TMZ Sports - Page 50

The chef who accused Antonio Brown of stiffing him out $10K will no longer be pursuing a lawsuit against the NFL star ... 'cause he says AB has settled the debt.

A rep for Steven Ruiz, who owns TasteThatLA in Los Angeles, tells TMZ Sports ... the two parties reached an agreement recently and both sides are now moving on.

"Both parties were satisfied," the rep said. "After two months of being slandered in the press, Mr. Ruiz felt it was in his best interest to move forward and attend to his clients' needs for their Christmas parties this week. He wished the best to AB and the Bucs as they head toward the playoffs."

It's unclear if Brown was required to pay more than $10K to settle the dispute.

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

As we previously reported, Ruiz -- who cooked for Brown in the months leading up to the 2021 season kickoff -- was so scorned after his interactions with the football player, he went public with his accusations that AB had submitted a fake COVID vaccine card to the NFL.

The league investigated the claims and said after it wrapped the probe that it had found validity to Ruiz's story -- and suspended Brown three games.

Ruiz told us after the ban was announced that he was preparing to sue Brown.

DeMarcus Cousins unloaded on a security guard who was trying to block a fan from getting an autograph from the NBA star ... and the unique scene was all captured on video.

While Cousins and the Milwaukee Bucks took on the Rockets in Houston earlier this month ... Boogie spotted one of his biggest fans in the crowd and dapped him up.

The two then posed for a pic ... and when the fan -- noted YouTuber JiDion -- asked for an autograph on his #15 Cousins jersey, Boogie was all about it.

But, a security guard stepped in and tried to shut the whole thing down ... which clearly ticked off Cousins.

"I can sign his jersey! Stop acting like that," Cousins told the arena staffer. "You taking your job too serious!"

The security guard fired back, "Excuse me?!"

But, Boogie kept his head down, signed the jersey and then left the area to get back with his team.

JiDion, meanwhile, was fired up over it all -- you can see in pics and in the video he was absolutely giddy over the interaction.

The man who Nate Diaz made flinch at the Jake Paul fight on Saturday is furious with the UFC star ... saying he now wants to KO the guy for embarrassing him.

If you missed it ... at some point during Paul's bout with Tyron Woodley, Diaz pretended to throw a huge haymaker at MMA fighter Carrese Archer in the stands.

The scene was captured on video ... and it showed Archer actually spilled his drink everywhere as he thought Diaz's punch was really coming in.

Security members broke everything up before it could escalate ... but now, Archer -- a bare-knuckle boxer -- says he's still so mad about it, he's gunning to knockout Diaz in a real fight.

"I've seen all the laughter -- everybody laugh, ha-ha," Archer said. "The same things that make you laugh make you cry. Nate Diaz is a bonafide female dog."

"He had the police with him, had the security protecting him and you gon' flinch at me and try to sucker punch me when I'm not paying attention?! And, y'all think this man's a gangster?!"

Archer continued, "I am a real street dog. I'm in the streets, believe that!"

Archer then called out Dana White -- who shared the video of the scene on his social media page on Sunday -- telling the UFC honcho to sign him for one fight so he can go after Diaz.

“I bet you won't think it's funny, you sign me for one fight and I knock Nate Diaz the f**k out in the first round," Archer said.

Jake Paul had moves in the ring on Saturday, and he kept it going at Miami clubs ... dancing like crazy to celebrate his huge win over Tyron Woodley!!

The Problem Child hit up Daer Nightclub on Sunday ... fresh off knocking out the ex-UFC champion in the 6th round of a crazy fight.

With a win like that, there was no way the 5-0 boxer was gonna go without soaking it all in ... and he brought his brother, Logan, and GF, Julia Rose, along for the club-hopping.

Check out the videos from the night -- there's plenty of good vibes going around, with music blaring and custom signs welcoming Jake to the party (thrown and produced by Celebrity Sports Entertainment) -- even Ja Rule came through to show the Paul Bros. some love at Daer.

We're told Jake also did some giving back in the process -- hosting a Boxing For Bullies fundraiser at Mr. Hospitality's El Tucan ... with NFTs, Alec Monopoly art and Logan's personal items being auctioned off.

The group then took the raging to E11even ... where we're told they partied from 1:45 AM to 4:30 AM with vodka, Casamigos and champagne.

The tables next to Jake were celebrating the big win too ... sending over bottles of bubbly to congratulate him on the success.

As for how he was doing post-fight, we caught up with Jake shortly after the knockout ... and he made it clear he has nothing but respect for Tyron -- even tossing around the idea of doing a podcast or movies together.

