TMZ Sports - Page 50

Joe Rogan didn't mince words when defending Cain Velasquez in wake of the UFC legend's arrest last week ... saying straight-up he wishes the fighter had beaten his relative's alleged molester "to death."

The UFC analyst explained his stance on a recent episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," telling Michael Bisping he's firmly on Velasquez's side.

"I mean, my only wish is that he did it with his hands," Rogan told Bisping during a conversation about the allegations against Velasquez.

"My only wish is that he just ran the car off the road, pulled that guy out of the f***ing car, and beat him to death. F*** you."

Bisping wholeheartedly agreed, telling Rogan, "And even that would have been too good for him."

As we reported, Velasquez is accused of attempting to murder Harry Goularte on Feb. 28 after authorities said Goularte molested one of Velasquez's "close" relatives days before.

Cops say Velasquez tried to chase down Goularte and two of his family members on the road in San Jose, CA. ... claiming the 39-year-old rammed his truck into their car, and fired several rounds into it in an attempt to kill Goularte.

Velasquez was eventually arrested and hit with 10 criminal charges over it all, and has been sitting in a jail cell for nearly a week. He's set for a bond hearing in court later Monday afternoon.

Rogan isn't the only one defending Velasquez following the arrest ... UFC fighter Derek Brunson made "Free Cain Velasquez" t-shirts, while Ronda Rousey also backed the former UFC star.

Reports of Kyler Murray being a bad teammate and a poor leader are flat-out false ... so says his Cardinals teammate Christian Kirk, who tells TMZ Sports he loves the quarterback.

Kirk had nothing but nice things to say about the Arizona star outside of JLT Performance GYM in Los Angeles this week ... explaining he has no issues whatsoever with the signal-caller.

"He's a great friend of mine and he's always treated me well and teammates around him well," said Kirk, who's played with Murray in Arizona since 2019. "Every time he steps on the field, he wants to win."

Of course, recent reports have contradicted Kirk ... particularly after Murray scrubbed his social media of Arizona Cardinals-related pics.

Multiple outlets reported the Cards' org. is unhappy with the QB -- hoping to see more maturity, better play and more leadership from the 24-year-old before they give him a monster contract extension.

Kirk, though, made it clear he hasn't seen any of those issues with the QB, saying, "I believe he deserves everything that he's earned and that he has coming."

There's a chance, however, that Kirk won't be able to play with Kyler anymore going forward ... Christian is set for free agency later this month, and rumors are swirling that he could become a Buffalo Bill after he vacationed with star QB Josh Allen last month.

Aaron Rodgers may have disengaged from his fiancée, but he hasn't given up on love, because he officiated the wedding of one of his teammates.

TMZ Sports obtained this video of the Green Bay Packers QB front and center at David Bakhtiari's wedding ceremony.

Aaron and David are not just teammates ... they're good pals.

Rodgers was in the thick of it ... sipping drinks, mingling with guests and chatting with the bridesmaids.

BTW ... the nuptials went down at the Rosewood Miramar Hotel near Santa Barbara. It's become a go-to place for romance. As we reported, Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian got engaged there a few months ago.

A soccer match in Mexico this weekend got out of hand among fans -- to the point that their respective pummeling left many looking like they were on the verge of death.

This happened Saturday in central Mexico, between Queretaro (the hosts) and Atlas from Guadalajara ... the latter squad rocking red/black jerseys. During the 62nd minute in the game, several fights broke out in the stands, which then poured into the actual field itself ... forcing the refs to suspend the match and sending stadium staff scrambling for help.

Several videos have emerged showing the brutality that was occurring -- many of which are too graphic to post here. Let's just say ... a lot of these folks took things way too far.

There are clips showing multiple groups of guys ganging up on one or more individuals, and pounding them into oblivion with punches, kicks and strikes with objects like chairs and poles. A lot of the victims were entirely stripped of their clothes too, lying unconscious. And some were even robbed, with pickpocketers diving in to remove their belongings.

Many of these people were actually presumed dead -- understandably, especially when you see some of this stuff -- and unconfirmed reports out of Mexico stoked that even more ... claiming several fatalities emerged from the brawl.

However, the official line from the governor of Queretaro is that nobody died from this ... but that upwards of 26 people were hospitalized, including a handful that are in critical condition.

As you can imagine, there were families with children there who were running/hiding for their lives ... and there are even some eyewitness accounts saying parents had to remove their kids' jerseys out of fear of a rival fan trying to attack them.

The league these two teams belong to, Liga MX, halted the rest of the games for the weekend and condemned the violence ... saying they were launching a full investigation and would commit to holding those parties responsible -- including venue honchos themselves.

