TMZ Sports - Page 35

The Nike lawsuit might have caught Lil Nas X by surprise, but he had to see this coming -- the Church of Satan is throwing its support behind his new limited edition "Satan Shoes."

David Harris, magister for the Church of Satan, tells TMZ ... the shoes, which feature an inverted cross, bronze pentagram and a drop of human blood, are getting a ton of love from the Church because they embrace the essence of Satanism.

For the uninitiated ... Satanists do not actually worship Satan, nor do they believe in God or the Devil. They are opposed to all spirituality and anything supernatural, and with no belief in the afterlife, Satanists emphasize being your true self, living life to the fullest and personal achievement ... values it says LNX is following with his new kicks.

Harris, who's pretty high up in the Church of Satan (kinda like a cardinal), says Satanists are digging the way Lil Nas X is turning against religion to market his customized Nike Air Max 97 shoes.

The shoe's Monday release came on the heels of Lil Nas X's polarizing "MONTERO" music vid featuring the Prince of Darkness -- a brilliant marketing plan, apparently, because all 666 pairs sold out within minutes, with folks shelling out $1,018 a pop for the limited-edition kicks. BTW, that price tag is an ode to the bible scripture emblazoned on the side, Luke 10:18, which references Satan's banishment from heaven.

Between the shoes and the "breathtaking" music vid, Harris says LNX is clearly extending a middle finger to folks who told him he'd burn in hell for his sexuality. However, the Church of Satan applauds Lil Nas X for living life on his own terms and being his honest self ... which will, no doubt, infuriate his critics even more.

Anderson Silva is back ... to boxing!!!

The 45-year-old MMA legend has signed a contract to fight 35-year-old Julio César Chávez Jr. on June 19, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

Silva was released from UFC contract back in Nov. 2020 following a loss to Uriah Hall -- but he was adamant he wanted to continue his combat sports career elsewhere ... and now, he's making it happen in a boxing ring.

"When I look back at my journey, I see that nothing has been in vain," Silva says ... "I am extremely happy for the opportunity to test my boxing skills with Julio César Chávez Jr."

"I train continuously, always striving for resilience and to overcome obstacles. Fighting is my everlasting breath."

We're told the event -- titled "Tribute to the Kings" -- will take place at Jalisco Stadium in  Guadalajara, Mexico and will be available live on Pay-Per-View.

The event will also include a special exhibition match featuring Julio's legendary father, Julio César Chávez Sr. -- widely considered one of the greatest boxers of all time.

The 58-year-old Hall of Famer will take on Hector Camacho Jr. -- son of his former opponent Hector "Macho" Camacho, who passed away in 2012.

42-year-old Hector Jr. is also a pro boxer with a record of 58-6-1.

Julio Jr. issued a statement about the fight with Silva -- saying, "I have rededicated myself to the sport that I love and I will be ready to face anyone in the Light Heavyweight division starting with Silva"

"I will be prepared to be victorious on June 19."

The fight was put together by Keith Schoen of Schoen Entertainment along with Armando Bareno of Global Sports Streaming -- with Jorge Toscano and Saul Rios serving as the official fight promoters.

"This promises to be an epic battle between two superior fighters with a global fan base," Schoen tells us ... "Everyone associated with this Pay-Per-View promotion and fighting fans around the globe are super enthusiastic to see these two great fighters meet in the ring."

Chavez Jr. is 52-5-1 as a pro and coming off a 4th round TKO victory over Jeyson Minda in Nov. 2020.

Silva -- repped by ICM Partners and managed by Talize Sayegh -- is a former UFC Middleweight champ with wins over guys like Dan Henderson, Forrest Griffin, Vitor Belfort, Rich Franklin and more.

The Spider has also dabbled in boxing -- he's 1-1 as a pro -- and was known during his heyday for being one of the best strikers in MMA.

A trained MMA fighter who personally witnessed the death of George Floyd testified that officer Derek Chauvin used a "blood choke" during the arrest ... referring to the move as "torture."

33-year-old Donald Williams is a fighter out of the Minnesota Martial Arts Academy in Brooklyn Center ... and has a 6-6 record, according to Tapology.

Williams appeared on the stand in a Minnesota courtroom to testify about what he saw on the day Floyd died ... and his explanation was almost identical to the analysis of UFC superstar Jon Jones, who spoke out in the days following the incident.

