TMZ Sports - Page 47

"Coward!"

That's Julianna Pena's reaction to Amanda Nunes' retiring inside the Octagon after UFC 289 ... walking away from the sport before the two UFC stars got a chance to fight for a third and deciding time.

The former bantamweight champ joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weeknights on FS1) ... where she viscerally reacted to Nunes' retirement.

"There's unfinished business and listen, the reality is that Amanda retired. She had a great career, but let's call a spade a spade. She's a coward. From the very beginning, the UFC told me that she didn't want to fight me and that's why it took so long for them to make the trilogy," Amanda told us.

Of course, 35-year-old Nunes easily handled Irene Aldana, scoring a decisive and unanimous 5-round decision Saturday night in Vancouver ... before she laid down her gloves in the center of the cage.

Remember, 33-year-old Pena defeated Nunes at UFC 269 in December 2021, in turn taking her bantamweight title. The women rematched at UFC 277 in July 2022 ... a fight Amanda won by unanimous decision (though, if you watch the video, the fight wasn't without controversy).

The Venezuelan Vixen and Lioness were supposed to settle their score once and for all at 289 ... but Julianna was forced to drop out after suffering a serious rib injury.

"We're 1-1, it's tied up and the fact that she walked away like this, it's unfortunate but personally, congratulations. Professionally, what the heck is that?"

Now, the expectation is Pena will fight Raquel Pennington or another top contender ... but, Amanda doesn't think Julianna will ever be champ again, and she said as much during her post-fight presser.

Pena believes Nunes is simply taking a shot at her.

"[Amanda] knows what can happen. She knows that she lost her belt to me and she knows that I'm a threat. She's gonna do everything and anything that she can to discredit me to say that I'm not good or that I'm never gonna be champion."

Julianna says she's not been left to "carry the whole division" by herself ... and she doesn't plan to sit around and dream about what a trilogy could've been like. It's onward and upward for the former champ.

"At this point, [Amanda's] dead to me. You retired, good, go, ride off into the sunset, have a good time. We gotta keep s*** pushing around here, so let's keep this division open and alive and things are gonna be exciting!"

But, with that said ... Pena did leave open the possibility for a future fight.

Floyd Mayweather and John Gotti III's exhibition match ended in complete chaos on Sunday night ... with multiple brawls breaking out after the two fighters got done with each other in the ring.

The scene at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla was absolute mayhem ... after Mayweather toyed with Gotti III for several rounds, the New York mob boss' grandson kicked off a melee by trying to go after the boxing legend.

You can see in video filmed by bystanders in the arena, after Gotti III was disqualified for holding in the sixth round, he attempted to still throw punches at Mayweather ... which led to several people jumping into the ring to protect the 50-0 boxer.

More than a dozen people got involved ... and while most of the scuffle featured pushing and shoving -- several punches were thrown.

Mayweather did not appear to be involved in any of the mayhem -- he was seen retreating to his corner away from all the action -- but the fracas lasted several minutes nonetheless.

Eventually, order was restored in the ring ... but that didn't stop some from misbehaving throughout the arena regardless.

As people were making their way back into the locker room area ... some were seen still going after each other -- with more punches being thrown.

Things didn't look much better in the bowels of the venue as well ... as "Love & Hip Hop" star Joseline Hernandez beat up Big Lex in a wild fight.

At some point, however, cooler heads finally prevailed ... and our sources say Mayweather actually took the time out to smooth things over with Gotti III.

We're told TBE and two others from his camp met with the boxer and chatted things over ... and there's now talks for the two to potentially rematch down the line.

Travis Scott's "Utopia" album recently founds its way into the mix of his new Nike campaign, revamping the Nike Mac Attack kicks worn by John McEnroe during his fiery heyday.

The two longtime Nike ambassadors appeared in a new TV spot Monday to preview the Mac Attacks in their OG colorways of Light Smoke Grey/Black-White. In the accompanying photo shoot, the patented briefcase containing the master copy of "Utopia" can also be spotted.