There's a lot of finger-pointing going on -- between security (or a lack thereof) but mostly at the brawlers themselves ... who apparently let a rivalry blow up into a life or death situation.

Brittney Griner's wife is breaking her silence since news broke about the WNBA star being detained in Russia -- and her first message is one of gratitude.

Cherelle Griner hopped on IG Sunday to post a photo of herself with BG, adding a caption that read ... "Thank you to everyone who has reached out to me regarding my wife’s safe return from Russia. Your prayers and support are greatly appreciated. I love my wife wholeheartedly, so this message comes during one of the weakest moments of my life."

She adds, "I understand that many of you have grown to love BG over the years and have concerns and want details. Please honor our privacy as we continue to work on getting my wife home safely."

As you know ... Brittney is in Russian custody at the moment, and apparently has been for a good while now -- since at least February when she was busted on suspicion of a drug charge.

She's alleged to have had vape cartridges in her bag while traveling through an airport -- and the Russian authorities even released video capturing the moment they searched her stuff.

Ukrainian UFC fighter Maryna Moroz won her match Saturday night, and she dissolved into tears afterward telling fans about the heartbreak she and her family are going through in the wake of Putin's war.

Maryna's win against Mariya Agapova was awesome ... an arm-triangle choke ended the fight in the second round.

Joe Rogan talked to Maryna in the Octagon after the decision was announced, and she confessed it's been a hard week for her and her family. She says she's heartbroken over the attack on her country ... "My family is in Ukraine. I had a hard week. I worried, I cried, because my family is right now in a bad situation."

She added, "Thank you to everyone who messaged me, because this week was hard for me. I want to cry because of this war my country is in. It's a hard time for Ukraine. I want to support my country, my president, whole army in Ukraine, and I want to say we don't want war. I worry about my family right now."

Drake lost a fortune on UFC's main event Saturday night, and the winner was quick to trash him by talking about his "s**tty" music.

Drake plunked down $275,000 on Jorge Masvidal, who squared off against Colby Covington. Unfortunately for Drake -- and Masvidal -- Covington won a unanimous decision, and it wasn't even close.

Covington was quick to trash talk ... "Let's talk about all the money that Drake lost tonight. He needs to go back to selling those s**tty albums to get back the money."

He wasn't done, adding, "Drake, you suck at sports betting. Go back to your s**tty little albums and rapping."

There was definitely an upside to the bet since Masvidal was the underdog. If Masvidal won, Drake would have pocketed a cool $1 mil.

Ryan Garcia -- one of the best young fighters in the world -- has no regrets sharing his personal battle with mental health ... despite the mixed reactions he says he received from fans.

TMZ Sports talked to 23-year-old Garcia -- who's ramping up for his in-ring return in April -- and asked what the response has been like since stepping away from boxing because he was battling depression and having suicidal thoughts.

"Boxing fans are a little bit more harsh than say, if you're a singer," Garcia says. "Even in the NFL or NBA, if you come out, maybe you'll get a better response. But, I guess for boxing, you gotta be as tough as you can be."

"Or you're scared if you don't fight but, you know, it just comes with territory."

The last time we saw Garcia in a boxing ring was January 2021 ... when he defeated Luke Campbell via knockout in the seventh round.

Ryan tells us the long layoff led some boxing fans to question his toughness -- something he says is never in question when he steps inside the squared circle.

"It's been tough just hearing all these things about me, all these opinions on why, or what's the truth on the reasoning on why I'm not fighting," Ryan says. "I gotta hear about myself and character."

"This hate, this noise, I know how special I am when I step into the ring -- that's never been a problem!"

"When I get in the ring, I always show heart and I always show determination."

The silver lining is, Garcia says for all the hate and criticism he's received for his transparency, a lot of athletes, influencers and even people on the street have reached out to him ... commending him on speaking up before it was too late.

Garcia's also got a Snapchat series coming out on mental health ... where he'll interview guests on the topic -- and he tells us it's releasing before or after his upcoming fight with Emmanuel Tagoe on April 9.

Slim Jxmmi is making the transition from music to boxing -- he's preparing for his first match, and already looking to get in the ring with a bunch of famous opponents.

We got the Rae Sremmurd rapper after he finished a training session at Dogpound Gym in WeHo, where a ton of celebs work out, and asked why he's getting into boxing.

Slim says he's turning 30 and wants to make some changes, set a good example for his kids, and as he put it to our photog, "Be done with the stupid s***."

Along with making big life changes, Slim is mending fences.

