TMZ Sports - Page 16

The bantamweights are anchoring UFC 292 Saturday night -- with Aljamain Sterling and rival "Suga" Sean O'Malley fighting -- and the greatest 135er of all-time is breaking down the matchup!

"You're looking at pure dominance in grappling as a specialist or a knockout artist in Sean O'Malley, so that's a fun fight," UFC legend Dominick Cruz told Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1).

"There's no way that this can't be fun!"

To make the fight even better, outside of the guy's incredible talents, there's also been a lot of trash talk.

"Especially because of the talking on the line. All the things O'Malley is saying, 'You're not gonna be able to hold me down. I'm gonna knock you down first,'" Dom explained.

"Well, now he has to prove that, we've all heard it. And Sterling has to prove he can get in there and not get knocked out. I mean they've all talked so much, that's what builds this thing. That's what makes this fun, and gets me excited about it."

Of course, 34-year-old Sterling is the champion, and 28-year-old O'Malley is the #2 contender, behind Merab Dvalishvili. Aljo and Suga have been talking trash to each other for years.

Sterling is in the midst of a 9-fight win streak and has beaten the likes of Henry Cejudo, Petr Yan, TJ Dillashaw and Cory Sandhagen. Some of the best fighters in the world.

Sean has only lost once in his career -- to Marlon "Chito" Vera in 2020 -- and last defeated Yan.

We also asked Dom about his future. He's injured, but not retired ... not at all. In fact, Cruz is still the 9th-ranked bantamweight and is eyeing another run at the belt once he gets healthy.

Oz Pearlman stunned Aaron Rodgers and the NY Jets on this week's episode of "Hard Knocks" ... but his mind-blowing performance didn't stop there, 'cause the mentalist hopped on TMZ Sports to prove his skills still work from thousands of miles away!

"Oz the Mentalist" joined Babcock on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (airs weekdays on FS1) and told him to think of an NFL player ... someone underrated who could have a big season (it's no fun if it's Patrick Mahomes).

FYI, there are 32 NFL teams ... and each active roster contains 53 players. That's nearly 1,700 guys.

Pearlman asked Babcock to write down the player's name ... which he did.

That's when Oz stunned us.

"I think the exciting moment is who gets the ball in the end zone. It's not who threw it to you," Oz said ...  "I think I got that. Not a tight end, wide receiver. The Giants, Darius Slayton is who you wrote down, isn't it!"

Sure enough ... Babcock -- who had never spoken to Oz prior to doing the interview -- had written "Darius Slayton"

We also talked to Pearlman about his trip to Florham Park, NJ ... where he performed for the 4x NFL MVP and the rest of Gang Green.

Drake debuting a new look -- while kicking it with Kevin Durant -- has the creator of FUBU thinking hard about his brand's place in hip hop history, as more and more young rappers discover it.

He was on the sidelines in L.A. this week to take in NBA open runs, while randomly rocking a shirt with the FUBU logo ... proudly repping one of the most dominant fashion houses ever within the culture.

Founder Daymond John tells TMZ Hip Hop ... seeing Drizzy in the FUBU tee certainly surprised him, but he says it's a testament to the foundation he and his partners carved out nearly 30 years ago.

For the record, the pink barrettes aren't FUBU ... but we guess they work with Drake's 'do, nonetheless.

Daymond also credited Megan Thee Stallion, SZA and Chris Brown for also keeping FUBU's name strong in the streets -- on the 50th anniversary of hip hop, at that!!!

Shareef O'Neal just dropped some great news ... telling TMZ Sports Bronny James is doing well following his health scare -- and all signs seem to indicate the medical emergency won't affect his basketball career "at all."

Shaq's son -- who famously battled his own heart problems in 2018 -- provided the positive update while out at LAX on Friday ... saying he's been in contact with his good pal and LeBron James' kid since the 18-year-old returned from the hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.

"He's good," O'Neal said.