John's been down with Nike before Travis was actually born ... but Travis has loads of Cactus Jack merch collabs underneath the Swoosh umbrella, so their ties with the brand are both deep-rooted at this point.

In what has made a tragic death even harder to handle, gold medalist track star Tori Bowie was pregnant and in labor at the time she died ... TMZ has learned.

According to the coroner's report, obtained by TMZ, 32-year-old Bowie was found dead in bed at her Florida home on May 2. The report states she died from complications of childbirth, was about 8 months pregnant and "undergoing labor" when she passed.

TMZ broke the story -- Bowie's loved ones became concerned after they'd gone several days without hearing from her and called cops to do a welfare check on the young athlete. When deputies from the Orange County Sheriff's Office entered her home, they found Tori deceased.

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, Tori won three medals ... including one gold as a member of the women's 4x100 meter relay team, a silver in the 100-meter dash and bronze in the 200-meter dash.

In 2017, Tori was declared the world's fastest woman -- winning the 100-meter dash at the 2017 IAAF World Championships in London with a blistering time of 10.85 seconds.

At the time of her death, Tori's management team told us, "We've lost a client, dear friend, daughter and sister," the sports agency said. "Tori was a champion … a beacon of light that shined so bright! We're truly heartbroken and our prayers are with the family and friends."

Olivia Dunne is taking a break from rizzing up Baby Gronk to enjoy a summer getaway this week ... and she's spending her downtime lounging around on a yacht in Italy!!

The 20-year-old LSU gymnast/social media superstar shared some snaps from her island vacation in Capri on Monday ... and it looks like she's having the time of her life as she catches some rays in a black bikini.

"Ms. Worldwide," Livvy captioned the post ... which has already racked up 100,000 likes and a ton of comments.

Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover model Brooks Nader was one of the many complimentary reactions ... giving a simple "Yes," under the post.

Fellow influencer/athlete Hanna Cavinder added her own praise ... saying, "glowing."

Of course, Livvy is wildly popular already ... but she was trending all last week after a series of TikToks poked fun at a video she made with 10-year-old Madden San Miguel on LSU's campus earlier this year.

Dunne is a natural in front of the camera -- she's featured in this year's S.I. Swim issue ... and is no stranger to posting about her life to her millions of followers.

On top of her social media fame, she's a damn good athlete for the Tigers ... but unfortunately, she battled several injuries this past season.

Usain Bolt's speed certainly isn't limited to the track ... 'cause the Jamaican sprinter flew past his opponents to score an impressive goal in a charity soccer match on Sunday!!

The 8-time Olympic gold medalist ditched his running spikes for some cleats at the Soccer Aid for UNICEF event ... and he wasn't just there to show face -- he balled out!!

Bolt -- fittingly rocking a No. 9.58 jersey to represent his world-record 100-meter dash time -- broke things open 23 minutes into the competition ... zooming past the last line of defense to put the ball in the back of the net for team World XI.

The best part of the highlight came when Bolt celebrated the goal -- first, he did English soccer star Marcus Rashford's signature move ... before switching up to his famous "To Di World" point alongside former French pro Patrice Evra.

Bolt's teammate Tommy Fury was the first to run up and congratulate him ... and it was smooth sailing for their squad the rest of the match, thanks to Robbie Keane's pair of goals.

Former One Direction member Liam Payne wasn't all upset about England's 4-2 loss to World XI ... considering the game raised more than $14 MILLION for the humanitarian organization.

Bolt previously flirted with the idea of playing soccer in the States -- remember, he told us back in 2018 he'd listen to offers from MLS teams if they came with the money.

Wilt Chamberlain was arguably the most dominant basketball player to ever grace the hardwood ... and now the uniform worn by "The Big Dipper" for around 50 games during his '59-'60 rookie season is available at auction, and is expected to sell for millions!

The white Philadelphia Warriors home jersey features "PHILA" on the front and Wilt's iconic #13 on the back, both in red tackle twill. The jersey contains what appears to be a blood stain. The white shorts have a thick blue waistband and are trimmed in red and gold.