"One, the neck was diagonal across the throat, which on a blood choke you attack the side of the neck," Williams said.

"To get the choke tighter, you hit different shimmies, which I felt the officer on top was shimmying to actually get the final choke in while he was on top to get the kill choke."

"Because a side choke or a blood choke can ultimately turn into death, which is what we've seen here."

In fact, Williams is shown in body cam footage of Tou Thao -- one of the other officers involved in the incident -- where he begs them to check Floyd's pulse ... and says point-blank Chauvin is using a "blood choke."

As we previously reported, Jones described the move in detail ... saying, "I wouldn't wish the way George Floyd was murdered on my worst enemy. That officer applied just enough pressure to keep him alive for almost six minutes in that chokehold."

"In all my years of fighting, I can honestly say I’ve never experienced anything close to that level of torture."

Here it is ... Aaron Rodgers and Shailene Woodley in the same place at the same time, for the first time since they got engaged -- which might be what they were celebrating down in Mexico.

The happy couple was on the tarmac Monday in Costa Careyes ... moments before boarding a private jet. The Green Bay Packers QB and "Big Little Lies" star were with a group of friends getting ready for takeoff. It's unclear if they're continuing the vacay somewhere else or heading home.

We know what fans desperately wanna see -- Shailene's engagement ring, so here's the best we can do. Even zooming in, it's hard to tell if she's wearing one on that left hand.

We do know the ring exists, but up to this point, the only time we've seen it was when Shailene was on the 'Tonight Show' in February, talking to Jimmy Fallon about the engagement.

Still, looks like they enjoyed the warmer weather down south after they were together earlier this month in freezing Montreal ... where Shailene was shooting the cop thriller "Misanthrope" and sending Aaron out to walk her dog.

As we reported ... Aaron announced his engagement to Shailene back in February after winning the NFL's MVP award for the 2020 season, and he's since gushed about their relationship and set his sights on having a kid with her.

A pro boxer's face swelled up in terrifying fashion after she was hit by an accidental head-butt during a fight Saturday night ... but fortunately, she says she's now recovering well.

Cheyenne Hanson, a 23-year-old German fighter, suffered the horrific battle wounds during her tilt with Alina Zaitseva in Germany ... with her face ballooning in size after the two women inadvertently clashed heads.

The post-fight pics of the damage to Hanson's face were insane ... the left side of the fighter's face BLEW UP -- and she had bruising all over.

In fact, Hanson showed off a before-and-after, side-by-side photo -- and she was damn-near unrecognizable!!!

But, Hanson on Monday revealed the swelling has gone down significantly ... though the bruising is still BAD.

Hanson was at least given a victory for her troubles ... the judges had her ahead in the fight at the time of the head-butt and awarded her the eighth win of her pro career.

Good news ... Ryan Switzer's infant son has undergone another major surgery ... and the NFL receiver says he's expected to make a full recovery.

Remember, Ryan's 10-month-old son Christian was hospitalized earlier this month after his parents found him in a pool of blood.

Doctors had performed surgery on Christian back on March 7 in order to track the cause of bleeding, but were not able to identify the issue with 100% certainty.

Ryan and his wife, Gabie, said doctors have made progress in the past few weeks and became certain they found the root of the problem ... and advised another surgery to address the issue once and for all.

Doctors at the famous Boston Children's hospital identified the issue as a "vascular anomaly" somewhere in his gastrointestinal tract.

Baby Christian underwent the procedure on Monday ... and his parents report everything appears to have gone well.

"Our sweet baby boy is stable and out of surgery," Switzer tweeted Monday. "This nightmare is over with. These wonderful people in Boston fixed our son. He’s going to make a full recovery. Praise God."

Lil Nas X is in the middle of a holy war now -- legally speaking -- because Nike's going after the company making his controversial "Satan Shoes" ... a devilish connection Nike wants no part of.

The shoe giant is suing MSCHF Product Studio ... the company that collaborated with the rapper to produce the Satan Shoe, aka the "blood shoes."

If you haven't heard ... Lil Nas has been hyping the customized Nike Air Max 97 shoes which feature the pentagram symbol, a Bible verse that references Satan, and allegedly a drop of blood from one of MSCHF's employees. There are also only 666 pairs being made, and they're selling for over a grand.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Nike claims the company's tricking consumers into thinking it approved the Satan-themed shoes, but Nike insists it didn't authorize it and "is in no way connected with this project."