As for the recovery process and how he anticipates all of it impacting Bronny's future goals on the hardwood ... Shareef said he believes the young James should be just fine moving forward.

"I don't think it'll affect anything," he said.

Of course, Shareef knows a thing or two about it all ... after he had open-heart surgery five years ago -- he went on to make a full recovery and returned to the court without issue.

It's still not yet known publicly what exactly caused Bronny's ailment or if it's even remotely similar to O'Neal's ... but we learned earlier this month he hit up doctors at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. to try to pinpoint the exact problem.

Wrestling star Cash Wheeler -- one-half of the AEW World Tag Team Champions -- was arrested on Friday and charged with a felony, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

According to online records, the 36-year-old was booked into an Orange County, Fla. jail at around midnight ... on a charge of aggravated assault with a firearm.

Further details of the allegations against Wheeler were not made immediately available ... though court records indicate the arrest stemmed from a July incident.

Wheeler joined the AEW in 2020 after a notable WWE career ... and has since become a fan favorite in the org. -- wrestling alongside his tag team partner, Dax Harwood.

The two won the tag team title together in April ... and had been slated to co-main event at AEW: All In London at Wembley Stadium in two weeks.

It's unclear if Friday's arrest will alter those plans ... the AEW said in a statement that it "has been made aware of the charge, and we are closely monitoring the situation."

The org. added Wheeler "is fully cooperating with local authorities."

NFL star Robert Quinn -- a former Dallas Cowboy -- was arrested in South Carolina on Friday, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

The 33-year-old pass rusher, who played for the Eagles and Bears last season, was booked in a Dorchester County jail at around 8 AM ... on hit and run and assault charges.

Attempts to reach police for comment on the arrest were unsuccessful.

According to WCSC-TV, however, Quinn has been accused of crashing into four cars, a light post and a gate ... and then leaving the scene during a wild incident in Summerville on Tuesday.

The outlet reports one witness told them the football player stopped to talk for a brief moment following the wreck before leaving ... but was "very belligerent."

"He kept saying, 'Oh, don't worry about it I'll buy you new cars, I'll buy you new cars, let's go to the dealership,'" the witness said. "I told him to get off my property and he proceeded to put his hands on me and slap me not once but twice."

Court records show Quinn has since been hit with seven total charges related to the incident.

Quinn -- a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft -- has long been considered one of the league's best sack masters, piling up 102 QB takedowns in 162 career games ... though he's currently a free agent after an underwhelming season in Chicago and Philadelphia last year.

IShowSpeed made his return to YouTube on Friday ... and the popular streamer got real about his infamous wardrobe malfunction -- begging his viewers to stop trolling him over the incident.

Speed was emotional as he got back in front of the camera -- initially going berserk on those incessantly calling him "IShowMeat" ... before calming down and speaking from the heart.

"This is truly an embarrassing f***ing moment for me," said Speed -- who has more than 19 million followers on the platform. "Lately these past days and hours, I've been suffering very mentally, bro. Genuinely, bro."

"At the end of the day, I'm still a human being, bro, and one of my worst fears that I never even wanted to happen."

"This depressing, bro," he added. "You guys don't know the feeling, bro, what I'm feeling right now."

Speed says his viewers can keep mocking him all they want ... but they're missing the bigger picture, as he has younger siblings who found out about the incident.

"Sometimes I ask why this s*** happen."

Despite Speed's pleas, his chat was flooded with steak emojis and other comments throughout his stream ... and at one point, he left the camera to compose himself.

As he tried to go about his gaming, Speed was bombarded with even more trolls as he got on Roblox ... and while some people had encouraging words, he explained there's no one who has been through the same thing.

TMZ Sports broke the story -- Speed was NOT banned from YouTube following the incident ... as the platform told us he would be able to return to streaming despite it all.

As for how his penis got exposed to begin with, Speed explained he didn't have any clean underwear ... so there's that.

