TMZ Sports - Page 28

Wrestling star Paige says she's leaving the WWE after more than a decade with the org. ... but she added that she has plans to return to the ring someday.

The 29-year-old -- whose wrestling story was so unique it actually was adapted into the 2019 flick, "Fighting with My Family" -- shared the emotional news in a statement on her Twitter page Friday.

"July 7 will be my last day with WWE," Paige said. "I'm so thankful and I appreciate the opportunities that the company has given me."

"I know after my neck injury taking me out of in-ring status, it was pretty hard to keep me around for as long as you did and for that I'm thankful too."

Paige -- real name Saraya-Jade Bevis -- made her WWE main roster debut in 2014, the night after WrestleMania XXX, and would quickly make history ... defeating AJ Lee to become the youngest Divas champion ever at age 21.

Unfortunately, her promising career was cut short after she sustained a neck injury from a Sasha Banks kick during a six-man tag team match in 2017.

The British superstar retired from in-ring competition onscreen in 2018, but later received exec roles with the org.

Paige -- who has wrestling in her blood (her parents, Julia and Patrick, as well as her brothers, Roy and Zak, were all wrestlers, and even run a promotion in England) -- said in her statement she was sad to close the chapter of her life ... but did tell her fans she'd be inside the squared circle again one day.

"Thank you to the WWE Universe," Paige said. "You guys are the most passionate group of fans I've ever seen. Hope you continue to stay on this journey with me."

The case against five suspects who were charged with murdering Puerto Rican boxer Hector 'Macho' Camacho in 2012 has been dismissed ... after the key witness took off to Florida.

As we previously reported, the 50-year-old former champ was shot in the face while sitting with his childhood friend in a Ford Mustang outside a bar in Bayamon in November 2012 ... and later died from his injuries.

His friend, Adrian Mojica, was also killed in the shooting.

Almost 10 years after the murder, five men were charged for the tragedy in March 2022 ... three of who were already serving time in a Florida prison.

But, a judge in Puerto Rico dismissed the case on Friday ... after authorities say the witness fled the island.

Prosecutors requested to get a second chance for the case to be heard ... as they reached out to Florida law enforcement to assist in locating the witness.

Camacho -- who boxed from 1980 to 2010 -- was a three-weight class world champ ... winning the WBC super featherweight and lightweight, and WBO junior welterweight title.

It's officially official, Julianne Hough and Brooks Laich are no longer married ... their divorce has been finalized.

A judgment was entered in the case Friday, meaning the two are donezo, we don't yet have specifics on their agreement ... but that'll come soon.

Julianne filed for divorce from the former NHLer back in November 2020, about 6 months after the couple had split and after lots of speculation there were issues in the couple's marriage. The two married in 2017, but did not have any kids together.

You might remember, when things were allegedly sour between the two, Brooks had posted he wanted to be "open to all things and present in my relationships." Julianne had revealed she was "not straight" but still wanted to be with Brooks.

Blueface will be looking to break face on July 30 -- the rapper is slated to fight ex-NBA player Nick Young in a boxing match.

TMZ Sports has confirmed ... the "Thotiana" MC and NBA champ are going to face off in the ring at Crypto.com Arena as part of the Social Gloves event starring YouTubers Austin McBroom and AnEsonGib.

Blueface has a bit of history in the ring -- he beat up on TikToker Kane Trujillo in July 2021 ... and ended up having to throw hands that same night after a fan attacked him in the ring.

Young is less experienced ... but he's never shied away from calling people out for a fight in the past. He's previously voiced interest in boxing Logan Paul, Gilbert Arenas and Chad Ochocinco.

We broke the story -- ex-NFL star Le'Veon Bell is also slated to take a fight on the same card ... although his opponent has not been announced.

A Tampa Bay Lightning fan was sucker-punched in the jaw following an argument at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night ... and the blow was so violent, it knocked the man out cold.

The incident happened at around 10:50 PM, some minutes after the Rangers had lost to the Lightning at the famous venue.

According to the NYPD, a witness says the two men in the video were involved in a verbal dispute ... before the man in the red shirt reared back and threw his fist at the Lightning fan's face.

In the footage, captured by a bystander, you can see the punch landed flush -- and knocked the Tampa Bay supporter out cold.

Cops say a witness told them the puncher then attempted to flee the scene. When a witness tried to stop him, the suspect allegedly punched the witness in the face too.

Eventually, police arrived on the scene and arrested the puncher, who they ID'ed as 29-year-old James Anastasio. Cops say he was booked on multiple charges of assault, disorderly conduct and harassment.

