TMZ Sports - Page 10

Think Merab Dvalishvili is a bad stylistic matchup for Sean O'Malley?! Suga couldn't see it anymore differently ... telling TMZ Sports he's a "nightmare matchup" for his UFC 306 opp!

"It's a big fight feel being at the Sphere," the 29-year-old bantamweight champ told Babcock of the UFC Noche event, going down Mexican Independence Day weekend at the amazing venue.

33-year-old Merab, the top 135 lb. contender, hasn't lost since 2018 ... and good matchup or not, Sean understands he can be a "dangerous" dude.

If Taylor Swift wants to draw up some plays for the Chiefs, so be it ... so says ex-NFL star Nate Burleson, who tells TMZ Sports the pop superstar being hands-on in Travis Kelce's career will only bring good results.

The All-Pro tight end recently confirmed his lady has fully immersed herself in football since they started dating ... and it's gotten to the point where she's been working on her Xs and Os and designing some Kelce-focused routes.

Burleson -- who now stars in front of the camera for CBS -- has no issue with the "Karma" crooner getting involved in her man's day job ... especially considering the Chiefs have continued their dominance amid her presence on gamedays.

Forget Santa ... Miami Dolphins star Jevon Holland is hoping Tua Tagovailoa heads down his chimney this Christmas -- banking on the quarterback gifting him something real nice after signing a $212 MILLION contract this summer.

Of course, if the signal-caller doesn't send a present Holland's way on Dec. 25 ... the Fins' starting safety clearly won't be upset -- as he tells TMZ Sports he's absolutely pumped his pal was rewarded for all of his hard work over the past five years with a big deal.

Holland told us Tua's worth every penny ... especially when you consider he's had to dodge dudes like Jadeveon Clowney and Myles Garrett in order to have success on the gridiron.

The new Netflix documentary on Steve McNair's murder has left fans with more questions than answers ... and a former cop tells TMZ Sports that in order to fully get to the bottom of it all, police should now reopen the case.

The man who's desperately trying to figure out what actually happened to the ex-NFL star is Vincent Hill -- who briefly appeared in "Untold: The Murder of Air McNair," a Netflix doc that explored the life and death of McNair.

In the program, Hill -- a former Nashville Police Dept. officer who's since become a private investigator -- made a case that McNair might have been gunned down in his Tennessee condo by a male assailant ... not his mistress, Sahel "Jenni" Kazemi.

Diondre Overton -- a former college football standout at Clemson who helped them win two national championships -- has died after an early morning shooting, cops say.

The Guilford County Sheriff's Office released a statement minutes ago ... saying officers responded to a call about a disturbance at around 2:30 AM in Greensboro, North Carolina Saturday.

When they arrived at the scene, they say they found a shooting victim, identified as Overton. Officers administered medical aid, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

50 Cent got many men and women moving at a New York Fashion Week event Friday night ... getting the crowd bumping during an event for the soda brand Poppi.

The rapper came out for a surprise performance at the event -- a launch for Poppi's new Cherry Cola flavor -- playing some of his biggest hits in a Versace t-shirt and red New York cap.

50 rocked the room ... then stayed to pose for pics afterwards -- hanging with out with some of the biggest bold-faced names in NYC this weekend.

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce brought their love affair back to NYC Friday night, touching down for some Italian food in Brooklyn and causing quite a stir among the locals.

The pop superstar and her Kansas City Chiefs boyfriend sank their teeth into yummy pizza and/or doughy calzones – the only two food items on the menu -- at Lucali restaurant in the borough's leafy Carroll Gardens.

Check out the photos/videos ... the place was packed with people inside and out trying to catch a glimpse of the famous couple.

Donald Trump took a beat from bashing his opponent Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election to turn his ire elsewhere ... blasting the NFL over a newly instituted rule change.

Here's the deal ... this season, kick-offs have dramatically changed to allow for fair catches and to designate when players on defense can go after the ball carrier ... the point being to reduce the possibility of severe injury on the high-risk play.

