TMZ Sports - Page 24

Tyson Fury says his cousin was killed after being stabbed in the neck in the UK over the weekend ... and now, he's pleading with government officials to crack down on knife crime in wake of the tragedy.

According to authorities, Fury's relative, 31-year-old Rico Burton, was killed following an incident at a popular bar at around 3 AM on Sunday in Manchester. A 17-year-old was also injured in the altercation, cops said, and remains hospitalized.

Fury took to his Instagram page after learning of Burton's death to mourn the loss -- and called for greater punishment for knife crimes to hopefully deter similar incidents from happening going forward.

"This is becoming ridiculous," the boxing superstar said. "Idiots carry knives. This needs to stop 🛑 Asap, uk 🇬🇧 government needs to bring higher sentencing for knife crime, its a pandemic & you dont know how bad it is until its 1 of your own!"

He added, "Life is very precious & it can be taken away very quick enjoy every moment🙏RIP RICO BURTON 🙏 may the lord god grant you a good place in heven. see you soon"

Police say they have arrested two men who they believe were involved in the stabbing. They added that they are increasing police patrols in the area with the hopes of preventing future crimes.

"This was a senseless attack," Greater Manchester Police spokesperson Ben Ewart said, "and both victims should've returned home this morning after enjoying a night out with friends."

Giants head coach Brian Daboll apparently has a bit of potty mouth -- and thanks to a hot mic on the field during NY's preseason game on Sunday night ... the world now knows it!

Daboll was caught dropping an F-bomb tirade following a pass interference call in the fourth quarter of the Giants' game against the Bengals.

The coach could be heard clear as day on the game's broadcast screaming, "That's f***ing bulls***! What the f***?"

Daboll, who's entering his first year as coach of the G-Men, appeared to be directing his anger toward an official -- but despite the passion, the Giants were still hit with the flag nonetheless.

The 47-year-old, though, ended up going home happy regardless ... 'cause the Giants used a big fourth quarter to pull out a 25-22 win.

Aqib Talib won't be broadcasting NFL games for Amazon after all -- at least not for the foreseeable future -- he's stepping away from the gig following his brother's murder charge.

NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported the news late Sunday evening ... saying after Talib and his older brother, Yaqub Talib, were involved in an altercation at a youth football game earlier this month where a man died, Aqib is now prioritizing time with his family instead of work.

As we previously reported, the Talib brothers were helping coach kids at a football game in Texas on Aug. 13 when an argument between coaches and refs turned deadly.

According to a witness on the field, Aqib was upset with a penalty call and ran onto the playing surface to confront refs. A short time later, a scuffle broke out.

Video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows a man who appeared to be wielding a down marker to hit others was eventually shot. Authorities say he was transported to a local hospital, but died there due to his injuries.

Cops have accused Yaqub of pulling the trigger ... and the 39-year-old has since been charged with murder.

36-year-old Aqib, meanwhile has not been charged with any crimes.

"Aqib was present when this unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life," Aqib's attorney said following the incident. "He would like to convey his condolences to the family of the victim and to everyone who witnessed this unfortunate tragedy."

Former AEW star Jake Atlas told cops he was "an international trained superstar" and then slammed his boyfriend as "terrible at sex" in a rant during his arrest back in May ... new police video shows.

In the footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see a police officer was trying to ask an agitated Atlas questions about an alleged domestic violence incident between him and his BF outside of his Orlando, Fl. home on May 23.

But, the wrestler, whose boyfriend had accused him of roughing him up during an argument earlier in the evening, appeared to be in no mood to play ball with the cop.

Instead, Atlas told the officer about his wrestling resume, all while bashing his boyfriend and their relationship repeatedly.

"I am an international trained superstar," said the 27-year-old, who is openly gay. "I have worked across the country, across the world, with my name. He is a nobody."

Atlas, real name Kenny Sanchez Martinez, went on to call the man a "f**ing bitch ass, f***ing p***y" ... before ultimately telling the cop, "[he] is a terrible boyfriend and he's terrible at sex."

The cop tried repeatedly to get Atlas to tell his side of the story and explain the events that had gone down earlier in the evening, but the wrestler never seemed to cooperate. Atlas was eventually arrested on the scene and later booked on a domestic violence battery charge.

Atlas' charges were eventually dropped, however ... with officials writing in court documents, "this case is not suitable for prosecution."

The wrestler later commented on the case following its disposition in July, apologizing "for my wrongdoing and any hurt, disappointment and complication I may have caused to my colleagues and fans."

