TMZ Sports - Page 14

Boxing star Aidos Yerbossynuly is currently in a medically-induced coma ... after the super middleweight was brutally knocked out in his first career loss on Saturday.

The 30-year-old went down in the final round of his Premier Boxing Champions bout against Cuban boxer David Morrell at the Minneapolis Armory in Minnesota.

In video from the event, the Kazakh boxer (17-1, 11 KOs) is shown attempting to dodge Morrell's punches when he was struck with a fierce right hook, knocking him down to the ground.

As Morrell (8-0, 7 KOs) celebrated in the ring, Yerbossynuly tried to stand up on his own ... but needed assistance from referee Tony Weeks, who then waved off the fight.

Yerbossynuly was clearly not okay ... falling backwards into the ropes.

He was taken to a nearby hospital after the loss -- the first of his 7-year boxing career -- and was put into a medically-induced coma following surgery on a subdural hematoma.

Morrell went to Twitter after the sad update on Yerbossynuly's condition ... saying even though he got the win, he's focusing on Aidos' recovery.

"It is a great moment for me but at the same time super hard for others," Morrell said.

"Let's pray for a super fast recovery and ponta for Aidos," he added. "God bless you and be with you."

Other boxers sent Aidos well wishes as well ... including Muhammad Ali's boxing grandson Nico Ali Walsh who wrote, "Please send many prayers to my Muslim brother Aidos Yerbossynuly for a speedy recovery."

A Premier Boxing Champions spokesperson said they are working with Aidos' team and TGB Promotions to monitor Yerbossynuly's situation.

Late Migos rapper Takeoff's funeral is set for this coming Friday, and much like his career, the homegoing will be big … going down at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

The venue, which is home to the NBA's Atlanta Hawks, has the capacity to host more than 20,000 people.

Rev. Jesse Curney, III of New Mercies Christian Church will be officiating the services, which will begin at 1:00 PM … according to Atlanta radio station V-103.

In a statement, Rev. Curney said, "I was really sad to hear the news. Kirsnick has been a faithful member since he was ten years old. He and his family were active and avid supporters of the church and the community as a whole."

Emotions in the city have been heavy since Takeoff was shot and killed on November 1 in Houston.

Graffiti artist Armondo "Ape" Monoletti crafted a mural in Atlanta, just hours after the tragic news and friends and fam of Takeoff held a balloon sendoff over the weekend in his honor.

The Indianapolis Colts have fired head coach Frank Reich following the team's blowout loss to the Patriots on Sunday at Gillette Stadium ... and, stunningly, have named former star offensive lineman Jeff Saturday the interim HC.

Colts owner Jim Irsay confirmed the news on his Twitter page on Monday morning ... which caught most folks off-guard, considering Jeff has ZERO coaching experience in college or the pros.

His only experience came as ... err, a high school coach with Hebron Christian H.S. in Georgia. His last season on the sidelines was in 2020 ... where his team finished with a 3-7 record.

The Colts dropped to 3-5-1 after losing to New England, 26-3 ... as the team demonstrated an inability to score offensively under rookie quarterback Sam Ehlinger.

Reich took over the Colts in 2018 -- after Josh McDaniels scorned the franchise at the last minute -- leading the team to a 10-6 record that season and an 11-5 record in 2020.

Reich led the Colts to the playoffs twice.

However, the 60-year-old play-caller didn't always enjoy success in Indy ... in 2019, he finished with a 7-9 record, and things were assuredly trending in that direction this season.

The org. benched Matt Ryan ... and turned to Ehlinger to salvage their season, but after falling further behind in the AFC South race, Indy is giving up on the Reich experiment.

Justin Bieber was a crazed fanatic during LAFC's championship game on Saturday ... completely losing it as his team came away with the thrilling win!!

LAFC ended up beating the Philadelphia Union in penalty kicks to secure the title ... and JB was clearly on pins and needles as the drama unfolded.

Bieber and his wife, Hailey, sat among the normies throughout the game ... and after the home team came away with the 'ship, Justin lifted her up in celebration.

Biebs even had his own custom LAFC jersey for the game ... draping it over his head as he cheered on his squad.

Justin and Hailey weren't the only A-listers in attendance -- Magic Johnson and Will Ferrell, who are co-owners of the team -- were also at Banc of California Stadium for the matchup.

