TMZ Sports - Page 24

Kevin Ferguson Jr. -- MMA fighter and son of the legendary street fighter turned pro Kimbo Slice -- is stepping into the ring ... but he isn't takin' on a fellow pro fighter, he's boxing former Bachelorette contestant "Iggy" Rodriguez.

Yes, for real!

29-year-old Ferguson -- aka "Baby Slice" -- is transitioning from the Bellator cage to the squared circle ... where he'll duke it out with Rodriguez at a Celebrity Boxing event in March.

Of course, 5'11", 155 lb. Kevin Jr. -- 3-3 as a pro -- has fighting in his pedigree, and it shows. His dad, Kimbo, is the most famous street fighter of all-time. The 6'2", 235-pound fighter transitioned from backyard brawling to professional fighting ... where he had a record of 5-2-1.

As for his opponent? Iggy's claim to fame didn't come from punching guys. Rather, Rodriguez was fighting for love when he made his debut on the 13th season of "The Bachelorette."

In fact, the 35-year-old Californian native and consulting firm CEO became a true household name ... when he was depicted as a "snitch" for badmouthing other competitors on Rachel Lindsay's season.

Rodriguez was ultimately eliminated from the show ... after failing to make the top 12.

But, back to the fight. Ferguson and Rodriguez won't be the only attraction that night.

Lamar Odom's ex-fiancée, Sabrina Parr, will fight Jenn Harley, Ronnie Ortiz's former GF -- in a battle of the exes.

Scary moment at the Australian Open -- tennis star Nick Kyrgios smacked a loose ball out of frustration during a doubles match ... and it ended up nailing a young fan in the crowd.

Fortunately, the kid appeared to be OK after Kyrgios apologized with a gift racket.

The wild play all went down Monday during Kyrgios' doubles event with partner Thanasi Kokkinakis ... when Kyrgios got pissed over a missed serve.

You can see in footage from the Open, Kyrgios rifled a ball into the ground, and it ended up ricocheting straight into the stands and right into a kid's stomach.

The boy was so visibly hurt and upset ... Kyrgios himself was shaken up on the court.

Nick, though, collected himself and immediately grabbed one of his spare rackets to make up for the major blunder. And, it seemed the child was going to be just fine after the present.

"I saw it heading towards the kid and I thought, "Oh, no, I am getting defaulted," Kyrgios said of the scene to Channel Nine after the match. "I was glad he was OK and I gave him the racket."

This isn't the first time Kyrgios has made headlines at this month's tourney -- just last week, the 26-year-old took a swig of a fan's beer after defeating his opponent.

The fans in attendance loved it ... but the gesture didn't come without controversy, as some wondered if event organizers would come down hard on the Aussie ... given the COVID drama that went down with Novak Djokovic in the buildup to the tourney.

But, Nick has yet to face any discipline for the not-so-safe action.

Patrick Mahomes' fiancée is clapping back at the hate she's gotten for making it rain champagne after the Chiefs' big overtime win ... saying anyone who has an issue with her celebration is a big loser.

Brittany Matthews was criticized by some on social media for uncorking a bottle of bubbly inside her suite and spraying it all over fans at Arrowhead Stadium ... with some pointing out the possibility some spectators may not have wanted to be drenched in alcohol in the freezing temps.

Others also claim that the celly might have been a bit excessive -- despite the game being incredible -- considering it was the divisional round.

Matthews responded to the backlash on Twitter this week ... saying she's sick of being ridiculed for her every move.

"I just wish I could do what I want without getting attacked every week," Matthews said.

When another user replied by saying anyone against the celebration has "clearly never won anything before" ... Brittany replied, "Accurate."

For what it's worth, several members of Chiefs Kingdom came to Brittany's defense ... pointing out she has every right to celebrate how she wants.

Tyson Fury says Anthony Joshua is scared of him ... labeling the 6'6", 240 lb. superstar boxer from the UK a "coward" who's too shook to fight him.