Both jersey and shorts are on the auction block at SCP Auctions ... where they already have a bid of $1.37 million.

The uniform was worn for nearly every home regular season and playoff game (approximately 50 games) during the season, according to SCP, who had the uni photo matched by MeiGray, MEARS, and Sports Investors Authentication (SIA).

Of the games Wilt wore the jersey and shorts, he rocked them during his 47-point and 36-rebound performance against the Boston Celtics on January 2, 1960. He also wore them three days later against the Minneapolis Lakers (they moved to L.A. the following year) when he dropped 52 points and 20 rebounds in a win.

7'1" Chamberlain, one of the greatest athletes ever, also wore the jersey when his squad lost in 6 games to the Celtics in the Eastern Division Finals playoff series.

Of course, despite how dominant he was, it was just Wilt's rookie season. Still, he won the first of his 4 league MVPs and averaged an unprecedented 37.6 points and 27 rebounds a game, both NBA records. He also won Rookie of the Year in the most anti-climatic ROY vote to ever take place.

Chamberlain entered the NBA in 1959, signing with the Philly Warriors, after starring for three seasons at the University of Kansas (where he looked like a man amongst children) and one with the Harlem Globetrotters.

WC went on to play for 14 seasons, averaging over 30 points and nearly 23 rebounds. He was a 13x All-Star, 11 rebounding champ, and 7x scoring champ. Wilt scored 100 points in 1962, a record, along with 71 other records, still stands in the NBA record books.

The uniform auction ends on the evening of June 17.

Past game-worn jerseys have sold for huge prices. Take the jersey Michael Jordan wore for game 1 of the 1998 NBA Finals which sold for $10.1 million in September 2022. Just a few months ago in February, a Kobe Bryant game-worn jersey from his lone MVP season sold for nearly $6 million.

The Wilt jersey and shorts, the holy grail of vintage basketball uniforms, according to experts, could be in the same neighborhood.

Cam'ron is telling Ja Morant he's seen hoop dreams deflate ... and doesn't want the embattled NBA superstar to flush his career for being too in love with the streets.

The Diplomats founder was once a top basketball prospect coming outta Harlem in the mid-1990s ... but didn't take his academics seriously and saw his career fizzle after tearing his hamstring at junior college in Texas.

Cam'ron shared pics of his basketball playing days throwing up a gang sign to show Ja how unfocused he was at the time, where he says he got kicked outta college for pistol-whipping someone.

The "Oh Boy" rapper says he's not glorifying his past actions and doesn't want Ja, who's currently awaiting NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's judgment after his latest gun-toting video, to make the same mistake.

Ja should probably listen to Cam, as he's had his own run-ins with NBA Commissioners in the past.

Cleveland Browns defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey is no longer facing an assault charge ... TMZ Sports has confirmed his criminal case has been dismissed.

According to court records, prosecutors dropped the charge on Friday ... after the 22-year-old completed a pretrial diversion program.

Winfrey was initially arrested back on April 10 ... after officials alleged he got physical during a dispute with a woman whom he was dating.

Authorities claimed in court documents Winfrey pulled the woman's hand, causing her injuries.

Despite the legal case, Winfrey has still been a participant in Browns' offseason workouts this month.

Floyd Mayweather might've been throwing jabs this weekend, but Joseline Hernandez was handing out haymakers backstage ... landing several on Big Lex.

The former "Love & Hip Hop" star -- dressed in light blue -- was on hand Sunday during FM's exhibition fight against John Gotti III in South Florida ... as were a ton of other Zeus Network-connected reality stars, like Big Lex for example.

Lex -- once featured on Joseline's own reality show, "Joseline's Cabaret" -- was on the receiving end of a brutal beatdown during the boxing match.

The video of her taking a whoopin' is going viral on social media right now ... and for good reason. You see Joseline holding Lex in a headlock while she wails on her -- which got so violent and tumultuous, it actually ended up leaving BL flailing and topless.

