UFC

A Florida politician is throwing his full support behind Jorge Masvidal ... defending the UFC star over his alleged attack on Colby Covington, saying, "It's not like he beat up some kid on the street."

Manny Diaz -- a current FL state senator -- spoke with news station WPLG Local 10 about the allegations against Masvidal after the fighter appeared at a Ron DeSantis event on Wednesday evening ... and he made it clear, he's in Jorge's corner.

"Jorge is a fighter and, yeah, he ran into another fighter," Diaz said. "It's not like he beat up some kid on the street. I mean, look. It happens."

Masvidal is accused of attacking Covington outside of Papi Steak in Miami on March 22 ... punching him so hard that police say Covington told them the blows actually fractured one of his teeth.

Masvidal was hit with two felony charges over the alleged ambush -- but at DeSantis' event Wednesday, he didn't look like he had too many cares about the criminal case that's looming over his head.

In fact, one of the attendees at the event, Ophir Rahimi, told WPLG Local 10 that Masvidal looked normal and didn't talk about the alleged altercation with Colby. Rahimi, though, did note that it looked like Jorge's hand was damaged.

"You were able to see the hand was a bit swollen," Rahimi said. "There was a cut there. So I'm assuming that's the right hand that was used."

The only fighting star boxer Vasyl Lomachenko will do now for the foreseeable future is for his home country against Russia ... so says his manager, who tells TMZ Sports Loma will remain in Ukraine until the war ends.

Lomachenko has been in the war-torn country since February -- shortly after Russia's initial invasion -- choosing to forego a championship fight with George Kambosos Jr. to stick around and help his fellow countrymen in the war.

And, Egis Klimas, who manages Lomachenko's boxing career, told us out in L.A. on Wednesday the plan is for that to continue until all of the fighting in Ukraine stops.

Klimas, though, did ensure Lomachenko is staying safe while the war rages on.

"He's doing good," Klimas said. "He's in the safe place in Ukraine. He's in the corner. The place where he's at, it's not a war zone. He's not in a war zone."

Lomachenko last fought in the ring in December, beating Richard Commey via a unanimous decision. He was expected to fight Kambosos Jr. in June ... before the war caused Loma to pull out of the bout.

Kamboso Jr. has said he will remake the fight with Lomachenko after he leaves Ukraine -- and wished him the best while he fights for his home country.

Klimas, meanwhile, says Oleksandr Usyk, one of the other star boxers he manages who joined the forces in Ukraine back in February, has left the country and is in the process of preparing for his rematch against Anthony Joshua.

Chael Sonnen allegedly threw a woman into a light fixture and struck her -- causing her to bleed from her face -- during a wild fight in a Las Vegas hotel in December 2021 ... according to new police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the docs, officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept. say they responded to the Four Seasons Hotel on Dec. 18 regarding an alleged fight between Sonnen and several other people, including security guards.

Cops in the documents say a Four Seasons Engineer told them the altercation all started as he was coming out of a room.

Cops say the man said as soon as he opened the door, Sonnen punched him in the jaw. Officers say the man told them he then closed the door and called for security.

Police in the documents say, though, that a short time later ... a couple told them they encountered Sonnen outside of the room and the former UFC star got aggressive immediately.

Cops say Christopher Stellpflug and his wife, Julie Stellpflug, told them Sonnen -- who was apparently wearing a white robe and a partially bloodied T-shirt -- knocked a glass out of Christopher's hand.

Then, cops say the couple told them, Sonnen flew off the handle, attacking Christopher and throwing him to the ground and hitting him repeatedly. Cops say Julie told them he then turned his attention toward her after she tried to intervene.

In the docs, the officers say Julie told them Sonnen threw her against a light fixture and socked her in the face. Christopher, according to police, told them the strike caused Julie's lip to split and bleed.

Cops say a witness on the scene told them security eventually arrived, but Sonnen punched the guard in the throat. Police say the witness was then attacked, with the man saying Sonnen elbowed him in the chest several times and shoved him.

In the documents, police say the fight was eventually broken up ... and when they questioned Sonnen about it all, they say the former pro fighter told them he "did not have memory of anything."

