MMA

Fans and MMA "experts" may believe Stipe Miocic has no chance against Jon Jones, but the man Bones Jones called the greatest UFC heavyweight ever says he's motivated by the underdog status, and has zero doubts he going defeat JJ!

40-year-old Miocic joined Babcock and Mojo on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) where we asked him, you vs. Jon aside ... give us your scouting report of Jones, the heavyweight.

"He won, good for him. That's about it."

So, yeah ... color Stipe unimpressed with the heavier version of Jones.

"I don't really have much to say because it wasn't that long of a fight," Miocic added.

Of course, Jon only needed 2 minutes and 4 seconds to choke out Ciryl Gane, one of the most dangerous men in the world at UFC 285, winning the heavyweight title Stipe held for years.

The fight between Jon and Stipe is likely to go down in July, and Jones is already around a -370 favorite (put up $370 to profit $100). Add to that all the MMA fans who have said Miocic doesn't stand a chance in the Octagon with Jon. We asked SM if he was motivated by the doubters.

"Hell yeah it does [motivate me]. I love being the underdog, I love being told something not gonna happen because I'm the guy that puts a big dagger in that."

It seems some people may have forgotten what Miocic has accomplished in the Octagon. Stipe previously beat Daniel Cormier, twice. He also defeated Francis Nagannou, Junior dos Santos, Fabricio Werdum, Mark Hunt, and others.

Speaking of Cormier, his rivalry with Jones was one of the best (and realest) in UFC history. We asked Stipe if he's considered bringing D.C. into camp to help him train. Miocic didn't say no, but it's clear this is just another fight for the firefighter from Ohio.

"No, no, I mean maybe, I don't know. Right now, just gonna keep getting better and grinding away and make myself the best I can be."

As for retirement, we asked Stipe if the Jones bout could be the last of his illustrious Hall of Fame career.

"I don't know. We'll see. I think about retiring after every fight since my first one. We'll see. Right now just gonna keep getting better, getting stronger, make myself finally tuned ready for that fight in July."

Cannot! Wait! 👊

Mercedes Mone is putting the wrestling world on NOTICE ... telling TMZ Sports she'll fight any wrestler, anywhere, anytime -- saying, "I turn down to nobody."

We spoke to Mercedes -- formerly known as Sasha Banks in the WWE -- after she captured the IWGP championship in her New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) debut last month ... and she was hyped about performing in front of her family and friends.

"It was a moment I'm always going to remember," Mone said. "It's probably my second favorite moment of my career thus far and that's saying a lot because I've done so much in professional wrestling."

Mercedes said competing in front of a sold-out crowd at the San Jose Civic Center in California -- close to where she grew up -- was special ... adding working with her opponent, Kairi, who she defeated to become champ, was an incredible experience.

Mone told us now that she's the IWGP champ, she's got big plans. In addition to showing off her gold on red carpets, she also called out Japanese pro wrestler AZM ahead of her scheduled appearance at Sakura Genesis in Tokyo on April 8.

"I wanna see who's ready for Mercedes Mone," the champ said. "I'm always here for the check. I'm always here for the bag and whoever has the biggest bag is where I'm gonna go."

Jake Gyllenhaal has transformed himself into a chiseled mass of pure muscle for his new role as an MMA fighter in the remake of the 1989 classic film, "Road House."

Check out this video showing the 42-year-old actor shooting a scene for the movie at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Friday.

Taking on the reimagined role of Patrick Swayze's John Dalton, named Elwood in the new film, Jake dashed onto the stage for a weigh-in, tipping the scales at 184 pounds for his middleweight fight against champion Jack Harris, played by ex-MMA star Jay Hieron.

After showing off his incredible physique to the crowd, Jake stepped off the scale and shook the hand of UFC President Dana White, who was standing nearby.

Hieron then jumped on the scale and faced off with Jake as both men talked smack to each other. Jake then slapped Hieron across the face, prompting a shoving match as White stepped in to break it up.

Paddy Pimblett's beef with Jake Paul is still very much a thing ... and, uh, so much for not kickin' a guy when he's down!

