MMA

Conor McGregor's close friend and training partner claims the UFC superstar screwed him out of millions over his Proper No. 12 Irish Whiskey ... and now, he's suing to get what he believes he deserves.

MMA fighter and boxer Artem Lobov filed the suit ... claiming he was the mastermind behind Conor's successful Irish whiskey brand. Lobov says he was promised a 5% cut of the company for his efforts ... but when McGregor and his partners sold their stake for $600 million in 2021, he was left with nothing.

Conor reportedly raked in around $150 million as a result of the deal ... and Lobov previously claimed McGregor offered him $1 million, but he declined.

Lobov's attorney, Dermot McNamara, released a statement on the lawsuit ... saying, "My client is a retired professional fighter with a master’s degree from DCU in Finance and Capital Markets."

"We have issued High Court proceedings on his behalf to enforce an agreement with Mr. McGregor regarding the Proper No. Twelve whiskey brand."

"My client was the initial creator and co-founder of the concept to launch an Irish whiskey brand associated with Mr. McGregor."

Karen J. Kessler, a spokesperson for Conor, refutes Lobov's claim ... telling TMZ Sports, "Proper No. Twelve Irish Whiskey was created, developed, branded and tirelessly promoted by Conor McGregor."

Brazilian jiujitsu coach Joaquim Valente is a hero in the BJJ community -- but it's got nothing to do with kimuras and omoplatas -- it's because ... GISELE!!

TMZ Sports ran into Rigan Machado, a well-known BJJ coach who counts Keanu Reeves and Ashton Kutcher amongst his celeb clientele, at Toast in Beverly Hills on Thursday, and we asked about Valente, the world's most high-profile martial artist.

"He's my hero! My hero now," Rigan joked.

Of course, Valente is currently with the former supermodel and her two kids, Ben and Vivian, in Costa Rica.

Our Gisele sources say Joaquim is there to act as a teacher for the kids while they're away ... he's acting as a sort of jiujitsu gym teacher.

But, many people aren't buying the explanation -- despite people close to Bündchen adamantly denying there's anything romantic going on -- the rumors have persisted.

Joaquim and Gisele have known each other for over a year ... and even appeared in a magazine spread together.

Dillon Danis -- a former Bellator fighter and Conor McGregor's good pal -- was punched in the eye during a wild altercation outside of a boxing event on Friday ... just minutes after he had a crazy run-in with KSI.

Here's the deal ... KSI and a bunch of other famed fighters and celeb boxers were at a hotel conference room in Austin, Texas for the weigh-ins for the YouTubers Misfits Series 3 event this weekend -- when Danis rolled up from the crowd to confront KSI.

Video shows the two traded verbal barbs -- and a flurry of threats -- before Danis knocked KSI's hat off his head and then threw a cup of cold coffee in his face.

KSI attempted to go after Danis -- but was held back. Danis, meanwhile, bolted from the area with his entourage and eventually made his way out of the hotel.

Once outside, though, former Bellator fighter Anthony Taylor yelled at Danis for going after KSI at the event ... and then repeatedly attempted to strike him.

Ultimately, Taylor threw a huge right hand that landed squarely on Danis' face.

Then all hell broke loose -- with seemingly everyone outside throwing punches. At one point, it appeared one member of Danis' entourage suffered a bloody lip from a blow to the mouth.

The fighting died down after several moments -- and peace was restored. Danis told a cameraman on the scene he was fine.

Of course, both Danis and Taylor are no strangers to these kinds of antics at fighting events. Danis was just involved in a tiff with Nate Diaz at UFC 281 ... while Taylor got into a street fight before a Floyd Mayweather celeb boxing event in Dubai earlier this month.

Alex Pereira says referee Marc Goddard definitely did NOT stop the Israel Adesanya fight early ... 'cause it was just a matter of time until Stylebender would've been unconscious on the Octagon canvas.

The newly crowned UFC Middleweight champion spoke for one of the first times since beating his rival, Izzy, at the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden.

Adesanya and his team have said they would've preferred the longtime MMA ref to allow the fight to continue ... despite admitting Israel was in a dire situation.

"Adesanya stop making excuses saying that the referee stopped the fight early… you have to thank him for saving your life. The way you were with your head down looking at the ground, I only needed one or two more hits to connect a good knee to your face so we wouldn’t know the outcome," Alex wrote on social media.

But, it wasn't only trash talk ... Pereira also complimented Adesanya.

"You were a great opponent and I respect you for that. Assume the mistakes along with your team without taking away my merits."

