MMA

MMA fighter Johnny Case admitted to police he performed a "leg sweep" on his ex-girlfriend during an altercation last week -- but insists he was merely defending himself against another trained fighter.

It's all spelled out in the police report, obtained by TMZ Sports ... which shows the ex-girlfriend called the Las Vegas Metro Police Dept. on April 1 to report a domestic violence incident.

The woman -- who is a professional fighter -- told cops she was hanging out with Case in her apartment when he told her he wanted to have sex.

The woman says she rejected his advances and told him to leave -- and that's when he "became angry" and got physical with her.

The woman told cops Case pushed her -- so she pushed him back -- and that's when Case picked her up and threw her on the ground, causing scratches on her elbow which were visible by officers.

The woman claims Case continued the attack ... kicking her in the inner-thigh and spitting on her while she was on the ground.

In the police report, responding officers noted a red mark on the woman's leg, which resembled a foot.

Officers later tracked down Case and got his side of the story ... and it's radically different.

Case told cops ... the woman got angry for "personal reasons" (which he wouldn't elaborate about) and attacked him first -- striking him numerous times.

Case admits he picked up the woman to throw her -- but insisted it was the only way to stop her attack.

Case told cops he left the apartment and went to his truck ... but she continued the assault -- throwing closed-fist punches and elbows to his face, which resulted in cuts to his lower lip and eyebrow.

According to the police report, Case said he "leg swept" the woman so she would fall and "would no longer be able to attack him."

At that point, Case says he got back in his truck and left.

After speaking with both parties, cops determined Case was the primary aggressor -- partly because he's a trained martial artist. He was booked for alleged domestic battery.

It's unclear if the officers knew the woman is also a pro fighter.

We reached out to Case and the woman involved in the incident -- but no comment from either side.

Heads up, Lamar Odom ... this summer's boxing match with Aaron Carter might not be a cakewalk after all!!!

TMZ Sports has obtained new workout footage of the 'Aaron's Party' singer ... and it's clear as day, in about a month, Carter's improved his jabs immensely!!

Remember, AC agreed in February to fight Odom at a celeb exhibition match in Atlantic City in June ... and the first clips we got of the guy on the mitts weren't exactly impressive.

Carter -- who ya gotta at least admit was bustin' his ass HARD -- struggled with power behind the punches ... and when Odom released his own workout vid just a few days later, there was obviously some concern for Aaron.

But, check out the new clip ... Carter's throwing punches with more authority -- and it's apparent the guy is taking this fight SERIOUSLY.

We're told Carter is now training with mixed martial arts specialist Josh Polit at FIGHTR Boxing Club in Santa Monica with the hopes of getting himself right before fight night.

Vicente Luque wants all the smoke after his UFC 260 victory over Tyron Woodley -- telling TMZ Sports he's begging for a shot at the winner of Nate Diaz vs. Leon Edwards!

Luque jumped to #6 in the UFC's welterweight division after his impressive performance last weekend -- and badly wants to put himself in a position for a title fight as soon as possible.

Remember, VL called out Nate Diaz in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan -- but days later, Diaz agreed to take on Edwards at UFC 262, spoiling Luque's plans.

But, he's not losing hope of a possible showdown with Diaz down the line.

"I'm interested in any of those two guys so whatever goes down with that fight, maybe one of them can be my opponent after they fight."

FYI, Luque has fought against Edwards before -- losing by unanimous decision in a 3-round scrap in 2017.

"Since then, I've changed a lot. I know that he has evolved a lot as well. We both have been on a great winning streak and yeah, I think that right now it would make a lot of sense to have that rematch. It would be a hell of a fight."

Luque has ripped off 3 straight wins and Edwards had won 8 straight before an accidental eye poke led to a "no contest" against Belal Muhammad in March.

In the meantime, Luque says he's down to be the backup fighter for Diaz vs. Edwards -- willing to step in if one of the guys has to drop out for some reason.

MMA fighter Johnny Case -- who once fought on a Conor McGregor undercard -- was arrested in Las Vegas on Thursday for domestic battery, TMZ Sports has learned.

The 31-year-old fighter is still in custody in Clark County, Nevada according to online records.

Details surrounding his arrest have not been released -- but we're told the alleged victim is a female MMA fighter.

Case -- who goes by the nickname "Johnny Hollywood" -- is currently signed with the PFL (Professional Fighters League) and has a fight scheduled for the end of the month.

Case is 27-7-1 as a pro fighter and has had stints with some of the top MMA organizations in the world ... including the UFC, where he fought from 2014 to 2017.

In fact, Case fought Frankie Perez on the undercard of the Conor McGregor vs. Dennis Siver card back in 2015 ... and he won.