The UFC star recently spoke to TMZ Sports, and let's just say he wasn't impressed with The Problem Child's performance during his 8-round, split decision loss to Tommy Fury last Sunday in Saudi Arabia.

"It seems to me like Tommy Fury was boxing bad against his last few opponents on purpose, know what I mean? Or Jake Paul's just a terrible boxer, even more worse than I thought. I was giving him more credit than I thought he deserved," Pimblett told us.

Of course, one judge scored the fight 75-74 (4 rounds apiece, but Jake had a 10-8 round in the 8th), while the other two had it 76-73 (6 rounds to 2 for Tommy).

"Tommy won anyway and I thought it wasn't a split decision, either. I thought it was a unanimous decision. He won most rounds."

Now, the 28-year-old speaking out against Paul isn't new -- remember, the two stars went back and forth last year after Pimblett suggested his fight against Anderson Silva was fixed.

Jake even offered Paddy $1 million if the UFC fighter could beat him in a 5-round sparring session. That hasn't happened, yet ... so we asked Pimblett if he's still down to do it.

"Yeah, if he wants to," Pimblett said. "I don't give a f***. I'll spar with anyone."

In the meantime, Pimblett's getting into the fitness business, releasing a workout supplement, Paddy “The Baddy” Everything Ultimate Pre-Workout with ABE that's only sold at The Vitamin Shoppe ... and he's stoked.

"It's my lil' boost of coffee in the morning to wake me up and make me get up and actually get out and see the day," Pimblett said.

Jon Jones spent his entire career in the light heavyweight division, but, not anymore ... the UFC legend is now a heavyweight, and we're seeing JJ's physique for the first time!

35-year-old Jones posed for promotional photos on March 1 ahead of his UFC 285 fight with 32-year-old former interim champ Ciryl Gane ... and you can clearly see 6'4" Jon packed on some serious size.

Jones systematically bulked up, adding muscle over the last 2+ years. When his fight with Alexander Gustafsson was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame last fall, Jon told the crowd he weighed 255 lbs.

It's unclear how much he tips the scales at now, but Jon previously stated he was aiming to weigh 270 lbs. heading into fight week, before cutting a few pounds to make the heavyweight limit of 265 lbs.

FYI, Jones weighed 204 lbs. for his last fight against Dominick Reyes ... which he won by unanimous decision.

Of course, Jones is the greatest LHW (205 lb.) fighter to ever step foot in an MMA cage ... but, there's a reason weight classes exist. Size matters, despite what you've heard.

As for his opponent, Gane is a bonafide heavyweight. He's 6'5", and weighed 247 lbs. for his last fight against Tai Tuivasa.

If Jake Paul and Tommy Fury don't run it back, there's one guy who's already lining up to be TNT's next boxing opponent ... and it's none other than Logan Paul.

Logan expressed his wishes in a sit-down interview with the Problem Child on the "BS W/ Jake Paul" podcast (recorded the day after the Fury fight) ... and he admitted the result had him wanting to, as their mom put it, "kill that kid."

Logan initially asked Jake what he was planning to do in the ring following the loss ... and he made it clear he wants a rematch with Tyson's little bro.

But if Paul vs. Fury II doesn't work out ... Logan's ready to step in and avenge the family name.

"If you don't [have a rematch], I'd like to handle that," Logan told Jake. "That was like, my first instinct, obviously."

"He's my little brother. F*** that. Inflatable arm ass, motherf***er. F***."

Jake then joked that they could both avenge each other's losses if he were to go up against the Maverick's former nemesis, KSI ... and they could "start an Avenger movie."

But as of right now, it sounds like Tommy will grant Jake a rematch ... and the two will add another installment to their rivalry.

There's more in the interview -- Jake said he predicts the Tommy fight had more than half a MILLION Pay-Per-View buys ... which would explain his claim he made $30 million for one night of work.

Mike Perry says Jake Paul's trainer was livid he posted a fake "script" purporting to break down what'd happen during each round of Paul vs. Fury ... telling TMZ Sports he received an angry message in his DMs.