The Lightning fan who was KO'd, meanwhile, reportedly woke up several minutes following the punch ... and is in stable condition.

Jack Del Rio won't lose his job over his Jan. 6 comments earlier this week ... but his wallet will be lighter -- the team just fined him $100,000 for the remark.

Head coach Ron Rivera just announced the punishment ... saying Del Rio's comments "do not reflect the organization's views and are extremely hurtful to our great community here in the DMV."

Rivera added that Del Rio's money will now be donated to the United States Capitol Police Memorial Fund.

"I feel strongly that after our conversation this morning," Rivera said, "[Del Rio] will have a greater understanding for the impact of his language and the values that our team stands for."

Del Rio initially made the controversial comments on Wednesday ... when he was trying to explain to a throng of media members why he believed the riots following George Floyd's death in 2020 should be investigated in the same way as the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol.

"I see the images on TV, people's livelihoods are being destroyed. Businesses are being burned down -- no problem," Del Rio told reporters at Washington practice. "And then we have a dust-up at the Capitol, where nothing burned down. And we're going to make that a major deal."

Del Rio eventually apologized for the remarks ... but the backlash was still swift, with many slamming him over the words.

In fact, NAACP president Derrick Johnson said he believed the coach should have lost his job over it all.

Jack Harlow is turning into quite the method actor -- the rapper was spotted working his ass off on the basketball court on the set of the "White Men Can't Jump" reboot.

Of course, Jack is no stranger to hoop ... but his Billy Hoyle character is a former college baller, so the dude's gotta look the part when the cameras start to roll.

Harlow can be seen backing down his defender and whizzing by him for a layup in one of the clips ... and appears to be laser-focused on immediate feedback from a trainer.

As we previously reported, Harlow has been hanging around on set in Venice this week ... as TMZ Sports obtained video of the "Nail Tech" MC walking around on a court.

Now, we get a chance to see the guy with a ball in his hand ... which will obviously be a big part of the flick.

Harlow has recently showed off his basketball skills during celebrity basketball games ... and he's got some solid range.

Brooks Koepka's new wife, Jena Sims, is taking a shot at her lifelong dream ... by throwing her hat in the ring to be a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit rookie.

The 33-year-old former "Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader" star-turned-model announced her goal in a TikTok this week ... saying she's a "firm believer in going after what you want."

Sims notes her mindset helped her get her now-husband's attention by sliding into his DMs ... which started a romance that went public at the U.S. Open in 2017.

The couple got engaged in 2021 ... and got hitched at an extravagant Turks and Caicos ceremony this past weekend.

Now, the former pageant contestant has her eyes set on gracing the pages of the iconic magazine ... and using the SI Swim platform to help kids all over the world notice their inner beauty.

Many other WAGs have been featured in the issue over the past years -- including Jared Goff's GF, Christen Harper, Russell Wilson's wife, Ciara, Rob Gronkowski's GF, Camille Kostek, Kevin Love's fiancée, Kate Bock, and Christian McCaffrey's GF, Olivia Culpo.

Simiso Buthelezi's opponent has terrifyingly admitted he's having suicidal thoughts after the boxer tragically died following their fight last weekend.

Siphesihle Mntungwa made the troubling admission this week to Sowetan Live, a daily newspaper in South Africa, saying he's received threats and horrible messages accusing him of causing the 24-year-old's death during their sanctioned bout on Sunday.

"I came under heavy criticism and insults on social media platforms when Simiso was hospitalised," Mntungwa said, "it has taken another level now that he has passed away."

"I just can't take it anymore. One thing is left for me -- I am going to kill myself."

Mntungwa went on to say that he did not kill Simiso, nor was it his intention to end the fighter's life. Rather, the 27-year-old said he was just competing in a boxing match, focusing on winning the title so he could provide for his family financially.

"I did not kill Simiso," he said. "We may have been involved in a boxing fight but it was not a matter of life and death."

"All I wanted was to win the title, which maybe was going to help change my life and that of my family."

As we reported, Simiso became so disoriented during the 10th round of the contest with Mntungwa in South Africa that he began punching thin air -- forcing the referee to end the match.

Simiso, who collapsed in the ring following the scary scene, was rushed to the hospital ... but unfortunately, later died there.

Mntungwa's trainer, Mmeli Mkhize, said he's seeking professional help for Mntungwa following the fighter's disturbing admission to the outlet.

He added that the threats against Mntungwa have been so bad, they can't even pay their respects to Simiso out of concern for what people might try to do them there.