Of course, Adesanya was winning the fight on the judge's scorecards (3 rounds to 1) and even rocked Pereira on several occasions. However, during round 5, knowing he needed a knockout ... Alex landed a couple big punches which rocked Izzy. AP threw a flurry of shots, and Goddard stopped the fight ... with Adesanya just minutes from beating his rival, and retaining his belt.

As for who is next for the new champ, Alex says he will rematch Izzy.

"You will have one more chance! You’re next!"

After 281, Dana White was asked about making an immediate rematch ... and the UFC honcho was clearly very open to the idea.

Israel, still one of the most dangerous and beloved fighters in the world, wants his belt back ASAP!

Screw a cage ... two Jiujitsu practitioners fought inside a convertible, and one of the men nearly choked his opponent unconscious using an actual seat belt from the car -- and the video is wild!

The competitors were Kalinkin Kir and Leonid Fedorenko ... and the event was Punch Club Car Jiujitsu. The location isn't known ... but Russia is a good bet.

The fight started with the two men each sitting in a front seat. When the bell rang, Kir was somehow able to wrap the passenger side seatbelt around Leonid's neck ... as KK squeezed as hard as he could.

The belt looked incredibly tight, but somehow, Leonid didn't tap and was eventually able to fight out of the position.

The final violent touch ... the promotion uses Grand Theft Auto-style text and graphics.

Seatbelts are nothing new in jiujitsu ... but not like this.

In traditional jiujitsu, a "seatbelt" is a position of control when the person in the dominant position (top) locks their hands across the chest of the competitor much like a seat belt strap.

Of course, choking your opponent with an actual seat belt is very different.

Car jiujitsu isn't the only crazy event Punch Club has put on. They've also done car MMA and phone booth boxing (it looks exactly like you think it would).

Gisele Bündchen and jiu-jitsu instructor Joaquim Valente have raised a lot of suspicion as to possible romantic ties, but we at least now know one of the reasons he's traveled with her to Costa Rica ... he's training her and Tom Brady's kids.

Sources close to Gisele tell us the kids, Benjamin and Vivian, are homeschooled and have a team travel with them to make sure they're receiving all the necessities for their education. We're told there's a full-time teacher who travels to teach the kids their basics -- and Valente as well -- it's also not the first time the group has made the trip to Costa Rica together.

Our sources say Valente handles the physical education aspect of the homeschooling -- which makes sense considering he's trained them in jiu-jitsu -- after connecting in Miami.

Nonetheless, it does feel odd Valente was able to up and leave his jiu-jitsu biz back home for several weeks while he's with Gisele and crew ... though you gotta imagine the money is good.

While it's not 100% clear where Gisele and Joaquim stand, we still haven't seen any PDA, and our Gisele sources are adamant -- there's nothing romantic. However, one source close to the former couple still believes the timing of the trip is interesting considering her and Tom just finalized their divorce.

Chris Gutierrez is fresh off the biggest win of his career ... but, he says the moment was actually bittersweet, 'cause he retired UFC legend Frankie Edgar -- someone he admired as a young fan of MMA.

31-year-old Gutierrez, who came into UFC 281 as an unranked fighter, knocked out number 12 ranked bantamweight, 41-year-old Edgar, about halfway through the first round of their contest with a perfectly placed knee. It was the last fight of Frankie's Hall of Fame career.

"It's definitely bittersweet. I knew I still had a job to do, but at the end of the day, I didn't enjoy ... It was bittersweet. I gotta do what I gotta do and I won the fight but no one really likes to see a champion go down like that. It hurt me a bit. It did."

Chris says Edgar was someone he looked up to as a young MMA fan ... and the former champ actually inspired him.

"The reality is it was an honor to share the cage with him, an honor to share the Octagon. He's someone that I grew up watching from the beginning. He was the little engine that could. A smaller guy taking on these giants and he would come out on top. He would find a way. He inspired me as a kid to kind of push through life."

With the win over Edgar, Gutierrez cracked the top 15 ... and now sits in the 13th position. Chris is in the midst of a 4 fight win streak ... and hasn't lost since 2018 (he fought to a draw in August 2020).

We asked Gutierrez who he wants next ... and he had some ideas.

"I already have three people on my mind. Pedro Munhoz, Dominick Cruz, or Rob Font would be some good ones," Chris says.

But, no matter what happens from here ... Chris is grateful for all his success.

"To be honest I never envisioned myself being where I'm at in life so every day is like a blessing."

As for Frankie ... he goes down as one of the greatest fighters in UFC history.