According to the docs, Sonnen told them he and his wife took a sleeping pill hours before the alleged altercation and he "could not recall anything else."

As we previously reported, Sonnen has since been hit with 11 charges -- including felony battery by strangulation -- over the incident. He's also been sued by the Stellpflugs, who claim they both suffered concussions in the alleged attack.

Jake Paul tells TMZ Sports he's dead serious about an MMA fight with Conor McGregor ... saying even in an Octagon, under UFC rules, he'd KO the Irish star.

Paul has called out McGregor a bunch of times over the last couple years ... but now, more than ever, he seems ready to make the tilt actually happen.

And, this time, he tells us he's willing to go onto Conor's turf to do it.

"Conor is on a downhill spiral," Jake said. "His limbs are all broken. So, stand-up game, I'm coming out and knocking him out, first round."

Paul tells us he and McGregor weigh the same now, and he's legitimately looking into leaving boxing for MMA to make the fight.

Jake also said he wants to throw down with McGregor in the UFC in order to try to persuade Dana White to give more of the company's revenue to fighters.

"If I win, then Dana has to increase the minimum of fighter pay," Jake said. "If I lose, then they can take all of the money and whatever and so be it."

"But, I know I can beat Conor."

If the matchup with Conor doesn't happen, there's still a chance Jake heads to MMA for his next fight regardless. He tells us he's been in talks with Bellator and PFL -- "and other MMA entities" -- to try to hammer out some kind of deal to potentially fight in a cage.

"You gotta expect that out of f***ing Colby Covington. He's a bitch for pressing charges. And, if I got a message for him it's 'snitches get stitches' around here homie. That's some bitch s**t."

That's 35-year-old rising UFC welterweight star Daniel Rodriguez going in on Colby Covington ... after the #1 ranked 170 lb. contender cooperated with police and pressed charges against Jorge Masvidal for allegedly attacking him and cracking his tooth outside a fancy Miami restaurant earlier this week.

"I'd do the same thing," D-Rod told us Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles.

Of course, Masvidal allegedly attacked Colby as he was leaving Papi Steak in South Florida Monday night. Police responded, and took a report for battery.

Days later on Wednesday, Jorge turned himself into a local jail around 10 PM local time, and was hit with several charges, including felony battery, which can carry a lengthy prison sentence.

Some fighters, including Khabib Nurmagomedov, believe Colby was out of line for going to the cops -- especially after some of the trash talk the men engaged in leading up to their UFC 272 fight -- and you can count Rodriguez in that group.

"I respect Khabib for that. He's always been that kind of fighter that doesn't disrespect, especially family. Trying to promote, trying to sell a fight is one thing. But, when you throw family in the mix, it's kind of personal. So, ya know, I'm not mad at Jorge Masvidal for this incident where he ran up on [Colby] in Miami."

It remains to be seen if fellow welterweight fighters will heed Khabib's advice and not fight Covington. However, it's almost impossible to imagine fighters passing on an opportunity to take on the consensus 2nd best 170 lb. fighter in the world.

We also talked to Daniel, 6-1 in the UFC, about his health.

Jorge Masvidal is in jail in Florida ... he's been arrested over his alleged attack on Colby Covington.

Jail records, obtained by TMZ Sports, show the 37-year-old UFC star was booked in Miami at 10:27 PM ET on Wednesday, where he posed for a mug shot.

The records show he was booked on two charges -- aggravated battery with a mask, and criminal mischief. His bond has been set at $15,000, the records show.

WPLG Local 10 News shot video of Masvidal as he entered the jail in cuffs. The footage shows he sprinted into the station without taking any questions from reporters.

As we previously reported, Masvidal has been accused of punching Covington twice as his UFC rival was leaving popular restaurant Papi Steak on Monday night.

In police documents, cops say Covington told them Masvidal hit him in the mouth and the eye -- causing him to fracture a tooth.

Cops also say Covington suffered an abrasion on his wrist and a damaged watch.

In video we obtained shortly after the alleged incident, Covington can be heard appearing to describe the attack, saying, "He's over here swinging, trying to come at me, and I ran ..."