"We will not even be able to attend the funeral because we are scared," he said.

Jimmy Fallon did his best Joey Chestnut impression during last night's Rangers playoff game in NYC  ... the late-night talk show host dunked his hot dog -- bun and all -- in his beer before devouring both, and spilling everywhere!

'The Tonight Show' host was in the building for game 5 of the Conference Finals game between the NYR and Tampa Bay Lightning ... when Fallon found himself on the big screen at Madison Square Garden, hot dog and beer in hand.

Fallon, a NY native, has clearly seen a Nathan's hot dog eating competition or two in his time ... Jimmy softened up the bun using his brew, before it all went down the hatch.

Of course, if you've watched competitive eating, you know that's the preferred method for eating quickly.

FYI, Chestnut's record is 76 hot dogs/buns in 10 minutes. He routinely puts away over 70.

For Rangers fans, the antics off the ice were far more entertaining ... the team lost game 5 by a score of 3-1, and now trails in the series, 3-2. And, now the team must go on the road to Tampa ... where NY is 0-2 this series.

It's reminiscent of the New York Knicks fan a few years back who was captured on camera dunking chicken nuggets into her soda.

Tensions were seriously high between Kylie Jenner and Tristan Thompson after his latest cheating scandal, but the two found themselves under the same roof at a party with friends where they were almost certainly forced to mingle.

Kylie and TT were in Hollywood Thursday to celebrate model and Kylie's BFF Stassie Karanikolaou's birthday. There were a bunch of their other celeb friends there too -- like Kendall Jenner, Devin Booker, G-Eazy and Addison Rae.

Tyga, who Kylie dated years ago was also in attendance.

However, Tristan showed up as well, he's close with Zack Bia -- who also had a bday -- and Kylie left not long after.

Unclear if she'd just had enough celebrating, or if there's still a bit of animosity there, "The Kardashians" episode detailing Tristan's cheating on Khloe Kardashian aired just hours before ... so it's possible things were still tense.

Cops came to break the whole thing up late into the night, but it doesn't appear there were any issues, and everyone cleared out pretty quickly after they showed up.

As we reported, Tristan became the rightful target of the wrath of Kim and co. on this week's episode ... which showed the moment Kim Kardashian found out he'd gotten another woman pregnant while he was still dating Khloe.

Kim read legal docs out loud in which TT admitted to having sex with a woman named Maralee Nichols, who claimed she was about to father Tristan's son. She then called Kylie to explain, to which she responds, "Is Tristan the worst person on the planet?"

LeBron James is gonna have to make some room in the 3 Comma Club ... 'cause Tiger Woods officially has a billion-dollar net worth.

Just one week after it was announced the Lakers superstar reached the financial milestone, Forbes is now reporting the golf legend has achieved the same feat.

It's actually surprising that 46-year-old Woods hadn't hit billionaire status earlier in his career -- back in April, the outlet estimated he'd earned $1.7 billion over the course of his pro career before taxes and agent fees ... with less than 10% of that coming from prize money.

Woods has made a killing off being the face of brands like Gatorade, Nike and Rolex ... and his TGR Ventures has invested in a number of golf-related companies in recent years.

The 15-time major winner has undoubtedly brought a ton of interest to the sport ... which has resulted in more money in his pockets, thanks to lucrative TV deals increasing prize money on the PGA Tour.

Despite several personal controversies throughout his career -- including his single-car accident on Thanksgiving in 2009, going public about his sex addiction and being arrested on suspicion of DUI in 2017 -- Woods has remained one of the top-earning athletes each year.

Woods' achievement comes on the heels of a reported "high nine digits" offer to play for the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tour ... which he rejected.

Paul Pierce is being sued yet again ... this time a man is alleging the NBA legend borrowed a bunch of cash to play in poker games, but lost most of it all and never paid it back.

In the new lawsuit, obtained by TMZ Sports, Stephen Carmona says he was hosting a poker game at his home on Jan. 27, when Pierce showed up and asked Carmona to lend him some money so he could play.

Carmona claims he gave Pierce $150,000, and alleges the former Boston Celtics great -- who reportedly made over $195 million in his playing career -- promised to pay him back within seven days.

In the suit, Carmona says Pierce went on to lose $140K in the game and only returned $10,000 to him.

A week later, Carmona says he hosted another poker game at his home, and Pierce showed up again and requested another loan to play, despite not paying off the initial debt.

Carmona claims he handed over another $40,000 to the ex-NBA hooper, with the promise that he'd pay that off in addition to the $140,000 that he owed Carmona from the previous week.