Once Perry shared the document titled "Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury Script - Revision #4 - Final" with his hundreds of thousands of followers, it went viral. The script indicated Jake would beat Tommy Fury by TKO in the 8th round of their fight.

Obviously, that's not what happened (Fury beat Paul via split decision). Still, the script played into the conspiracy theorists' narrative that Jake's fights aren't real, and that clearly ticked off his team. The timing didn't help, either. It was released just hours before the fight and caused a headache for all involved.

"It was an Instagram post I think my buddy sent me," Perry said, explaining how he wound up with the script.

"I tweeted it and it's probably my best tweet of all time, probably. It got a lot of attention. People talked a lot of trash on me for it. Whatever."

But, Mike says it wasn't just Jake's fans that were angry, but also people close to the Problem Child.

"Jake's coach wrote me and was upset about his reputation," Perry says, explaining how Paul's coach made the case they always treated the former UFC star with respect.

But, Mike doesn't see the situation the same way.

"Ya know I was thinking, well, Jake never cared about my reputation when he posted a video of what I said to him at practice, trying to coach him up and be a part of the team, and give him that work. And he put that [training footage] out there," Perry countered, referencing Jake's decision to post training footage where Paul got the best of Perry while sparring.

We asked Mike how he responded to Jake's trainer BJ Flores -- whom Perry implies was the coach who sent the message.

"I didn't really respond to his coach's messages. I didn't respond to it. I just kind of looked past it. It's part of the game."

FYI, Flores is Jake's head coach and was a respected boxer in his own right. In fact, BJ fought for a cruiserweight world title in 2016.

Despite the drama, MP says ... "I like BJ Flores," but clearly he has no regrets about posting the script.

"The script was hilarious, it was funny, I guess just a joke."

We also talked to Mike about his thoughts on the actual fight (he says he wasn't very impressed with either boxer), and whether he has any interest in fighting Jake and/or Tommy.

"I could beat either one of those guys. Maybe they're not ready for me, and someone of my experience," while making it clear he's open if fans want to see either bout.

All trash talk aside (and there's been a good deal of it), Ciryl Gane says he's a competitor and that's why he's so amped for his fight against the "G.O.A.T." Jon Jones.

"I love this sport. Yes, it's my job, but first I'm a competitor, When I lost my fight against Francis [Ngannou], I was really not happy," 32-year-old Gane told Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weeknights on FS1), adding, "So yes, I'm gonna test myself with the G.O.A.T., and this is a pleasure for me."

"When you have a fight and you don't have any challenge, that's not exciting. Today I have a big challenge so I'm really excited about that."

Gane, 11-1, is coming off a KO victory over Tai Tuivasa in September, and will now fight 35-year-old Jones at UFC 285 this weekend. It'll be Jon's first fight in the heavyweight division, and his first time in an Octagon for a sanctioned fight in over 3 years (he last fought/beat Dominick Reyes on Feb. 8, 2020, at UFC 247).

We've seen Jon fight in a cage 28 times as a professional, but never as a man this big ... so we asked Ciryl how he believes the added weight will affect Jones.

"I think [Jon's] gonna be less faster than before. He's really normal. When my weight was around [220 to 231 lbs.], I was a little bit faster. So yes, for sure, 100% he's gonna be a little bit less but for a heavyweight, he's gonna have speed."

Jon's been critical of Ciryl's resume in the Octagon ... going at everything from the quality of his opponents to his wrestling ability. We asked Gane if he was bothered by Jones' comments.

"No [laughs]. No matter what he say, I'm not really on the game. I know there's guys sometimes that wanna get in your head but for me, it's not personal. I'm gonna do my performance. I'm gonna do my job, I'm gonna do my sport."

Tommy Fury is back on his home turf -- the boxing star just touched down in London following his huge win over Jake Paul ... and he's putting his new belt on full display.

Tommy, Tyson and John made their way through the airport on Monday ... and the Furys were happy as could be, posing for pics and meeting with fans.

It's been a wild 24 hours for the Fury fam -- Tommy went 8 rounds with Jake and earned the split decision win in Saudi Arabia ... and they've been celebrating ever since.

