TMZ Sports - Page 50

Alexander Volkanovski says he was only moments away from losing consciousness when Brian Ortega had him in a guillotine at UFC 266, telling TMZ Sports there were 2 options -- get out or go out.

... 'cause he was NEVER gonna tap.

We talked to the UFC featherweight champ following his dominating win over Brian Ortega ... and although AV won via unanimous decision, things got dicey in the 3rd round when Ortega had Volkanovski in a choke so tight that Alex's surroundings literally started to change colors.

"It was getting close where I couldn't breathe," Volkanovski says.

"It was definitely close. But, again, I was never going to stop trying to get out of it and I was never going to tap."

Then, almost out of a movie scene, Volkanovski says he imagined going home to his family without his championship belt.

"I remember I had like a moment, it was weird 'cause I was literally thinking of my family, and I was like man, I might not be taking this belt home to my family. You can't let it end like this."

"I literally had a moment like that, like s*** you see in the movies."

Bottom line, if you thought Alex wasn't in trouble, you're wrong ... 'cause "mate, it was deep. It was deep."

We also talked to Alex about the controversy in between the 3rd and 4th rounds ... when Volkanovski believes Ortega was incorrectly provided precious time to recover, while Herb Dean and the doctor attempted to determine if T-City was fit to continue fighting.

AV says the fight should've been stopped right there.

"[Brian] was stumbling when they were asking him to move. They definitely should've ... I didn't even realize his corner picked him up and put him on the stool, which you're not allowed to do. You hear things like that and you're like, 'I'm surprised that they didn't stop it.' But, all good."

Matter of fact, Alex says he's sorta happy the fight wasn't stopped ... because fans got a helluva 5-round fight.

So, what's next for the featherweight champ? He's got options.

Conor McGregor tweeted about Volkanovski following the fight, writing ... "Not a bad fight. Congrats shartsy"

Is Alex interested in a fight at 155 pounds with The Notorious? We asked him.

"Of course you'd want that."

In fact, Alex says because Max Holloway (#1) and Yair Rodriguez (#3) aren't fighting until the end of the year (the winner likely being his next opponent in the featherweight division) ... he's got some time to kill.

And, a big money fight with McGregor, in AV's words, "sounds like a good time."

(Worth noting, Conor broke his leg only 80 days ago, and won't be ready to fight until sometime next year.)

Then there's Henry Cejudo ... who just told us he wanted to fight Alex at 145 lbs., and become the first UFC fighter to hold belts in 3 divisions.

Unfortunately for the man on a quest to become Quadruple C, Alex says he isn't interested.

"Nah, there's no point even wasting energy with it."

Ex-NBA star Chris Webber is bringing more weed business to his hometown -- by opening a $50 million cannabis facility in Detroit.

Of course, Webber is already in the weed industry -- he launched a $100 million equity fund with JW Asset Management to help minority entrepreneurs in the cannabis industry earlier this year.

Now, he's taking it one step further and building Players Only Holdings -- a 180,000 square foot facility featuring a 60,000 square foot cultivation, a dispensary and a cannabis consumption lounge.

The $50 million dollar location -- that will be owned by Webber and Lavetta Willis -- will also be a training spot that will focus on cannabis cultivation, creative content and management, branding and real estate.

The awesome compound just broke ground on Tuesday and is expected to be finished in March 2022 ... with plans of expanding the cultivation by 80,000 square feet later on.

Webber's also expanding Cookies Campus -- his cannabis training program in California -- to the Motor City ... and the 5-time NBA All-Star is excited to bring this opportunity to his hometown.

"We will create, foster and provide a cannabis ecosystem that celebrates diversity, creates jobs, and benefits this community – focusing intensely on those who are being left behind," Webber said.

LeBron James just confirmed he is, in fact, vaccinated ... but he said he will not urge others to do the same, explaining, "That's not my job."

The NBA superstar broke down his feelings on the COVID vax at Lakers media day Tuesday ... saying to reporters he was initially skeptical of the shots -- but decided to get them after doing his research.