Oh, and the Gypsy King is also coming for a bunch of other top-level heavyweights ... including Oleksandr Usyk and Dillian Whyte.

The 33-year-old heavyweight champ hit up social media to respond to fans asking him when and who he's fighting next ... and well, Tyson talked his s***!

"I'm being asked this question over and over again. I do not know the answer to it. I'm ready to fight this weekend. I've been training three weeks, how long does a man need to train?" Fury pondered.

"Joshua's a coward, Usyk's a p***y and Dillan Whyte doesn't wanna fight. So, if you can prove me wrong, get to f***king fighting you pair of cowards. You're all cowards! You're all bum duffers! Have a fight or do one you pack of wet lettuces."

Fury, who's coming off an incredible performance against heavyweight star Deontay Wilder, continued going in on the boxers.

"I'm just gonna keep videoing until one of these cowards decide to fight. You're all cowards! S*** house bums! I don't care who I fight -- AJ, Usyk, Dillan Whyte or any of them. Fight me! I'm the best man that's ever lived. These are all coward bum duffers. I'll annihilate the liars and destroyers, submitters, tap you bitches out. Come and fight!"

32-year-old Joshua lost to 35-year-old Usyk by decision in September 2021 (it was a masterful performance) ... and they're currently negotiating a rematch. Fury has been ordered to defend his WBC title against 33-year-old Whyte ... but there are reportedly talks about working out a deal to box Usyk.

Shaquille O'Neal knows how to bring the Cowboys back to the glory days ... and it starts with firing head coach Mike McCarthy -- and hiring NFL legend Deion Sanders as the next coach.

Sorry, Mike.

The Diesel made the comments on a recent episode of his podcast "The Big Podcast With Shaq" ... following the Cowboys' disappointing 23-17 loss to the 49ers in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.

“I’m putting this out right now,” Shaq said. “Deion Sanders is the next head coach for the Cowboys. Jerry Jones, this message is from Shaquille O’Neal Incorporated, Deion Sanders for the next coach to Cowboys."

"You want the Dallas back rocking. Bring Deion to the fold. Deion will hold those players accountable. Deion Sanders for the next Cowboys coach. Put it out, Tweet it, dammit. TikTok it, Instagram it, OnlyFans it, put it out.”

Of course, Sanders is very familiar with the Cowboys org. -- after all, the Hall of Famer spent 5 seasons with the team ... winning a championship with Dallas in Super Bowl 30 over the Steelers.

Sanders is currently the head coach at Jackson State University ... where he finished his second campaign with an impressive 11-2 record.

It's unclear if Primetime would even be interested in coaching the Cowboys at this time -- though head coach in Dallas is a job you don't really turn down.

Deion's JSU team suffered a gut-wrenching bowl loss to South Carolina to end their season ... and after the loss, Sanders went on Rich Eisen's show and addressed concerns about his future on the collegiate level.

"I'm not looking to tomorrow, I don't do that right now," Sanders said. "I focus on today. I focus on the now.

As for McCarthy ... the former Packers' head coach just wrapped up his second season at the helm of Jerry Jones' squad. MM led the team to a 12 win season, but suffered an early playoff exit.

And, while Jerry didn't say a change at the head coach position was imminent, the outspoken owner didn't exactly endorse McCarthy publicly either.

Simone Biles appears to be on her way to putting the twisties in her past ... 'cause she recently hit a bunch of insane flips in the gym, showing no signs of the mental block that plagued her in Tokyo.

Biles posted the videos on her social media page Monday ... revealing she's once again hitting some of the crazy stunts that made her an Olympics legend.

Biles did the tricks into a soft foam pit ... and captioned the footage, "did some flips the other day just to make sure."

No word yet on if Biles is officially 100 percent free of the infamous twisties that first hit her at the 2020 Olympics in July ... but the video is an encouraging sign nonetheless.

It's the first time Biles has been seen hitting the tricks since she said she was struggling to find up from down while performing the stunts on the sport's biggest stage.