Atlas said he participated in an outpatient program to deal with "a dual diagnosis in substance abuse and mental health," and is continuing to seek treatment.

A famous search and rescue dive team that inserted itself into the hunt for missing teenager, Kiely Rodni, claims they've found her ... but it doesn't sound like she's alive.

The YouTubers known as Adventures with Purpose -- which has millions of subscribers and followers across their social media channels -- made the claim Sunday, writing on their official Facebook page ... "WE JUST FOUND KIELY RODNI."

They go on to say that she is confirmed to be inside a vehicle that is upside down in about 14 feet of water, adding that the family has been notified and that law enforcement is on their way. As for where exactly they discovered her ... reports suggest it might be in Prosser Lake.

This is where Kiely first went missing weeks ago at the beginning of the month, and the search efforts thus far have been focused on this area. AWP literally just volunteered their service a day or two ago ... vowing to help locate her, and it appears they did just that.

As we reported ... Dog the Bounty Hunter told us he'd been getting tons of tips on her potential whereabouts, but was reluctant to jump into the high-profile missing persons case because of all the blowback he got from the Gabby Petito case.

Kiely went missing on Aug. 6 near Truckee, CA -- where she and a bunch of other youths were partying in the Lake Tahoe region.

She went missing late in the night, apparently without a trace ... and hasn't surfaced since. A massive undertaking has been underway to find her.

No other details have come to light yet as to how Kiely may have ended up in a car and submerged in the lake -- and if foul play is suspected.

Tom Brady was apparently all set to become a Raider after leaving the Patriots -- that is, until Jon Gruden stepped in and shot it down ... this according to Dana White.

The UFC honcho broke down the story Saturday during the UFC 278 broadcast ... telling Rob Gronkowski and a bunch of other panelists that TB12 was, in fact, gunning to join the Las Vegas Raiders ... something DW had been pitching him on for a long time at that point.

This was all happening during Tom's free agency period in 2020, BTW, and per Dana ... the GOAT was actually already scoping out houses in the area. So it sounds like it was just about a done deal -- with Dana working behind the scenes to make it all happen.

Not just that ... but Rob himself was apparently going to join Tom there in Vegas under this would-be move. The reason it fell apart, so says Dana, is because of the ex-head coach.

Gruden allegedly blew it up last minute, saying he didn't want Tom and co. -- and, apparently, the ownership listened to him. Tom ended up joining the Bucs instead, and went on to win the Super Bowl later in 2021 ... with none other than Gronk by his side for the glory.

Dana later elaborated a bit on the tale, telling reporters Brady wasn't happy about it at the time ... but wouldn't get into the exact details of what Gruden's beef was.

Of course, he ended up getting canned by the organization amid a racism controversy from prior emails.

Gruden ended up suing the league and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, claiming the leaked correspondence was part of a coordinated character assassination.

Dennis Rodman says he's going to put his dictator diplomacy to good use soon in an attempt to free Brittney Griner, who's currently jailed in Russia.

The ex-NBA star told NBC News this weekend that he's planning on jetting off this week, adding that he got "permission" to head over there and "help that girl" in a would-be prisoner swap. Unclear if Rodman is serious or not ... but his track record suggests he could be.

As we all know ... DR has visited North Korea a lot over the years and built a relationship with Kim Jong Un. Rodman has always insisted his connections in N. Korea have helped U.S. diplomatic efforts -- including the release of an American prisoner, Kenneth Bae.

Of course, he also tagged along with then-President Donald Trump for a 2018 trip to the communist country. That said, his actual influence has always gotten a raised eyebrow.

There isn't much more to the NBC interview -- which sounds like it was fast and on the move, as there's no video or anything beyond text quotes -- other than Rodman suggesting that he's also familiar with Vladimir Putin, adding that he knows the leader "well."

As NBC and other outlets have noted ... Rodman doesn't actually need permission to head to Russia right now -- and there's no word yet on whether this is a U.S.-sanctioned effort.

The feds have advised Americans not to travel to Russia at the moment -- and they're already actively working on securing BG's release -- but we suppose we'll see if DR actually touches down in the near future to do something that isn't already happening. BTW, he was in town in D.C. this weekend for an event ... so maybe geopolitics were top of mind for him.

Marquise "Hollywood" Brown apparently has a need for speed ... 'cause TMZ Sports has learned the Cardinals star was ticketed for going 71 MPH in a 50 zone just weeks before he was arrested for allegedly going 126 MPH in a 65.