It seems DT is among those who think the change sucks ... bitching about it on Truth Social as the 2024 season gets underway this weekend.

Travis Kelce didn't get the game ball after the Kansas City Chiefs won their season opener, he got something better ... a kiss from Taylor Swift.

In new photos from the postgame celebration Thursday night in K.C., Taylor is smooching Travis on the cheek.

Taylor and Travis are cheesing for the camera next to another Chiefs couple ... wide receiver Mecole Hardman and his fiancée, Chariah Gordon.

The guy who won the 2024 Nathan's Hot Dog eating contest is well aware Joey Chestnut's still the real wiener king ... telling TMZ Sports his Fourth of July victory deserves an asterisk -- but someone had to win in Jaws' absence.

We caught up with competitive eater Patrick Bertoletti on the heels of Chestnut's record-breaking performance against Kobayashi in Netflix's "Unfinished Beef" event ... which resulted in Joey downing 83 dogs and buns -- 25 more than he did in Coney Island two months ago.

With that being said, we asked the mustard belt winner how he viewed his own win now ... and he's not pretending Jaws doesn't exist. In fact, they're actually good friends ... and Bertoletti was in Las Vegas to support him on Labor Day.

Ryan Garcia isn't letting his boxing suspension stop him from getting in the ring ... the star boxer tells TMZ Sports he's fighting in December!

The 24-1 boxer broke the news to us earlier this week ... months after the New York State Athletic Commission suspended him after testing positive for a banned substance in April, saying he'll soon be fighting again.

"You're gonna see me fight in December," Garcia told us. "It's gonna be a big fight. Stay tuned!"

Jorge Masvidal is ready to get back in a UFC Octagon ... telling TMZ Sports he's eyeing fights with none other than Leon Edwards and Michael Chandler -- and one of the two has already responded!!

Masvidal spoke about his impending return to Dana White's org this week after being away from it all since April 2023 -- and he told us he's itching to get back.

For now, no firm return date has been set ... but he said he's hoping to be on a card sometime either at the end of this year or the start of 2025.

The Georgia school shooting suspect's horrible life at home, Selena Gomez's billionaire status and Dak Prescott's contract situation are all part of today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

First up on "TMZ Live," Harvey and Charles examine the toxic elements of Colt Gray's life at home in Georgia.

Travis Pastrana says Dana White wants to take "the best, most chaotic, craziest, short-attention span racing in the world" to new heights ... telling TMZ Sports the UFC honcho's vision for Nitrocross is like music to his ears!!

We spoke with the action sports legend ahead of Nitrocross' upcoming season -- which kicks off in Richmond, VA this weekend -- and he said it's gonna be a party the whole family can enjoy.

Nitrocross is pretty intense -- as Pastrana explains, the vehicles have more than 1,000 horsepower (more than any form of rallycross in the world), the courses have massive jumps and cars are flying all over the place.

Nev Schulman is ready to hit the road again after breaking his neck in a near-fatal collision last month.

The "Catfish" star tells TMZ ... he's on the mend after he was hit by a truck while riding his e-bike in Long Island, NY ... revealing he's set to get an X-ray next week to see if his spine has fully healed. If so, Nev will be allowed to take off his neck brace ... which is necessary if he wants to start training for a marathon sooner rather than later.

While Nev admits he still has a lot of nerve pain and discomfort in his hands and arms ... he's determined to complete 26.2 miles in the near future.

Dr Disrespect has returned to the world of streaming -- two months after allegations surfaced he sent inappropriate messages to a minor -- and while he didn't avoid the elephant in the room, he used much of the time to exact revenge on his detractors.

"Why do this?" Disrespect asked. "What was the point? This was settled, professionally, and you knowing how black and white the internet is, you decided, you f***** rat, to leak the reported reason Twitch banned me in 2020."