We reached out to Case's camp for comment but so far nothing.

"I said, 'Wait a second, where the f*** is his finger?' They were all like, 'I don't know.'"

That's how one witness described seeing an MMA fighter LOSE A FINGER mid-match Thursday night ... and, yeah, the injury was just as horrific as it sounds.

During Khetag Pliev's bout with Devin Goodale at Cage Fury Fighting Championship in Philadelphia, officials had to stop the fight when they noticed Pliev was missing a freakin' finger.

The images were INSANE ... video of 37-year-old Pliev in his corner showed the ring finger on his left hand had been completely severed at some point during his match.

The problem? For several minutes, nobody could find the missing digit!

Event promoter Rob Haydak told ESPN there was a mad scramble to try to help locate it ... with the PA announcer even having to ask fans in the 2300 Arena stands if they'd seen it!

"It was a surreal moment," Haydak said.

Eventually, Pliev's finger was found tucked away in his glove -- where it had been the entire time -- but, here's the crazy part ... Pliev did NOT immediately go to the hospital to have it reattached!!!

Haydak says Pliev actually begged to continue the match ... and even though officials wouldn't let him, he still stayed in the ring for the post-fight announcement, where Goodale was rewarded with a TKO decision.

"It was crazy," Haydak said. "He didn't even flinch. He was getting ready to do the [official] decision and I was like, 'Uh, guys, get him out of the cage and go put his finger back on.'"

Pliev -- who did ultimately go to the emergency room to have his finger attached -- says he believes he suffered the injury after Goodale had grabbed at his glove early in the fight.

"In the second round, he caught my glove with one hand and held it," Pliev said. "I felt my finger snapped. He kept pulling my glove and my finger snapped. We kept fighting."

"When the second round was finished, I see my [bone] was out in the open. I wanted to keep fighting, because I felt like I had this guy. But, the doctor saw that and stopped the fight. "

Pliev -- a wrestler who competed for Canada in the 2012 Olympics -- came into the fight with a 5-1 record. He said he plans on appealing Thursday night's fight result.

"I think everybody thought was an April Fools' joke, but it was deadly serious."

That's CM Punk telling TMZ Sports what it was like to be ringside when MMA fighter Khetag Pliev had his FINGER RIPPED OFF in the middle of a match ... and it's one of the craziest stories ever!

Punk was calling the fight with his broadcast partner, John Morgan, at the Cage Fury Fighting Championship event in Philadelphia when the incident went down -- and says the most important thing was trying to stay focused.

"I wanted to make sure that I know that what I was seeing was correct," Punk says.

The scene inside the arena was wild -- especially since nobody could find Pliev's detached finger in the moments after the injury.

People were scouring the area with flashlights before ultimately discovering the severed digit in Pliev's fight glove.

Despite the chaos, Punk stayed relatively calm and continued to call the action like a true pro for the rest of the night.

"A lot of people are giving us props like, 'Congratulations, you didn't throw up!' ... but I was kind of right at home in the thick of it, calling it on the fly, as it happened. There's nothing better than live television."

The negotiating is underway ... but Jon Jones says $10 MILLION is simply not enough cash to get him in the Octagon with Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou became the UFC heavyweight champ after demolishing Stipe Miocic in a violent 2nd round victory at UFC 260 on Saturday.

Immediately after the fight, all eyes were on Jones -- widely considered the greatest UFC fighter of all time -- who tweeted, "Show me the money."

The good news ... Jones says he's been in touch with the UFC's top business guy, Hunter Campbell, and they're already discussing money.

The bad news ... Jones says the two sides are very far apart.

"I had a brief phone meeting with UFC‘s lawyer Hunter a few days ago. As of right now, I expressed to him that anywhere around eight to $10 million would be way too low for a fight of this magnitude. That’s all that has been discussed so far."

Unclear how much Jones is looking to pocket for the Ngannou fight -- but it would undoubtedly be one of the most anticipated fights in UFC history.

Michael Chandler vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov?!?!

It's not completely out of the question, according to Chandler who tells TMZ Sports he wouldn't be surprised if Khabib eventually changed his mind about the whole retirement thing.

Chandler is currently set to fight Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 on May 15 for the vacant UFC lightweight belt ... but he's EXTREMELY confident he'll smash his way to the title -- which begs the question, who's next!?

Conor McGregor? Tony Ferguson? Justin Gaethje?

Maybe ... but Khabib is only 32 years old and still VERY involved in MMA, coaching stars like Luke Rockhold and recently serving as a cornerman for his brother Abubakar Nurmagomedov at UFC 260.

