Fights

Mark Zuckerberg is hellbent on taking a fight in the UFC -- NOT with Elon Musk, but possibly with an actual UFC fighter -- and now, Dana White is more than insinuating it could actually go down!

As you know, Zuck's moved on from a fight with Elon, saying last Friday, " ... I'll share details on my next fight when I'm ready." So, he's got some plan for his "next fight."

He went on to say, "I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of their game," adding, "You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well."

Zuck said Monday, "I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously."

So, who are the "elite athletes" and "people who take the sport seriously?" It seems unlikely there's another Elon out there -- billionaire vs. billionaire -- and it doesn't make a lot of sense Zuck would involve the UFC for some amateur fight with a rando.

We know Zuck's been in communication with UFC Prez Dana White for well over a month and probably a lot longer, and Dana has 500 fighters on his roster who would love this kind of attention -- fighting M.Z.

Now there's no way Zuck would fight a UFC vet, but what about a fighter who just joined the org?

We contacted Dana with our connect-the-dots theory, and here's what he told us ... "I have said since day 1 Mark is a very serious guy. He loves the sport and is training hard. I believe he is serious about fighting in the UFC."

Notice Dana said "fighting IN the UFC." That more than suggests he'd be fighting someone on the INside, not the outside.

CMFTR + SAG-AFTRA!

AEW star CM Punk showed big-time support for the striking actors, rockin' a Screen Actors Guild t-shirt to the ring on AEW Collision over the weekend.

Punk's shirt read ... "SAG-AFTRA ON STRIKE"

The "Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists" is an American labor union representing over 150K people working in the entertainment industry, including actors (from Tom Hanks to bit actors). They've been on strike since July 14.

After making the in-ring statement, CM Punk, government name Phil Brooks, has been receiving some hate online.

Punk shared a screenshot on Instagram where a fan sent him a message ... "You have become what you hate"

The wrestling superstar responded ... "I have become what I hate? A guild/union member who stands in solidarity with fellow members fighting for what's right. Bitch, I have become what I LOVE."

Punk isn't the only wrestling star who has the backs of the actors on strike. WWE Superstar Seth Rollins recently professed his support during a conversation we had with him at LAX.

You can't lose with Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler, Justin Gaethje, or Nate Diaz ... BUT, given a choice of the three opponents, UFC legend Chuck Liddell knows the fight he'd like to see.

Nate Diaz vs. The Notorious III!

TMZ Sports caught up with Liddell at LAX this week ... and asked him about Conor's next fight.

"All those would be an interesting fight but I think Nate Diaz, run it back to do it one more time. That'd be fun to watch."

Of course, McGregor's supposed to fight Chandler, who is coaching opposite him on "The Ultimate Fighter." Though, after Gaethje's win over Dustin Poirier a few weeks ago, Conor went at Justin on social media.

Then there's Nate ... who just lost a boxing match to Jake Paul. The guys have obviously fought twice in the past, with each man winning one. They've always said they want to complete the trilogy, which would arguably be the biggest in the promotion's history.

"It will be fun. I think it will be real competitive, I think it's a good one to come back to."

Out of the three options, Chuck makes it clear he wants Conor and Nate. As for how it'll go, The Iceman thinks it'll be a close fight.

Speaking of Diaz and Paul, we also asked Liddell if he bought what Jake was selling ... when he said he could beat Nate with 8-9 months of MMA training.

Chuck isn't so sure.

"That tells me [Jake] just doesn't understand the difference. He has no clue what the difference between MMA and boxing."

Liddell explained some of the challenges when going from boxing to mixed martial arts.

"It's funny [Paul] usually fights two weight classes below him, he likes to pick guys that are a lot smaller than him but Nate's a good jiu-jitsu guy, he's a good grappler and he knows how to fight MMA," Chuck told us.

"There's a different stance, everything changes. You add kicks, you gotta change your stance, you can't stand in boxing stance. I hit you so, it hurts so bad in the first round, you got one round to knock me out."