Still, James said he had no interest in pleading with others -- including his NBA peers -- to follow in his footsteps ... believing it's a decision each person must make on their own.

"We're talking about individuals' bodies," LeBron said. "We're not talking about something that's political, or racism, or police brutality. Things of that nature. We're talking about people's bodies and well being."

"So, I don't feel like, for me personally, that I should get involved in what other people should do for their bodies and their livelihoods."

James compared it to giving out job advice -- explaining he would never tell someone how to choose their own career paths.

"You have to do what's best for your family," LeBron said. "So, I know what I did for me and my family. I know some of my friends and what they did for their families."

"But as far as speaking for everybody and their individualities and things that they want to do, I don't feel like that -- that's not my job."

Tom Brady is treating his big return to Foxboro like a regular football game ... claiming he's not expecting any fanfare against the Patriots this Sunday.

Right, like that's gonna happen.

Week 4 will mark TB12's first trip back to Gillette Stadium since leaving the Pats in 2020 ... and in his one year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, all he's done is win the Super Bowl over the Kansas City Chiefs. No biggie.

But, with Sunday's reunion approaching, Brady says he's not going to waste any time thinking about his first 20 years with the Pats.

"I'm not going to necessarily reminisce," Brady told ESPN this week. "I don't think this is the moment for that. I'll have plenty of opportunities to reminisce about my football career."

"None of which I really care to do right now because I'm so much in the moment. I'm not going to be thinking about 20 years of history."

"I'm going to be thinking about one night of football, a Sunday night game coming off a really tough loss."

Brady's former partner in crime -- Bill Belichick -- hasn't fared as well without the G.O.A.T. under center. BB finished his 2020 coaching campaign with a 7-9 record and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Both teams come into this game having suffered defeat in Week 3 ... so the stakes will be high when the teams kickoff on Sunday Night Football.

As for what Tom expects???

"I mean, I think they're there to root for their team, and their team is the Patriots," Brady said. "I think they're gonna cheer for their team as I would expect them to, and I think if they know anything about me, they're gonna know that I'm going out there to try to win the football game, so I think they'll respect that about me."

As it turns out, Brady is just a few yards from passing Drew Brees on the all-time passing yards list on Sunday ... which is quite the full-circle moment for TB12.

Whoever plans on buying Emmitt Smith's Dallas mansion -- which has a hefty price tag of $2.2 MILLION -- will get a once in a lifetime bonus with the crib ... dinner with the NFL legend!

The Hall of Famer announced the sweet deal with his listing agent, Arthur Greenstein, this week -- saying he's down to personally wine and dine whoever buys the home.

The dinner is a cool touch, but probably not super necessary ... considering, ya know, the place -- which was built in 1995 -- is amazing.

It's 10,806-square-feet ... and has five bedrooms, five full bathrooms, four half bathrooms and a huge kitchen with a dining room that sits up to 22 people.

There's also a game room, a media room, plus an amazing pool in the backyard.

Unclear why Emmitt's parting with the crib -- but he seems pretty bummed about moving out ... saying he absolutely loved entertaining at the home.

LeBron James says he almost played in the NFL, telling Eli and Peyton Manning the Cowboys and Seahawks both offered him a contracts during the NBA lockout in 2011.

Bron joined the Manning Bros during their "Monday Night Football" broadcast ... when the Giants legend asked James if it were true that Dallas recruited him back in the day, with Eli asking if he had "any temptation to put the uniform on and go play for the Cowboys?”

"That's true, Jerry Jones offered me a contract. Also, Pete Carroll did as well, in Seattle during our lockout time," LeBron told Eli and Peyton.

"It definitely got my blood flowing again. Got my mind racing again thinking about the game of football, being out there on Sundays."

Unfortunately for Cowboys and Seahawks fans, Bron says NBA players and owners quickly worked through their differences, and lockout ended shortly after.

"We were able to get a deal done in the NBA and I was back on the court in no time, but I definitely thought about it. I still got the jerseys too, that Jerry and Pete Carroll sent me from 2011."

