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Qatar pulled out the big guns to open the 2022 World Cup ... hiring Morgan Freeman to share some words of wisdom and a BTS member to sing us toward kickoff.

The actor was on hand Sunday during the Opening Ceremony, where he performed in a rehearsed skit that sorta felt like something out of a Disneyland production ... with MF mic'd up and talking to a Qatari man who was a bilateral amputee from the waist down.

It's interesting ... their scripted convo certainly seemed to address the controversy over Qatar hosting in the first place because of outcry over their human rights record. Morgan asks the man if he's welcome there, seeing how they abide by different customs and practices.

The Qatari man assures him he is, and that Qatar by extension invites the entire world in hopes of gaining a better understanding of one another ... noting soccer brings them together.

Jungkook's performance was more straightforward and traditional ... he did a showstopping number of 'Dreamers' alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al Kubaisi, with a lot of dancers/ production value behind 'em, similar to how a lot of the WC opening ceremonies have been.

The home crowd was fired up from it all ... although their enthusiasm waned once their team took the pitch. Qatar lost 2-0 to Ecuador for the first match -- and it wasn't really close.

Brazilian jiujitsu coach Joaquim Valente is a hero in the BJJ community -- but it's got nothing to do with kimuras and omoplatas -- it's because ... GISELE!!

TMZ Sports ran into Rigan Machado, a well-known BJJ coach who counts Keanu Reeves and Ashton Kutcher amongst his celeb clientele, at Toast in Beverly Hills on Thursday, and we asked about Valente, the world's most high-profile martial artist.

"He's my hero! My hero now," Rigan joked.

Of course, Valente is currently with the former supermodel and her two kids, Ben and Vivian, in Costa Rica.

Our Gisele sources say Joaquim is there to act as a teacher for the kids while they're away ... he's acting as a sort of jiujitsu gym teacher.

But, many people aren't buying the explanation -- despite people close to Bündchen adamantly denying there's anything romantic going on -- the rumors have persisted.

Joaquim and Gisele have known each other for over a year ... and even appeared in a magazine spread together.

Heads up, Jimmy and Jey Uso ... Logan Paul tells TMZ Sports if his little bro, Jake Paul, joined him full-time in the WWE -- the two would make for an unstoppable tag team!!!

Logan told us out at LAX this week that the combo of the two Paul brothers in the squared circle would be so insane ... he doesn't think there'd be anybody who could possibly doubt their potential in the wrestling org.

"I think it'd be crazy, right?" the 27-year-old said. "I don't think that's deniable. That would be an amazing -- yeah, that would be incredible."

Despite only joining the WWE a few months ago, Logan has already proven himself to be a bonafide star ... going toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel earlier this month.

In fact, The Miz just told us this week that he was blown away by what he saw there ... calling Logan "incredible."

But, even though Jake made an appearance during Logan's big championship bout with Reigns -- he's yet to fully show if he's got the same ability as his big bro.

Clearly, Logan thinks he does.

As for Logan's career going forward, he told us he ain't done with boxing despite all the WWE success -- explaining if it weren't for an injury, he would be fighting again soon.

If Jay-Z can pull off a deal for the Commanders, Shannon Sharpe tells TMZ Sports it'd be HUGE for the NFL.

The Hall of Fame tight end broke it down for us at LAX earlier this month ... explaining having a guy like Hov in the Washington owner's box would do wonders for the league.

"It's a good look," Sharpe said. "It shows we're trying to diversify and we're trying to expand. And we're trying to do the right things."

It's unclear if Jay has formally put in an offer to Daniel Sndyer for the team -- but we do know he is interested in eventually submitting one with Jeff Bezos ... if the two haven't already.

The titans had a secret dinner in Los Angeles on Nov. 7 to discuss it all ... and it seems if Snyder is truly willing to part ways with the org., the duo wants it.

Sharpe told us he thinks it'd all be "great" -- adding that he hopes D.C. native Kevin Durant somehow finds a way to get involved too.

Louis Vuitton has done the impossible --- getting two soccer G.O.A.T.s to play nice off the pitch ... doing so with a nice and quiet classic board game.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are both featured in a new LV campaign that got posted/announced Saturday. It's a photo of the two of them playing chess on top of a Louis Vuitton suitcase ... using the signature squares as spaces for their pieces.

The company described the collab this way ... "Victory is a State of Mind." They add, "In addition to a long tradition of crafting trunks for the world’s most coveted sporting trophies, the Maison celebrates two of the most talented football players today."

The picture was shot by famed photographer Annie Leibovitz ... who's contributed to countless spreads like this. But, the Messi and Ronaldo one is perhaps more relevant than ever ... the 2022 World Cup is just one day away, with the first match scheduled Sunday.