According to court documents, cops say Brown went roughly 21 MPH over the speed limit in a black Mercedes on June 9 in Maricopa County, Ariz. He was issued a ticket for the offense on July 11.

Per the docs, Brown is facing a fine of $350. Records show he's due in court for a hearing on the matter in October.

Of course, Brown was arrested back on Aug. 3 -- less than a month after his initial speeding ticket arrived in the mail -- following accusations that he went 61 MPH over the speed limit in a white Mercedes in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Records show he's due in court for a hearing in that case next month.

Brown apologized for the recent arrest earlier this week, vowing to be better going forward -- but he made no note of the earlier ticket in his chat with reporters.

As for his head coach, Kliff Kingsbury, he said following Brown's arrest that he was disappointed in his receiver ... adding, "he knows he's got to be better than that."

Titus O'Neil isn't worried about the future of WWE ... telling TMZ Sports that the company is in good hands under the leadership of "The Game" Triple H -- calling him a "visionary" who has a "great mind" for the business.

O'Neil was effusive in his praise of both his former boss Vince McMahon AND Triple H, who stepped in after Vince retired as CEO and chairman of the sports entertainment conglomerate last month.

"I have full confidence that in time Triple H and Stephanie McMahon will continue to guide us into a whole another stratosphere when it comes to sports entertainment," O'Neil said.

"I think he will play to the purist of wrestling fans as well as those that love sports entertainment and combine it with the best of the best."

Titus -- who has been with WWE since 2009 -- gave HHH credit for signing megastars Logan Paul and Gable Steveson to the company ... saying both "will help contribute greatly to our business."

"Those are just two of, I'm sure, a lot more to come in regards to what Triple H is going to be able to as [the] head of creative," Titus said.

"Vince [McMahon] took a lot of chances," O'Neil said of the 76-year-old billionaire, "and Triple H, I'm sure, will do the same."

Vince grew the WWE into the most popular sports entertainment brand worldwide, but Titus believes HHH's time in charge of NXT prepared him for this moment.

Antonio Brown's decided to treat himself following the success of his new song and dance by copping an insane "The Godfather" watch ... that's filled with 666 diamonds!

TMZ Sports has learned the former NFL wideout hit up Jacob and Co. earlier this week to pick up the timepiece ... and the classic mob film-inspired watch came pretty epic.

We're told it features a miniature Vito Corleone (played by actor Marlon Brando) in the middle of it with his iconic black tux. It also has a hand-painted black piano ... and a Swiss music box that plays the first 120 notes of the movie's theme song!

And, get this ... the music box is played by two cylinders that are paved with 666 brilliant round diamonds and 18k of rose gold!

We're told AB also got a second watch on the shopping spree -- a rose gold Bugatti Chiron Tourbillon that has a crankshaft that turns 16 piston pumps up and down ... like a real engine.

The Super Bowl champ spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $800k for both watches ... and even though AB hasn't earned any money on an NFL field in a few months, he has collected over $80 million in his 12-year NFL career.

Ex-NBA star Caron Butler is using his personal experiences to help teach young kids with his new book ... telling TMZ Sports his close friend Kobe Bryant inspired him to share his real story.

Caron played alongside the late Hall of Famer on the Lakers from 2004-2005 ... and the two remained great friends up until the legend's tragic death in 2020.

The 2011 NBA Champ says Bryant -- who had a series of children's books of his own -- once gave him pointers on how he could use his authenticity to motivate the next generation ... which led him to write "Shot Clock," alongside Justin Reynolds.

"He did like a little moment with me prior to him passing," Tuff Juice tells us. "We connected and we talked about the writing process and how it's so tough to be authentic and clear and real, but it's exactly what the kids need."

"He always told me to 'Tell your truth, be brave and people gonna accept it or reject it, but be brave in that process,'" he added.

Butler says he made a promise to Kobe that his second act would be "far better, more profound" than his playing career ... a vow he also disclosed with Bryant's wife, Vanessa.

The book is deep ... and reflects what Caron really went through in life -- from traveling the world to run-ins with law enforcement and losing friends to gun violence.

"Selling Sunset" producers are racing to fill the void left by Christine Quinn's departure ... they need a new villain for the show, and they need to figure it out ASAP.

Production sources tell TMZ ... the folks who run the popular Netflix show are scrambling behind the scenes to figure out who is going to step into Christine's place as the bad girl, and they're hopeful holdover Chelsea Lazkani leans into the role in upcoming seasons.