Eli asked which position teams envisioned the 6'8", 250+ lb. basketball legend playing -- wide receiver, tight end?

“Yeah, more tight end, tight end," LeBron answered ... "I wanted to be a red-zone specialist like Gronk.”

You'll recall, James was a talented receiver in high school, playing for St.-Vincent-St. Mary’s football team … even getting recruited by several Division 1 schools (for football).

He smashed the competition during his junior year ... racking up 57 receptions, 1,160 yards, and 16 TDs.

Great numbers ... but safe to say his decision to quit football and focus on hooping turned out well for the future Hall of Famer.

But, not even Peyton could stop himself from imagining what it would've been like to throw the ball up to a freakishly big, strong, and talented athlete.

“I would have thrown so many touchdowns to LeBron, put him out wide, throw the ball, throw the fade, jump ball. 75 touchdowns.”

The Manning broadcast turned PG-13 on "Monday Night Football" ... with Eli Manning giving a double middle finger salute LIVE ON AIR!!!

The hilarious moment went down on ESPN2 as the Giants legend was sharing his experiences going up against the Philadelphia Eagles ... describing their fans as absolutely ruthless.

"You go to Philly, you're getting the double bird right away from a 9-year-old kid," Eli told Peyton and 4th quarter guest Chris Long.

"I would give the bird, I don't know, can we do that?? I'm sure you can blur that out, right??"

As it turns out, E, -- no, you can't do that and no, they couldn't blur it out ... but that didn't stop him from holding up the gesture for a few solid moments.

Despite the hiccup, Eli continued his story like nothing happened ... claiming fans would say things about his mom that he wouldn't say over the air (apparently he limits himself to one FCC violation per game).

"They're saying things about my mom and Peyton, I can't even tell you what they said about my mom," Eli added.

The Manning-cast has been a huge hit through 3 weeks ... with guests like LeBron James, Russell Wilson, Gronk, and Charles Barkley joining the bros to talk football.

Travis Kelce also flirted with more mature content when he was on during Week 1 ... dropping an s-bomb.

No word on if the FCC will hand down any fines, but Eli ended up apologizing for the whole thing.

"Sorry, earlier I gave the double bird. I guess that’s frowned upon, so I apologize if I offended anybody. That’s just what a 9-year-old did to me and I thought I could do it back," Eli said.

Ronda Rousey is now officially Momma Rousey ... the former WWE superstar just announced her baby daughter is finally here!!!

Rousey revealed the birth on her Instagram page late Monday evening ... saying in the caption, "La’akea Makalapuaokalanipō Browne❤️."

The two pics Rousey shared to bring the good news to her fans were adorable, with one featuring the baby's hand over Ronda's heart and the other showing the baby's hand on the chest of her hubby, Travis Browne.

The child is Browne and Rousey's first ... and it's clearly safe to assume they're pumped over the birth -- given how excited they've been throughout the whole babymaking process.

You'll recall, 34-year-old Rousey left the WWE in 2019 to try to start a family with Browne ... and back in April, she and Travis shared the good news of their pregnancy.

Just a few months later, the couple also revealed the gender of the baby with a funny Pokemon-themed vid.

No word yet if the birth means Rousey is one step closer to making a WWE comeback -- but we're betting she'll be pretty content being Mom for now.

Forget a bottle, get Alex Volkanovski a shoe ... 'cause that's what the UFC star was chuggin' champagne out of at the Raiders game, celebrating his win over Brian Ortega.

And, we got it all on video!

The 32-year-old Aussie fighter hit up the Dolphins vs. Raiders game on Sunday -- after his crazy unanimous decision victory the night before at UFC 266 -- and the football game was LIT!

Check out this clip ... you can clearly see AV enjoyin' himself in Allegiant Stadium's "Wynn Field Club," watching the game with his UFC belt and a crowd of people.

That's when Alex really starts to party -- in the most Australian way -- by chuggin' some bubbly outta somebody's shoe!