Mark Zuckerberg is tired of waiting for Elon Musk to get ready to rumble, so he's moving on -- so says the Facebook founder himself.

The techie billionaire announced Sunday he was throwing in the towel on the planning process, saying it was clear to him that EM wasn't serious about duking it out ... evidenced, at least in Mark's eyes, in all the excuses Elon has offered to postpone this thing.

MZ writes, "I think we can all agree Elon isn't serious and it's time to move on. I offered a real date. Dana White offered to make this a legit competition for charity. Elon won't confirm a date, then says he needs surgery, and now asks to do a practice round in my backyard instead."

The backyard thing is new news -- and pretty eyebrow-raising if true. Mark adds, "If Elon ever gets serious about a real date and official event, he knows how to reach me. Otherwise, time to move on. I'm going to focus on competing with people who take the sport seriously."

Mark has kinda been teasing this move for a while now ... consistently refuting Elon's characterization of things, and alleging that the Twitter honcho was stonewalling on purpose.

In fact, it wasn't too long ago that Mark said he wasn't holding his breath for Elon -- and despite EM trying to hype up the fight just this past week (by mentioning the prospect of Italy as a venue), it sounds like Mark's throwing cold water on the whole thing ... calling BS.

It was a cool would-be event while it lasted, we suppose ... and time will tell if Mark pulling the plug like this will force Elon to actually commit -- but if he doesn't, it might be over.

Jonny Fairplay has gone from one reality TV world to another -- now, the guy's doing wrestling gigs, except you won't see him in WWE ... try a strip club.

The ex-"Survivor" star made a public appearance last week in Johnston City, TN -- where he got hired to show face (and muscle) at a place called Mouse's Ear ...  where exotic dancers are normally onstage, only here ... it was amateur 'Wrestlemania.'

Indeed, you can get a sense of what Jonny and co. were up to in these videos we obtained. He's very much playing the heel in front of the crowd, while the two "wrestlers" opposite of him -- Bam Bam Bundy and Lucky Larson -- are talking trash ... wondering how he's making dough these days post-"Survivor."

JF didn't take that too kindly, as it turns out ... 'cause he ended up hitting both of them in the back with the strip club equivalent of a folding chair -- namely, a freaking TIKI Torch!

It's pretty goofy, and obviously, no one was hurt ... but this is something we might start to see Jonny do more regularly. Funny enough, he actually has dabbled in the wrestling world for years now (even pre-"Survivor") ... and is a huge fan of the sport.

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."

The guy caught on video smashing people over the head with a folding chair in that riverfront brawl in Montgomery, Alabama has just been arrested.

The Montgomery Police Department announced Friday that Reggie Ray turned himself in ... and he's been charged with disorderly conduct and is being held in the Municipal Jail.

TMZ obtained the 42-year-old's mug shot ... and he doesn't look happy about the consequences of his actions in the epic melee.

Ray is the fifth person arrested for the brawl ... remember, Chief of Police Darryl Albert previously identified Reggie as the Black man who infamously wielded the chair on the dock, bonking several people on the head.

Ray got in on the action late, after men from a pontoon boat that was blocking a passenger ferry from docking ganged up on the ferry's co-captain ... sparking a huge brawl along racial lines.

The other 4 arrested include Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, who turned themselves in Wednesday and are each charged with one count of 3rd degree assault.

Richard Roberts, 48, was the first arrested ... he's accused of punching a 16-year-old dockhand.

Mark Zuckerberg is refuting Elon Musk's Friday morning claims ... saying no details of their potential fight have been finalized at all -- adding that he still wants Dana White involved in the process.

The Meta boss unloaded his side of the story on Threads on Friday afternoon -- just a couple hours after Musk told his 156 million X followers that a bunch of the particulars of the future billionaire brawl were now set in stone.