Cops are now on the hunt for the person who allegedly nabbed Sabrina Ionescu's sneakers from a WNBA arena earlier this week ... telling TMZ Sports they've formally launched an investigation into the allegations.

A spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept. said on Friday it did take a report ... after the New York superstar claimed her Nike kicks were stolen from Michelob ULTRA Arena, where the Liberty had gone up against the Aces twice this week.

So far, no arrests have been made ... with the spokesperson saying, "This is an ongoing investigation."

25-year-old Ionescu initially brought the alleged theft to light on Thursday ... saying on her X page, "Never thought I would get my shoes stolen from an opposing arena."

"Please just bring me my insoles back," she added ... "RIP to my Sabrina 1s."

Ionescu shared photos of the two pairs that she says were stolen ... one in Oregon Duck colors, and another gray edition that she got to honor Nike founder Phil Knight.

The two-time WNBA All-Star signed an endorsement deal with Nike in 2020 and became the first women's hoops player to create a unisex collection with the corporation.

Baseball prodigy Paul Skenes says the rumors are true -- he is, in fact, dating LSU star gymnast Olivia Dunne ... and now, he's calling on all their fans to stop bugging her at his games.

The Pirates draftee opened up on his relationship with the social media superstar in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this week ... saying they both bonded over being so popular that going out in public is a real "pain in the butt."

"If one of us went out in Baton Rouge by ourselves, there’s probably gonna be someone there asking for something -- picture, autograph, whatever," Skenes told the outlet.

As we previously reported, there was a ton of speculation surrounding the couple recently ... especially after Livvy started popping up at his games.

Her appearance at Skenes' Single-A debut in Bradenton on Tuesday resulted in so much commotion, she had to move from her seat behind home plate to the broadcast booth just so she could get some peace.

Skenes -- the top pick in the 2023 MLB Draft -- said despite being able to relate to each other on the hype surrounding them, he wishes people would leave her alone at the ballpark.

"I do wish she could come to a baseball game and just enjoy it," he added. "It does irk me. I don’t have any control over it. She really doesn’t either. I’m sure it’ll get better as I go up levels, but that’s something I want for her."

As for how they met, Skenes said it was a "small-world type of thing" -- his best friend was dating Dunne's roommate and fellow LSU gymnast, Elena Arenas.

Xavien Howard has been sued by a woman who claims the NFL star filmed "hard core" sex acts with her without her consent ... and then shared them with at least one other person -- though the Miami Dolphins player is adamant he'll fight the case.

The woman, ID'ed only as Jane Doe, made the claims in a lawsuit filed in Florida back in May.

In the suit, she alleges she first made contact with the cornerback in 2016 over social media direct messaging ... before the two began dating in 2022.

A short time later, however, she claims a woman reached out to her via Instagram, concerned she might have been sent a video by Howard that showed Doe having sex with the football player.

The woman allegedly told Doe that Howard had shared the footage with her in an attempt "to make her mad because she didn't want to have sex with him." Doe claims after viewing the video, she was easily identifiable in it.

According to the lawsuit, Doe texted Howard about the situation in late September 2022 ... telling him she had not consented to being filmed. She said in the docs in October, she sent him a cease and desist letter.

Yet Doe says months later, in April 2023, another woman contacted her via cell phone and said Howard had sent her photos and videos of nude women because "she would not have sex with him" -- and she said she believed Doe was in one of the pictures.

Doe "was in one of the photos and it was both taken and disseminated without her knowledge or consent after [she] had sent the cease and desist letter," the lawsuit states.

Doe is now suing Howard for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She's asking for damages in excess of $50,000 ... as well as injunctive relief that would preclude Howard from further disseminating the images.

But, Howard's attorney, Brad Sohn, said in a statement to TMZ Sports that his client intends to vehemently defend himself in the case.

"Anyone can file a lawsuit," Sohn said. "That does not remotely mean that this lawsuit ... actually has merit. This will be fought against aggressively."