Neither guy's teams -- Argentina and Portugal -- are playing until Tuesday and Thursday of next week, respectively, but it could prove to be their last WC appearances ever. LM has already said he's bowing out after this, and Ronaldo has also suggested he may retire soon.

Adele barely got through opening night of her Vegas residency ... repeatedly dissolving into tears, saying she was super scared to take the stage.

The Caesars Palace Colosseum was unsurprisingly packed Friday night, as Adele told the crowd she was "so scared and nervous."

As for why ... as you know, the residency was scrapped at the last minute in January after there were production disputes and COVID concerns. She took heat for the cancelation, and a reboot seemed uncertain.

Adele told the crowd, “I should be giving you a standing ovation. Thank you so much for coming back to me. I really appreciate it. You look amazing and it looks just what I imagined it would look like, it's perfect."

She went on ... "I'm so scared and nervous, but I am so happy. I don't know what I was thinking putting piano ballads at the top of the set ... hopefully over time my nerves will disappear. I would also really like to thank Caesars because there have been a lot of rumors and they never once asked any questions, they've been amazing."

Adele's man, Rich Paul, son Angelo, and good buddy James Corden were all front and center.

Post Malone is celebrating a new addition to his already impressive jewelry collection -- a blinding 23 carats worth of diamonds, and all that bling is just for the littlest finger of them all.

Guess his hand was feeling a little light, because sources close to Post tell TMZ ... he called up his pals at Angel City Jewelers to hook him up with a new piece for his pinky.

Angel City's owner, Isaac Bokhoor, came through with the goods while PM was making a recent tour stop in Las Vegas ... and unveiled the "Rockstar" sized ring ... which we're told set the singer back about half a million bucks!

For that kinda dough, ya better love it ... and Post clearly does. Check out his reaction right after getting it backstage -- you're looking at a 5-carat Emerald cut center stone, with another 5 carats of round diamonds on the side. There are 13 more 1-carat stones around the band.

Of course, the "White Iverson" is no stranger to getting blinged out by Isaac and co. -- remember, he was the master behind Post's $250k Dallas Cowboys chain.

He got it back in 2019, appropriately while he was in Dallas at AT&T Stadium. That one came with 3,000 stones, 9.7 carats of baguettes, 13.5 carats of sapphires and 8.7 carats of diamonds.

The World Cup is just a day away, and the biggest sporting event in the world is already mired in controversy -- much stemming from alleged human rights issues -- causing some to boycott the soccer tourney ... something Akon says makes no sense.

TMZ Sports ran into the rap star, a big soccer fan, at LAX on Wednesday -- just four days before the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off in Qatar -- and we asked him about fans who say they won't watch because of the controversy surrounding the host country.

"I don't understand the purpose of the boycott, me personally, I think everywhere you go in the world there's different cultures, different way of living, different life standards," Akon explained.

The 5x Grammy nominee went on to say he believes many of his fellow Americans who are calling for a boycott don't actually understand why they're refusing to watch.

"I think when you look at a place like America, we have a tendency of taking certain things for granted, and we got a tendency of following suit of things we don't understand. Instead of taking a trip there to understand the culture, understand what's going on, you're just going to follow suit cause everybody else says there's humanitarian issues."

FYI, Dua Lipa recently quelled speculation she'd perform in Qatar, saying she wouldn't go to the country until they "fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup." Rod Stewart also said he was offered a million dollars to perform, but he refused.

Of course, Qatar, a relatively small peninsular country with a population of under 3 million, has been accused of discriminating against people in the LGBTQ community. There are also reports of migrant workers dying while working under unsafe conditions in an effort to finish the WC facilities in the months before the tourney. Officials have also interfered with the press. These are just a few of the troubling allegations made against Qatar.

But, Akon sees it differently than the boycotters ... it's not that he's saying he agrees with Qatar, he's saying he recognizes that their culture is different.

"I think a lot of that is a cultural issue, a cultural difference. You know when you look at a place like Africa, Middle East, a lot of places, LGBTQ is not really a culture they came up under," Akon says.

"It's not a matter of dislike. It's just a different culture. know what I'm saying? it's just a matter of people better understanding each other's culture, understanding the reasons and the whys."

Akon believes we'd be a lot better off talking to the Qatari people and finding common ground, rather than ignoring them.

"How about going to explain your view from your position? Help them better understand. Know what I mean? Life is about communication. I think the moment people start jumping to conclusions and just take a position before understanding, things are always gonna be complicated."