Peng Shuai adamantly denies ever claiming she was sexually assaulted by a powerful Chinese politician ... the tennis star told a Singapore newspaper on Sunday.

"First of all, I want to emphasize something that is very important. I have never said that I wrote that anyone sexually assaulted me," Peng told the paper.

"I need to emphasize this point very clearly," she added.

Peng did the bizarre interview with the outlet ... who said they interviewed her at a promotional event for the Beijing Olympic Winter games, set to begin on February 4.

According to the outlet, the video of Peng was taken in Shanghai ... and in it, Peng makes it clear that she has been staying at home in Beijing, but added she was free to come and go as she chose.

Of course, Peng's well-being and safety became of international concern after the 35-year-old seemingly disappeared following a post on her verified Weibo social media account ... accusing former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her several years ago.

Gaoli is one of the most powerful people in the country of 1.4 billion.

But, the post was swiftly removed and Peng seemed to drop out of sight -- despite some very strange and seemingly staged appearances -- leading many to question if she was in danger.

Everyone from Naomi Osaka to Novak Djokovic expressed concern for Peng.

The WTA -- who has been incredibly outspoken about the situation -- released a statement in response to the interview, saying it remains concerned about Peng's "well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion."

"As we have consistently stated, these appearances do not alleviate or address the WTA's significant concerns about her well-being and ability to communicate without censorship or coercion," the WTA said in a statement.

Teddy Bridgewater was forced to spend Sunday night in a hospital ... after he terrifyingly slammed his head on the grass during the Broncos' game against the Bengals.

The horrifying scene all went down on Sunday in the third quarter of the game at Empower Field in Denver ... when Bridgewater dove for a first down but landed awkwardly on his head and neck.

Video of the play is scary ... you can see in the clip, Teddy appeared to be knocked unconscious as soon as his face hit the turf.

Trainers and staffers raced out to tend to the star quarterback ... removing his facemask and strapping him to a backboard, before taking him off the field and to a hospital on a stretcher.

Denver head coach Vic Fangio announced after the game Bridgewater would be kept at a medical facility for evaluation through at least Monday ... though he did say he expected the signal-caller to somehow be okay.

"Everything has checked out good up to this point," Fangio told reporters after Denver went on to lose, 15-10. "They're just going to keep him overnight for observations. But they think he'll -- should be and will be fine. Eventually."

Bridgewater is no stranger to horrible injuries -- you'll recall, he nearly lost his leg after he gruesomely tore his ACL in a play during Minnesota Vikings practice in 2016.

He's since come back from that injury strongly ... and had been having a solid year for Denver this season, recording 3,052 passing yards and 18 passing TDs.

Get well soon, Teddy.

Rafael Nadal tested positive for COVID-19 ... after returning to Spain following an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi last weekend, the tennis star announced on Monday.

"I am having some unpleasant moments but I hope that I will improve little by little," Nadal tweeted, "I am now homebound and have reported the result to those who have been in contact with me."

The 35-year-old -- who previously said he was vaccinated -- is now uncertain if he will compete in the Australian Open ... which begins on January 17.

“I cannot guarantee Australia 100 percent because I need to go home and see how the body responds after these days,” Nadal said. “I have time to make a decision. At this point in my career, I need to go day by day, study each movement well."

Of course, it's been a tough year for Nadal -- he skipped Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics due to a back injury that plagued him the first part of last season.

Nadal -- who is tied with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic with 20 grand slam titles -- was sidelined and forced to miss the rest of the season after a chronic foot problem resurfaced.

We've already seen Federer and Serena Williams withdraw from the Australian Open due to injuries ... so losing Nadal, as well, would be a major blow to the tournament's star power.

The T in TB12 now stands for temper ... 'cause Tom Brady completely lost his cool during a bad loss to the Saints on Sunday -- appearing to tell New Orleans coach Dennis Allen to "go f*** yourself."

It was anything but Brady's night in Tampa Bay -- the Bucs fell 9-0 in a blowout lost to New Orleans ... and things came to a head when the 7-time Super Bowl champ threw an interception to C.J. Gardner-Johnson in the 4th quarter.

After the pick, many believe Brady ran over to Allen -- who stepped up after HC Sean Payton tested positive for COVID-19 -- and cussed him out.

The interaction was caught on video ... and naturally, every amateur lipreader on social media came up with the same conclusion.

But, that wasn't the only outburst of the night -- Brady got so pissed later in the 4th quarter that he chucked his Microsoft Surface on the sideline ... completely wrecking it in the process.

