TMZ Sports - Page 41

Francis Ngannou is a combat free agent no more -- the former UFC champion has signed with the Professional Fighters League ... and he's getting a seat at the table.

The promotion announced the major news on Tuesday ... saying not only will Ngannou compete in its super fight division starting in mid-2024, but he will also join the PFL Global Advisory Board and represent fellow athletes as it focuses on a "fighters-first mission."

On top of that, "The Predator" will become an equity owner and chairman of PFL's expansion in Africa.

The 36-year-old heavyweight superstar follows Jake Paul, who joined PFL in January. The Problem Child is clearly happy with Ngannou coming on board ... posting a vid welcoming him to the promotion.

Ngannou spoke about the move ... saying, "I am very excited for this game-changing partnership with the Professional Fighters League to continue my MMA fighting career in the PFL’s PPV Super Fight Division."

"I believe in the PFL’s 'fighter first' culture and global vision including developing the sport in Africa. With that, I am also proud to announce that I will serve as Chairman of PFL Africa which will be the leading MMA organization on the continent providing great African fighters the opportunity to compete on a global platform."

It's a huge get for PFL ... as Ngannou has earned a 17-3 record over the course of his career, with big wins over Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez and Ciryl Gane. He became the UFC heavyweight champ in March 2021 ... and defended his title until his contract expired.

Ian Garry, soon to be the #15 ranked welterweight, isn't rushing his way to the top ... "The Future" tells us he has a plan laid out, and it starts with fighting a guy he believes is the gatekeeper to the top 10!

25-year-old Garry defeated Daniel Rodriguez inside 3 minutes (it's the first time D-Rod's been finished with strikes) on UFC on ABC 4 ... and joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) where he talked about his next moves.

"Yeah, [Neil Magny is] still the guy I want for so many reasons," Garry said. "I believe that everybody knows who Magny is. Everybody knows how game a fighter Magny is."

Garry admits Magny (27-10) may not have the best record ... but he's a guy who can expose you if you aren't prepared.

"If there's a guy in the division before you enter that top 10 that you wanna test yourself against and see if you're legit, it's Neil Magny."

As it stands, "The Future" is a perfect 12-0 ... in a sport where unbeaten records are a rarity. And, the zero is something that Ian says means a lot to him.

"To be able to sit there and say no one ever cracked the code, to be able to sit there and say no one was able to decipher the game that I bring to the table, absolutely. 100%," he said.

Despite the immense success so early in his career, Garry isn't resting on his laurels. In fact, he says he's planned a trip to Brazil where he'll work on jiujitsu ... as well as a voyage all the way to New Zealand, where he's going to train with middleweight champ Israel Adesanya.

"Don't tell me that if I'm training with Adesanya, that I can't pick up one or two little details that are gonna help elevate my game," Garry said.

"Traveling and learning and growing and becoming better is inevitably more important to me right now than hunting for the title right now, because when I decide to make that title run, I'm gonna succeed and nobody's gonna be able to take me off that."

Perhaps the coolest part of the win for Ian was his idol Conor McGregor's reaction to the one-sided victory ... when Notorious tweeted, "When you call your shot and hit it, that’s special. The Shot Caller Club has a new entry, Ireland’s Ian 'The Future' Garry! #NotAScratch."

Garry was loving it ... saying, "I'm like a f***ing kid in a candy store when I see that guy post stuff on Twitter," Garry said. "He's also f***ing hilarious."

Damar Hamlin was just handed one of the NFL's highest honors -- the Bills safety has been named the George Halas Award winner for his perseverance after suffering cardiac arrest during a game.

The league made the announcement on Monday ... saying the 25-year-old is the NFLer who overcame the most adversity to succeed in 2023.

Damar experienced commotio cordis after making a tackle during a Monday Night Football game against the Bengals in January ... requiring immediate CPR and being rushed to the hospital.

Despite his medical emergency, Hamlin has been fully cleared to play in the NFL again ... and has been using his story to influence change throughout the country ahead of next season.

In March, Hamlin visited Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where he urged lawmakers to put more AEDs in schools nationwide.

Hamlin -- who started a campaign to spread CPR awareness and training with the American Heart Association -- also met with President Joe Biden during the trip ... with the two sides having a conversation about the cause.

Tom Brady's now got some company in the underwear thirst trap game ... Conor McGregor just shared a snap of him in nothing but his tiny briefs just like the G.O.A.T. -- and he looks gooooood!!!!

The 34-year-old UFC star posted the pic on his Instagram page on Monday afternoon ... showing off his ripped body in some small undies.

In the photo, Conor can be seen laying out catching some rays ... all while his muscles -- and more -- were on full display.