Biles had said back in October she was still fighting the problem ... and noted she was keeping any twisting out of her routines during her performances in the Gold Over America Tour in the fall.

One of the people involved in Arnold Schwarzenegger's multi-car wreck couldn't believe her eyes ... not only because of the movie stunt-like crash, but because she's a huge fan of his.

Habiba Muminova was one of the drivers who had a close encounter with Arnold's SUV in Friday's crash, and she tells TMZ ... she felt like she was "hallucinating" when Arnold exited his Yukon.

Habiba says Arnold's one of her favorite actors, and while she says, "God bless him," ... she's painfully aware this wasn't exactly a great way to meet him for the first time. Still, she says she's telling everyone what -- and who -- happened.

Habiba says she was just doing her job Friday -- driving patients to doctor's appointments -- when all of a sudden she was smack in the middle of an accident involving a movie star/former governor.

She says she was waiting at a red light to turn on Sunset Blvd when Arnold's SUV collided with a red Prius ... and before she knew it one of Arnold's back tires was smacking into her car, causing a harsh jolt.

Habiba says the initial impact was so strong, she thought she broke her spine.

With Arnold's SUV blocking her door, Habiba says she climbed out through the passenger side, where she was met by first responders and advised to get a ride to the hospital. Instead, she stayed put on the scene with the patient she'd been transporting.

She says she's now experiencing pain in her spine and back, from the shoulder down her left side and she's getting checked out by a doctor this week.

Habiba's concerned about her job moving forward -- she says her car is badly damaged, which will make it difficult, if not impossible, to drive patients around town.

She says she's reached out to an attorney for legal advice.

Antonio Brown celebrated the demise of Bruce Arians and the Buccaneers in style on Sunday -- partying hard at a Miami nightclub just hours after his former team was booted from the playoffs.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the ex-Bucs wideout watched his old squad lose to the Rams in Tampa -- and then he made his way down to Miami to celebrate.

We're told the 33-year-old hit XXIII Club ... and copped around $15,000-worth of bottles while there!!

Brown rocked a huge fur coat ... and was the life of the party at the packed venue -- which, at one point, played his new "Pit Not The Palace" song for the crowd.

Of course, Brown was in great spirits ... because, after all, the team that he says screwed him over earlier this month finally fell in heartbreaking fashion to L.A. earlier on Sunday.

In fact, Brown was so pleased with the result on the field, he trolled Tampa Bay on his social media page with an edited "Bucs eliminated" meme, and later tweeted that Arians was a "barbarian."

It seemed Brown had been moving on from his beef with the Bucs -- remember, he told us recently he and Tom Brady had hashed things out, and said just before that that his shirtless exit from the team was not very professional.

UFC legend Don Frye got into a physical altercation with a fan at UFC 270, punching the man in the face ... this after the retired MMA star and pro wrestler tells us the guy bumped into him and challenged him to a fight.

TMZ Sports obtained video taken at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA Saturday night ... showing 56-year-old Frye jawing with two men as someone who appears to be security attempts to keep the peace.

Frye is seen popping the guy in the head with a jab (clearly not at full force) ... sending the man's head snapping back.

We talked to Don ... who tells us the incident started when the guy, who he believes was drunk, bumped into his hat. The men then had a spirited conversation, which Frye says culminated with the man challenging him to a fight.

You can only assume the man didn't know he was challenging Frye ... one of the UFC's earlier stars, and most powerful strikers.

Frye won UFC 8 and Ultimate Ultimate '96 tourneys ... and was the runner-up at UFC 10. Over his incredible career, Don beat guys like Ken Shamrock, Tank Abbott and Mark Hall.

Frye -- who recently went on Joe Rogan's podcast and explained how he got into MMA -- was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2016.

In addition to the UFC, Don fought in Pride and K-1. He also boxed and kickboxed professionally, and was one of Japan's biggest wrestlers during his time with New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

Don was not arrested -- and stayed to watch the remaining fights -- including heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou defending his title.