Nike claims MSCHF buys the shoes from Nike, then the artists it works with make their own creative modifications before selling them at a higher price.

Nike's suing for trademark infringement because the famous Swoosh logo is still prominently featured on X's shoes. It wants damages, and perhaps more importantly for Nas X ... Nike wants the judge to block all sales of the Satan Shoe.

The Satan Shoe sparked outrage within the sports world ... with stars like Trevor Lawrence and Nick Young voicing their disgust with the product.

"Line has to be drawn somewhere. Smh," the future first-overall pick in the NFL Draft said.

Young added ... "My kids will never play Old Town road again.. I’m still debating about wearing @Nike after this come [on] nike a drop of blood for real."

Young later apologized after finding out the Swoosh did NOT approve of the shoe.

Pro-wrestling star Chris Jericho donated $2,500 to the family of an Uber Eats driver who was killed last week during an alleged botched carjacking ... telling TMZ Sports he was extremely saddened by the story and felt compelled to help.

"Just the feeling of terror he must’ve had being stuck halfway out of the car as the thieves ... mere children ... hit the gas. Something out of a horror movie," Jericho tells us.

If you're not familiar with the situation ... Mohammad Anwar -- a 66-year-old food delivery driver who immigrated from Pakistan in 2014 -- tragically died Tuesday in Washington D.C. after officials say two girls -- ages 13 and 15 -- allegedly deployed a Taser on the driver in an apparent attempt to steal the vehicle.

The incident was captured on cell phone video and appears to Anwar attempting to re-enter his vehicle while at least one of the girls is inside the car.

At one point, Anwar can be heard yelling, "This is my car" -- and that's when someone inside the vehicle punches the gas, which sends the car down the block for 9 full seconds before it eventually crashes.

The car flipped over on its side -- and Anwar was killed.

In light of the devastating tragedy, the Anwar family -- which says Mohammed was their financial provider -- started a GoFundMe to help ease the monetary burden in the wake of his death.

The fund has already raised over $808k (the initial goal was $100k) ... thanks to Jericho and over 23k other donors.

The former WWE and current AEW star tells us he knows his donation can't fix everything ... but he just wanted to help and show the family that people care.

"I just thought the whole situation was terrible and it really hit me hard."

Jericho added ... "It's not much, but it's the most I could do to try and bring some light into a dark situation."

UFC heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou ain't buyin' any of that "Jon Jones is scared" talk ... telling TMZ Sports he's convinced Jones "wants" to get in the Octagon with him and fight for the title.

"I believe that Jon Jones wants this fight," Ngannou tells us ... "I believe he'll want it to happen because it's gonna be a massive fight."

Ngannou looked fresh and happy when we spoke with him Monday morning -- sitting in front of his brand new UFC championship belt!

Of course, moments after he defeated Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 on Saturday night ... everyone began asking the obvious question -- when will Francis fight Jon Jones.

Jones went to social media with a message for the UFC -- "Show me the money."

Some people have suggested Jones is scared of Ngannou -- and he's using the money as an excuse to duck the new champ.

But, Ngannou doesn't believe that for a second -- saying he understands why Jon wants a massive payday ... and quite frankly, he hopes they BOTH get paid a ton of cash.

"He's been around so long and been champ for a long time so I think this might be the biggest fight of his career and mine."

"I think he wants to put something like this on his legacy, on his resume. I truly believe that he wants this fight to happen."

So, now the issue is working out a contract with UFC -- and fight fans all over the world ... as well as Francis himself, are hoping they can make a deal.

Francis says when the deal is signed, he knows he needs to beef up his wrestling game in order to defeat Jones -- a former college wrestling champion.

And, get this ... Ngannou says despite his dominant performance against Stipe, he's going back and watching the tape again because he feels there's real room for improvement.

Gotta be honest ... he looked pretty solid to us!

We also asked Francis how it feels to be the undisputed UFC heavyweight champ ... and watch the video, the guy is so proud!!!

Deshaun Watson has been deleting Instagram messages and reaching out to massage therapists for settlements ... this according to yet another lawsuit against the NFL star.