Carmona says in the suit Pierce went on to lose the $40,000 that night ... and never paid it or the prior loan back.

Carmona says he's now out $180,000 -- and "despite multiple requests for repayment," Carmona says Pierce won't pay off the debt.

In the suit, Carmona is asking for $180,000 plus interest.

Pierce has yet to publicly comment on the allegations.

This is far from the first time the ex-NBA hooper has faced a civil lawsuit -- following the 2018 Conor McGregor vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov fight, he was sued for allegedly calling a security guard "racist."

Great news for WWE Superstar Cody Rhodes -- the wrestler went under the knife to fix his torn pectoral ... and he's officially on the road to recovery.

Cody's wife, Brandi, shared the news on Twitter Thursday night ... revealing the 36-year old's injury was about as bad as it could get, but everything went well and he's looking forward to getting better.

"The doctor just repaired Cody's pectoral tendon which was torn completely off the bone," Brandi wrote. "Successful surgery. He is on the road to recovery now."

Rhodes reportedly went to see Dr. James Andrews, a renowned surgeon who specializes in dealing with wrestlers and athletes who injure themselves over the years.

Cody initially suffered a slight tear of his pec just days before his scheduled match with Seth Rollins at the "Hell in a Cell" Pay-Per-View.

However, he would suffer a full tear of the muscle -- which spread from his chest to his entire right arm -- while weight training, leaving his status for the event in question.

Rhodes gutted it out and competed -- defeating Rollins inside the relentless structure -- but he paid the price for it, as Seth continually targeted the injured area throughout the match ... as well as the following night on "Monday Night Raw."

WWE Superstars with Rhodes' same injury are typically sidelined anywhere from 3 to 5 months ... but Cody -- son of Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes -- is hoping to return before that timeframe.

The husband of country music singer Sara Evans won't spend any time behind bars in his domestic violence case ... TMZ has learned.

The Nashville DA's Office tells us ... Jay Barker, a former Univ. of Alabama quarterback, ended up agreeing to a "best interest plea" in which he pled down from felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon to misdemeanor reckless endangerment.

As we reported, Jay was arrested back in January for allegedly trying to slam his car into the car in which Sara was riding.

Cops say Sara told them she was in the passenger seat of a friend's car, leaving a party when she saw Jay gunning his car in reverse, trying to hit them.

Sara and her friend got lucky, though ... cops say Jay missed his alleged target.

Court docs show Jay was put on a year of probation as part of his plea deal ... and we're told he has to keep his nose clean, forfeit all weapons and complete a 26-week batterers intervention program.

Here's a peek into the mind of Dana White ... we asked the UFC president if Conor McGregor could fight Jorge Masvidal when he returns to the Octagon, and while DW didn't seem into that fight, there is an opponent he likes for The Notorious.

"I really like Chandler vs. Conor after Chandler's last fight. There's plenty of fights to make. I don't know if that's the one. We'll see what the landscape looks like when Conor gets back."

Of course, Chandler's last fight was at UFC 274 last month ... when Iron Mike knocked out Tony Ferguson with a front kick 17 seconds into the 2nd round. It was one of the most brutal KOs ever.

Conor hasn't fought since UFC 264 in July 2021 ... when he gruesomely broke his leg while fighting Dustin Poirier.

"I'm just saying after his last [Octagon] interview, his last fight, Conor's ranked number 8. [Michael's] ranked number 5. It makes a lot of sense right now," Dana said.

As for a timeline for McGregor's return, Dana says he's getting closer, day by day.

"I think he's getting better. He's starting to ramp up his training, and I'm hoping the end of this year, early next year."

We also talked to the UFC boss (and future UFC Hall of Famer, Valentina Shevchenko) about UFC 275 ... where Valentina is fighting 19-1 Taila Santos in the co-main event.

Shevchenko hasn't lost in 5.5 years ... and Dana says she's arguably the greatest female fighter of all time.

If Valentina wins (she's a huge favorite), White says he's open to making Shevchenko-Nunes 3 (that loss in 2017 was to Amanda).

As for the main event ... 42-year-old light heavyweight champ Glover Teixeira is fighting 29-year-old rising star Jiri Prochazka.

The card also features a rematch of a fight many people believe to be the greatest women's MMA scrap ever ... Joanna Jedrzejczyk vs. Weili Zhang.

Their first fight was March 2020 ... a knockdown, drag-out, 5-round war which Weili ultimately won by split decision.

But, many fans felt Joanna should've been the victor.

That was the last time Jedrzejczyk stepped foot in the Octagon.