Chandler tells TMZ Sports ... he thinks Khabib will be paying very close attention to the lightweight division to see if he gets the urge to step back in the Octagon.

"He's gonna be very intertwined with the UFC for decades to come and especially the lightweight division. He's still very young so we'll see what happens in the future."

Chandler says he considers Khabib to be the greatest of all time -- and would respect whatever decision he makes regarding his fighting future.

But, for now, Chandler says his focus is on Oliveira -- the #3 ranked lightweight.

"Charles Oliveira poses a lot of threats on the ground but I've never even come close to really getting submitted," Chandler says.

"I have a kind of a 6th sense when it comes to the ground game to not be submitted."

So, how does Chandler see the fight going? He wants to overwhelm his opponent with brute violence.

"Hit him. Hit him as hard as I can numerous times on the feet. Keep the fight standing, put him in panic mode, knock him out in the 1st round."

Anderson Silva is back ... to boxing!!!

The 45-year-old MMA legend has signed a contract to fight 35-year-old Julio César Chávez Jr. on June 19, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Silva was released from UFC contract back in Nov. 2020 following a loss to Uriah Hall -- but he was adamant he wanted to continue his combat sports career elsewhere ... and now, he's making it happen in a boxing ring.

"When I look back at my journey, I see that nothing has been in vain," Silva says ... "I am extremely happy for the opportunity to test my boxing skills with Julio César Chávez Jr."

"I train continuously, always striving for resilience and to overcome obstacles. Fighting is my everlasting breath."

We're told the event -- titled "Tribute to the Kings" -- will take place at Jalisco Stadium in  Guadalajara, Mexico and will be available live on Pay-Per-View.

The event will also include a special exhibition match featuring Julio's legendary father, Julio César Chávez Sr. -- widely considered one of the greatest boxers of all time.

The 58-year-old Hall of Famer will take on Hector Camacho Jr. -- son of his former opponent Hector "Macho" Camacho, who passed away in 2012.

42-year-old Hector Jr. is also a pro boxer with a record of 58-6-1.

Julio Jr. issued a statement about the fight with Silva -- saying, "I have rededicated myself to the sport that I love and I will be ready to face anyone in the Light Heavyweight division starting with Silva"

"I will be prepared to be victorious on June 19."

The fight was put together by Keith Schoen of Schoen Entertainment along with Armando Bareno of Global Sports Streaming -- with Jorge Toscano and Saul Rios serving as the official fight promoters.

"This promises to be an epic battle between two superior fighters with a global fan base," Schoen tells us ... "Everyone associated with this Pay-Per-View promotion and fighting fans around the globe are super enthusiastic to see these two great fighters meet in the ring."

Chavez Jr. is 52-5-1 as a pro and coming off a 4th round TKO victory over Jeyson Minda in Nov. 2020.

Silva -- repped by ICM Partners and managed by Talize Sayegh -- is a former UFC Middleweight champ with wins over guys like Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin and more.

The Spider has also dabbled in boxing -- he's 1-1 as a pro -- and was known during his heyday for being one of the best strikers in MMA.

A trained MMA fighter who personally witnessed the death of George Floyd testified that officer Derek Chauvin used a "blood choke" during the arrest ... referring to the move as "torture."

33-year-old Donald Williams is a fighter out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Brooklyn Center ... and has a 6-6 record, according to Tapology.

Williams appeared on the stand in a Minnesota courtroom to testify about what he saw on the day Floyd died ... and his explanation was almost identical to the analysis of UFC superstar Jon Jones, who spoke out in the days following the incident.

"One, the neck was diagonal across the throat, which on a blood choke you attack the side of the neck," Williams said.

"To get the choke tighter, you hit different shimmies, which I felt the officer on top was shimmying to actually get the final choke in while he was on top to get the kill choke."

"Because a side choke or a blood choke can ultimately turn into death, which is what we've seen here."

In fact, Williams is shown in body cam footage of Tou Thao -- one of the other officers involved in the incident -- where he begs them to check Floyd's pulse ... and says point-blank Chauvin is using a "blood choke."

As we previously reported, Jones described the move in detail ... saying, "I wouldn't wish the way George Floyd was murdered on my worst enemy. That officer applied just enough pressure to keep him alive for almost six minutes in that chokehold."

"In all my years of fighting, I can honestly say I’ve never experienced anything close to that level of torture."

UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou ain't buyin' any of that "Jon Jones is scared" talk ... telling TMZ Sports he's convinced Jones "wants" to get in the Octagon with him and fight for the title.

"I believe that Jon Jones wants this fight," Ngannou tells us ... "I believe he'll want it to happen because it's gonna be a massive fight."

Ngannou looked fresh and happy when we spoke with him Monday morning -- sitting in front of his brand new UFC championship belt!