And, get this, it wasn't Volkanovski's sneaker ... it was some dude's navy Vans.

One drink wasn't enough ... the champ yelled 'give me some more!' -- and promptly got a shoe refill.

FYI, there's a name for this sorta thing -- a "shoey" -- a popular way to drink beer in the Land Down Under. Alex subbed champagne for beer ... he was celebrating, after all.

Of course, Volkanovski wasn't the only one in Vegas who got a W -- the Raiders secured an overtime victory, and are 3-0.

Now, who's thirsty?!?

Justin Tucker's 66-yard game-winning kick Sunday wasn't just painful for Lions fans ... it also REALLY hurt a Ravens assistant coach, who blew out his hamstring celebrating!!!

Baltimore headman, John Harbaugh, explained the situation to reporters Monday ... saying linebackers coach, Drew Wilkins, popped his hammy while jumping for joy after Tucker's epic boot.

Harbaugh took a little bit of joy in announcing the injury ... joking with media members that the wound was all due to Wilkins' poor gym habits.

"Drew is philosophically opposed to exercise," Harbaugh said with a big smile. "He's made that clear over the years, kind of emphatically. He's a staunch believer in not exercising. You can see where that gets you."

Video of the celebration is pretty funny -- even though it's got to be pretty painful as well -- 'cause you can see in the clip Wilkins tumbled hard after rushing the field to celebrate Tucker's kick.

Unclear how long Wilkins' recovery process will be -- Harbaugh joked the MRI results are not in yet -- but we're pretty sure a come from behind, improbable 19-17 win will make the pain a little easier to swallow.

Disgusting scene on the ice in the Ukrainian Hockey League over the weekend ... where a white player blatantly and vilely directed a racist gesture at his Black opponent.

The disturbing incident all went down in a game between HC Kremenchuk and HC Donbass ... when Andrei Deniskin got into a mid-match tiff with Jalen Smereck.

You can see in broadcast footage of the game ... after the two were separated, Deniskin began making a banana peeling and eating motion with his hands and mouth toward Smereck.

The move was so obviously racist, Deniskin was ejected from the game ... and he was immediately ripped for the move by viewers and onlookers.

Smereck's team, HC Donbass called the act "outrageous" ... and the UHL has since launched an investigation into it all.

In fact, the general manager of the UHL, Eugene Kolychev, promised to follow the probe "closely" ... and in a statement, he added, "I declare that there is no place for #racism in Ukrainian professional hockey."

For his part, Deniskin reportedly issued an apology in a now-deleted Instagram post ... writing in the caption, "I respect all people regardless of race or nationality."

Yo Gotti has gone from taking over the rap game to taking over the soccer game -- 'cause the star MC is now a co-owner of the MLS' D.C. United!!!

Gotti just announced his new business venture on Monday ... saying he -- alongside 3 other investors -- bought ownership of the franchise.

With his investment, Gotti currently owns 2-3% of the team -- and BTW, D.C. United is currently worth $750 million.

Gotti's investment comes shortly after Houston Texans RB Mark Ingram II invested in June to push the team’s value to $710 million.

The "Put a Date on It" rapper explained his decision to get involved in a statement on Monday.

"I was introduced to the game by my son and watched how quickly it has grown in our country, so I’m honored to join the D.C. United ownership group,"

The Memphis rapper is known for his business acumen since his early days ... and has sold over millions of records, created multiple hits and even started his own rap label called CMG in 2014 (Collective Music Group).

Daring heroics from a fitness coach quickly turned into a double tragedy -- after he jumped into rough ocean water to save his friend, both of them were swept out to sea ... while his wife was recording.

The dramatic video shows Daniil Gagarin leaping into the choppy waters to save his friend and fellow fitness expert Emma Mönkkönen at the La Zorra cove in the resort town of Torrevieja, Spain.

Through it all ... Daniil's wife, Darya, is filming the incident. At one point you can see Daniil gets a hold of Emma and they're both holding on to a rock. Darya's screaming to her husband, but suddenly a violent wave crashes on top of them and they're swept out into the Mediterranean sea.