Tim Tebow's former Florida teammate took drastic measures to confirm he was really saving himself for marriage ... 'cause Brandon Spikes claims he would randomly show the quarterback pictures of naked women to see how he'd respond.

Spikes -- who played alongside the Heisman winner in Gainesville from 2006-09 -- went in depth about the media obsession with Tebow's virginity during the Gators' dominance in the mid-2000s ... and he revealed he did some questionable investigative reporting of his own to prove the guy was, in fact, sex-free.

"I just wanted to see if he was real," Spikes said on Netflix's "Untold: Swamp Kings," according to the New York Post.

"So I would like, you know, maybe have a picture, a nude picture on my phone or something and show it to him just to see how he would react."

The stunt didn't go over too well with Tebow ... and Spikes explained his response led him to believe the whole thing was really true.

"He was like, 'Come on man! Like, you really get a man uncomfortable!'"

"And I was like, 'Oh, he's serious.'"

Tebow's virginity was a major storyline throughout his college and pro career ... and he went on to marry former Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters in 2020.

Jake Paul just released the ultimate flex on his haters ... dropping a rap video bragging about his massive wealth and success -- and he recorded the whole thing during Nate Diaz fight week!!

The Problem Child shared the visuals for his new track, "Witness," on Friday ... and he put his luxurious toys, boxing career and love life on full display.

The 3-minute project includes footage from fight week and highlights from his win over Diaz -- and as it turns out, Jake even recorded himself mouthing the words to the song inside the ring after the match.

While Jake raps early in the track that he's "been tryna keep it humble for y'all," ... the lyrics are anything but -- with the internet superstar-turned-boxer listing all his favorite toys: private jets, Ferrari GTB and SF90, rare watches, and, of course, his $16 million crib in Puerto Rico.

Jake also mentions his recent milestones -- becoming a Sports Illustrated cover athlete, getting his own documentary on Netflix, as well as the Paul brothers being worth a billion bucks combined.

As for his fighting, the 7-1 pugilist spits about working harder than ever and still being hungry for more, despite all his achievements ... and how Cleveland couldn't handle his vision.

Paul even shows off his girlfriend, Dutch speed skater Jutta Leerdam, in the vid ... saying, "Gon' marry the queen of the Netherlands" as he holds her hand.

If Sixers fans were hoping the James Harden situation in Philadelphia would work itself out, don't hold your breath ... the NBA star says it's too late to fix the fractured relationship between him and the Sixers.

The 10x All-Star wanted out of The City of Brotherly Love, but after some initial talks, the team has said they don't plan to trade Harden, despite his clear desire to leave.

While on an Adidas tour in China this week, Harden showed his disdain for the Sixers, blasting the team president ... "Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organization that he’s a part of."

On Thursday, Harden was asked if the relationship with the team was beyond repair ... and he replied, "I think so."

"I've been patient all summer," Harden said. "For me, it's just focusing on what I can control and that's working out, staying in shape, and getting ready for a good season."

It remains to see what will happen ... Harden says he won't play, and the Sixers say they aren't trading him. Unless James is willing to give up $30+ million this season, something has to give.

Interestingly, James was asked if he'd ever play baseball for a team in China ... and it's clear he is a big fan of the country.

“Every time I come here, the love is just like, it’s crazy, you know what I mean?” Harden said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “So I feel like they deserve to actually see me come play here."

"Love is always crazy here.”

The Philadelphia Eagles had to go through not one but two terrifying moments during their preseason game on Thursday night ... when a duo of their players needed stretchers to leave the field after sustaining scary injuries.

The moments happened in the second half of the Eagles' 18-18 tie against the Browns in Philadelphia ... when receiver Tyrie Cleveland and defensive lineman Moro Ojomo hurt their necks on separate plays.

Tyrie's looked the most horrifying ... in the third quarter of the contest, he jumped up to haul in a pass -- but when he came down, he landed awkwardly on his head. He stayed on the turf for several minutes ... before he was strapped to a backboard and carted off.