NBA champ Lamar Odom is looking to share his experience with the next generation of celebrities -- he's launching his very own talent management company.

TMZ Sports has learned ... the ex-Lakers star teamed up with his manager, Tonita B, to kickstart the Savvy Talent Management Group with the intent to help young ballers and entertainers find their way in the industry.

We spoke with L.O. about his decision to get involved ... and he said he wants to prevent young talent from making the same mistakes he did during his career.

"I wish I would have learned how to save my money a little bit more," Lamar tells us.

"I wish I would have been able to do my due diligence on how to read people the right way, so I can keep the right people in my life that deserve to be there."

Odom -- who played in the NBA from 1999-2014 -- has high aspirations with STMG ... and he's been studying up on other success stories in the industry.

"The vision I got is sort of like LeBron James and Rich Paul with Klutch Sports."

Odom says he's looking to work with both athletes and celebrities in navigating their young careers ... and he knows firsthand that "the fame game is for real."

"There's so many talented people out there -- [I want to work with] whoever needs guidance and help at being an entertainer or celebrity. It's not easy."

As for partnering with his manager, Odom says the decision was a "no-brainer."

"I'm the beauty, she is the beast. Together we get the job done," he says.

Motorsports legend Travis Pastrana has been hospitalized in Florida ... after he terrifyingly crash-landed into a park following a parachute stunt gone wrong.

The horrifying scene was all captured on video ... showing Pastrana is truly fortunate to be alive today.

In the footage, you can see the 38-year-old jumped from the top of a high-rise hotel ... and appeared to deploy his 'chute just a little too late, causing him to hit the ground with force.

Thankfully, his publicist told WSVN-TV's Frank Guzman he is expected to make a full recovery.

"Surgery went well and he is excited to get home and heal up," the publicist said.

Ft. Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan tells TMZ Sports the incident happened on Saturday morning, when a video crew was shooting in the area of Las Olas Blvd. and Andrews Ave.

"A stunt during that event did not go as planned resulting in a hard landing of a parachutist that jumped from the Hyatt Hotel," Gollan said in a statement.

"The adult male was immediately treated and transported in serious but stable condition to Broward Health."

According to Keys Weekly, the X Games gold medalist has been in Florida this month doing stunts and drifts. In fact, just a few days before the parachute incident, Pastrana was in the Florida Keys filming with a 1983 Subaru GL Wagon.

Horrible news ... the father of NFL star Carlos Dunlap, Carlos Dunlap Sr., tragically died following a car accident in South Carolina this weekend, family friends announced in a statement Sunday.

According to a spokesperson for the North Charleston Police Department, an adult male was hit by a car at around 10:40 p.m. on Saturday in North Charleston.

The spokesperson said the man was rushed to a local hospital, but tragically, he died there due to injuries suffered in the crash.

David Aylor of David Aylor Law Offices, a close friend of the Dunlaps, confirmed in a statement that Dunlap Sr. was the victim.

"He was a loving father and well-respected community leader," David Aylor Law Offices said in a statement. "We will miss him dearly."

"As a close friend of David and David Aylor Law Offices the family has asked us to let others know to please respect his family at this time of grieving and provide them with privacy."

Cops say "the driver of the involved vehicle was located at the scene." They added that no charges have been filed and an investigation is ongoing.

Dunlap -- one of the best pass rushers in the NFL for the past decade -- was very close with his father ... and had even run out onto the field with him before a Cincinnati Bengals game in 2019.

Los Angeles doesn't want Super Bowl LVI visitors and viewers getting an up-close look at the city's homeless problem -- which is why a major cleanup is underway near the site of the big game.

These pics were taken Monday morning ... near the 405 freeway, which significantly is just a couple miles from SoFi Stadium. As you can see, CHP officers are on hand to reroute traffic and clear out homeless encampments ... as private contractors clean up behind them.

With the Super Bowl just 3 weeks away ... it certainly appears L.A.'s leadership is attempting to polish up areas that will be heavily trafficked, and possibly shown in aerial shots, on game day.

