Fights

Brian Ortega is one of the twenty fighters who will scrap on the UFC's one and ONLY Noche event at the Sphere ... something the veteran MMA star describes as an "honor."

"Bro, it's another level. We get to fight on a historic event by a promotion that's already known for making history. So it's an honor to be chosen to go in there, a featured fight and kind of kick off the night for both co-main and main event," T-City told TMZ Sports earlier this week, just days before his clash with 29-year-old Diego Lopes.

Remember, Ortega, 33, and Lopes were supposed to fight in June at UFC 303 ... but the fight was scrapped the same day the men were due in the Octagon after Brian, who was coming off a win over Yair Rodriguez, got sick and couldn't fight.

Rolando Romero seems to be planning on having one of the best performances of his career later Saturday against Manuel Jaimes ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the boxer's copped all kinds of cool custom gear for the battle.

We're told Romero (a.k.a. Rolly) was hooked up with some Bruce Lee and Kobe Bryant swag from his go-to guy Aztek Kustoms ... just ahead of his 10-round tilt with Jaimes (16-1) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Aztek hooked Rolly up with unreleased Nike Machomai 3s boxing shoes ... and made them look just like the Kobe 5 Protro Bruce Lees that Bryant originally released in 2010.

Dana White and the UFC are hosting one of their most ambitious cards ever at the Sphere on Saturday -- and that's saying something for a guy who built an entire "Fight Island" -- an event the UFC honcho tells us wouldn't be happening without Tom Brady!

White joined Babcock on TMZ Sports TV show (airs nightly on FS1) this week ... where he revealed TB12 was the inspo behind the first-ever Sphere sporting event.

"I went to the Sphere with Tom Brady. He invited me to come to U2 with him. Had Brady not invited me, I wouldn't even have been to the Sphere yet. It's almost like this was meant to be," the UFC CEO said of the mega event.

Here comes the drama ... a group of single women got into a physical altercation when a bride threw her flowers to the crowd in the traditional toss.

Check it out ... a Bosnian bride gleefully tosses her bouquet over her shoulders so one of her eager guests can catch it -- and signal they're next in line to get married.

However, the wholesome tradition turns harrowing when 3 female guests get a little too into the game ... holding onto the blooms for dear life and clawing at their rivals.

There was plenty of action on the field during the Chargers vs. Raiders game Sunday -- but there was even more of it off the gridiron ... with fans from both teams getting in violent brawls throughout the afternoon.

One of the bigger ones happened just outside of SoFi Stadium near one of the parking lots ... when a fan in a Divine Deablo jersey got thrown to the ground by a Chargers supporter rocking some Derwin James threads.

You can see in video captured by a bystander, a Maxx Crosby fan tried to step in to break things up ... but he was quickly hit in the face by not just the Raiders fan -- but a woman too.

Think Merab Dvalishvili is a bad stylistic matchup for Sean O'Malley?! Suga couldn't see it anymore differently ... telling TMZ Sports he's a "nightmare matchup" for his UFC 306 opp!

"It's a big fight feel being at the Sphere," the 29-year-old bantamweight champ told Babcock of the UFC Noche event, going down Mexican Independence Day weekend at the amazing venue.

33-year-old Merab, the top 135 lb. contender, hasn't lost since 2018 ... and good matchup or not, Sean understands he can be a "dangerous" dude.

Ryan Garcia isn't letting his boxing suspension stop him from getting in the ring ... the star boxer tells TMZ Sports he's fighting in December!

The 24-1 boxer broke the news to us earlier this week ... months after the New York State Athletic Commission suspended him after testing positive for a banned substance in April, saying he'll soon be fighting again.

"You're gonna see me fight in December," Garcia told us. "It's gonna be a big fight. Stay tuned!"

Jack Doherty doesn't know jack about insurance, at least according to State Farm ... they say his policy doesn't cover him for the lawsuit he's facing over a Halloween fight.

Here's the deal ... Jack is being sued for assault and battery by a man who claims the YouTuber and his bodyguard beat him up at a party a few days before Halloween last year.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, State Farm says Jack is trying to use his renters insurance policy to force the company to defend him in the litigation and possibly cough up any damages that may be owed.