One quarter later ... Ojomo was going in to make a tackle on a scrambling quarterback, when his teammate came in and accidentally collided with the back of his neck. He, too, stayed on the ground for minutes -- before requiring a stretcher to leave the field.

The Eagles ruled both guys out of the game almost immediately ... though, thankfully, the team said each one did have movement in all their extremities.

"I haven't talked to the doctors yet, but it sounds like they're moving around," head coach Nick Sirianni said after the game. "I don't know anything else besides that."

Four other Eagles players were injured in the contest as well -- including first-round pick Nolan Smith -- though none of their ailments were considered as serious as Cleveland and Ojomo's.

Max Holloway is crushed by what's happening on Maui, and the UFC star, born and raised in Hawaii, believes matters have been made worse by the government's response to the disaster.

TMZ Sports talked to a very emotional Holloway, 31, as he finished preparation for his UFC Fight Night scrap against The Korean Zombie on August 26. Although the fight is going down in Singapore, it was Maui that was very much on Blessed's mind.

"It's tough man. Everything that's going on in Lahaina now is heartbreaking."

As bad as things are, Max says he's seen incredible strength in the community.

"The amazing thing is how Hawaii can come together and pull through. The people of Hawaii are coming strong together."

Of course, Maui is in crisis. The death count is currently at 111, including children, but is expected to rise sharply, as over 1,000 people are still missing. Aside from the tragic loss of life, the area has been ravaged, with hundreds, if not thousands of structures -- homes, businesses -- burned to the ground.

Much of the affected area still hasn't been searched ... and Max says he's not satisfied with the government's response.

"Here, the state, the government at so many levels, I'm straight up going to say it, they failed the people of Lahaina and it's kind of heartbreaking," Holloway said.

"When it felt like they were lollygagging, too, after everything happened, the people, the Hawaiian people, the locals there are the ones that stood up, that took on the responsibility, and are helping, and are still helping as we speak. Man, it's just super heartbreaking."

Because it's clearly having such an effect on Max, we asked him if he considered backing out of the fight. But that wasn't going to happen, because Holloway believes this can be a distraction for the people.

"If I can take their minds off of it for a second, a minute, five minutes, whatever it is, I always go in there thinking Hawaii is on my back. I'm going in there a little bit heavier right now."

As for those people impacted, Max had a message.

"My main message to the families that are directly impacted, stay strong. We're all here for you guys. We're gonna keep this going for you guys. We're in for the long haul on this fight."

"This is just the beginning, and we know. The recovery is going to take a long time. Everything is gone, and we know this, and we're here for the long ride."

Dana White says he's sure Mark Zuckerberg wants to take a fight in the UFC -- and, get this, he tells TMZ he's definitely not opposed to making the Meta boss' wish a reality.

White joined Harvey and Charles on "TMZ Live" on Thursday to preview this weekend's big UFC 292 card ... but before he talked Sean O'Malley vs. Aljamain Sterling -- he spilled the beans on what he knew about the failed Zuck vs. Elon Musk matchup.

He said both guys were dead serious about brawling ... but when Elon wanted to go more of an informal route with the bout -- Zuck decided to pull away.

"He and I talk multiple times a week," White said of Zuckerberg. "And we had dinner last Monday. He's very serious about competing. And when he mentioned it, he said -- listen -- what he was saying in response to Elon was there are tons of professional organizations out there and this is the way this should be done, not in some backyard or whatever Elon was saying."

He added that Zuck understood the fight would have to be sanctioned by an athletic commission, there would need to be proper medical testing and drug testing ... and when Elon didn't seem to get that -- he said Zuckerberg pivoted.

As for what's now next for Zuck ... White told the guys "I would say he is absolutely interested" in battling it out with a UFC fighter in White's org.

And, Dana said it's a possibility he makes it all happen.

But, until then, White's in Boston getting ready for a helluva fight on Saturday night between O'Malley and Sterling.