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Taurean Prince is breathing easier heading into the holiday season ... TMZ Sports has learned he will not face charges stemming from his drug arrest.

According to court documents, a grand jury declined to charge him with possession of a controlled substance last week. Days later, prosecutors dismissed the gun charges he was facing related to the case as well.

Prince was initially pulled over by the Arlington Police Dept. in Texas back on May 19 ... after officers said he was driving with an expired registration. During the stop, cops say the basketball player told them he had two handguns in the car ... so officers asked him to get out of the vehicle.

During an effort to retrieve the guns from the car, cops say they found a vape pen ... and searched his ride further. They say they then found a canister with marijuana inside.

Following test results on the vape pen, cops obtained a warrant for Prince's arrest -- and in Miami in August, the 28-year-old was taken into custody over it.

"The charges were dropped because the search was clearly illegal," Prince's attorney, Kent Schaffer, told us in a statement on Friday. "On top of that, carrying a gun is legal in Texas, if not encouraged, and the amount of marijuana alleged to be in the vehicle was probably les than a usable quantity."

Giannis Antetokounmpo wanted to practice free throws after his Bucks squad lost to the 76ers ... and when several arena employees got in his way, he lost it, knocking over a 10+ tall ladder.

And the whole incident was captured on video by some fans who were still in the Wells Fargo Center Friday night in Philadelphia.

The Bucks lost to the Sixers, 110-102 ... and Giannis dropped 25 points. But, he was awful from the free throw line, shooting 4-for-15 (27%) from the charity stripe.

So, after the game, Antetokounmpo clearly wanted to work on his free throws. But, several employees (unclear if they're with the arena or team) were standing next to a large ladder, seemingly about to do something to the hoop.

Giannis walked up to the ladder and pushed it under the basket. A worker, appearing confused, moved the ladder back near its original spot. Antetokounmpo, clearly pissed, approached the ladder again, emphatically yelled something to the guy, and tossed the ladder, causing it to fall.

The video ends a few seconds later as GA is putting up a free throw.

Another video on social media appeared to show Sixers forward Montrezl Harrell's reaction to Giannis ... and he was hot.

Maluma isn't exactly kicking off the World Cup on a high note ... a reporter put him on the spot over his decision to perform -- as other artists boycott -- so, he stormed out of the interview.

The "Hawái" singer sat down for an interview Friday, two days before the start of the FIFA World Cup, with Israel's state-owned Kan TV and it quickly got heated when the interviewer asked Maluma about his thoughts on Qatar's human rights violations.

As we reported, Dua Lipa and Shakira both turned down gigs at the World Cup ... citing the country's human rights record.

Maluma teamed up with Nicki Minaj and Lebanese singer Myriam Fares for the official FIFA Fan Festival anthem ... and he was asked if he had a problem with Qatar's reputation.

Maluma dodged the first question with skill, saying he's performing because he enjoys life, music and soccer -- but when pressed for more than that, Maluma stood up, asked someone off camera if he needed to answer at all, then simply stormed off and called the reporter "rude."

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Maluma's performing at the World Cup strictly because, as he said, he loves the sport. We're told he was a soccer player growing up in Colombia and left the sport to become an artist, but it's been always been a dream of his to perform at a World Cup.

What's odd about Maluma's heated interview is ... the network reporter giving him a hard time for, in his words, "whitewashing" Qatar, is actually there in Qatar covering the World Cup and in doing so, publicizing it.

Dillon Danis -- a former Bellator fighter and Conor McGregor's good pal -- was punched in the eye during a wild altercation outside of a boxing event on Friday ... just minutes after he had a crazy run-in with KSI.

Here's the deal ... KSI and a bunch of other famed fighters and celeb boxers were at a hotel conference room in Austin, Texas for the weigh-ins for the YouTubers Misfits Series 3 event this weekend -- when Danis rolled up from the crowd to confront KSI.

Video shows the two traded verbal barbs -- and a flurry of threats -- before Danis knocked KSI's hat off his head and then threw a cup of cold coffee in his face.

KSI attempted to go after Danis -- but was held back. Danis, meanwhile, bolted from the area with his entourage and eventually made his way out of the hotel.

Once outside, though, former Bellator fighter Anthony Taylor yelled at Danis for going after KSI at the event ... and then repeatedly attempted to strike him.

Ultimately, Taylor threw a huge right hand that landed squarely on Danis' face.

Then all hell broke loose -- with seemingly everyone outside throwing punches. At one point, it appeared one member of Danis' entourage suffered a bloody lip from a blow to the mouth.

The fighting died down after several moments -- and peace was restored. Danis told a cameraman on the scene he was fine.