Clearly, Joseline got the better of Lex in the moment ... eventually, the women were separated. However, Joseline wasn't done using her fists -- she continued to throw punches at a bunch of different people in the vicinity (even men) ... and seemed to strike at random.

At one point, an unknown woman walking by all the commotion threw a drink in Joseline's direction ... and then got chased out of the building once JH realized where it came from.

It's unclear what precipitated the brawl -- but it obviously had Joseline in a wild state.

This wasn't the only chaos in the building that night ... another brouhaha broke out in the actual ring itself, not between the boxers -- but between their teams and management. Gotti was disqualified in the 6th for continuous holding ... and yet, he continued to battle.

Floyd's team jumped in to stop him themselves ... and that spurred an all-out rumble. Safe to say the antics made it one of the craziest sporting events anyone's seen in quite a while.

Former Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Akeem Hebron passed away unexpectedly over the weekend, the football program confirmed. He was only 34 years old.

"Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of a beloved member of the Bulldog family, Akeem Hebron," the Bulldogs tweeted on Sunday.

"His dedication to Georgia Football will always be remembered. We send our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time."

Details surrounding the death are currently unclear.

Fans swarmed the Bulldogs' social media comment sections to mourn Hebron's death ... with one person writing, "So sad to be taken at such a young age. Condolences to his family. RIP, he won’t be forgotten by the Dawg Nation."

The Maryland native committed to the Bulldogs over Michigan, Ohio State, and Oklahoma in 2006. He logged 10 tackles and one sack during his career.

Of course, it's more tragic news for Georgia in what has been a devastating year. Offensive lineman Devin Willock and staffer Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car accident after their NCAA championship parade in January.

UGA star Jalen Carter, who was drafted by the Eagles in April, was allegedly racing LeCroy before the fatal crash and was sentenced to probation after making a deal with prosecutors.

Khloe Kardashian wasn't messing around when her son was born, giving him the Kardashian last name instead of Tristan Thompson's ... but later had a change of heart.

Sources with direct knowledge tell us Tatum Thompson -- as he's now known -- was initially legally a Kardashian. Our sources say Tatum also wasn't his first name, though we're not sure what first name Khloe originally chose for the kiddo.

Eventually, our sources say Khloe decided to drop the Kardashian name for Thompson, and that's now Tatum's legal name moving forward.

As for why Khloe may have made the initial decision to leave Tristan out of things -- it seems pretty clear ... as we reported, Tristan got another woman, Maralee Nichols, pregnant after Khloe and Tristan had decided to go ahead with a surrogate to carry Tatum.

TMZ broke the story about the surrogacy in July of 2022, just a couple months after it was discovered Tristan had gotten Nichols pregnant. It was about a month later when Tatum was born, so you gotta imagine there was still a lot for Khloe and Tristan to figure out ... making it totally understandable Khloe wanted her son to have her last name.

Obviously, things have gotten better since that time, and it's almost certainly the reason Khloe decided to change Tatum's legal name to include Thompson.

As we've reported on multiple occasions, Khloe and Tristan are incredible co-parents ... hitting events together with their daughter True all the time. We were the first to report both Khloe and Tristan were at True's pre-K graduation last week ... along with exes Kylie and Travis Scott and family foe Blac Chyna.

With plenty of milestones and significant happenings for their son for the next several decades, it's nice to see Khloe and TT on the same page.

A security guard was left saying "sorrey" after the Canadian Open on Sunday ... when he mistakenly LAID OUT a PGA Tour golfer who ran onto the green to celebrate his buddy's big victory!!

The wild moment went down shortly after Nick Taylor nailed a 72-foot eagle putt to win the tournament on the fourth playoff hole in Toronto ... which made him the first Canada native to win the event in more than half a century.

Adam Hadwin -- who finished tied for 12th place in the same tourney -- was super stoked for his fellow Canadian's historic win ... so he grabbed a bottle of champagne and sprayed it as he darted toward Taylor.

But one security guard went into protective mode before Hadwin could even get near the big winner ... 'cause he rushed over and put the pro's ass on the grass!!