Covington has yet to comment publicly on the incident.

Story developing ...

Colby Covington told police the watch that was damaged when Jorge Masvidal attacked him earlier this week was a $90,000 Rolex.

The detail was revealed in new police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, in which cops say the UFC star told them Masvidal caused $15,000 worth of damage to the pricey piece of jewelry when he attacked him outside of Papi Steak in Miami on Monday night.

In the docs, cops say Covington told them his watch "had scratches and a bent/broken wristband" following the altercation.

The new docs also revealed Covington did go to the Miami Beach Police Criminal Investigations Division to press charges on Masvidal.

Cops in the docs also say Masvidal had an injury to his right hand/knuckles "where he had stitches that occurred prior to police contact" when he turned himself in on Wednesday night.

The moment Conor McGregor, driving his convertible Bentley, was pulled over by Irish cops for traffic violations was caught on video by a group of "Notorious" fans ... just minutes before the UFC superstar was arrested.

The video clearly shows 33-year-old Conor driving his $200K+ Bentley Continental GT neck-and-neck with another car on the Dublin highway ... when moments later sirens are heard, and a white squad car is behind McGregor.

It's unclear how fast Conor was going at the time of the video -- the two cars in the lanes next to him are going at the same rate of speed. Still, McGregor doesn't look like he's sweatin' the run-in with police.

The clip then ends ... but as we previously reported, Conor was taken into custody for several traffic violations. His pricey car was towed.

While at the station, McGregor was administered drug and alcohol tests, which he passed, according to his rep.

McGregor, who's still recovering from his broken leg, was later released on bail.

Although it's not the worst thing Conor's been accused of over the years, he could still face 6 months in jail, if convicted, according to the Irish Independent.

Khabib Nurmagomedov is hoping Colby Covington gets hit where it hurts -- his bank account -- saying he wants fighters to boycott taking bouts with "Chaos" after he pressed charges against Jorge Masvidal.

The Eagle and his team absolutely despise Colby ... and there was certainly bad blood between the two before his beef with "Gamebred."

Nurmagomedov is now giving his take on the Covington/Masvidal incident in Miami -- and he thinks Colby had it coming after comments he made about Jorge's kids.

"If you are stronger than someone inside the Octagon, it does not mean you can insult his children," Khabib said on Twitter on Thursday morning.

"No one has the right to insult someone's family. Once you have gone down that path, then be ready to back up your words."

As we reported, Colby pressed charges after Jorge allegedly ambushed him in Miami on Monday night ... claiming he was punched twice, resulting in a fractured tooth. He also said his watch was damaged in the scuffle.

Nurmagomedov clearly has an issue with Colby going to police ... and he wants the former interim champ to suffer consequences for it.

"You were attacked by a professional fighter, the same as you are, your own size, and you go press charges against him to the police?"

"I think all welterweights should refuse to fight Colby, just don’t accept fights with him, let him sit without a fight, it will probably significantly affect him and all fighters who even think of insulting families, who is provoking the fighters to look for someone in restaurants to deal with him."

Masvidal was arrested on Wednesday night and booked on two charges -- aggravated battery with a mask, and criminal mischief.

Conor McGregor wants to fight Kamaru Usman ... something UFC legend Clay Guida believes would be an enormous mistake that could actually lead to the ending of The Notorious' MMA career -- that's how bad the UFC vet believes McGregor would get beat.

TMZ Sports caught up with 40-year-old Guida at Commerce Casino in SoCal -- where he was supporting a buddy fighting in an Alta event over the weekend (Alta takes non-fighters and puts them through a rigorous training camp, before taking an actual fight!) -- when we asked about Conor, still recovering from the broken leg sustained against Dustin Poirier, after the world's most popular MMA fighter recently declared he wanted his comeback fight to be against Usman, with the welterweight belt on the line.

"Myself versus Usman for the 170 lb. title in my comeback fight is the one I'm eyeballing at the minute," Conor said during an interview with TheMacLife.

"Why cut the weight? I've already won the 155 lb. title. I got myself to a lightweight frame, but you know, I'm big now. I feel big. I feel strong. I feel healthy. I've got good energy. I'm coming back from a gruesome injury. I don't want to be depleting myself. There should be no need to deplete myself."