It was a busy weekend for the duo -- as we previously reported, they were living it up at Odell Beckham Jr.'s birthday bash later that night.

WWE star Omos -- on the heels of his big match against Braun Strowman at Crown Jewel ---- returned home to Nigeria for the first time in 14 years to surprise his family ... and the video of the encounter is one of the sweetest things you'll see!

TMZ Sports has video of the 7'3", 400-plus pound athlete sneaking into his family home (hard to do when you're a freakin' giant!) in Lagos ... the first time he's been there since 2008.

A camera crew captured the moment 28-year-old Omos was spotted by his family ... and predictably, he was immediately met with hugs, kisses and even some tears from his loved ones.

We're told ... Omos' family had no idea he would surprise them, hence the shocked reaction.

Omos -- real name Tolulope "Jordan" Omogbehin -- was just in Saudia Arabia for WWE Crown Jewel, where he went toe-to-toe with Strowman in a battle of the giants.

We're also told ... the Nigerian Giant is expected to make a major announcement while in Lagos visiting his fam -- though, any news will be hard to top his surprise visit.

Omos signed with WWE in 2019 and was the WWE Raw tag team champion with AJ Styles -- but his reuniting with his family is one of the proudest moments of his career.

The Houston Astros spared no expense when it came to celebrating their World Series title this weekend ... TMZ Sports has learned they popped nearly $400,000 worth of 50 Cent's champagne during their postgame party.

We're told the team unloaded just over 250 bottles of the rapper's Le Chemin du Roi Brut ... right after they finished off the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday night to win the Fall Classic.

In total, there were 250 bottles of Rose, 10 Magnums of the bubbly, and one, huge 15-liter bottle as well. The final bill for it all came out to $388,750!!

Of course, the 'Stros enjoyed every bit of it ... soaking in it for hours following their 4-1 win in Houston.

Star pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. seemed to get the most out of it though ... kickin' off Houston's epic celebration by coating his teammates in it first.

The Astros will continue the party later on Monday -- their championship parade is slated to go down at around 11 AM CT.

Logan Paul was left with a torn meniscus and MCL after going up against Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel ... but don't feel too bad for the guy, 'cause he had his model girlfriend, Nina Agdal, to take care of him!!

The Maverick shared his injury status after losing to the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion in Saudi Arabia over the weekend ... posting a pic showing his iced-up knee with the Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover girl sitting nearby.

Logan was pretty beat up after the entertaining matchup ... and had to be wheelchaired through the airport to catch his flight.

"Best girlfriend ever," Paul said as Agdal pushed him.

Paul got an MRI as soon as he touched back down on U.S. soil ... but we're told he does not know the full extent of his injuries just yet.

Logan showed off his insane athleticism on Saturday ... but ultimately, he could not come away with the win.

Kirk Cousins decided to lose his shirt, throw on some comically large jewelry, and then dance his face off on the team plane following the Vikings' big win Sunday ... and video of the hysterical scene could not be better!

Cousins' Minnesota teammates filmed the QB's plane ride party just a couple hours after they came back to beat the Washington Commanders, 20-17 ... showing Kirk letting loose after pulling the Vikes to a 7-1 start.

In his seat, Cousins ditched his top and snagged some chains from his fellow Vikings ... before he gyrated and jiggled around as everyone giddily filmed him on their phones.

The normally buttoned-up 34-year-old revealed he's got a smokin' hot bod during the festivities too -- check out that full-on six-pack!

Of course, Cousins had every right to get down while 30,000 feet in the air ... he's been a big reason the Vikings are running away with the NFC North this year.

Lil Wayne has declared his beloved Packers' season over following yet another loss on Sunday ... and he seems to be laying the blame squarely on Aaron Rodgers for it all -- saying the team shoulda punted the QB before the year began.

Weezy didn't mince words when venting about Green Bay's 15-9 loss to the 2-6 Detroit Lions ... clearly believing the year is already done -- despite eight games remaining on the schedule.

"RIP to the season," Wayne, a HUGE Packers fan, tweeted.

The loss to the lowly Lions dropped GB to 3-6 ... and with games against Dallas, Tennessee, Philadelphia, Miami and Minnesota still left to go, the rapper probably isn't wrong to bury his favorite squad.