McGregor seemed to be trying to draw the attention toward his Forged Irish Stout beer with the post -- as he had a can of it in his left hand. Conor also captioned the pic, "🌞 @forgedirishstout."

Fans loved it all ... with one commenter saying they wanted the 22-6 fighter to start an OnlyFans page.

Of course, McGregor is far from the only athlete to showcase his body sans pants and shirt ... Cristiano Ronaldo does it all the time, as did Brady in the days following his retirement back in February.

Josh Allen can drop dimes and apparently hit bombs too ... the Buffalo Bills star quarterback swung by Blue Jays batting practice on Monday -- and swatted several dingers!!!

The 26-year-old signal-caller was in Toronto to cheer on the Jays as they get set to begin a series with the Yankees ... and the MLB team allowed him to step in the batter's box for a few hacks -- and he put on a show.

According to reporters on the scene, Allen hit multiple balls over the fences at Rogers Centre ... with some even landing in the stadium's second deck!!

Check out his swing ... the dude can clearly rake.

Of course, we shouldn't be too surprised by this ... 'cause just a couple days ago, he blasted several balls to the moon during a charity softball game.

But, get this ... he said after stepping into the cage on Monday that he wasn't even the most impressive Bill with a bat.

Allen said that honor actually belonged to backup QB Matt Barkley, who he says hit five "deep shots" during the workout.

WWE Hall of Famer "Superstar" Billy Graham -- known for his prowess as a bodybuilder and wrestler -- is on life support ... and his family says his situation is dire.

Graham's wife, Valerie, shared an update on her husband's status Monday ... saying, "Please urgent prayers needed for my husband. The doctors wanted to remove him from life support tonight. I refused."

"He’s a fighter and his will is strong even if his body isn’t. God is our hope."

According to a GoFundMe page for the WWE legend, the 79-year-old is dealing with a "myriad of very serious health issues" and has been in the ICU for over three weeks.

The once iconic bodybuilder is suffering from a significant infection in his ears and skull, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and hearing loss. His family said he's also recently lost 45 pounds.

Born Eldrige Wayne Coleman, Graham rose to prominence wrestling for American Wrestling Association and later the World Wrestling Federation.

In 2004, WWE inducted Graham -- who mentored the likes of Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Scott Steiner, and Ric Flair -- into its Hall of Fame.

Graham's family is asking people to donate to his GoFundMe ... as medical bills for the former champ continue to mount.

Chris Claybrooks' domestic assault case has been dropped ... TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court records, prosecutors dismissed the two misdemeanor charges against the Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back on Monday morning.

It's unclear why -- we've reached out to the Davidson County District Attorney's office and Claybrooks' lawyer for comment ... but so far, no word back yet.

Claybrooks was initially hit with one count of domestic assault with bodily injury and one count of vandalism under $1,000 after authorities claimed he got into a dispute with a woman in a movie theater parking lot in Nashville on April 14.

During the alleged incident, prosecutors said Claybrooks grabbed the woman's phone from her hand and destroyed it. Authorities added in court documents that the altercation resulted in bruises and abrasions on the woman's hand.

TMZ Sports spoke with Claybrooks about the alleged incident ... and he's adamant he never put his hands on the woman.

Claybrooks says she showed up at the movie theater with a wig on and confronted him about money ... and he only threw her phone after he feared for his son's safety.

At the time, the Jaguars said in a statement they were aware of the allegations and were in "the process of gathering information."

Joe Fournier is officially appealing his loss to KSI ... just two days after the YouTube star scored an (albeit controversial) knockout victory over the English businessman/boxer, the Professional Boxing Association announced Monday.

The PBA confirmed it received a request from Fournier to review/appeal Saturday night's decision at London's Wembley Arena ... a fight he lost by second-round knockout. However, Fournier says he was put down by an illegal strike, an elbow, not a punch ... and therefore he shouldn't have lost the fight.

Now, representatives for Fournier and KSI will have an opportunity to go before the PBA and state their cases as to why the result should or should not be changed after the fact.

Moments before KSI's elbow came into play, he landed a looping right on Fournier's ear, a punch that appeared to wobble JF. Then, just seconds later, 29-year-old KSI sent Joe crashing to the floor.

Question is, was the strike legal? Fournier believes no.

After the fight, KSI tweeted that the outcome was inevitable, but he did acknowledge there was "unintentional contact made with his forearm" during the contest.

Martha Stewart is proving age ain't nothin' but a number ... 'cause the 81-year-old entrepreneur is gracing the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue this year -- making her the oldest model to ever get the honor!!

S.I. revealed the special cover on Monday ... showing the best-selling author and TV personality wearing a white one-piece halter bathing suit in the Dominican Republic.