Hasim Rahman Jr. has found a new opponent ... former NFL star turned UFC fighter turned boxer Greg Hardy is stepping in last minute to save the main event after Vitor Belfort was forced to pull out after getting sick, it was announced Tuesday.

DAZN broke the news this morning ... announcing Rahman will square off against the ex-Panthers defensive end in just four days.

“I’m excited, man, this is my chance to show that I belong in the boxing world,” Hardy said.

“I know plenty about the Rahman name as boxers, and I know he was preparing for Vitor, but I’m definitely confident and prepared to show people I can box.”

Hasim and Vitor were originally set to go toe-to-toe on Nov.19 in Austin, TX ... but the bout was called off after the Brazilian mixed martial artist contracted COVID-19.

Rahman will have his hands full with Hardy ... who aside from being huge (Greg would have to cut to make the 265 lb. limit as a UFC fighter), also hits like a truck.

But, Hasim's also dangerous. The 31-year-old boxer -- whose dad was a heavyweight champ -- has a pro record of 12-1 (6 knockouts).

Of course, Rahman Jr.'s been one of the fighters feuding with Jake Paul of late. The men were scheduled to fight, but the bout fell apart weeks before. Hasim has been adamant the Problem Child's ducking him.

Gisele Bündchen is getting super close to a handsome MMA teacher ... and sources connected to the former couple -- Tom Brady and Gisele, that is -- are questioning the timing.

The guy is Joaquim Valente, a jiu-jitsu instructor who lives in Miami. Gisele has known him for at least a year and a half. She took lessons from him, and then signed her 2 kids up for lessons as well.

Gisele and Joaquim were out to dinner in Costa Rica Saturday, with her kids, Benjamin and Vivian. It's especially interesting, because Tom and Gisele made Costa Rica their vacation spot during the off-season.

Gisele and Joaquim did a super sexy photo shoot together more than a year ago for Dust Magazine ... presumably about the art of jiu-jitsu.

Gisele has posted her fondness for Joaquim's MMA teaching skills, saying it gave her confidence and empowerment.

A source connected to Gisele tells TMZ GB and JV are not dating, noting many friends were present in Costa Rica. The source says there were 6 adults and 8 kids at the get-together.

Another source close to the ex-couple is not buying it, asking why this Miami guy is in Costa Rica with her. This source added, "It always seemed weird she just one day abruptly ended the marriage."

Page Six was the first to report on Joaquim and Gisele.

Anthony "Rumble" Johnson has died ... this according to several prominent figures in the MMA community.

The former UFC fighter reportedly passed away this weekend after battling an undisclosed disease he's apparently been dealing with for quite a while. Unclear what it might be, though ... the rest of the details surrounding his death have yet to be released.

UFC's Michael Chiesa sent out a post for condolences, writing ... "RIP Anthony “Rumble” Johnson. One of the most prolific KO artists our sport has ever seen. My prayers go out to his family and everyone affected by this tragedy."

Other MMA fighters and journalists also posted tons of tributes for the guy ... the news seems to have shocked just about everyone, as Rumble's been out of the spotlight for a while.

One notable remembrance came from Daniel Cormier, who faced Rumble in the Octagon a couple different times. He writes, "Rest Easy my brother. For a guy who struck fear in so many peoples heart Anthony Johnson was a caring person. From random text to check ins during loss. What a person he was, Rumble will be missed. Sometimes life doesn’t seem fair. Horrible news."

What DC's referring to is the fact that Rumble was notorious for his sheer strength and force -- which translated to brutal knockouts that he'd often put on display in his prime. One good punch could put a guy to sleep, and he certainly had a rep for trying to prove that in bouts.

His record was incredible in its day ... 23 wins, 17 of which were by KO or TKO. He only had 6 losses. Rumble competed in several UFC events over the years -- dating back to 2006 -- but he never won a title. For a while, he was ranked #1 in his weight class, pre-retirement. He parted ways with the UFC intermittently, but officially cut ties in 2020 to join Bellator MMA.

Rumble fought at different levels ... middleweight, welterweight, light heavyweight and eventually heavy in his later years. He had the most success in the latter classes.

He was 38.

Drake is $2 million lighter this morning after betting on the loser in Saturday night's UFC title fight, but for a good part of the fight he looked like he was gonna win big.

The iconic rapper -- known for his love of high-stakes gambling -- plunked down the INSANE amount of cash on middleweight champion Israel Adesanya to beat Alex Pereira during UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden in NYC.

