MMA

Chael Sonnen is still undefeated ... battery charges against the 44-year-old retired MMA star were dismissed in Las Vegas, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The American Gangster was slapped with 5 battery citations after an alleged brawl at a Las Vegas hotel the night of December 18 ... where Sonnen was accused of roughing up numerous people.

However, a judge in Nevada dismissed all 5 misdemeanor battery charges against Chael on Thursday.

"This matter was dismissed by the court on its own based upon the fact that the citation’s notice to appear failed to comply with the legal requirements as set forth by Nevada law," the Clark County District Attorney told us when we asked for an explanation.

It's important to note, the 5 citations were dismissed "without prejudice" ... meaning the state can refile the charges if they choose.

For his part, Sonnen's been mum ... opting not to address the incident.

Despite laying down his gloves in the Bellator cage back in June 2019, Chael's as popular as ever ... becoming one of the most respected MMA analysts in the world.

As a fighter, Sonnen was one of his era ... beating Rampage Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, Shogun Rua, and Michael Bisping.

Lamar Odom is going back to TV -- the former Lakers star will be joining the cast of "Celebrity Big Brother" this season ... where he'll be competing for a $250,000 cash prize.

The series announced Odom will be a guest for its third season on Thursday ... releasing a video on social media introducing all the celebs who'll be living under the same roof for the competition.

"My name is Lamar Odom [and] people may know me for winning two championships with the LA Lakers," Odom said in his intro.

"They also may know me for marrying Khloe Kardashian. We had our own TV show. Our own reality show."

Odom is no stranger to television -- when he was still married to Khloe, they had their own show, "Khloe & Lamar" ... which was a spinoff of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians."

Speaking of Kardashians ... CBB will have another guest who has a tie to their family. Shanna Moakler -- whose ex-husband, Travis Barker, is engaged to Kourtney Kardashian -- will join Odom in the house.

Other notable guests include UFC star Miesha Tate, NSYNC singer Chris Kirkpatrick, SNL's Chris Kattan and 'Real Housewives of Atlanta' star, Cynthia Bailey.

Lamar made more than $114 million during his NBA career ... but recently opened up about his struggles with money management -- even going to Kobe Bryant to help him get out of a gambling debt.

UFC flyweight Deiveson Figueiredo will NEVER lose the championship belt for the rest of his career ... and it's all thanks to his brand new tattoo!!

The 34-year-old Brazilian star showed off the new ink job on Wednesday ... just days after taking the belt back from Brandon Moreno via unanimous decision at UFC 270.

Deus da Guerra got the tat on his right forearm ... featuring the belt with "Deiveson Figueiredo World Champion Flyweight" etched in the middle with the UFC logo.

It's a confident move by Figueiredo -- after his win on Saturday, he told fans he was willing to run it back with Moreno to settle the score once and for all -- and he's open to fighting in Mexico.

In fact, we spoke with Moreno about the possibility of fighting in front of his home crowd ... and he seemed 100% in on the idea -- but made it clear he'll fight the guy anywhere.

Brandon Moreno is breaking his silence following his unsuccessful title defense against Deiveson Figueiredo ... saying their next fight -- their 4th -- will settle the rivalry once-and-for-all.

After the fight, 34-year-old Figgy (while being booed relentlessly by the pro-Moreno crowd in L.A.) called for another fight with The Assassin Baby ... but this time, in Mexico.

TMZ Sports talked to Brandon on Wednesday ... and while it's obvious a fight in Mexico would be a dream come true, he says he will take the rematch anywhere.

"I would love to go to Mexico City and fight against him," Moreno tells us. "That would be awesome for me, for the Mexican people, and very brave for Figueiredo. A lot of credit for that. But I understand he has the ball. If he wants to go to Brazil. If he wants to go other places, I don't care, man."

FYI, Brandon was the first-ever Mexican-born UFC champ.

Of course, Moreno and Figueiredo's first fight in December 2020 was a draw. Brandon won the second fight via submission, and the third scrap was Saturday at UFC 270 ... where Figgy won via decision.

Brandon -- who suffered his first loss since 2018 -- says no matter the result, he believes the next bout will likely be the last time the men fight.

"I have 1 fight. He has 1 fight. I just want to see a clear winner in all of this. And if the next one I win or I lost, I think it's the end of the rivalry."