When we talked to Clay, we asked him for his thoughts on a Kamaru vs. Conor fight.

"That might be his last fight. Usman is on a whole another level right now. I think that would be a poor decision, physically, for Conor McGregor," Guida says, adding "I love [McGregor], he's pure entertainment. The guy's fun to watch, but Usman is on a different level right now."

But, no chance Conor wins that fight?? Clay doesn't think so.

"I think we've all seen Usman what he's done to Tyron Woodley who I thought was unbeatable, what he did to Colby Covington who I thought was unbeatable. He's the greatest welterweight, and GSP. Greatest welterweight of all-time."

So, Clay clearly doesn't want to watch Kamaru and Conor fight. But, he's got another opponent in mind for the Nigerian Nightmare.

And, it happens to be the world's top pound-for-pound boxer.

"I would be more intrigued to see Usman fight the boxer he's calling out. Canelo. Just because it's great for both sports, why not? Just like I wanna see Henry Cejudo fight Volkanovski. Those, I think, are great for wrestling, it's great for MMA. It's great for both sports."

BTW, the

We also talked to Guida -- whose 2009 fight with Diego Sanchez was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame a few years back -- when he plans on laying down his gloves for good.

And, good news for fans of Clay ... he ain't goin' anywhere anytime soon!

More legal trouble for Conor McGregor ... the UFC superstar was reportedly arrested on Tuesday in Ireland for driving dangerously.

The Irish Independent reports McGregor was pulled over in west Dublin in a pricey Bentley Continental GT after officials say he committed multiple traffic offenses.

The 33-year-old was eventually arrested, according to the outlet, and his car was seized.

McGregor was reportedly taken to the local station and later released on bail. He's since reportedly been charged with dangerous driving.

McGregor -- who's been photographed in a Bentley in Ireland repeatedly over the last few weeks -- has a court date next month for a hearing on the matter, the Irish Independent reported.

The outlet explained if he's convicted on the count, he could face up to six months in jail.

We've reached out to McGregor's camp for comment, but so far no word back yet.

This is far from Conor's first trouble with the law ... there was the dolly incident in Brooklyn, the punch in Dublin, and the cell phone incident in Miami -- among other things.

Conor, though, has managed to evade any serious punishment in the cases.

After breaking his leg in July 2021, Conor has been rehabbing in and out of Ireland with the hopes of returning back to the UFC octagon soon.

UFC star Colby Covington told cops Jorge Masvidal punched him in the face twice and fractured his tooth in an attack outside of a Miami hotspot on Monday night ... police documents, obtained by TMZ Sports, show.

In the docs, cops say Covington told them as he exited Papi Steak restaurant, Masvidal "ran up to him from his left, and without notice, punched him with a closed fist two times in the face."

Cops in the report say Covington told them one punch landed on his mouth, while the other connected with his left eye.

According to the docs, cops say Covington heard Masvidal yell, "You shouldn't have been talking about my kids."

Several other males then allegedly tried to get involved, though cops say Covington told them he pushed one of the men away and ran back into Papi Steak, where he called police.

Cops say Covington told them he fractured his front left tooth in the attack, and also suffered an abrasion on his wrist. Police in the documents say Covington's watch was damaged as well.

Masvidal is listed as a suspect in the docs. The incident type is described as a battery/felony. Police added an investigation into the allegations is underway.

Mike Tyson is down to fight Jake Paul ... in what'd be one of the most talked-about boxing matches of all time.

There's just one catch -- Iron Mike wants a BILLION dollars.

55-year-old Tyson made the comments on his "Hotboxin'" podcast this week ... when his convo with boxer Jermell Charlo and Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce turned to a rumored fight against Jake.

Pierce said he heard Mike was going to fight Jake, but Tyson seemed to be unaware of the rumor.

"Nobody told me that," Tyson said. "Hey, I ain't got no f***ing money. So, where's the f***ing contract?"

"I've never heard this from nobody, I've just heard this from you guys."

Now, Tyson and Paul are buddies.