Aside from a bandage over his right eye, Tommy looks pretty clean ... and he appears to be in good health.

Tyson was turning heads going through the airport, too ... but his hot pink luggage might be responsible for that.

After the fight, Tommy said he was eager to spend time with Molly-Mae Hague and their newborn daughter, Bambi ... and now that he's back home, we're sure some much-needed R&R is on the horizon.

As for Jake, he's bummed about the loss ... but he can wipe his tears with the $30 million he claimed to make off the fight.

Jake Paul beats Tommy Fury by TKO in the 8th round?! That's what a so-called leaked "script," burning up social media, claims will happen Sunday afternoon ... the only caveat is TMZ Sports is told it's completely fake!

The one-page document is titled "Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury Script - Revision #4 - Final" ... and breaks down what will (supposedly) happen in each round of the highly anticipated fight.

For example, round 1 reads ... "the fighters start off cautiously, circling each other and throwing jabs. Jake Paul lands a solid left hook, but Tommy Fury responds with a quick right hand."

Fury will begin to have trouble with his eye in the 4th round, per the script. By the 5th, the document says Tommy's eye will be so badly damaged it's nearly closed.

Then, in the 8th ... "Paul lands a huge right hand that sends Fury crashing to the canvas. Fury tries to get up, but he stumbles and falls back down. The referee starts the count, but Fury stays on the ground, clutching his eye."

"The ringside doctor rushes in to check on Fury, but he waves him away. Tommy shall then act out an eye injury that forces the referee to call off the fight, declaring Jake Paul the winner by TKO."

The problem ... multiple people associated with the fight/fighters are adamant the "script" is completely fabricated, fake, nonsense.

There do appear to be multiple inconsistencies. The document was produced by "Troop Boxing", which doesn't seem to actually exist. Further, the word "Boxing" in Troop's logo is a stock image available on the internet.

Also, Paul vs. Fury is a professional, sanctioned boxing match ... and fixing fights is illegal. Prison time kinds of illegal.

It also begs the question ... how would you fake an eye injury serious enough to cause a fight stoppage?

Nonetheless, the leaked script has many fans in a frenzy.

It feeds into the conspiracy theories that Jake's fights are fixed ... popular amongst boxing fans who refuse to give the 6-0 fighter any credit, despite beating the likes of future UFC Hall of Famers Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva.

Jake and Tommy are scheduled to fight in a matter of hours ... and it's probably safe to say the fight won't be stopped by the referee in the 8th over an eye injury (though, if it does, Drake won't be mad).

Drake's picking sides in the Jake Paul - Tommy Fury feud, placing a bet on The Problem Child to knockout TNT ... and judging by the massive size of the wager, Drizzy's feelin' confident the 26-year-old YouTuber-turned-boxer will turn out Fury's lights.

Drake posted the Stake betting slip on social media Saturday night ... and he's risking $400,000. In order for the superstar rapper to cash out, Jake can't just win the fight, he must KO Tommy (in any round). If that scenario actually unfolds, Drake would receive $1.4 million ... which included his initial bet ($400k).

The payout's so large because statistically, it's a longshot ... the odds say there's a less than 30% chance the fight ends by Paul KO.

FYI, Jake's 6-0 ... and 4 of those fights have ended by KO. Tommy's also undefeated ... and obviously has never been stopped.

Drake's no stranger to making huge wagers. In fact, he bet $965k total on the Super Bowl ... and while he didn't hit on all his bets, he did pretty well. He's also bets heaps of money on UFC fights.

While the rappers riding with Jake, Tyson Fury is (obviously) siding with his brother. The heavyweight champion revealed earlier this week he put down over $100K on Tommy to win by stoppage.

"I've got 100 racks on it for an inside-the-distance stoppage, so if [Tommy] loses, then I'll lose 100 bags as well," Fury told iFL TV.

Jake and Tommy also made a bet during fight week (though, we'll see if it comes to fruition). If Jake wins the fight, he gets Tommy's money. If Fury wins, Jake double his money.