Moreno says it's without a doubt the best fight to make in the 125-pound division.

"It's the only exciting fight right now in the flyweight division. Like 4 or 5 years ago, the flyweight division was dead, and now it's more than alive, man. That fight, I really believe makes sense."

And, it's clear not even 3 fights was enough to squash their beef.

Some fighters credit boxing, wrestling, perhaps Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu ... but Vanessa Demopoulos, she credits the pole.

Yes ... 33-year-old Demopoulos tells TMZ Sports she credits much of her success in the Octagon against Silvana Gomez Juarez at UFC 270 to the strength she's developed dancing on the pole.

"I just walked away from being an exotic entertainer. I'm like so good at pole dancing," Vanessa says.

"I feel like pole dancing and fighting goes hand and hand. I'm 3 stories up in the air, hanging on by a limb, mainly in my underwear. If I sweat too much, I'm falling to my death. It's like fighting, same thing. Except you're not going to die. The ref is gonna stop it before it happens."

Vanessa caused quite a stir last week. She hit a split after the weigh-in ... and she did it inside the Octagon after she won. VD also jumped in Joe Rogan's arms during her (memorable) post-fight interview.

And, then she went into the cage and took care of business ... winning via armbar submission in the 1st round.

Demopoulos clearly feels at home pole dancing, so we asked ... despite the UFC success (and the $50K bonus she won), are you swearing off the pole?

"I was at the club last night and I definitely found a pole to hop onto. It's something I love doing. I'm never not going to dance. But you won't see me in the club doing it for dollars."

So, less dancing for dollars and more punching people in the face ... and Demopoulos is hyped for her future as a fighter.

"I really am a full-time fighter now, and it feels so good. I've worked my whole life for these types of moments. It's like you work your whole life for that one moment that's gonna change the rest of it, and that was that moment, and it was absolutely incredible."

Kevin Ferguson Jr. -- MMA fighter and son of the legendary street fighter turned pro Kimbo Slice -- is stepping into the ring ... but he isn't takin' on a fellow pro fighter, he's boxing former Bachelorette contestant "Iggy" Rodriguez.

Yes, for real!

29-year-old Ferguson -- aka "Baby Slice" -- is transitioning from the Bellator cage to the squared circle ... where he'll duke it out with Rodriguez at a Celebrity Boxing event in March.

Of course, 5'11", 155 lb. Kevin Jr. -- 3-3 as a pro -- has fighting in his pedigree, and it shows. His dad, Kimbo, is the most famous street fighter of all-time. The 6'2", 235-pound fighter transitioned from backyard brawling to professional fighting ... where he had a record of 5-2-1.

As for his opponent? Iggy's claim to fame didn't come from punching guys. Rather, Rodriguez was fighting for love when he made his debut on the 13th season of "The Bachelorette."

In fact, the 35-year-old Californian native and consulting firm CEO became a true household name ... when he was depicted as a "snitch" for badmouthing other competitors on Rachel Lindsay's season.

Rodriguez was ultimately eliminated from the show ... after failing to make the top 12.

But, back to the fight. Ferguson and Rodriguez won't be the only attraction that night.

Lamar Odom's ex-fiancée, Sabrina Parr, will fight Jenn Harley, Ronnie Ortiz's former GF -- in a battle of the exes.

Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua is scared of him ... labeling the 6'6", 240 lb. superstar boxer from the UK a "coward" who's too shook to fight him.

Oh, and the Gypsy King is also coming for a bunch of other top-level heavyweights ... including Oleksandr Usyk and Dillian Whyte.

The 33-year-old heavyweight champ hit up social media to respond to fans asking him when and who he's fighting next ... and well, Tyson talked his s***!

"I'm being asked this question over and over again. I do not know the answer to it. I'm ready to fight this weekend. I've been training three weeks, how long does a man need to train?" Fury pondered.

"Joshua's a coward, Usyk's a p***y and Dillan Whyte doesn't wanna fight. So, if you can prove me wrong, get to f***king fighting you pair of cowards. You're all cowards! You're all bum duffers! Have a fight or do one you pack of wet lettuces."

Fury, who's coming off an incredible performance against heavyweight star Deontay Wilder, continued going in on the boxers.