But, it was the second part of his tweet -- one in which he wrote, "We should've gotten rid of 12 before the season" -- that was eyebrow-raising.

Yes, Rodgers has not been good this year -- he threw three more interceptions on Sunday -- but the rapper has always been in the superstar's corner.

A flick about the inspiring story of Shaquem Griffin could be coming to a silver screen near you ... so says his twin bro, Shaquill Griffin, who tells TMZ Sports a movie about the former one-handed NFL player is in the works!!

The Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback revealed the news to us out at LAX this week ... although he was mum on further details about the project.

He did say, though, that he would have no problem playing the role of himself in the film ... saying he's got real-deal acting chops!

Of course, the movie would no doubt be amazing regardless of who plays the bros in it ... considering just how special Shaquem's story is.

If you're unfamiliar, Shaquem had his left hand amputated when he was just 4 years old ... but went on to become a mega football star, playing for the Seahawks and Dolphins before officially retiring earlier this year.

As for what he's up to now that his football career is over ... Shaquill tells us his brother is thriving -- becoming a damn good motivational speaker.

Justin Bieber got down and a little dirty with his wife Hailey on the dance floor at Odell Beckham Jr.'s star-studded 30th birthday bash Saturday night ... and TMZ caught it all on camera!!!!

Check out this video we obtained showing a bare-chested Justin nuzzled up behind Hailey, clad in a skin-tight outfit, as they shimmied their hips and shuffled backward together. The lovebirds were each holding longneck bottles, hoisting them to the beat of the music. They seemed to be in great spirits, not to mention totally in love.

Of course, the Biebers weren't the only celebs having a blast at the party, several A-Listers showed... Kim Kardashian, Tristan Thompson, Idris Elba, Kendall Jenner and her boyfriend, Devin Booker.

Other bold-faced names included ... Saquon Barkley, Tyga, Chantel Jeffries, Teyana Taylor, Chris Brown, Josie Conseco, Dennis Graham, Stassie and Lori Harvey.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are back on speaking terms ... they just had a sideline chat during their son's flag football game.

Ye and Kim K both showed up for Saint's game Saturday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, and they looked pretty chatty with one another.

It was a big game for Saint .... his Sierra Canyon School was playing in the season finale of the NFL Flag Football season, where all the leagues come together and play games in the home of the NFL's Rams and Chargers.

When Saint was on the field, North was chatting with her parents on the sidelines.

It seems the ice is beginning to thaw a bit between Kim and Kanye ... as we previously told you, they weren't talking to each other before this and were basically ignoring each other when they were at other recent events for the kiddos.

As you know ... there were numerous reasons Kim was exasperated with Kanye.

On this occasion, Kim seemed happy talking with Ye ... the photos don't reveal tension between the former husband and wife.

Kanye wasn't wearing his "White Lives Matter" shirt ... like the one he wore at one of North's basketball games last month, when Kim wouldn't even look in his direction.

"I want to make this a horror movie."

That's UFC champion Israel Adesanya, who joined Babcock on the TMZ Sports TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) ... making it crystal clear he wants to do a lot more than simply defeat his rival Alex Pereira when the two striking savants battle inside the Octagon at UFC 281 in NYC.

"I want to be the first person he sees when he wakes up. I want to make sure I'm right in his line of sight so he's looking at me," the 33-year-old MMA superstar said.

Of course, Adesanya and Pereira are headlining the November 12th card -- with two title fights and a Michael Chandler-Dustin Poirier matchup -- which will go down inside Madison Square Garden.

Israel and Alex fought twice previously and Pereira won both times ... in 2016 (decision) and 2017 (knockout), but they were kickboxing, NOT MMA (overall, Izzy had a kickboxing record of 75-5, while Alex was 33-7.)

We asked Adesanya, who last fought and beat Jared Cannonier in July, if people were making too big a deal over the previous fights.

"100%, even though the way you defend is different, the way you attack is different. It's kinda stupid sometimes. No disrespect to kickboxing," Izzy said.

"I always felt my striking was better suited for MMA, for the glove size but also the way, the freeness of attacking, I can clinch someone and trip 'em down. I can elbow, things like that and I know he's good at stuff like that as well but I've been doing this a lot longer."

The reality is ... Adesanya rarely lost kickboxing, but he's never lost in his division in the UFC (sole L came against Jan Blachowicz at light heavyweight).