Stewart explained her decision to pose for the famous mag ... saying, "When I heard that I was going to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, I thought, 'Oh, that’s pretty good, I’m going to be the oldest person I think ever on a cover of Sports Illustrated,'" Stewart said.

"And I don’t think about age very much, but I thought that this is kind of historic."

Stewart -- who turns 82 in August -- added she wanted to do the SI Swimsuit issue to prove you can look and feel good at any age.

"Age is not the determining factor in terms of friendship or in terms of success, but what people do, how people think, how people act, that’s what’s important and not your age," Martha said.

Stewart was one of four women picked to appear on the cover -- Megan Fox, Kim Petras and SI Swimsuit veteran Brooks Nader also got the nod.

FYI, this isn't Stewart's first modeling gig ... she modeled back in her teenage years for several companies, including Chanel.

Terrifying moment for ex-NBA star Jeremy Lin on Sunday ... he suffered a head injury during a basketball game that was so scary, he actually appeared to be unconscious for several moments on the floor.

The former NY Knicks point guard -- who now competes for the Kaohsiung 17LIVE Steelers in Taiwan's P. League+ -- was playing against the Formosa Taishin Dreamers at the Fengshan Arena ... when he caught an inadvertent elbow to the face.

The blow caused him to lose his balance -- and when he came crashing to the floor, his head smacked against the hardwood.

You can see in replays of the incident, the 34-year-old's body seemed to have a fencing response to the injury ... and trainers raced over quickly to make sure he was all right.

Eventually, Lin got up on his feet -- but the footage shows he was woozy ... and bleeding from his nose and mouth area.

According to South China Morning Post, Lin was taken to the hospital for evaluation -- but, thankfully, he was able to return to the arena a short time later to cheer on his teammates. The outlet reported he was diagnosed with "symptoms of concussion."

Later Sunday, Lin released a statement on Twitter saying he'd be OK.

"LOVE to the best teammates, coaches, staff, and fans. Ty for everyone's wishes, I'll be back healthy soon," Lin wrote. "We fought til the end, we hold our heads high, we absolutely did not fail! I'll never forget this season. All glory to God! From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

As for the game, Lin's Steelers missed out on the final playoff spot after losing to the Dreamers, 92-89. Lin said afterward he was not sure if he would return for another season.

"It is a year-by-year decision," he said. "I shall discuss it with my family and friends."

A fisherman in Hawaii just had a real-life "Jaws" moment ... after a massive shark attacked him while kayaking in the ocean, and the entire death-defying encounter was caught on video!

It all happened on Friday, May 12 ... Scott Haraguchi was out fishing near the Kualoa shore in Honolulu, Hawaii. After catching a fish, he forgot to turn off his GoPro ... and it's a good thing he did.

Just a few minutes later, everything seems normal until all of a sudden, a tiger shark attacked his kayak, biting the boat for about 2 seconds, as Haraguchi screamed in fear.

Thankfully, Scott was able to kick the shark off.

Haraguchi, of course, was freaked out, and went on to warn nearby fishermen ... telling KITV he initially thought it was a turtle.

"I heard a whooshing sound that sounded like a boat heading towards me without the motor and I looked up and I saw this big brown thing," Haraguchi said.

"My brain thought it was a turtle but then I got slammed by it and realized that it was a tiger shark."

Haraguchi also said he's lucky to be alive and is concerned about the several shark sightings in the area, including a 20-foot shark the day after his incident.

"I realize that life is short, time is short on Earth, so make the most of it."

Stay safe!! 🦈

Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny's relationship just hit a new milestone -- they hit up a big birthday event together, and they did so ... in matching outfits, no less.

The lovebirds strolled into Giorgio Baldi Sunday night in Santa Monica, and both of them just happened to pull head-to-toe black leather out of their closets. Hell of a coincidence, right?!?

We're told they were there for a birthday bash for Travis Bennett -- AKA Yung Taco -- and Tyler, The Creator was also in the building.

When all 3 left the restaurant, they went next door to Shorebar ... with Tyler carrying a cake for Travis with what appears to be some clever candle placement!

Kendall, BB, and Tyler spent a good chunk of time next door before calling it a night -- and it looks like the place was packed with celebs, like Winnie Harlow and her BF Kyle Kuzma, as well as Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire.

As you know, KJ and BB have been spending a ton of time together ... from gettin' close at Coachella to riding horses, they've been checking off all the relationship clichés as of late.

Several Cleveland Guardians fans got into a crazy brawl at a game over the weekend ... and things got so wild during the melee, a man actually appeared to hit a woman.

The fight happened at some point during the Guards vs. Angels tilt on Saturday at Progressive Field ... when some fans got into a tiff with a man who was sitting in a row in front of them.