Adesanya seemed to have the upper hand until the 5th round. Then, Pereira unleashed a series of brutal body blows that staggered Adesanya, although he didn't drop to the canvas. But, the referee decided to step in anyway and stop the fight.

Pereira's victory marked the third time he defeated Adesanya ... their other two clashes were kickboxing matches.

As for Drake, he captioned his ticket on Instagram with "been focused on the album gotta get back to stacking up" before the fight ... so stacking will have to be an even bigger priority now that Izzy lost.

"It's the same as it was wrestling for me. I just wrestle against able-bodied people, and I beat able-bodied people. Now I'm fighting able-bodied people, and I'm gonna knock out able-bodied people. It's as simple as that. I'm a fighter."

Zion Clark is once again proving there's absolutely NOTHING he can't do -- despite being born without legs -- the former All-American wrestler tells us his next crazy accomplishment ... is taking an MMA fight!

"I'm trying to run this s**t up! It's not just a rinky-dink fight. This s**t's going on pay-per-view. This shit is a legit sanctioned fight," Zion told Babcock and Mojo on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1), adding, "It's gonna be big!"

There's a good chance you've seen or heard about the 25-year-old's incredible story.

Clark was born in Ohio in 1997 with a rare birth defect called Cadual Regression Syndrome which caused him to be born without legs. Zion was put up for adoption after he was born. He bounced around the foster care system.

In elementary school Clark was introduced to wrestling ... but he wasn't very good at first. In fact, he didn't win a single match for years. But, after meeting his H.S. wrestling coach, Zion and the man developed a bond, and ZC's wrestling ability improved dramatically.

As a senior, he finished 33-15 ... wrestling against kids who had four limbs. Clark then went to Kent State, where he continued his successful wrestling career.

Zion's now training for the 2024 Olympics ... where he'd like to wrestle. He's also gunning to compete in the Paralympics in wheelchair racing ... where he's one of the most elite racers in the world.

He's also known as the "fastest man on two hands" ... Zion was a track champ in high school, too.

Clark also recently set two Guinness World Records ... for highest box jump (record was 24 inches. Zion jumped 33) with the hands and most diamond push-ups (248 in under 3 minutes).

As for Clark's MMA fight ... it's scheduled to go down December 17. Zion says he doesn't even know his opponent's name ... that's how unbothered he is about the fight.

It's not that he isn't taking the fight seriously ... in fact, it's just the opposite. Zion says he's beating his ass in the training room, sparring with MMA stars like Rampage Jackson and AJ McKee.

Check out the clip ... Zion talks about training with those legends, and what we can expect when he steps in the cage for the first time in just a few weeks.

Alex Pereira says he's open to squashing the beef with Israel Adesanya after their UFC title fight in NYC this weekend ... but tells us he's not so sure Izzy feels the same way.

The 35-year-old, #4 contender and Izzy have some serious bad blood ... they previously kickboxed twice several years back. Since Pereira joined the UFC in 2021, many fans pinpointed this matchup as a future megafight -- and now it's here, and the beef is real.

"On my end, no problem but I don't think on his side everything that happened it's possible," AP said through a translator.

And, it sounds like Alex is right. The champ joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) last week and said he wanted to turn the scrap into a "horror movie."

As for the previous fights, Pereira twice defeated Adesanya (decision, KO) ... however, the fights were very close. In fact, many people believe Izzy won the first fight. In the rematch, Israel had Alex in trouble in the early rounds ... but was knocked out in the third round.

It should be noted ... the previous fights were in kickboxing, NOT MMA.

Despite this fight being in a different sport, Pereira says he's ready for everything.

"I'm ready for five rounds. Wherever the fight goes, it's hard to predict but I'm ready for everything."

Adesanya vs. Pereira is at the top of the 281 card ... but there is a bunch of other super compelling fights slated for tonight, including Michael Chandler vs. Dustin Poirier.

Mike and Dustin, much like Izzy and Alex, don't exactly love each other.

We recently asked Michael about the bad blood.

"I think there were some words exchanged, but ultimately bad blood, I think there's bad blood in every single fight whether we like to admit it or not because you got two guys or gals trying to climb the same mountain, heading to the same destination. This one's no different."

But, there's more.

We also chatted with strawweight champion Carla Esparza ... who despite holding the belt, is a big-time underdog to Zhang Weili.

Esparza says she's drawing inspiration from a very famous, albeit fictional movie character from Philly who was once counted out against a physically superior opponent from Russia!

"I feel a little bit like Rocky going into this fight versus Drago. Big strong, verse the little one with a lot of heart. Whatever. I'm going in there to do my thing and I'm excited!"