Our law enforcement sources tell us cops started moving homeless people bright and early Monday from this area near the 405 and Century Blvd. Not coincidentally, we think, this is smack in the middle of the most direct route from LAX to SoFi.

We're told the situation here used to look "a lot worse" -- and there's a similar effort going on at a nearby park. After that, we're told, crews will remove a tent city under the freeway.

Here's a telling sign of just how bad the homeless crisis is in L.A. ... the company helping with the cleanup is called Planet Green and they say they specialize in emergency disaster cleanup and biohazardous waste cleanup.

Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes has been hit with 12 misdemeanor charges in Los Angeles -- including domestic violence and using violence against a police officer -- all stemming from an incident involving Jaxson, his GF, and police.

TMZ Sports has learned 21-year-old Hayes was charged by the city attorney in L.A. County ... 6 months after he tussled with police.

Hayes has been charged with 12 counts ... including inflicting corporal injury (domestic violence charge), destroying property, use of force, resisting a police officer, using force and violence against an LAPD member, amongst other charges.

Remember, back in July 2021, Hayes' girlfriend alerted her cousin that Jaxson was acting erratically, and the GF was worried for her safety.

LAPD responded to the L.A. home where Hayes was staying. However, Hayes wouldn't allow them inside ... and a struggle ensued. Jaxson appears to push an officer into a wall -- sustaining an injury to his arm.

One officer used his Taser ... and Hayes -- the 8th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft -- was finally taken into custody.

During the arrest, Hayes claimed he couldn't breathe. The claim sparked a use of force investigation within the LAPD.

The results of that investigation are not yet known.

Pro hockey player Jacob Panetta is apologizing for making a seemingly racist gesture towards Jordan Subban -- the brother of NHL star P.K. Subban -- during a hockey game ... but is adamant he did not have any racial intent behind his actions.

The incident took place on Saturday ... when Panetta of the ECHL's Jacksonville Icemen and Subban of the South Carolina Stingrays were involved in a verbal altercation.

Subban alleges that after he and Panetta exchanged words, Jacob started making monkey gestures towards him once he turned his back. Subban then threw punches at Jacob ... before both men were ultimately separated.

Panetta was suspended indefinitely for the gesture ... and the Icemen released him hours later.

After facing a storm of backlash, Panetta took to social media to release a video explaining his side of the situation.

"I want to reiterate that no racial slurs, noises or anything of the like were said by me during the incident," Panetta said ... explaining he was attempting a bodybuilding motion -- not a racist monkey gesture.

"I did not contemplate at the time that it would be perceived as a racial gesture and I attempted to convey this to Jordan as we were heading to the dressing room during the game."

He continued ... "I see now from Jordan's reaction that he, and others, certainly viewed it as a racial gesture. My actions have caused a great deal of anger and upset to Jordan, his family, and countless others."

Once Jordan's older brother, P.K., got word of the incident ... he quickly condemned Panetta publicly ... and even took a dig at the ECHL league calling it "the jungle."

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen controversy like this in minor league hockey -- Krystof Hrabik was recently suspended 30 games by the AHL for allegedly directing a racist gesture towards Boko Imama ... a Black player on the Tucson Roadrunners.

Panetta apologized for his role in Saturday's incident, saying, "I sincerely apologize for the pain and suffering and anger my actions have caused him, his family, and everyone that was hurt by this."

A bobcat used an Arizona golf course's bunker to hunt down a duck (or goose) last week ... and video of the scene is WILD!!!

Several golfers caught the cat in action at Silverleaf Country Club in Scottsdale on Friday ... showing the bobcat stalking a flock of birds on the 15th hole at the course.

You can see in the footage ... the cat used the hole's layout perfectly to get his lunch, hiding in the sand before springing into action.

The animal ended up catching one of the birds with its teeth -- and eventually hauled his meal off into the desert.

The golfers on the course were stunned by it all, laughing in shock ... while a person behind the camera yelled, "That's amazing!"