Bets aside, Paul and Fury flat-out hate each other ... and Sunday's fight is the culmination of years of trash talk. The men were supposed to scrap on two previous occasions, but Tommy pulled out -- once for injury, and the other over a travel issue.

Jon Jones' family is filled with Super Bowl champs, but the UFC superstar tells TMZ Sports he had zero chance of having a career on the football field -- 'cause he said he "absolutely sucked" at the sport.

Of course, Jones' older brother, Arthur, played 8 seasons as a defensive tackle for the Ravens, Colts, and Commanders ... and his younger bro, Chandler, currently plays defensive end for the Raiders.

With that being said, football is clearly in the Jones DNA ... so when we asked Jon if he could have followed in their footsteps, Bones made no bones about it -- he was ass.

"I absolutely sucked on the football field," Jones told us. "I was no good at all. I didn't play until my senior year [of high school]. I was always on the team, but I never got to play.

Jones -- who holds a 26-1 record in the UFC -- says he just didn't get the Xs and Os, coverages, or play calling behind the game ... and playing Madden didn't help either.

"I sucked at football. I made a hell of a benchwarmer, though," Jones said.

But, don't feel bad for the guy -- Jones ended up becoming one of the greatest mixed martial artists ever ... and he's back in the Octagon on March 4 to face 11-1 Ciryl Gane -- his first fight in over 3 years.

"A lot of people wanted to take a warm-up fight," Jones said. "I'm going right at one of the best talents the UFC has ever seen."

Erin Blanchfield isn't looking to prove herself worthy of a title fight ... she straight up believes she's a superior fighter to Valentina Shevchenko, telling TMZ Sports she plans to dethrone the current champ.

"[Valentina] can be taken down, she can be controlled on the ground and I think my jiu-jitsu is even better. I know I could fight with her anywhere. I'm confident in my striking and my wrestling and my jitsu," 23-year-old Blanchfield, fresh off an impressive 2nd round submission win over Jessica Andrade, told us this week.

The #3 ranked UFC flyweight then continued ... "I think just putting my whole game together, I think I'm more well-rounded in that sense where I can put it all together better and that I'll find that win whenever I can."

We asked Erin if she believes she's done enough to secure a fight for the belt.

"Oh, definitely. I think I've proved myself after this last weekend and I definitely want that title shot next."

Blanchfield vs. Shevchenko is the fight so many fans want to see, but Valentina has business to take care of beforehand. The 34-year-old champion is fighting 29-year-old Alexa Grasso at UFC 285 on March 4 ... where she's a heavy favorite (-600).

FYI, Shevchenko only has 3 losses in her entire career ... and 2 were to Amanda Nunes (some fans feel VS won 1 of the fights). Valentina hasn't lost since 2017 (and hasn't lost to anyone not named Nunes since 2010!). Blanchfield only has one loss on her ledger (in 2019) ... and has an 11-1 record in MMA (5-0 in UFC).

Erin tells us she's rooting for Shevchenko because a loss would almost certainly guarantee a rematch of the 285 scrap between the women, and EB isn't trying to wait. Not to mention, she'd like to be the woman to dethrone the future Hall of Famer.

"I definitely want Valentina to win. I wanna be the one to take that belt from her. She's been a super dominant champ, she's very skilled and having that prestige of taking a belt from someone like Valentina is definitely what I want."

As for how she thinks a fight with the current champ would go ... Blanchfield sees herself winning by any means necessary.

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

The Gervonta 'Tank' Davis vs. Ryan Garcia super fight -- which boxing fans have been begging for -- is finally happening on April 22 ... and it's set to go in Las Vegas!

Tank (28-0, 26 KOs) confirmed the news on Friday by tweeting, "April 22, 2023 Las Vegas It’s on!  #DavisGarcia GOOOOO."

The venue for the highly-anticipated fight is not yet public, but that's irrelevant ... bottom line, Tank and Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) agreed to fight at a catch weight of 136 pounds for a 12-round non-title fight.

It will be a Showtime Pay-Per-View event, in partnership with Al Haymon's PBC, Golden Boy Promotions, and DAZN ... who all worked together to make it happen, according to TalkSport's Michael Benson.