In one of his tweets ... Musk said the tilt will go down at "an epic location" in Italy. In another, he said all of the action will be live-streamed on X and Meta.

He also said White and the UFC are now out of the planning process, insisting, "The fight will be managed by my and Zuck’s foundations."

Zuckerberg, though, made it clear he hasn't agreed to any of those stipulations just yet ... writing in posts on his social media app, "please assume anything [Musk] says has not been agreed on."

"Not holding my breath for Elon, but I'll share details on my next fight when I'm ready," he added. "When I compete, I want to do it in a way that puts a spotlight on the elite athletes at the top of the game. You do that by working with professional orgs like the UFC or ONE to pull this off well and create a great card."

Zuck then said he's still training like a mad man for the potential bout -- showing off a photo of him working in his backyard Octagon.

The two businessmen initially began the process of setting up a fight way back in June ... when Musk floated the idea of a cage match following the revelation Zuck's Threads was in the works.

The Alabama riverboat co-captain who got into that epic fight with a group of white boaters says the men threatened to beat him to death during the wild melee.

Damien Pickett, the co-captain of the Harriott 2 passenger ferry -- and the man who tossed his hat in the air -- told police the boaters who ganged up on him peppered him with threats during the beatdown on the docks, telling him "I'm gonna kill you, motherf*****. Beat your ass, motherf*****."

Damien's claims are part of his written account of the incident, first obtained by NBC News, where he tells police his side of the story.

The co-captain says crew members on the Harriott 2 asked the folks on the pontoon boat to move several times because it was docked where the ferry needed to land, and he says the boaters responded by giving them the middle finger.

Damien says he and a dockhand went to shore and untied the pontoon boat, moving it "three steps to the right" before tying it back to the dock to clear space for the Harriott 2 ... and that's when he claims 2 of the boaters ran up to him and yelled, "Don't touch that boat motherf***** or we will beat your ass."

The co-captain says the men continued to threaten them and then the pontoon boat's owner -- dressed in a gray shirt, red shorts and a sun visor -- eventually came over and got in his face.

Damien says the guy who threw the first punch was "a tall, older white guy" who hit him in the face ... and he says he soon found himself being attacked from all angles, so he started defending himself and fighting back.

The co-captain couldn't tell police how long the brawl lasted, explaining ... "I grabbed one of them and just held on for dear life."

So far, 4 people have been charged for the brawl ... Allen Todd, 23, and Zachary Shipman, 25, turned themselves in Wednesday and were charged with one count of assault 3rd degree.

Bryce Hall is a handsome dude, but he isn't worried one bit if he gets pummeled in his bare knuckle fighting debut on Friday ... telling TMZ Sports he's no stranger to taking hits to the face!!

The TikTok superstar is entering the ring against a real-deal, undefeated fighter in the Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship in Albuquerque on Friday ... and while most people would call him crazy for taking that kinda challenge, Hall is oozing bravery leading up to his matchup against Gee Perez.

In fact, Hall -- who lost to YouTuber Austin McBroom in a boxing match in 2021 -- isn't just taking the fight to prove his toughness ... he wants a victory!!

"I'm going in there to win," Hall tells us. "I don't wanna lose again. I wanna tell my kids one day that I'm at least an even boxer, not an 0-1 boxer or 0-2 boxer."

Hall -- who has millions of followers across all his social media accounts -- admits anyone would have to be "a little crazy" to take a bare-knuckle fight ... but he tells us he thinks it's a fair matchup, even though Perez is 3-0 in the sport.

"It's definitely gonna be an accomplishment, for sure," Hall says. "And I'm not gonna underestimate that, but I am going in there -- I'm training as hard as I can humanly possibly train."

Hall -- who says he's been working with BKFC champ Lorenzo Hunt leading up to the fight -- even shades fellow internet personality-turned-fighter Jake Paul ... saying he may shed a tear if he wins against a guy who isn't a retired UFC star.