Israel Adesanya says he was not the aggressor during a recent confrontation with a man in New Zealand ... claiming the other guy started the whole incident by hurling a racial slur.

A source close to the UFC superstar tells TMZ Sports ... as Izzy was parking his car on a roadway in his home country, the guy came out of nowhere and started calling him the N-word.

Soon after, our source says the man challenged Adesanya to a fight.

11:52 AM PT -- James Rosemond Jr., Ice Spice's manager, says he spoke to Cleotrapa's manager after her posts went viral ... they both agree Cleo handled the situation poorly, especially since she doesn't understand industry politics!!!

Ice Spice has lost yet another BFF, who's claiming to being used as a loop in her BB Belt -- and her enemies just might be teaming up!!!

Rapper Cleotrapa used her Labor Day Weekend to completely unload on Ice Spice ... dropping a 45-minute TikTok video where she accused the "Munch" rapper of being a fake friend ... and claiming she experienced less-than-VIP treatment as the opening act on Ice's Y2K Tour.

According to Cleo, she had to foot the bill for her own hotels and meal per diem ... and was forced to use stinky bathrooms as her dressing rooms.

Distance runner Rebecca Cheptegei -- who just competed in the 2024 Olympics in Paris -- was set on fire by her boyfriend in a brutal attack in Kenya over the weekend, cops say.

Trans Nzoia County Police Commander Jeremiah ole Kosiom told reporters the incident happened on Sunday ... after the athlete and her partner, Dickson Ndiema, had gotten into an argument over property.

"During the altercation," Kosiom said, "the boyfriend was seen pouring a liquid on the woman before burning her."

Jake Paul isn't worried one bit about Mike Tyson's health status leading up to their fight ... telling TMZ Sports he's so confident the boxing legend will be in the ring come November, there's no backup plan whatsoever.

We caught up with "El Gallo" less than two months 'til their big showdown in Dallas ... and despite Iron Mike's medical emergency that forced them to push the fight from its original July date, he's certain everything's good now.

"I don't have concern," Paul told us. "He's doing great. He's super healthy behind the scenes and feeling great."

Jeremy Stephens is gunning to improve his Bare Knuckle Fighting record to a perfect 2-0 next Saturday ... and the big question is, could a win propel him to a fight with former foe turned BKFC owner, Conor McGregor?!

TMZ Sports caught up with the 38-year-old fighter ahead of his second scrap with the promotion, against 6-2 Bobby Taylor. While Taylor has more experience fighting without gloves, Stephens doesn't anticipate much of a challenge.

"Body bag, not worried about the opponent, man," he said. "Just [going to] put him in a f****** bag. We're here to f****** hurt him, this is the hurt business. He's just an opponent, go in there and do my thing."

Mercedes Moné has plenty of challengers for her AEW Women's championship and her NJPW Strong Women's Championship ... and Megan Thee Stallion could be one of 'em!

Meg could be friend or foe ... but bottom line is the AEW star tells TMZ Sports she hopes to wrestle with or against the hip-hop superstar!

We caught up with the champ-champ stateside fresh off her title defense at AEW All In London -- and ahead of her title defense Friday night at Capital Collision. While Mercedes says she's locked in for her matchup tonight, she also floated the idea of stepping into the ring with the "WAP" singer.

A fight at Disney World's Magic Kingdom Thursday triggered chaos ... after panicked patrons called cops to report what they believed was a shooting.

The video shows the aftermath .... debris littered everywhere, with chairs knocked over and toys and merch scattered -- after a mass of terrified people piled into a shop after a loud popping noise went off in the park.

Watch the video ... the crowd's cleared from the store, but the wreckage they left behind is extensive. Security handled the situation -- walking the crowd slowly out of the park to avoid a mass rush to exits.

A chill day at a Texas pool turned intense real quick ... with things spiraling into violence, shouting the n-word and total mayhem when a man displays a gun during a heated disagreement -- all caught on video.

The confrontation escalates quickly as a guy in a hat squares up to a man who shows a gun, then wraps it up in some clothing -- before a buddy pulls the guy in the cap away to avoid a fight.

But, the gunman keeps chirping and follows them to the edge of the pool -- and things get violent.