Israel Adesanya vs. Alex Pereira is going down tonight at UFC 281 ... and not a damn person knows who's going to win.

But, there's one fighter who not only faced the men (others have), he beat them both (something no one else has done) ... Jason Wilnis, former Glory middleweight champion. Wilnis is 1-0 against Israel (decision win, 2017) ... and 2-1 against Alex (decision win in 2015, TKO win in 2012).

TMZ Sports talked to Wilnis ... and we asked him to compare the two world-class fighters.

First, who hits harder?

"I can say, from my experience, that Alex Pereira hits harder, man. His punches aren't normal, man."

And, Wilnis says it isn't just punching power where AP has the edge ... he's got the overall strength advantage, too.

"The last time I fought [Pereira], he was so strong. You can see he put in work in the last years. He was too strong, too quick, so yeah, I think Pereira gives me bigger problems right now."

As for who's going to win, fans and experts alike are torn, and so is Wilnis.

"It's hard to say, man, but if I go for the experience, you know, Adesanya got the experience. He got the smarter moves but if I go for the hunger, the beast, it's Pereira. He's very hungry, so it's difficult to say," Jason told us.

But, when push comes to shove, he's going with Pereira, because Adesanya has already reached the MMA mountaintop, but Alex hasn't.

"I would say Pereira, man, for the hunger."

Of course, Adesanya, despite being the undisputed middleweight champ and a bonafide superstar, he isn't exactly lacking hunger ... and with teammate Alex Volkanovski, he may well be the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter on the planet.

"I want to make this a horror movie."

That's UFC champion Israel Adesanya, who joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... making it crystal clear he wants to do a lot more than simply defeat his rival Alex Pereira when the two striking savants battle inside the Octagon at UFC 281 in NYC.

"I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes up. I want to make sure I'm right in his line of sight so he's looking at me," the 33-year-old MMA superstar said.

Of course, Adesanya and Pereira are headlining the November 12th card -- with two title fights and a Michael Chandler-Dustin Poirier matchup -- which will go down inside Madison Square Garden.

Israel and Alex fought twice previously and Pereira won both times ... in 2016 (decision) and 2017 (knockout), but they were kickboxing, NOT MMA (overall, Izzy had a kickboxing record of 75-5, while Alex was 33-7.)

We asked Adesanya, who last fought and beat Jared Cannonier in July, if people were making too big a deal over the previous fights.

"100%, even though the way you defend is different, the way you attack is different. It's kinda stupid sometimes. No disrespect to kickboxing," Izzy said.

"I always felt my striking was better suited for MMA, for the glove size but also the way, the freeness of attacking, I can clinch someone and trip 'em down. I can elbow, things like that and I know he's good at stuff like that as well but I've been doing this a lot longer."

The reality is ... Adesanya rarely lost kickboxing, but he's never lost in his division in the UFC (sole L came against Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight).

Despite it being a much different discipline, Izzy says he did rewatch the fights.

"I've looked back at them and I've taken a few things away from them but it is a different fight. I'm not the same guy, he's not the same guy either, but again, I've been doing this a lot longer and people forget," Adesanya said.

"For me, I have reminded them. I always do when it's time. I remind people and show them how great I am. This is just another one of those times I have to do it."

Despite losing in the ring on Saturday, Uriah Hall is advising Le'Veon Bell to continue fighting, telling the former NFL star to ignore the haters telling him to quit!

If you missed it ... Bell -- who last played for the Bucs and Ravens in 2021 -- fought the ex-UFC star on the Jake Paul vs. Anderson Silva card at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

Bell and Hall went at it for four founds ... and Le'Veon lost by unanimous decision.

The trolls went after Bell following the loss, saying the sport of boxing is way out of the running back's league ... but Hall hopes Bell ignores the haters.

"Don’t you dare listen to the naysayers," Hall said on Sunday in a IG post, "and don’t you dare give up on your dreams."

"Only dare to do great things 👊🏿"

Bell thanked the former middleweight MMA fighter for the advice and for getting in the ring with him for his first professional fight.

"It was truly an honor to share the ring with you bro," the 3-time Pro Bowler said, "nothin but the upmost respect from me ✊🏾 true class, elite fighter, even better person 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾"

This loss for Bell surely doesn't mean his pro boxing career is over ... in fact, Bell told us his goal is to ultimately become a champion.

"Honestly, I'm trying to be the best, Bell told us last week, "I wanna be a champion at some point."