We're told execs approached Chelsea about playing into the villain role once it became clear to producers in June Christine wasn't coming back, leading to conversations with Chelsea about embracing the role Christine played so well.

Our sources say producers understand Chelsea, a British real estate agent who joined the show in season 5, has big shoes to fill here ... but they're hopeful she can step up to the plate.

Other candidates, we're told, include newcomers Bre Tiesi and Nicole Young ... they're joining "Selling Sunset" for the upcoming seasons, and sources say there's a possibility producers will look to one or both to be the next Christine if Chelsea doesn't cut it.

Filming began this week, but we're told it's too soon to know if producers have their villain just yet.

TMZ broke the story ... Christine and the producers reached a mutual decision for her to leave the show and she's moving onto other projects, signing with IMG models.

Jason Oppenheim told our photog Thursday he's not stressed about Christine leaving, saying he has no concerns her exit will hurt the show.

Khabib Nurmagomedov
Henry Cejudo
Kamaru Usman

... three bonafide legends who happened to be managed by Ali Abdelaziz. But, forced to pick the best fighter he's managed, Ali says it's the "Nigerian Nightmare."

TMZ Sports talked to Abdelaziz days before his star client, 35-year-old Usman, takes on Leon Edwards in the main event at UFC 278 in Salt Lake City ... and that's when we asked who was #1.

"It's very hard, man. You're talking about Henry Cejudo, two-division champion, defended two-weight divisions, right? Khabib, undefeated, never lost, barely lost a round," Ali told us, continuing, "But when you talk about Kamaru, for me Kamaru at welterweight, one of the hardest divisions in the UFC, he's beating these guys and he's sticking around. He's 35, sticking around."

Abdelaziz says you could argue both Cejudo and Nurmagomedov left the sport while they were in their primes ... while Usman continues to stack wins over the best fighters in the world.

"You can say Khabib a little bit retired early, you can say Henry retired a little bit early, right? Right now, it's tough man. I love all of them. Everybody knows how close I am to Khabib and how I love them. I love Kamaru too but right now, the way Kamaru is doing it, I don't think anybody's doing it the way Kamaru is doing it and he's willing to go up to light heavyweight and do a two-division champion and skip a weight division."

"You have to give it to Kamaru right now. Wherever he is at with his career, it's Kamaru."

Of course, Khabib, Henry, and Kamaru all have absolutely incredible resumes.

- Nurmagomedov: Undefeated. 29-0. Former Lightweight champion. Wins over Justin Gaethje, Dustin Poirier and Conor McGregor. Retired in 2021.

- Cejudo: 16-2. Former Flyweight and Bantamweight champion. One of only a handful of double champs in UFC history. Wins over Dominick Cruz, TJ Dillashaw and Demetrious Johnson. Retired in 2020. Currently semi-unretired.

- Usman: 20-1. Current UFC Welterweight champion. Wins over Tyron Woodley, Colby Covington (twice), Jorge Masvidal (twice), Gilbert Burns and Rafael dos Anjos. Hasn't lost since his second ever professional fight in 2013.

Can't go wrong with any of the three fighters.

BTW, Abdelaziz has repped a bunch of other incredibly talented fighters ... including Gaethje, Burns, Kayla Harrison, Cody Garbrandt, Rashad Evans, Frankie Edgar and more.

Usman's been kicking ass for a decade, but his star has really taken off recently. Proof? Kamaru recently locked down a role in the upcoming Black Panther sequel ... a film all but guaranteed to become one of the most popular movies of all time.

How'd Usman lock down the gig ... Ali walked us through the process.

Kamaru takes on Leon Edwards this weekend at UFC 278 ... where he'll look to tie Anderson Silva's record for most consecutive wins (16).

In search of more, rare Michael Jordan-era memorabilia? Horace Grant's got ya covered -- 'cause TMZ Sports has learned MJ's former Chicago teammate's three title rings he won with His Airness in the early 1990s are up for auction.

The rare items come from the Bulls' first 3-peat in 1991, 1992 and 1993 -- when HG played a key role alongside Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

The rings feature the former power forward's last name ... with the Bulls' season record on one side and the World Champion title year/postseason record on the other.

We're told each ring -- which are all size 12 and have "14k Jostens" on the interior bands -- is so valuable, they could fetch over $100K apiece.

Heritage Auctions officials tell us each ring also comes with a letter of provenance from Grant as well.