If ya didn't think Hall was tough by now, we asked him if he was worried about messing up his pretty face -- considering BKFC fights can get REALLY violent -- and his response is badass.

"It's not anything that I haven't felt before," Hall says. "I've been punched in the face, bare-knuckle, I've had cuts across my face, I have scars on my face. Everything heals. I'm not really worried about that at all."

There's more ... Hall raves about BKFC -- airing Friday on Fubo Sports -- and says he wants to work with the organization in any capacity moving forward.

Elon Musk says the fight with Mark Zuckerberg is officially on -- he announced Friday the billionaire brawl is all set to go down at "an epic location" ... though he added the two won't face off for a while, 'cause he needs minor surgery first.

Musk made the revelations in a series of early morning tweets ... explaining he and Zuck have just finalized a bunch of the details about their upcoming tilt.

First, the Tesla honcho said the fight will no longer be put on by Dana White and the UFC -- saying it all will now "be managed by my and Zuck's foundations."

He also said after recent talks with the Prime Minister of Italy and the Minister of Culture ... they've agreed the match will happen on Italian soil. It's unclear, however, if that means Rome's Colosseum -- as has been rumored for months now -- or somewhere else.

When it comes to how fans will watch the action, he said it will be live-streamed on X and Meta ... and "everything in camera frame will be ancient Rome, so nothing modern at all."

Finally, Musk tweeted all of the profits from the fight will go to veterans.

"Everything done will pay respect to the past and present of Italy," Musk added.

The fight night date is still unknown ... though Musk said he'll need a bit more time to prepare, 'cause he's undergoing surgery soon to fix an issue with his shoulder blade.

"Recovery will only take a few months," he insisted.

Floyd Mayweather is stepping up in a huge way for over 100 people displaced by the horrible wildfires in Maui … not only paying for almost 70 families to fly to safety, but also providing them with a place to stay, food to eat, and clothing to wear.

TMZ Sports has learned the 50-0 boxing legend personally paid for 68 families, impacted by the natural disaster, to fly from Maui to Honolulu over the last two days.

Mayweather is also providing the people with hotel rooms for several weeks, as well as food from local restaurants and clothing to wear while they’re away from their homes.

Our sources tell us Mayweather is working with H&M to get clothing for the men, women, and children he’s assisting.

Of course, Maui has been devastated by wildfires that ripped through the Hawaiian island, killing at least 53 people as of Thursday afternoon. on top of the tragic loss of life, over a thousand structures have burned down.

Many people have been forced to flee with just the clothing on their backs and nothing else.

Logan Paul is firing back at the critics of his ultra-popular Prime Energy drink ... saying he and his partners have done nothing wrong when it comes to the beverage -- while insisting its sister product is actually way better for consumers than Gatorade.

The WWE Superstar joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" to give the 411 on his drinks straight from the horse's mouth ... and he brought along a bevvy of props to make sure his points were heard.

You'll recall ... Paul's energy drink came under fire earlier this year after United States Senator Chuck Schumer questioned whether it should be allowed due to its high caffeine content, but, the Maverick took aim at the critique Wednesday -- saying the bashing just makes no sense.

Paul said at 200 MG of caffeine per can, his Prime Energy drink actually features the same amount as Celsius and Gatorade's Fast Twitch. He also said it comes in with 100 MG less caffeine than Bang's similar energy drink.

As for the allegations that he and his team have been targeting teens with the beverage ... he said that, too, was just simply not true.

While he did say most of the advertising his company does is through social media -- he said those under the age of 18 make up only a small portion of his social media following. He also reiterated that his Prime Energy drinks say specifically on their labels that they're for those 18-years-and-older.

When it comes to the energy drink's sister product -- Prime Hydration -- Paul spoke glowingly about that beverage too ... touting its low sugar content.

"One 20-ounce bottle of Gatorade has 34 grams of sugar in it," he said. "To put that into perspective, one bottle of Prime only has two grams of sugar in it."

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.