Despite it being a much different discipline, Izzy says he did rewatch the fights.

"I've looked back at them and I've taken a few things away from them but it is a different fight. I'm not the same guy, he's not the same guy either, but again, I've been doing this a lot longer and people forget," Adesanya said.

"For me, I have reminded them. I always do when it's time. I remind people and show them how great I am. This is just another one of those times I have to do it."

Ezekiel Elliott would be riding a whole lot of pine if Mike Martz were in charge in Dallas ... telling TMZ Sports he believes Tony Pollard should be the Cowboys' starting RB.

The former St. Louis Rams head coach said he'd make the change immediately if he were in Mike McCarthy's shoes ... explaining he believes Pollard is simply the best runner on the Cowboys -- and has been for a while now.

"Pollard is the better of the two backs," Martz said ... before adding, "I think Pollard has been more productive in the last three years with the opportunities that he's had."

Of course, Zeke has been entrenched as Dallas' RB1 since he was drafted in 2016 -- and hasn't moved off that spot, even though Pollard has seemingly been better.

Since 2020, Pollard has rushed for 1,660 yards and 11 TDs on 312 carries. In that same time frame, Elliott's rushed for 2,424 yards and 20 TDs with nearly double the carries (590).

Martz says from everything he's seen, Pollard should be the 1A to Zeke's 1B -- but he told us he's pretty sure the massive $90 MILLION contract Jerry Jones gave Zeke is playing a role in it all.

"I think the owner, you know, they're into him for a lot of money," Martz said. "And in Dallas, normally that stuff should never come into it, but in Dallas, I think it probably does."

Martz' solution to that? Start Zeke, but still give Pollard the majority of the work.

Breathe easy, Yankees fans ... Aaron Judge will re-sign with NY this offseason for a monstrous 8-year deal -- at least, that's according to Nick Swisher.

The ex-Pinstripes outfielder made the prediction to TMZ Sports this week ... as speculation about Judge's future continues to rage on.

Because of his age (he's 30 now), and the way he turned down a mega $200-plus million deal before the 2022 season began, many think the star outfielder could move on to another team. But, Swisher made it clear, he thinks Judge will be back ... and the Yankees will sweeten the pot by giving him the big deal and the captaincy.

"Here's what I think," Swish said. "I think he signs a monster deal; 7, 8-year deal, and guess what we do? We put that C on his chest and the Yankees fans -- it makes everybody happy."

As for a dollar figure on the contract, Swisher didn't have specific numbers for us there ... though he did say it wouldn't shock him if it were somewhere around the dollar figure of Mike Trout's annual $35 MILLION salary.

Swisher clearly doesn't think the new American League HR king will regret it, either ... telling us he thinks NY will do all it can to make sure he's surrounded by a good team.

Instant. Classic.

Logan Paul knew he was in for the fight of his life against Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel ... and even though he got an assist from his brother, Jake, he couldn't come away with the championship.

Logan proved once again he belonged in the ring on Saturday ... showing off his remarkable athleticism against the undisputed WWE Universal Champion in an incredibly entertaining fight.

Logan paid homage to WWE legend Eddie Guerrero -- as he did in his WrestleMania 38 match -- by hitting Reigns with a frog splash off the top rope through the announcer's table.

The craziest part ... he did it with a phone in his hand, recording the entire stunt -- talk about insane!!

Logan also showed Shawn Michaels some appreciation ... when he attempted to hit the WWE champ with The Heartbreak Kid's signature sweet chin music finisher -- though he was unsuccessful.

As we previously teased ... the "Problem Child" was in Saudi Arabia to watch his brother ahead of the biggest match of his life -- but also to look out for Logan in case he ran into any trouble against Reigns.

Well, that moment arose when the Usos -- a part of "The Bloodline" group with Roman -- started attacking Logan's entourage, who had been sitting ringside.

Jimmy and Jey Uso then started beating up Logan's buddies in the ring ... when suddenly, Jake hit the stage and walked down to the ring to confront the Usos while his "It's Everyday Bro" song blared through the speakers.

The undefeated 6-0 boxer got into the ring without hesitation and even dropped one of the undisputed tag team champs!!

Logan's performance had social media buzzin' ... his former boxing nemesis and Internet celebrity KSI was thoroughly pleased with the spectacle, tweeting, "What a match, bro."