The suit -- now the NINETEENTH against Watson -- was filed Monday ... and amid more allegations of sexual misconduct against a female masseuse, the QB is now being accused of scrubbing his social media.

In the docs, Tony Buzbee -- the attorney repping all the "Jane Does" in the cases against the 25-year-old Houston Texans star -- claims Watson "is deleting Instagram messages and contacting those who formally provided him massages, in an attempt to settle."

If true, the news would be huge, considering Watson has publicly denied all wrongdoing ... and weeks ago stated he refused to strike a settlement. Instead, Watson has said he is determined to clear his name.

Remember, Watson issued a statement on March 16 ... saying he rejected a "baseless six-figure settlement demand" from an accuser repped by attorney Tony Buzbee and added, "This isn't about money for me -- it's about clearing my name, and I look forward to doing that."

For his part, Buzbee says in the new lawsuit the accusers are not after money -- instead, they're seeking "a change in behavior with regard to Watson, and a change of culture in the NFL."

In the 3 new lawsuits filed Monday ... three more female massage therapists say Deshaun reached out to them at different points in 2020 and was sexually inappropriate with them after setting up sessions.

All of the women are seeking unspecified damages in the suits.

We've reached out to Watson's camp for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Watson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, has previously denied the claims against the quarterback ... saying last week, "I believe that any allegation that Deshaun forced a woman to commit a sexual act is completely false."

Whoa.

Look at Christian Vasquez's eye -- which he's LUCKY to still have after getting hit directly in the face with a baseball during a practice sesh.

The Boston Red Sox catcher revealed his scar Monday during a media session and explained how wearing sunglasses may have saved his vision ... and the whole thing is super scary.

Vasquez was working on drills on one of the practice fields at Boston's JetBlue Park complex Thursday when pitcher Hirokazu Sawamura fired a ball his way ... mistakenly thinking Vasquez was looking in his direction.

We know what you're thinking ... and no, video of the incident has not been released.

The ball struck 30-year-old Vasquez with such force, it opened up a nasty gash under his left eye -- requiring immediate medical attention.

Vasquez required several stitches to close the wound -- and says if it wasn't for the sunglasses, he might have lost his left eyeball.

"You like my scar," Vasquez joked with reporters Monday before giving a health update.

"I’m doing good ... “My eye is good. I can see perfect."

Vasquez then walked reporters through the incident -- "I saw the ball right here in my face and it knocked me down to the floor."

"The sunglasses saved my eye,” he said ... "If I don’t have the sunglasses, it was a different story."

And, get this ... Vazquez says he's "99% sure" he'll be ready to play Thursday for Boston's Opening Day game against the Baltimore Orioles.

Stipe Miocic is finally opening up about that devastating loss to Francis Ngannou over the weekend -- assuring everyone he's okay and vowing to return as a better fighter.

Stipe did not participate in any post-fight interviews following his loss to Ngannou in the main event at UFC 260 on Saturday night ... where the heavyweight champ was knocked out cold 52 seconds into the 2nd round.

Ngannou smashed Stipe with a brutal left, sending Stipe crashing to the ground in an awkward fashion -- you could see his knees buckled and folded under him. It looked super painful. Francis then followed up with a powerful hammer fist to directly to Stipe's face, ending the match.

There was real concern about Stipe's health following the fight -- but Monday morning, Stipe gave a positive update.

"First and foremost, I’m ok, I know that fall wasn’t my most graceful fall, but I was unconscious, so it happens," Stipe said.

He continued, "Losses aren’t fun, they always sting for a while, but that’s the beast of this business. You can’t win them all, and it’s important to understand that losing is just as much a part of sports (and life) as winning."

So, what went wrong during the fight? Stipe breaks down the loss ...

"Unfortunately, I deviated from the game plan. I felt great coming into the second round, I saw it was beginning to go as planned. He was getting very winded, and I came in overzealous and unprotected. I wasn’t in a good posture to take the hit. He saw the opening, and did what any great fighter would have done."

Stipe says he's come to terms with the theft he lost and congratulated Ngannou for winning the UFC heavyweight belt.

"Saturday night was your night, enjoy your victory! For now, I’m going to enjoy the downtime, spend some time with my family, and welcome our son into the world this summer... stay tuned, God bless."

Hottest game of volleyball EVER?!