In fact, you could argue Jake owes at least some of his boxing success to Mike. The Problem Child's career exploded after he flatlined Nate Robinson on the Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. undercard in November 2020.

The men have become good friends ... and Mike even said they were recently together in St. Barts, where they partied.

When Pierce asked Mike if he'd ever fight again, specifically against Jake, Tyson quickly said "a billion bucks" ... setting his price tag to fight Jake.

Tyson previously denied reports he was in "advanced talks" to fight Jake in a $49 million boxing match ... though his latest comments seem to suggest the fight isn't totally off the table.

Jorge Masvidal yelled at Colby Covington and needed to be held back by several men following their alleged fight outside of a Miami hotspot on Monday night ... new video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

In the clip, you can see as Covington, wearing a tan shirt and grey pants, retreated back into Papi Steak, Masvidal -- wearing a hat and a black t-shirt -- screamed at him, "Don't talk about my kids!"

Masvidal appeared to be charging at Covington while yelling, though a couple of guys outside of the restaurant prevented him from getting to the UFC star.

Masvidal then appeared to say, "I got you, bitch," before he got into an awaiting car.

As we previously reported, sources say Masvidal attacked Covington after Colby had stepped outside of the restaurant following dinner with the Nelk Boys.

In footage we obtained of the aftermath, Colby can be heard saying, "He's over here swinging, trying to come at me, and I ran ..."

Later in the video, Colby asked social media star Bob Menery, "How would he know I'm here?!"

Covington has yet to publicly comment on the incident. Masvidal, meanwhile, has posted several videos appearing to poke fun at Colby over it all.

He also tweeted Tuesday morning, "Good morning to everyone except those that think talking about someone's kids is cool."

TMZ Sports has obtained video showing Colby Covington just moments after he allegedly fought with Jorge Masvidal outside of a Miami hotspot ... and you can see the UFC star was surrounded by cops.

The footage was shot at around 11:30 PM ET ... roughly half an hour after sources tell us Covington and Masvidal got into a physical altercation outside of Papi Steak in Miami Beach.

Colby ate dinner on Monday night with the Nelk Boys inside of the restaurant -- and we're told Masvidal did NOT eat at the restaurant.

Sources say as Colby was leaving the restaurant after dinner ... Masvidal allegedly attacked him outside.

In our video, you can hear Colby appearing to describe the alleged attack, saying, "He's over here swinging, trying to come at me, and I ran ..."

Colby can later be heard on the footage asking social media star Bob Menery, "How would [Masvidal] know I'm here?"

"I don't know," Menery responded in the clip. "You're all over the internet."

It should be noted, earlier in the night, Menery and the Nelk Boys posted video of Covington inside of the restaurant. Colby had been a guest on their "Full Send Podcast" earlier in the day.

We're told cops took a report at the scene. We've reached out to police for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

As for Masvidal's side of the story, he posted a video shortly after the alleged altercation, challenging Colby to show his face while saying, "If you talk that s***, you've got to back it up."

Chael Sonnen ain't in the clear over his alleged role in a hotel fight after all ... TMZ Sports has learned he's just been hit with 11 charges -- including one felony -- over the December 2021 incident in Las Vegas.

According to court records, prosecutors filed the charges against the UFC legend last week ... hitting him with felony battery by strangulation and 10 other misdemeanor battery charges.

In the docs, officials accuse Sonnen of roughing up six people -- including one woman -- during some sort of altercation at a Vegas hotel on Dec. 18.

Officials say in the docs Sonnen choked a man, punched and/or struck a woman, and punched and/or kneed others in the head and face during the incident.

We obtained video shortly after the alleged altercation, showing Sonnen being led away in handcuffs.

As we previously reported, Sonnen had initially been slapped with 5 battery citations over the alleged fight ... but a judge in Nevada dismissed the case in January after the Clark County District Attorney told us "the citation’s notice to appear failed to comply with the legal requirements as set forth by Nevada law."

The case was dismissed in January "without prejudice" -- meaning the state could refile the charges if they chose to -- which it clearly opted to do earlier this month.

We reached out to Sonnen's team for comment ... so far, no word back yet.