You can hear the despair in Darya's voice, who cries for Daniil ... but both Daniil and Emma disappear.

According to a report ... Emma's body was recovered a couple of miles away from where the incident happened. Daniil's body was found the next day.

A Kansas City Chiefs fan was pummeled so hard during a wild brawl in the stands at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday -- he appeared to be knocked out cold.

The violence all went down at some point during the Chiefs' game against the Chargers ... when K.C. fans got into a heated altercation.

In footage of the incident, filmed by bystanders, you can see the melee was all kicked off after one fan threw a huge haymaker amid a verbal argument.

That's when all hell broke loose -- 'cause several other fans ran into the area, throwing wild punches.

In the clip, you can see things got so bad ... a man appeared to be punched unconscious, with his limp body sprawled out over a row of seats.

Unclear if anybody suffered any serious injuries in the fight, or if any arrests were made. We've reached out to cops, but so far, no word back yet.

"Dana White, if you're listening, this is a real message. Forget the cringe, forget the persona, this is straight-up me. I am the greatest combat athlete of all-time and I promise you, give me that opportunity, I will knock [Alex Volkanovski] out in less than 3 rounds."

That's 34-year-old Henry Cejudo making it crystal clear, he wants to un-retire and fight the UFC's featherweight champion, telling TMZ Sports he believes he'd KO 32-year-old Volkanovski in 15 minutes or less.

"Not only do I believe I can beat him, I know that I can stop him, dude." Triple C says.

"As much as I saw good things from Volkanovski, there still is a lot of holes. I believe my height will be a problem, because he is a couple inches taller than me. My speed, my wrestling, my experience, I've been in there with the best."

"Alexander 'The Average,' okay you had a great performance, it was a great fight, I just believe I have the 'it' factor to beat this dude, not only beat him, but stop him."

Of course, Volkanovski vs. Brian Ortega at UFC 266 was a crazy 5 round war ... one that Alex won by unanimous decision.

Even Henry couldn't help but admit the fight was awesome.

"It was a great fight man. A great fight. 5 rounds, that's what a true mixed martial arts fight is. They showed striking, these guys wrestled, they showed submissions."

As for Cejudo's future, many people already consider Cejudo the most accomplished combat sports athlete ever. After all, Henry was a flyweight (125 lbs.) and bantamweight (135 lbs.) champ, in addition to an Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling.

Conor McGregor, Daniel Cormier, and Amanda Nunes are the other fighters who have simultaneously been UFC double champs.

Simultaneous or not, no UFC fighter has ever been champ in 3 divisions ... which is exactly what Cejudo would become if he fought and beat Alexander.

Henry last fought in May 2020 ... when he beat Dominic Cruz via TKO with only seconds remaining in the 2nd round. He retired inside the Octagon following the fight.

HE ACTUALLY DID IT!!!

Tyron Woodley stayed true to his word and FINALLY got "I Love Jake Paul" tattooed on him ... with the UFC star having the phrase inked on the inside of his middle finger!!

Of course, it took a lot to get here -- Tyron initially claimed he would hold up his end of the tat bet only if Jake gave him a rematch after his split decision loss back in August.

Woodley said he was down to get the ink right after the bout in Cleveland, but no one was around after the fight to make it happen.

But, even after Jake shut him down and moved on to negotiations with Tommy Fury (which ain't going so hot, BTW), Tyron revealed last week he was going to follow through and get the tat this weekend -- rematch or no rematch.

Woodley clearly wasn't bluffing, 'cause now he's showing off the new work on Monday ... which shows an up-close shot of his new piece.

"I love you son," Woodley captioned the post on Instagram. "Now come and get this ass whippin cause i heard you been talking back to your elders. @jakepaul #ManOfMyWord"

"WHERE YOU AT!?"

No word on if this is enough to persuade Jake to take the rematch ... but we're sure he's bound to respond at some point.