As we reported, he was arrested in January for the alleged battery of his then-girlfriend -- but she's since recanted, and the case was dropped. He tells us everything is cool between them now, and he intends to take care of her for life.

Kobe Bryant's shooting shirt from his iconic 81-point game just sold for a massive $277,000 at auction -- and the lucky buyer also got a one-of-one NFT that came with it.

The shirt is a one-of-a-kind piece ... not only was it worn by the Mamba before he scored the 2nd-most points ever in an NBA game (back in 2006), experts at Sotheby's tell TMZ Sports it's the ONLY worn piece from that game on the market.

We're told it was worn six other times by Kobe, too -- including in the 2006 playoffs.

We're also told the shoes from that historic game were sent to the Basketball Hall of Fame and the uniform is owned by Bryant's family -- so this might be the only Bryant-donned item from the game that ever becomes available.

The auction for the shooting shirt closed last week -- and after a bunch of bidding, the rare piece sold for a total of $277,200.

The lucky buyer is David Kohler, President of SCP Auctions and owner of one of the largest private Lakers memorabilia collections in the world, and he said after the sale he's pumped to now own the item.

"After collecting Kobe Bryant memorabilia throughout many years, I am thrilled and honored to add this very special artifact from one of the most significant games in NBA history to my collection," Kohler said.

Professional Fighters League star Mark Martin says he's NOT contemplating retiring after his eye popped out during his fight last week ... telling TMZ Sports he's 100% committed to returning to the cage -- as long as he's physically able to.

"Showtime" suffered a broken orbital and blood around his retina after the first round of his bout against Dilano Taylor on Friday ... with his eye coming out of its socket after he blew his nose.

Yes, it's tough to watch.

We spoke with Martin this week about his recovery journey ... and he says he's hoping to find out more after visiting with two specialists.

Martin says he doesn't know how damaged his retina is or if he'll be able to see out of his left eye again ... and it hasn't been determined if he'll need surgery.

Despite all the uncertainty, Martin knows one thing for sure -- he's not walking away from fighting as long as he can help it.

"I mean, I'm definitely not ready to get back into the cage now," he told us. "If everything heals 100%, I'll definitely go back."

"It's not something where I will retire unless I can't see. If I can't see right, then it's time to hang it up."

Martin also shows us how his eye currently looks ... and it's MUCH better than it did a week ago.

Brittney Griner, WNBA superstar and 2x Olympic gold medalist, was reportedly detained in Russia after customs officials say they found hashish oil in the hoopers luggage ... and she could now face 10 years in prison.

On Saturday, the Russian Federal Customs Service announced they'd detained an American basketball player back in February after finding vape cartridges in her bags while traveling through Sheremetyevo airport -- about 20 miles from Moscow.

Russian customs didn't identify the person taken into custody, but TASS, a Russian news agency, citing sources, ID'd the player as Griner, center for the Phoenix Mercury.

Customs released surveillance video on Saturday appearing to show Griner, wearing a mask, going through airport security. The clip shows what appears to be a security official removing a package from the traveler's bag.

According to a statement from Russian Customs, the traveler was flying from New York to Russia. At some point, they claim a drug dog alerted to her carry-on bag. Soon after they claim they found the vapes.

The statement says Russian officials have opened up a drug trafficking investigation ... a charge that could carry a five to ten-year prison sentence, if convicted.

Lindsay Kagawa Colas, Brittney's agent, issued the following statement.

"We are aware of the situation with Brittney Griner in Russia and are in close contact with her, her legal representation in Russia, her family, her teams, and the WNBA and NBA."

Colas continued ... "As this is an ongoing legal matter, we are not able to comment further on the specifics of her case but can confirm that as we work to get her home, her mental and physical health remain our primary concern."

The WNBA also released a statement pledging their support for Griner, saying their main objective was to return her to the USA as soon as possible.

31-year-old Griner, the 1st overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft, is one of the best players in the league. Brittney is a 7x All-Star, 2x Scoring Champ, 2x WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, and a WNBA champion.

Despite her accolades, Griner and other WNBA players routinely hoop in Russia ... as women can earn significantly more money than what the WNBA pays.

Griner is no stranger to the country. She's won four championships with the Russian Euroleague team, UMMC Ekaterinburg.

It's not publicly known where, or if, Griner is being held ... as the detainment allegedly occurred in February.

It's a perilous time for an American to be held in Russia. Relations between the two countries are incredibly strained, as Vladimir Putin's military invaded and attacked Ukraine, and the west responded with harsh sanctions, dealing a significant blow to Russia's economy.

In case you were wondering who's going to win the highly anticipated bout between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal, look no further ... 'cause fellow UFC star Kamaru Usman tells TMZ Sports Covington is going to walk away with the W.