"I'm just gonna keep videoing until one of these cowards decide to fight. You're all cowards! S*** house bums! I don't care who I fight -- AJ, Usyk, Dillan Whyte or any of them. Fight me! I'm the best man that's ever lived. These are all coward bum duffers. I'll annihilate the liars and destroyers, submitters, tap you bitches out. Come and fight!"

32-year-old Joshua lost to 35-year-old Usyk by decision in September 2021 (it was a masterful performance) ... and they're currently negotiating a rematch. Fury has been ordered to defend his WBC title against 33-year-old Whyte ... but there are reportedly talks about working out a deal to box Usyk.

UFC legend Don Frye got into a physical altercation with a fan at UFC 270, punching the man in the face ... this after the retired MMA star and pro wrestler tells us the guy bumped into him and challenged him to a fight.

TMZ Sports obtained video taken at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA Saturday night ... showing 56-year-old Frye jawing with two men as someone who appears to be security attempts to keep the peace.

Frye is seen popping the guy in the head with a jab (clearly not at full force) ... sending the man's head snapping back.

We talked to Don ... who tells us the incident started when the guy, who he believes was drunk, bumped into his hat. The men then had a spirited conversation, which Frye says culminated with the man challenging him to a fight.

You can only assume the man didn't know he was challenging Frye ... one of the UFC's earlier stars, and most powerful strikers.

Frye won UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate '96 tourneys ... and was the runner-up at UFC 10. Over his incredible career, Don beat guys like Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbott and Mark Hall.

Frye -- who recently went on Joe Rogan's podcast and explained how he got into MMA -- was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2016.

In addition to the UFC, Don fought in Pride and K-1. He also boxed and kickboxed professionally, and was one of Japan's biggest wrestlers during his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Don was not arrested -- and stayed to watch the remaining fights -- including heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou defending his title.

Conor McGregor's return to the Octagon likely isn't that far away ... according to UFC President Dana White, who tells TMZ Sports he expects the Irish superstar to fight this summer.

We recently asked White ... do you believe Conor will fight this year after healing up from the devastating injury.

"I think so, yeah," Dana told us. "He's doing all the right things with his leg. I'm hoping he can come back this summer."

Of course, 33-year-old McGregor hasn't stepped foot competitively in the cage since snapping his leg against Dustin Poirier in July 2021.

Injury aside, The Notorious -- a former UFC double champion -- has lost 3 of his last 4 fights ... including the last 2 to The Diamond.

Conor is currently ranked 9th in the UFC's Lightweight division ... behind fighters like champ Charles Oliveira, Justin Gaethje, Poirier, Michael Chandler, and Tony Ferguson, to name a few.

We also talked to the UFC honcho about the barn-burner of a scrap between Calvin Kattar and Giga Chikadze ... a fight the #5 ranked striker from Boston won by unanimous decision.

So, what's next for Kattar? Dana doesn't know just yet, but makes it clear Calvin is in a prime position.

Dana White isn't sweating the contract drama with UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou ... telling TMZ Sports he's been dealing with similar issues for the last 2 decades!

We talked to the UFC honcho before 35-year-old Ngannou faces interim heavyweight champ Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 on Saturday ... a fight which The Predator says could be his last with the fight promotion.

Why? Ngannou wants more cash.

We asked Dana where his organization stood with respect to Francis' future.

"I've been in contract drama for 20 years with people. It's part of the business. I honestly don't know where we'll end up after Saturday," White says, adding, "We'll see how the fight goes, we'll see what happens and I'm sure we'll figure it out one way or another."

And, White says personally, everything is cool with him and his champion fighter.

"Francis and I have had our moments over the last several years. I bumped into him at dinner a few weeks ago and we had a good conversation. It was funny because we needed to talk. We needed to see each other and the universe made it happen."

"We'll see how these things play out. I don't blame Francis as much as I blame the not so very smart people that surround him."

Dana is (likely) referring to Ngannou's rep, Marquel Martin ... whom he's feuded with in the past.

As for the actual fight ... Dana tells us they're going to smash the previous gate record (money spent on tickets) at the Honda Center in SoCal.

UFC star Calvin Kattar says Giga Chikadze overlooked him, and got beat up Saturday night because of it ... telling TMZ Sports the star kickboxer from Georgia should've focused less on Alexander Volkanovski.