The fight's been years in the making ... and the heat's been ratcheted up, especially lately. Both fighters have gone back and forth, talking crap to one another.

Many fans assumed the fight would never happen (and some still don't believe it will), but Oscar De La Hoya told us in April he was very optimistic about the fight not only happening, but RG easily winning, saying ... "Ryan Garcia wants to knock him out so bad. He's calling it in two rounds."

"Both guys are in their prime. Both guys are undefeated. It's gonna be a great fight," ODLH told us at the time.

But, not everyone expects Ryan to win. In fact, pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez recently told us he expects Tank to win ... citing his experience.

WWE Superstar Carmella is opening up, talking about the ectopic pregnancy that forced her hiatus from the company ... revealing the situation was so severe, she could've lost her life.

Carmella joined her husband, Corey Graves and his podcast partner, Kevin Patrick on CG's 'After The Bell' podcast ... where she went into detail about the traumatic experience, explaining how the terrible situation forced her into a "deep depression."

"It was so difficult," Carmella recalled of the October 2022 miscarriage.

"It’s insane because not only am I in the emergency room for this crazy medical condition that we have to monitor closely, I was on bed rest for four weeks straight, I couldn’t do anything."

"I’m also processing the loss of our baby. It was a double whammy," the WWE Superstar told Corey and Patrick.

Carmella says she was in a dark place after the medical emergency.

"I was in a deep depression for a while. It was really hard. I felt it was necessary for me to share my story. Even though I had you [Corey], I had my family, I had never felt so alone because it’s like blaming yourself. ‘What did I do wrong?' 'How could I have prevented this?’ It turns out there is nothing I could have done."

FYI, an ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside of the uterus (as opposed to inside the uterus during a healthy pregnancy) usually in a fallopian tube, according to the Mayo Clinic. Ectopic pregnancies cannot proceed, and as Carmella said, can be fatal for the mother.

Carmella -- the 2017 Money in the Bank Women's ladder match winner -- admitted she questioned whether she'd ever feel good again following the tragedy.

"It was a very difficult time and it felt like, my return was up in the air, I didn’t know. 'Am I ever going to go back to work?' 'Am I ever going to feel okay?' 'Am I ever going to feel good enough to get off the damn couch and put some makeup on and feel good about myself?'"

"Luckily, we’re here and on the other side, but it was definitely a difficult journey."

Aside from scores of family and friends helping her reach the other side, Carmella says there was one person in particular who went above and beyond ... Stephanie McMahon.

"I’m gonna get emotional thinking about it. She was so supportive of me through all of it. Reached out to me several times, we had several phone conversations about it."

Carmella says she will be "forever grateful" for what the WWE exec and daughter of Vince McMahon did for her, saying "not only does she preach women empowerment, she practices it."

Carmella made her long-awaited return to WWE earlier this month.

There's a ton of money at stake when Jake Paul and Tommy Fury enter the ring on Sunday ... 'cause the two boxers just agreed to a hefty bet that could leave one of them without a dime!!

The Problem Child proposed the deal during their pre-fight press conference minutes ago ... saying if TNT wins, he will double his purse -- but if Jake is victorious, he gets EVERYTHING.

The deal was solidified with a handshake ... and Jake said he even had his lawyers draft up the paperwork beforehand to prove he's 100% serious.

A brief scuffle ensued ... with Jake and Tommy getting in each other's faces before being separated.

"You're a s***house," Tommy said during the altercation. "You are full of s***, you little bitch. I'll put you out inside the first round."

Jake then addressed the crowd ... saying, "You heard that, ladies and gentlemen ... it's a deal!!"

It's a risky bet for sure ... as Jake has previously claimed the fight will be the biggest payday of Tommy's career.

The rest of the presser was also filled with the usual back and forth ... but one change of tune came when Fury's dad, John -- who previously unleashed a ton of trash talk toward Jake -- was really complimentary of Paul and all he's accomplished at a young age.

Jake has been known to make friendly wagers in the past ... like when Tyron Woodley had to get "I love Jake Paul" tattooed on him after their fight in 2021.