In video from the scene, you can see that during their argument ... a woman in a Guardians jersey seemed to spit at the guy.

That apparently set the man off -- 'cause the footage shows he then took two swipes at the woman's face ... before the guy holding nachos tried to break things up with some punches.

The two were seen trading blows for several moments ... before they took things to the ground. More punches then ensued.

It's unclear how things were ultimately broken up and if any arrests were made -- we reached out to cops for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

As for the game, the Guardians ended up beating L.A., 8-6, despite their fans' wild actions in the stands.

Doyle Brunson, best known as "The Godfather of Poker" and one of the most dominant figures in the game, has died.

Brunson passed away Sunday, according to his agent, Brian Balsbaugh. His cause of death was not disclosed.

Balsbaugh posted a statement to Twitter from Brunson's family ... "It is with a heavy heart we announce the passing of our father, Doyle Brunson. He was a beloved Christian man, husband, father and grandfather."

The message continued, "We’ll have more to say over the coming days as we honor his legacy. Please keep Doyle and our family in your prayers. May he rest in peace."

Brunson was affectionately named 'Texas Dolly' after the press misinterpreted a similar nickname, but the label stuck. With his unique moniker, Brunson won 10 World Series of Poker tournaments, second only to Phil Hellmuth's 16 victories.

The Texas-born, cards competing icon also secured back-to-back world championships -- in 1976 and 1977 -- and was later inducted into the 1988 Poker Hall of Fame.

Brunson was the first player to ever win $1 million in poker tournaments, earning him the “Godfather” title. He also penned a popular book called, "Super System," which detailed poker strategies and was instrumental in luring people to the game.

At his last poker championship in 2016, Brunson came in sixth, but his poor performance did not stain his reputation as arguably the best player ever.

His influence even touched those beyond the poker world. Actor James Woods tweeted in part, "This one is a heartbreaker. Doyle Brunson, the greatest poker player who ever lived, has cashed in his chips. A gentleman and a genuine legend."

Brunson was 89.

If Conor McGregor would ever throw down in a ring without gloves ... BKFC star Houston Alexander tells TMZ Sports the dude would be a problem!!!

Alexander -- a former UFC and Bellator fighter who's been brawling professionally without mitts since 2021 -- says Conor is so skilled with his hands ... he thinks there'd be no issues for The Notorious if he chose to eventually go from the UFC to the BKFC.

Of course, the topic came up because Conor sure appeared to be interested in making the switch after watching Mike Perry's BKFC fight against Luke Rockhold back on April 30.

You'll recall, McGregor stepped into the ring following the tilt ... and he seemed to be down to fight Perry without mitts at a future date.

Alexander clearly believes it'd be a great fight despite Conor's inexperience without gloves ... something that seems to be quite the compliment, considering Alexander doesn't feel that way about most MMA guys.

"If you've got MMA guys who just concentrate on just kicking or jiu-jitsu, please don't get in this type of sport," Alexander told us. "Because it's going to expose your boxing and you're going to get hurt."

As for Alexander's own fighting career ... the 51-year-old is still going strong -- he's got another big BKFC fight on May 19 against Jeremy Smith -- and he tells us he has absolutely zero desire to retire anytime soon.

Tom Brady isn't harboring any ill will on Mother's Day -- in fact, it's the opposite ... 'cause the guy's wishing his two exes/baby mamas a happy holiday, with photo evidence to boot.

The ex-QB threw up a post on Instagram Sunday to celebrate the mothers in his life -- including his ex-wife, Gisele Bundchen, and his ex-GF Bridget Moynahan ... who's the mother of his 15-year-old son, Jack. Gisele, of course, is the mother of his two younger kids.

He writes, "Happy Mothers Day to all these amazing women who have given our family so much throughout their lives. Thank you all for your love, compassion and kindness, and for setting such an amazing example for all of our little ones."

TB adds, "We are all so grateful for your support and helping us all achieve our dreams. I wish all the mothers in the world a special day with the people that love them the most."

Along with the caption, Tom added several family photos ... showing off both Gisele with their kids, as well as Bridget with their own. He also added pics of his own mom, Galynn, plus a ton of other family-friendly snapshots of the Brady bunch at large.

Now, as for who exactly Tom might be spending the actual holiday with in person ... it's anyone's guess. We haven't seen him anywhere near Gisele in public lately -- remember, they just got divorced a few months ago ... and she's been spending a lot of time in Costa Rica.

While they may not be hanging out a lot these days -- except, perhaps, for days like this -- the two superstars have spoken fondly of each other in the wake of the divorce ... and it seems like they're on decent terms.

As for Bridget, Tom's relationship with her ended years ago -- way back in the 2000s ... but they seem to have co-parented phenomenally since. Indeed, it's a very blended family.