Grant's 2001 championship ring that he earned while playing alongside Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers is also up for grabs. That bling, we're told, is expected to sell for over $40k.

FYI, Grant is not the consignor for the rings -- we're told Horace sold his rings a long time ago for charity.

Kamaru Usman has an opponent in mind for his next fight after Leon Edwards -- but it's not anyone in the welterweight, or even middleweight division -- the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world says he's eyeing a move to light heavyweight!

"A lot of people think I'm joking when I say [I wanna move up]. I wanted to skip -- skip middleweight and I want the light heavyweight belt because I wanna be a two-division champion," Usman told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

The 35-year-old, 170 lb. champ continued ... "One, not only am I the best in the world, but I wanna prove that I am the pound-for-pound best, so I'm gonna skip that pound-for-pound, I'm gonna take that light heavyweight belt and I'm gonna defend the belt."

There's a reason Kamaru plans to jump two divisions, and not just move up one and fight at 185 lbs. ... the middleweight champ is Israel Adesanya.

Kamaru and Izzy are tight ... and have said they'd never fight each other.

Meanwhile, Kamaru and Jiri Prochazka -- the light heavyweight champ -- not so tight.

29-year-old Prochazka, who beat Glover Teixeira for the title in June, stands 6'4" tall. He hasn't lost since 2015. Not to be outdone ... Usman hasn't been defeated since 2013.

But Usman isn't looking to abandon the division he's ruled for 3.5 years ... the Nigerian Nightmare says he's planning to defend both belts once he beats Jiri.

"I'll defend both belts so people can really understand what it means to be pound-for-pound," Kamaru says ... "Not just this fictitious stuff that they make up. When I actually go up and do it and I walk away from the sport, I'll let you decide what you wanna call me or my legacy."

We also talked to Kamaru about landing a role in the new Black Panther movie ... a project that's incredibly important to the star fighter.

"For one, I'm extremely excited because it's my first one. I knew I was gonna be in movies some point, one day, but to be in that movie, I'm extremely excited because that's a movie that transcends just being a movie star. It's a movie that stands for something, it's a movie that represents something so powerful."

And, it won't be the last film in which Usman appears ... despite the fact people have accused him of being "Hollywood."

"It's crazy 'cause people are 'oh he Hollywood now.' Of course! Ya damn right I'm Hollywood now. I wanted to be Hollywood. What's wrong? You don't want me to be Hollywood?!"

"You want me eat Little Caesars and Ramen noodles in my little shack all day every day for the rest of my life? No, I'm gonna be Hollywood, but one thing they're failing to realize is that it took work to get to this point to be Hollywood."

Usman takes on Leon Edwards for the second time (Kamaru won by unanimous decision in 2015) at UFC 278 Saturday night on ESPN+.

As WWE prepares to celebrate the 1200th episode of "Smackdown," Drew McIntyre tells TMZ Sports he's obsessed with beating Roman Reigns in two weeks at "WWE Clash at the Castle" ... 'cause he has to finally win it all in front of fans!!

McIntyre and Reigns are set to meet face-to-face in the ring Friday night on a historic edition of "Smackdown" -- one of WWE's three flagship programs -- and the former two-time WWE champ isn't backing down from Reigns, whose held both titles for over 700 days!!

"I'm looking to raise those titles and Roman has been on this incredible run. But the truth is, it's been 700 days," Drew said. "He's not here as often as he used to be. I do believe titles need to be represented every single week. He's not able to do that these days."

McIntyre -- a native of Scotland -- told us a victory at 'Clash at the Castle,' which will be held in Wales for the first time in over 30 years, would mean the world to him since his first two title runs came with limited or no fans.

"I am very proud of the fact I was champion during that difficult time," McIntyre said. "I'm glad I was the champ setting the example. As a kid, I had the dream of main-eventing WrestleMania, lifting the title in the main event and I did that."

"But I also imagined there being tens of thousands of screaming people there," Drew said. "Which there wasn't."

"I would like to have some live fans in attendance for that third reign and I have the biggest opportunity of my life to do that in the UK, in the heart of Wales, against Roman. This is something I couldn't have envisioned as a kid because it didn't exist."

McIntyre -- who beat Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 36 to win his first-ever WWE title during the height of the pandemic -- knows defeating Reigns will be a tall task, but, ultimately, the Scottish native thinks a victory near his home turf is what's best for business.

"I think that titles need to be represented every single week and on the shows and in the live events and the appearances," McIntyre said. "And I want to be that man to represent the company on the highest level."