A group of diehard volleyball players in Iceland joined together for a quick game this week ... all while a massive volcano was erupting nearby!!

It all went down near Reykjavík, where the Geldingadalur volcano -- which had been dormant for 6,000 years!!! -- erupted this week.

It's also reportedly the first volcanic eruption in the area in nearly 800 years!!

To celebrate the moment, the group of 6 players decided to take their skills to the next level ... setting up shop while the volcano was spitting out lava all over the place in the distance.

The video is as incredible as you'd think ... with the group of players passing the ball around, completely unfazed by the eruption!!

The lava is one thing, but the group had something else to worry about -- pro volleyball player Thelma Gretarsdottir claims it was -12 DEGREES when they went out for their game of volcano ball!!

BTW -- Thelma played college volleyball at San Jose State ... small world!!

Rut Einarsdóttir -- who also captured the moment -- took a safer approach ... downing some java with a friend while watching the whole thing unfold.

Not as dangerous, but still wild!!

As for the volcano, it's still doing its thing ... and there's a live stream documenting the historic eruption.

Nick Bosa is officially OFF the market ... the 49ers superstar revealed he's now dating smokin' hot model Jenna Berman -- and, yeah, the couple is SERIOUSLY attractive!!!

The 23-year-old NFL player made the announcement on his IG a few days ago ... showing him cuddling with Berman out on a boat somewhere.

Bosa didn't leave a caption for the pic ... but some of his current and former teammates still weighed in on it -- LOVING the PDA!!

"Ohhh s*** Nick is in love," Bosa's old Ohio State teammate, Dre'Mont Jones, said. "Never thought I would see the day."

Added Bosa's 49ers D-line mate Solomon Thomas, "My brother is in love!!!"

Berman is a star on social media ... she has over 250,000 followers on Instagram and over 1 MILLION on Tik Tok.

As for why ... it's not hard to see -- her posts are FIRE!!!

Unclear how she and Bosa met or how long they've been dating for ... but Bosa is a notoriously private guy -- so this is clearly more than just a fling.

Congrats on the young love!!

Horrific scene on the NHL ice Sunday ... a star player for the Florida Panthers suffered a gruesome knee injury mid-game and was forced to leave the match on a stretcher.

Aaron Ekblad -- who was leading the Panthers in total ice time this season -- took a check from an opponent in Florida's game against the Dallas Stars when things went terrifyingly wrong.

Ekblad's knee and skate got caught under his body ... and when he came crashing down on top of the leg -- it all bent and crumpled awkwardly.

***WARNING: THE CLIP IS TOUGH TO WATCH***

You can see in video immediately after the injury ... Ekblad was in SERIOUS pain -- writhing on the ice, screaming, and holding on tightly to team trainers.

The defenseman was eventually strapped to a stretcher and taken off the ice. In a postgame update, Panthers head coach Joel Quenneville said Ekblad would be out indefinitely.

"It was pretty tough," Ekblad's teammate, Jonathan Huberdeau, told reporters after the game ... before adding, "You hear him scream too. I mean, it must have hurt so bad."

The Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team has NEVER been more excited to get the hell OFF an airplane after going through a terrifying emergency landing Saturday night following their NCAA tourney loss.

The team aircraft had major issues while flying through a string of nasty thunderstorms after departing from San Antonio -- and at one point, the cabin lost pressure and oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.

Yeah, really scary stuff.

It all took place late Saturday after Michigan suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to Baylor in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.

After an 8:16 PM take-off on a Boeing 737-400 aircraft, the flight experienced rough turbulence on the way back to Ann Arbor.

The decision was made to divert the plane to Evansville, Indiana for an emergency landing -- requiring the pilots to make an "aggressive descent."

The plane eventually touched down safely just after 10 PM -- and while no one suffered any major injuries, a few passengers reported bloody noses and obviously some were shaken up.

Another plane eventually flew the team from Indiana back to Ann Arbor.

After the incident, Michigan assistant coach Toyelle Wilson tweeted -- "Just went through the worst flying experience. We are flying back to MI & hit a storm- lost pressurization- the oxygen masks dropped from the compartments."

"Told bc we dropped at a certain feet & had to use them. We have just emergency landed in Evansville, IN. Please [prayer emoji] for us."

To their credit, the team posed for a thumbs-up photo after the plane landed safely.