Of course, moments after he defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 on Saturday night ... everyone began asking the obvious question -- when will Francis fight Jon Jones.

Jones went to social media with a message for the UFC -- "Show me the money."

Some people have suggested Jones is scared of Ngannou -- and he's using the money as an excuse to duck the new champ.

But, Ngannou doesn't believe that for a second -- saying he understands why Jon wants a massive payday ... and quite frankly, he hopes they BOTH get paid a ton of cash.

"He's been around so long and been champ for a long time so I think this might be the biggest fight of his career and mine."

"I think he wants to put something like this on his legacy, on his resume. I truly believe that he wants this fight to happen."

So, now the issue is working out a contract with UFC -- and fight fans all over the world ... as well as Francis himself, are hoping they can make a deal.

Francis says when the deal is signed, he knows he needs to beef up his wrestling game in order to defeat Jones -- a former college wrestling champion.

And, get this ... Ngannou says despite his dominant performance against Stipe, he's going back and watching the tape again because he feels there's real room for improvement.

Gotta be honest ... he looked pretty solid to us!

We also asked Francis how it feels to be the undisputed UFC heavyweight champ ... and watch the video, the guy is so proud!!!

Stipe Miocic wants to box Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury, but not even the greatest UFC heavyweight of all-time is willing to step in the ring with Mike Tyson ... despite Iron Mike being 54 years old.

38-year-old Miocic tells TMZ Sports he's intrigued by a matchup with 32-year-old Fury and 31-year-old Joshua ... the 2 baddest heavyweight fighters in the world.

"I would love [a boxing match w/ Fury or Joshua]. It would be just a different — get out of my comfort zone. Plus it’s a fight, anything can happen and I know I can make something happen.

First, he's gotta deal with arguably the most intimidating guy to ever fight in the UFC ... 34-year-old Francis Ngannou.

"I just got a task at hand right now. I gotta worry about [Francis], that’s all I care about. But, I’d love to dip my toe into that ring.

The only downside ... Fury and Joshua might be tied up with each other. The boxers inked a 2-fight deal that'll likely see them fight in the summer with a rematch in the winter.

But, there's another, slightly older, heavyweight fighter who's looking for an opponent ... Mike Tyson.

Remember, Mike's fight with longtime rival, 58-year-old Evander Holyfield, fell apart this week over money for a trilogy fight.

So, we asked Stipe about fighting Mike -- who ended his 15-year layoff when he boxed Roy Jones Jr. in 2020 -- anddd, that's smoke Miocic doesn't want.

"That I will pass on. I will pass on that one," Stipe says.

"That dude looked exactly the same when he fought Roy Jones Jr. as he did when he was 20 years old so, no, I’m good. I love Mike Tyson. I think he’s awesome."

UFC rising star Sean O'Malley says he's all about doing a crossover boxing match with superstar Ryan Garcia -- but first, he's gotta smash Thomas Almeida.

O'Malley -- who's developing into one of the best strikers in the UFC -- is taking on Almeida at UFC 260 on Saturday night in what's shaping up to be an AWESOME fight.

The 26-year-old is 12-1 and coming off his first pro loss after suffering an injury during his fight with Marlon Vera at UFC 252 ... and he's looking to make a statement when he returns to the Octagon.

But, Sean has big career plans -- and says if he ever gets the opportunity to do a crossover into boxing like Conor McGregor and Ben Askren, he's confident he would wreck shop.

"I feel like I have really good boxing," O'Malley tells TMZ Sports ... "I started off boxing [and] if the money's there, I would love to fight someone like King Ryan, Ryan Garcia. That dude's a stud."

Sean says he's got his priorities in line -- he knows he's got to EARN that opportunity by dominating in the Octagon first.

Jake Paul and Ben Askren finally came face-to-face ahead of their April 17 boxing match … and the level of trash talk was through the roof!!

Ben said he could literally “do a homicide” to Jake if he felt like it.

Jake called Ben a "p***y ass bitch."

Then, Jake FaceTimed Jorge Masvidal — who famously KO’d Ben in 5 seconds — to join in on the fun!!

Yeah, it was bananas!!

Of course, the two guys have been going back and forth on social media for months ... and their first face-to-face definitely lived up to the hype.

The smack talk even got physical after both fighters squared up against each other for their face-off ... with Ben shoving Jake's face.

Jake tried to go after Ben in retaliation ... but the folks working the event quickly brought the mayhem to a halt.

Paul and Askren meet in the ring for the Triller Fight Club on April 17 ... an event packed with fights and musical guests like Justin Bieber and Doja Cat.

It's gonna be a party!!