Of course, both Danis and Taylor are no strangers to these kinds of antics at fighting events. Danis was just involved in a tiff with Nate Diaz at UFC 281 ... while Taylor got into a street fight before a Floyd Mayweather celeb boxing event in Dubai earlier this month.

Nicki Minaj has no time for any 2022 World Cup controversies ... the Barbz rapper has been enlisted for "Tukoh Taka" the official FIFA Fan Festival anthem!!!

The song is a collaboration between Nicki, Colombian singer Maluma and Lebanese singer Myriam Fares and delivers lyrics in 3 different languages -- English, Spanish and Arabic to cater to the global soccer audience.

"Tukoh Taka" translates to "click clack" in Yankee talk and the 3 megastars all display their presence in the video.

Edgar Esteves and Juan Felipe Zuleta direct the high-octane visual ... which splices between cut scenes of fútbol highlights, Nicki gyrating on a school bus and Maluma and Myriam Fares performing in a green-screened desert.

World Cup action kicks off starting Sunday from Qatar ... but this year's event has many pundits raising eyebrows as festivities are underway.

Unlike Nicki, artists such as Dua Lipa and Shakira have refused to participate in Cup performances ... citing various alleged human rights infractions in the country.

FIFA also announced it's banning all alcohol sales in World Cup stadiums ahead of the opening games ... leaving many fans pissed.

The Washington Commanders will pay tribute to the three UVA football players who were tragically gunned down on campus last weekend ... by putting three stickers on their helmets for their game on Sunday.

The team just announced the homage ... revealing decals with the numbers 1, 15 and 41 -- the jersey digits of D'Sean Perry, Lavel Davis and Devin Chandler -- will be placed on the back of their players' headgear while the team attempts to get a win over the Houston Texans.

"Our hearts are with @UVAFootball and the UVA community affected by the tragedy," the team said in a tweet while unveiling the uniform honor.

The Commanders added the hashtags #UVAStrong and #FootballIsFamily.

Perry, Davis and Chandler were all killed on a bus on Sunday night after they had returned from a class field trip. Two others, including Cavaliers running back Mike Hollins, were injured in the shooting as well -- though they're both expected to survive.

Former UVA football player Juan Thornhill, a safety for the Chiefs, announced earlier this week he, too, will be paying tribute to the victims on NFL Sunday this weekend ... wearing a pair of custom cleats with homages to Perry, Davis and Chandler all over them.

Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing was arrested on Friday morning ... just hours after he helped his team beat the Packers on "Thursday Night Football," TMZ Sports has confirmed.

A police spokesperson tells us Downing was arrested by the Tennessee Highway Patrol in Williamson County, TN. on Friday morning ... and booked on charges of DUI and speeding.

Records show the 42-year-old bonded out of jail at around 6:46 AM.

Further details surrounding the arrest were not made immediately available.

Just prior to his arrest, Downing put on a great performance in Tennessee's 27-17 win over Green Bay at Lambeau Field. He dialed up several trick plays, and was partly responsible for a big night from quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who completed 22 of his 27 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns.

The Titans have yet to publicly comment on the arrest.

Alex Pereira says referee Marc Goddard definitely did NOT stop the Israel Adesanya fight early ... 'cause it was just a matter of time until Stylebender would've been unconscious on the Octagon canvas.

The newly crowned UFC Middleweight champion spoke for one of the first times since beating his rival, Izzy, at the main event of UFC 281 at Madison Square Garden.

Adesanya and his team have said they would've preferred the longtime MMA ref to allow the fight to continue ... despite admitting Israel was in a dire situation.

"Adesanya stop making excuses saying that the referee stopped the fight early… you have to thank him for saving your life. The way you were with your head down looking at the ground, I only needed one or two more hits to connect a good knee to your face so we wouldn’t know the outcome," Alex wrote on social media.

But, it wasn't only trash talk ... Pereira also complimented Adesanya.

"You were a great opponent and I respect you for that. Assume the mistakes along with your team without taking away my merits."

Of course, Adesanya was winning the fight on the judge's scorecards (3 rounds to 1) and even rocked Pereira on several occasions. However, during round 5, knowing he needed a knockout ... Alex landed a couple big punches which rocked Izzy. AP threw a flurry of shots, and Goddard stopped the fight ... with Adesanya just minutes from beating his rival, and retaining his belt.

As for who is next for the new champ, Alex says he will rematch Izzy.

"You will have one more chance! You’re next!"

After 281, Dana White was asked about making an immediate rematch ... and the UFC honcho was clearly very open to the idea.

Israel, still one of the most dangerous and beloved fighters in the world, wants his belt back ASAP!