We talked to the 33-year-old fighter from Boston just days after his unanimous decision win of Chikadze ... and asked if he believes people disrespected him leading up to the fight ... and while Kattar agrees, he's more irked by Giga's seemingly lackadaisical attitude.

"I took more offense to my opponent kinda overlooking me. Calling out the champ when he has a fight with me in about a week. It just seemed like he was overlooking me, and like I've mentioned before. If that's the case, not smart, and you're probably gonna pay for it, and he did."

FYI, Giga was previously ranked 8th in the division before the fight (Calvin was 5th) ... but Kattar was coming off a big loss to Max Holloway, and Chikadze was undefeated in the UFC (now 3 losses overall).

That's why Giga was more than a 2 to 1 favorite.

Kattar continued on Chikadze ... "I didn't like the way he overlooked me and was looking past me and focusing on people he might fight rather than the guy he was gonna fight. That's never a good idea."

What's next for Kattar? He says he's down to step in for either Volkanovski or Korean Zombie in April at UFC 273 ... if either man is unable to make it to the cage.

"I think if something happens to that fight, I'd be a good fill-in, for sure."

If not, Kattar says he'd "like to fight up" ... meaning he wants to fight a higher-ranked fighter, as he continues his trek to the top.

"Whoever's next is fine with me, man, I just hope it's more big moment opportunities, more main events, bigger paydays, on my way to just changing my life and chasing that life on the other side of a win."

Ciryl Gane says despite what you might've heard, he has absolutely zero beef with Francis Ngannou ... and fully intends on showing respect to "The Predator" when they fight for the UFC title next weekend.

31-year-old Gane, the undefeated (10-0) UFC Interim champ is headlining UFC 270 against 35-year-old Ngannou, the UFC heavyweight champ next Saturday in Anaheim.

The alleged bad blood? Gane and Ngannou briefly trained together at the MMA Factory in France several years back (Francis recently told us it was less than 10 times), and things haven't exactly always seemed copacetic since.

In fact, a video recently made its way around social media showing Francis walking by Ciryl ... like he didn't exist.

But, Gane says everything's cool between the men ... there's zero ill will.

"I have no feelings for him. He's just like another opponent and that's it."

It's an intriguing matchup. Ngannou throws bombs ... and arguably has more power than any other fighter on the UFC roster. Meanwhile, Gane is 6'5", 250 lbs., but moves like a guy who weighs 75 lbs. less.

Francis recently told us he believes he'll knockout Ciryl within 10 minutes (2 rounds).

Giga Chikadze is the #8 ranked UFC featherweight, but believes he'll have a "C" for champ next to his name very soon, 'cause once he beats Calvin Kattar Saturday night, he says he absolutely deserves a title shot against Alexander Volkanovski.

... and he tells TMZ Sports that matchup would be a very one-sided affair.

We talked to the 33-year-old, 14-2 (undefeated in the UFC) fighter from Georgia (country) just days before his UFC Fight Night main event scrap with #5 ranked Kattar -- a fight he's favored to win (-235).

"I'm super excited, man. I've been asking for top 5 opponents since I got in the UFC. I was telling them, warning them that I'm ready for it. And finally, I got the opponent, and I'm very happy that my opponent is from a top 5 ranking," Giga told us.

We asked him if a win against Calvin should set him up for a title shot ... and there was zero hesitation.

"Absolutely. When I beat Calvin Kattar, it doesn't matter if it happens in 2 months, 3 months," Chikadze says, adding "I deserve a shot."

FYI, Alex is fighting Korean Zombie at UFC 273 in April.

It's an interesting matchup. The men have different bodies -- Giga is tall (6') and long, meanwhile, Alex is short (5'6") and stocky -- and fighting styles.

"[Volkanovski] has nothing against me. Nothing. I've been facing the short guys like him for all my whole life and making my living knocking these types of guys out," Giga says.

"There is no chance he can stand in front of me. He can't even catch me. Can't even touch me. I'm so giant for him, it'll be like David vs. Goliath but in a better way."

Make sure you take your seats early when Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane step in the Octagon on January 22 ... 'cause The Predator tells TMZ Sports he's putting the undefeated UFC fighter down inside 2 rounds!!