The frustrations have been piling on in recent years ... as Tom can't seem to figure out how to beat the Saints in the regular season since joining the Bucs.

A pro lacrosse game looked more like a UFC event this weekend ... 'cause two goalies in the contest got in a straight-up fistfight during the middle of the match.

The wild action happened in the Albany FireWolves' game against the Rochester Knighthawks on Saturday ... when things got so heated between the two teams, two goalies actually fought on the field.

The scene was crazy ... after Rochester had opened up a huge lead, Albany goalie Ethan Woods challenged Knighthawks goalie Rylan Hartley to a scrap.

And, you can see in footage of the melee, the two absolutely went at it.

There were haymakers, uppercuts, jabs and much more ... before the two were eventually separated on the ground by referees.

Both guys were booted from the contest for fighting -- but it didn't matter much, 'cause Rochester ended up cruising to a 16-7 win regardless.

If Jake Paul's truly serious about taking an MMA bout after his huge KO win over Tyron Woodley ... he's got one of the best fighters in the ready to train him.

TMZ Sports talked to 26-year-old Bellator champ A.J. McKee in Tampa, FL on Friday ... and we asked the undefeated fighter about Paul saying he intends to take an MMA fight in the future.

"S**t, he better come train with me, but he can do good," McKee told us.

The 16-0 champ continued ... "If he wanna do it, he can do it. I think he's already shown his skills in what he can do in boxing, so if he wants to take it to a different lane, why not?"

If you missed Jake's comments ... he told the media on Thursday that he "100 percent" was going to fight MMA, saying, "I don't see why if I can do boxing at this high of a level that I couldn't do MMA at this high of a level."

In fact, later that same day, Jake told us he intended to fight and beat Conor McGregor in an MMA cage.

Paul said he going to train at AKA in northern California ... which happens to be the home gym of Khabib Nurmagomedov and Daniel Cormier.

He's very likely kidding ... 'cause DC and Paul ain't exactly buddies. Remember, they nearly came to blows at a UFC event several months back.

MMA legend Chael Sonnen was hit with 5 battery citations after allegedly getting in a brawl at a luxury hotel in Las Vegas, TMZ Sports has learned ... and we have video of the MMA star being led away in handcuffs.

Law enforcement sources tell us the 44-year-old fighter was detained ... but was ultimately not arrested because cops didn't personally witness the alleged incident.

Sonnen was given 5 misdemeanor battery citations. However, police are still investigating.

A witness tells us she saw Sonnen banging on the door of a hotel room at the Four Seasons around 7 PM Saturday night.

The witness says a couple walked by and a physical altercation broke out -- the reason why is unclear.

Sonnen, 6'1", 200-ish lb. former fighter was easily handling the man, according to the witness.

We're told the woman accompanying the man began to scream, and someone called the police.

Cops responded and detained Sonnen, leading him away in cuffs.

We're told paramedics also responded ... though it's unclear if they treated anyone for injuries.

Sonnen last fought in 2019 ... losing to Lyoto Machida. However, Chael had an incredible career spanning Bellator and the UFC ... beating everyone from Rampage Jackson, Shogun Rua, Wanderlei Silva, and Michael Bisping.

Over the last few years, and especially since retirement, Sonnen has become one of the most respected and sought-after voices in MMA, becoming a cult figure.

Tyron Woodley is NOT retiring despite getting knocked out by Jake Paul ... telling TMZ Sports he plans to fight several times next year.

We talked to the 39-year-old UFC legend at Amalie Arena in Tampa after he was KOd by Paul in the 6th round of their rematch fight ... and asked if he'd hang up his gloves after losing to Jake for the second time, but T-Wood's adamant he'll be back.

"I didn't look like a fighter that was slow. I didn't look like a fighter that didn't have fight in him. I gotta make that choice. I already planned to stay super busy in 2022, and that doesn't change."

We also asked Tyron how he was feeling after the fight.

"I'm good. I'm healthy. Bummed obviously, I didn't wanna lose. I felt like I was winning the fight," Woodley said.

As for his performance in the ring ... Woodley believes he was winning the fight up until he dropped his hands right before the knockout, and it's eating him up.

"One f***ing hand drop. And I'm looking at it, why did I drop my hands? That's driving me crazy."

Woodley -- who looked sharp, especially early on -- was clearly more aggressive this time around ... moving forward for much of the fight.

And, Tyron says you might not just see him in a boxing ring, 'cause he wants to take several different kinds of fights in 2022.

"I just wanna do four different forms of combat sports. One being boxing, at least one time. One MMA, for sure. And just finish out like a winner."

