … and some of them were almost drunk."

A spokesperson for the LAPD, meanwhile, told TMZ Sports on Thursday cops had no information regarding the incident.

The fight is hardly the first at Dodger Stadium ... in fact, just 12 months ago, an L.A. fan and a Giants supporter got into a heated tiff in what appeared to be the same area as Tuesday's skirmish.

Draymond Green is opening up about the Warriors' second-round playoff exit ... saying his squad would still be alive IF he hadn't socked Jordan Poole in the face before the season started.

Green spoke to Stephen A. Smith Tuesday night during Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and Nuggets, and was honest about where he thinks things went wrong this season.

"We're not playing right now because when you speak about the fouling, when you think about all of the slippage that we had as a team on the road, not being able to come together. None of those things happen if that doesn't happen," Green told Smith, referring to when he punched the Warriors guard in the face in October.

Draymond continued ... "None of those things happen if that doesn't happen, because the voice that I am and the departments that I lead this team in, there was a ton of slippage due to me sitting back, me not saying anything, me trying to allow that situation to play itself out and give it time to heal."

Green -- the emotional catalyst during the Warriors' dynasty -- said he felt like he lost his voice as a leader after the Poole incident ... and, as a result, it caused a "ton of slippage" throughout the season.

Green went on to say it wasn't until February that he felt comfortable being the Draymond that helped the team win four titles. But, at that point, too much time had passed, and the Dubs had developed bad habits, thwarting any possible hopes of repeating as NBA champs.

"If that slippage has been going on that long, you are who you are at that point. You've built those habits. You've built bad habits. That is who you are now. So to try to correct them then. It's like, 'OK, you may get a little better.' We did. We ended up in the second round of the playoffs but not at a championship level."

Earlier on Tuesday, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr echoed the same sentiments as Draymond during his end-of-the-season interview with the media ... saying Green punching Poole "compromised things."

It's a special week for Conor McGregor -- it's the UFC superstar's youngest son's birthday ... and to celebrate the occasion, The Notorious decided to take a trip to Los Angeles ... with a new look!!!

Ditching his signature beard for the first time in months ... McGregor was thrilled to carry around baby Rian throughout the streets of Beverly Hills on Monday -- just hours before the toddler turned two years old.

McGregor was in great spirits while holding the kid -- making sure TMZ Sports' photog was well aware of Tuesday's big day.

"That's it, that's it," McGregor said, grinning ear-to-ear. "Birthday boy tomorrow! He's two tomorrow!"

Conor also talked a little fighting in between showing love for his baby boy ... telling us he and the UFC will be announcing an official date for his return fight against Michael Chandler "very soon."

He appeared to add that his UFC comeback won't just stop with a tilt against MC either ... telling us he's got his sights set on recording a few more knockouts to break the UFC's all-time career KO record.

"I'm only five KOs to go," the 22-6 fighter said. "So I'm almost there already!"

McGregor has not fought since he badly broke his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021 ... but he's been working like a madman to get back -- and, clearly, we're now just a few months away from the return.