A group of people darted over to check on Hadwin right after the brutal hit ... but thankfully, he wasn't injured. Taylor looked upset over it all ... yelling as he watched his friend get laid out.

Hadwin has been a good sport about it all, though ... cracking jokes and having a playful interaction with Carolina Panthers receiver Adam Thielen.

Hadwin's wife, Jessica, also laughed off the situation ... saying, "I'm thrilled to report that @ahadwingolf is still among the land of the living and in true Canadian form, apologized to the security guard for being tackled."

Ever dream of seeing an NFL great go up against a UFC legend/WWE Superstar in a fight??

Consider your wish granted ... 'cause Marshawn Lynch challenged Ronda Rousey to a wrestling match on the latest episode of Fox's new celebrity reality show, "Stars On Mars" -- and by the looks of it, things got intense!!

The wild moment went down when the crew members found out they're in need of a new base commander ... and Beast Mode, the self-appointed leader of the bunch, decided he's not giving up his role without a fight. Literally.

"You know what? I'mma make this simple," the Super Bowl champ said as he made his way to an open area ... making it clear he was prepping for a throw-down.

"Yeah, I throw hands, baby," he added.

But, bad news struck for the former Seattle Seahawk ... 'cause the former UFC champ volunteered to be his opponent.

"You wanna fight for base commander? All right!!" Ronda said as she made her way to the makeshift fight arena.

So, who wins?? We won't know until the whole episode airs at 8 PM ... but some contestants were certain Ronda was gonna come out on top.

Tom Brady may just have to consider coming out of retirement after all, 'cause the dude's still got a great arm and precise accuracy ... just ask MrBeast, he can tell you all about it.

The mega-viral YouTuber recently posted a new video where he's delving into the different levels of luxury yacht life ... and at one point in his adventure, he runs into TB12 -- who, as we know, has been enjoying life on the high seas of late as he basks in his post-NFL career.

MrBeast gets Tom to agree to a challenge ... try and knock down his drone -- which is hovering in the air at eye level several yards away -- with nothing but a football toss.

Tom actually doesn't think he can do it, but then jokes ... if he gets it in one try, he might have to think about un-retiring. Welp, he's got something to mull over now -- not only did he do it, but he completed another challenge right after that was equally impressive.

Watch for yourself ... the G.O.A.T. has some gas in the tank and then some, it seems. Dude was out there doing Globetrotter trick shots from a freakin' boat -- and it's impressive.

A couple takeaways from this ... one, Tom is absolutely reveling in his retirement, which you can see in the clip.

His daughter is there for this whole drone-yacht game, and he's palling around with her throughout all of it. So, he's getting that QT he's been seeking lately.

Also, he clearly still has a competitive edge. Makes ya wonder what's really next for him. 🤔

Donald Trump thought he could use Matt Damon's voice to help raise some dough for his campaign, but the famous actor and his buddy Ben Affleck aren't gonna let it fly.

Trump pushed out a fundraising video on Truth Social last week which was almost entirely centered around a monologue from Damon's character in the film "Air." Among some of the lines from Damon, “Money can buy you almost anything, but it can’t buy you immortality."

Turns out, Trump didn't have permission to use the Damon audio, and Artists Equity, the company co-founded by Damon and Affleck that produced "Air" didn't hold back.

AE released a statement, saying, "We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from Air being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement or for any other use.”

The statement continues, “Specifically in terms of any & all rights available to us under U.S. copyright and intellectual property law, we hereby, expressly give notice that in the case of any use of material from Air by the Trump campaign where approval or consent is required, we do not grant such consent.”

"Air" is a film about the rise of Nike, and highlights the company's pursuit of Michael Jordan in what became the biggest footwear deal of all-time. Damon plays Nike exec Sonny Vaccaro.

Of course, it's not the first time Trump's gotten in trouble for using material he didn't get permission for in promoting himself ... he's gotten hammered for using songs like "Hallelujah," Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" and Tom Petty's "I Wont' Back Down."

Most recently, he was scolded for using the song and image of The Village People's "Macho Man" during an event at Mar-a-Lago.