We spoke with 34-year-old Usman, and he tells us the fight on Saturday at UFC 272 is a close call, but the difference in skillset will be the reason Colby emerges victorious.

"Man, I think it's an incredible fight," Usman said. "I think both guys are skilled and both guys know each other. I just think Colby has a little bit more tools to be able to win."

Kamaru went on to say Masvidal does have an advantage in the speed department, but preceded that comment by saying Colby has the edge in wrestling, cardio, and striking.

Usman fought both Covington and Masvidal two times each on separate occasions -- scoring victories over both men -- so he knows what each guy brings to the table.

The feud between Colby and Jorge -- who used to be best friends at one point -- is well documented, with Covington going as far to call it a "blood feud."

Logan Paul will return to the boxing ring -- this year -- telling TMZ Sports he started training again, and the goal is to overshadow his brother Jake Paul's brutal knockout of T-Wood.

We talked to the 26-year-old star Thursday afternoon when the topic of fighting came up.

"I just started training again, bro. I'm a little sweaty. I've been training the last four days. Hopefully, I have a fight by the end of the year. I gotta one-up my brother, he did a bad thing to Tyron Woodley."

FYI, Logan last fought in June 2021 ... in a boxing match against Floyd Mayweather. The fight went the distance, but no winner was chosen because it was an exhibition.

Paul claims Mayweather hasn't paid him what he's owed from their fight ... something Logan also touched on (he has a plan to get his money).

Outside of the fight vs. Floyd, Logan has also fought fellow YouTube star, KSI, twice ... resulting in a majority draw, and a loss (the L was a result of a controversial point deduction).

We also talked to the Paul bro about Saturday's Slap Fighting Championship ... which Logan is hosting with Arnold Schwarzenegger from the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio.

Not familiar with slap fighting? It's pretty much what it sounds like. Two competitors stand across a table from each other, and go slap for slap until someone bows out or gets knocked out.

Is Johnny Football BACK?!?!?!

He very well could be ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel is currently in talks with Fan Controlled Football to make a return to the gridiron!!

29-year-old Manziel was one of the most notable players in the FCF's inaugural season ... suiting up under center for the Zappers for three games.

Our sources feel confident Manziel will be back in season two ... at least for a few games.

But, here's where it gets interesting -- we're told Johnny would NOT be returning to the Zaps for the upcoming season ... as he's dying to play for Druski's new team.

In fact, Johnny went to Instagram early Friday morning to express his interest in joining the comedian's squad ... saying, "Only coming out of retirement for @Druski2Funny and Shoulda Been Athletics."

We broke the story -- Druski was announced as the newest owner of the defending champion Wild Aces earlier this week ... name-dropping Manziel as one of the main reasons he decided to get involved in the league.

It would be a full-circle moment for Druski ... and considering how passionate he is about the team, he's gotta be stoked about the possibility of having Manziel on board.

Barbaric, overly violent ... just some of the words used to describe slap fighting, much like MMA back in the day. But, cage fighting exploded in popularity, and now an undefeated slap fighting champ tells us he believes the sport is about to blow up.

"For us to be doing this at the Arnold, it kind of speaks volumes to where the sport is gonna be in the future, and I believe it's gonna be a thing how like the MMA scene, and the UFC started and was looked at as a brutal sport. Slap fighting is just that, but a little less brutal," Koa "Da Crazy Hawaiian" Viernes, an undefeated slap fighter told TMZ Sports.

Koa -- a 6'2", 378 lb., 9-0 slap fighter from Hawaii -- is competing in the Slap Fighting Championship Super Heavyweight World Championship this Saturday at the Arnold Sports Festival.

The comp is being hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger AND Logan Paul ... and will pit Koa against fellow undefeated champ (16-0), Dawid "Zales" Zalewski.

We asked Koa -- who grew up boxing -- what it feels like to be slapped ... and he says it hurts way more than being punched.

"If you've gotten punched in the face, it's completely different. When you get slapped, your fingers ricochet off the skin, the whole open hand, it hurts a lot more."

FYI, back in the mid and late '90s, MMA promoters had nearly an impossible job when it came to finding a venue to hold their events. In fact, MMA wasn't legal in all 50 states until 2016, when New York reversed a ban that disallowed mixed martial arts competition.

Now, the UFC -- and MMA as a whole -- is insanely popular ... and promotions routinely host hugely popular events at some of the biggest and most famous arenas around the world.

Can Slap Fighting become the next UFC? Koa thinks so ... and we're certainly not gonna tell him no.