We recently talked to the 35-year-old heavyweight champ before his title unification bout with 31-year-old Gane ... and Francis made it clear he doesn't see the fight lasting very long.

"The knockout doesn't come when I search it, so I won't be searching for the knockout, but I don't see how we will end this fight without me knocking him out, maybe under 2 rounds," Ngannou says.

If you haven't seen Gane fight ... he's only been training for a few years. He's 10-0 ... and is the best moving heavyweight in the UFC.

To make the matchup even more interesting, Francis and Ciryl briefly (less than 10 times, per FN) trained together in France, but ain't exactly best friends these days.

It's not that Francis doesn't respect Ciryl ... 'cause he does. But, he believes his power will be too much for the smaller fighter to endure.

"Once again, this is the fighting business. This is not karate s**t, it's all about fighting and how to knock somebody out or take somebody out," Francis says.

Despite the bold prediction from the champ, Gane -- coming off wins over Derrick Lewis and Alexander Volkov -- is actually the slight favorite at most sportsbooks.

A mega-fight between the best heavyweight boxer alive, Tyson Fury, and the best heavyweight MMA fighter alive, Francis Ngannou, might actually go down ... 'cause both guys say they're all the way down to fight!

It all started last month when the UFC star told TMZ Sports he wants to step in the boxing ring with either Fury or Deontay Wilder.

"I would like to test myself to that level," Ngannou told us at the time, "It's not the same sport, although I'm the champion, I'm in the top in this division."

"At the end of the day, it's just about like trained hands, trained punches, having a good delivery system to produce bombs and I'm sure that if I deliver my own punch, it's pretty good, I can make some damage."

Well, Fury must've watched the interview ... 'cause he posted a fighting promo on his Twitter Thursday, featuring him and the 16-3 (12 KOs) MMA fighter.

"Who would like to see me fight this beast boxing rules UFC gloves?" Fury said.

Ngannou replied to the 31-0-1 heavyweight boxer ... saying the rules should be MMA style but would settle for boxing gloves as a favor to him -- but Fury wasn't having it.

"You want to come into my world calling me and Wilder out to a boxing match," Fury said.

"What I can guarantee you would be knocked out & also paid your highest purse to be so! So, have a think."

Ngannou didn't back down and vowed to go toe-to-toe anywhere and any style after his matchup with UFC interim HW champ Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.

"After I handle business on Jan. 22 I'll fight you," Ngannou said, "Under any special ruleset you want. In a ring, an Octagon or a phone booth."

AJ McKee has conquered the cage ... and now the Bellator champ tells TMZ Sports he wouldn't mind spending time in a ring boxing against arguably the 2 biggest combat sports athletes in the world.

Floyd Mayweather. Conor McGregor.

We talked to the 26-year-old undefeated MMA star at the Jake Paul-Tyron Woodley boxing match in Tampa ... and we asked AJ about all things his combat sports career.

First, on boxing.

"I wanna test my skills against some of the best and that's why I've always called out Floyd. It's not like, 'Oh, I wanna beat Floyd.' I wanna test my skills in hand-to-hand combat with one of the best athletes in hand-to-hand combat," McKee says.

We then asked about McGregor ... and AJ says he's down to box the Irish superstar -- or anyone else.

"I'm down for anybody. If it's 145, 155, 170. In boxing, I'll go up 3 weight classes."

Of course, Floyd and Conor boxed in 2017 ... a fight Mayweather won by TKO. It was one of the biggest sports events ever. Floyd then went on to box Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa and Logan Paul.

Now, about McKee's day job as Bellator champ. We asked him where he goes from here ... after beating fellow badass Patricio "Pitbull" Freire, winning the promotions 145 lb. million dollar tournament.

"I would like to be double champ," AJ says.

"Becoming double champ is definitely bucket list. Be a champ-champ and then see where the path lies after that."

But, promotions aside -- UFC, Bellator, ONE, PFL -- who's the best 145 pounder on the planet?

McKee says he's all about finding out ... if that means scrapping with guys like Brian Ortega, Max Holloway and Alexander Volkanovski.

"Send the contract, bro. I'm gonna sign it. Cross-promotion, any promotion, backyard bully stuff. I'm just about the fight. I love to fight, outside of the money, the fame, the clout, clearly that's not what I do it for."