Everyone says they hate the 'Island Boys' -- the Florida twins behind that train wreck of a TikTok "song" -- and it turns out lots of those haters were waiting for the boys in the crowd at Jake Paul's boxing match.

The brothers did NOT get a warm welcome Saturday night in their home state -- as soon as they entered Tampa's Amalie Arena and walked to their ringside seats, the boos started raining down.

Now, we're not saying they had targets on their backs, but Flyysoulja and Kodiyakredd's bleach-blond spiky faux locks make 'em stand out in any crowd -- and after the boos came actual booze. Several objects were hurled their way, including at least one full beer.

We all know, stadium beers ain't cheap ... so you gotta really hate to toss one of those. Then again, we present exhibit A.

The 20-year-old twins dropped their poolside freestyle back in October, which instantly went viral ... and not because people were loving it.

Still, the Island Boys persisted ... cranking out an official music video this month to go with the nonsensical bars they dropped -- and yeah, that's a viral hit too.

Unbelievable.

If you ever had any doubt about Jake Paul's skills in the boxing ring, the guy just flatlined a UFC legend -- beating Tyron Woodley in the 6th round of Saturday night's matchup.

Of course, Jake was initially slated to go against Tommy Fury, and he had a message for the "Love Island" star after putting Tyron on the canvas.

Check the video -- Jake celebrates the major win ... and says he's ready to face Jorge Masvidal or Nate Diaz to follow up -- calling them bitches in the process.

The win is by far the best of Jake's career -- he took the fight on less than a month's notice after Fury backed out.

The knockout was beautiful. Jake faked to the body, forcing Tyron to drop his hands. Then Paul came over the top with a right that landed flush on Woodley’s ear, sending him falling to the canvas. It was clear Tyron was out, so the referee didn’t count … the fight was over.

As for Woodley, he looked sharp up until the KO. The future UFC HOFer was far more aggressive ... and landed some nice, powerful punches.

Now that Jake erased any doubt this time around vs. Woodley, it seems likely a Paul vs. Fury fight will be in the works.

It all went down at Amalie Arena in Tampa .. and Jake's definitely gonna celebrate his ass off tonight.

Jimmy Smith is dancing on Florida State's grave ... thanking the school for not hiring Deion Sanders in 2019 and clowning the program for now losing to the Jackson State headman on the recruiting trail.

Smith took the hilarious shots at the 'Noles in a conversation with TMZ Sports this week ... explaining why he believes Prime will not leave JSU for a Power 5 school anytime soon.

"This is his baby," said Smith, who played his college ball for the Tigers before starring in the NFL. "Why would he want to go anywhere else?"

"You look at Florida State and what they did," Smith continued. "They did not give him a chance to be the head coach in the beginning. Now, look at you, Florida State! Huh?! He's ours now. Thank you!"

Of course, Sanders was rumored to be in the running for FSU's vacant head coaching job back in 2019 -- but the Seminoles passed on him and hired Mike Norvell instead.

Sanders went on to take the JSU head coaching gig in 2020 -- and he just ripped the Noles' hearts out this week by flipping top recruit Travis Hunter.

Smith said he couldn't be more fired up to watch Sanders continue to succeed at his alma mater ... telling us, "These kids are coming to Jackson State because they want to play there!"

"You know, they can go anywhere in the country but they want to be at Jackson State," Smith added. "I'm glad to be an alumni of Jackson State. This is just great!"

Emmanuel Acho -- former NFL linebacker and "The Bachelor" host -- just got himself the sickest birthday present ever ... a $6 MILLION mansion!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... the ex-Philadelphia Eagles player bought the insane Hollywood Hills home for his 31st birthday last month, and he even copped a vacant, 10,156-square-foot lot next to it as well.

We're told the price tag on it all was $6,325,000 ... and check out the pics of the place -- it appears to be worth every penny.

The hillside house -- which sits just moments away from the iconic Sunset Strip -- offers an incredible view of the L.A. skyline from the hills to Downtown L.A.

The dope pad features four bedrooms and five bathrooms and over 5,900 square feet ... as well as a primary bed suite with a sitting area and balcony that overlooks city lights.

There's more -- the crib also comes with three additional guest suites and features large closets and en suite bathrooms ... as well as a massive kitchen fully equipped with state-of-the-art appliances.

Brooke A. Elliott of Aaron Kirman Group at Compass represented the seller, while Kennon Earl of Rare Properties at Compass represented Acho.

As for Acho's feelings on the sale, he's clearly pleased with it all ... posting from the pad last month, "I didn't know what to do for my birthday... #NewHomeOwner #LosAngeles."