TMZ Sports - Page 9

Ian Machado Garry had Shavkat Rakhmonov on his mind before he ever signed on to fight the undefeated contender ... telling TMZ Sports he told the UFC he wanted to serve as backup for the UFC 310 main event before Belal Muhammad pulled out with an injury.

TMZ Sports talked to the No. 7-ranked, 15-0 fighter just days before his title eliminator vs. 18-0 Shavkat, the No. 3-ranked challenger.

"For me, it wasn't a hard decision whatsoever. I had told UFC six weeks prior that I would be willing to be the backup for the world title fight," Garry said, explaining people were turning him down, and he just wanted a fight.

Hercy Miller -- Master P's son -- is one step closer to having his name cleared in his refrigerator theft case ... prosecutors tell TMZ Sports they've filed documents to drop the felony charge he had been facing.

A spokesperson for the Iron County Attorney's Office tells us ... they submitted a motion to dismiss Miller's case in court on Friday afternoon. If a judge ultimately signs off on it, Miller will be in the clear.

A formal ruling on the matter is expected to come down by the end of next week.

Daniel Penny scored a big win in court on Friday, and while he's not entirely out of the woods just yet, the New Yorker is getting support from one of the greatest golfers of all time.

"Thank you Daniel for serving your country and for protecting the many passengers whose lives were threatened by this violent and deranged individual," 6-time Majors winner Phil Mickelson wrote on X.

The golf legend also shared a post from a conservative commentator ... describing Daniel as a "model citizen who should be praised by the city of New York."

Mickelson is just one of many people, including celebs, who have come to Penny's defense.

Of course, 24-year-old Penny, a U.S. Marine veteran, was arrested and charged with manslaughter for the May 1, 2023 killing of a 30-year-old homeless man named Jordan Neely.

Neely, according to witnesses, was acting erratically aboard a NYC subway, and even allegedly yelled, "Someone's going to die today!"

Penny put Neely in a chokehold ... and the man later died.

The case has received a huge amount of national attention ... with many people outraged the D.A. in New York City moved to charge the former U.S. military member while he was allegedly protecting the public.

A jury in Manhattan was not able to reach a verdict on the most serious charge DP was facing ... manslaughter, which carries a potential prison sentence of 15 years.

After days of unsuccessful deliberation, the judge opted to dismiss the charge.

Now, the jury will have to decide whether Daniel is guilty of a lesser charge, negligent homicide, which could put him behind bars for 4 years.

Diddy's facing a mountain of lawsuits from anonymous accusers, but one accuser's name has now been revealed in court docs ... and she's the ex-wife of a professional hockey player.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, one of the Jane Does suing Diddy for sexual assault was ordered to reveal her identity if she wanted to continue her lawsuit ... and now we've learned the woman suing is Anna Kane, who used to be married to NHL star Evander Kane.

FYI, Evander has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

Anna amended her lawsuit to include her government name. As we already told you, she claims she was just 17 years old and still in high school when Diddy, and others, gang-raped her.

The NFL has closed its latest investigation into sexual assault accusations made against Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson earlier this season, TMZ Sports has confirmed.

We're told the league found insufficient evidence to prove a personal conduct policy violation took place ... and the matter is now a thing of the past.

The 29-year-old signal-caller -- whose season ended after he tore his Achilles back in Week 7 -- was hit with a lawsuit in September ... with a woman claiming he sexually assaulted her in 2020.

Josh Allen is calm, cool and collected under pressure ... but he was anything but when he had a ring in his pocket -- admitting he was shaking in his boots when he proposed to his now-fiancée, Hailee Steinfeld.

The engaged couple took part in a Q&A a week after their big news was made public ... peeling back the curtains and letting fans in on their relationship.

The actress/singer asked the Buffalo Bills quarterback for his take on their "most magical day" as he came off as "so chill" at the time ... but he revealed that wasn't the case.

Chuck Norris is in mourning ... because his mom, Wilma, is dead.

The "Walker, Texas Ranger" star just announced his mom's death ... saying she died Wednesday morning and "went home to be with Jesus."

Chuck is remembering his mother as "a woman of unwavering faith, a beacon of light in our lives" ... and he says "her love reflected God's grace."

Jaylen Brown is paying the price for how he celebrated his insane dunk over Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Stewart ... with the league hitting him with a hefty fine over it all.

The play in question went down with 12 seconds to go during the Celtics' win over Motor City on Wednesday night, with Brown hitting a nasty poster on Stewart to get the TD Garden going crazy.

In the moment, the 28-year-old emphasized the highlight by making a throat-slashing gesture toward Stewart -- and it turns out the NBA wasn't a fan of the move ... 'cause the league announced he will need to fork over $25K for "making an inappropriate gesture on the playing court."

Randy Moss is stepping away from his role on "Sunday NFL Countdown" ... to focus on his battle with an undisclosed health issue.

ESPN announced the move Friday morning ... explaining the Hall of Famer will be gone for "an extended time" as he continues to deal with "a personal health challenge."

Moss first made his fans aware of his medical ailment on Dec. 1 ... though he kept things vague, saying merely he's "battling something internal."

The Packers and Lions got heated before the football was kicked off on Thursday Night Football ... 'cause head coach Matt LaFleur mixed it up with a fan pregame, and the altercation was captured by TV cameras!

The clip starts with LaFleur jawing at a Detriot Lions fan, wearing a Brian Branch jersey, on the Ford Field gridiron ... appearing to yell something along the lines of, "Shut the f*** up," as he walked towards the guy,

A Detroit Lions fan equipped with a cheese shredder now has beef with some of his favorite team's security guards ... as he claims they nabbed his cheddar grater following his viral moment!

If you missed it, the Aidan Hutchinson supporter set the internet ablaze in the first half of the Lions' huge clash with the Green Bay Packers ... as he grated some dairy from Ford Field's first row in front of a "Thursday Night Football" camera.

Rockin' a pair of sunglasses and a stoic look on his face -- he mocked the Lions' cheesehead rivals by making it sprinkle ... and almost immediately, Detroit turned the imagery into a GIF.

The New York Knicks' national anthem singer gave quite the memorable rendition on Thursday ... when her performance was derailed by an overly excited fan -- but she bounced back and finished strong!!

The singer -- Liceli -- was only a few seconds into her performance when a spectator started shouting in a quiet Madison Square Garden. While it's unclear what the fan said, it was loud enough for her to pause in her tracks to figure out what was happening.

Even though she got tripped up, Liceli handled it like a pro -- picking up where she left off like nothing happened -- with the Garden faithful giving her a strong applause after she got going again.

Bill Belichick and his 24-year-old girlfriend, Jordon Hudson, had a very public date night Thursday -- hitting a red carpet in front of dozens of cameras ... making it clear their relationship is going as strong as ever.

The two stepped out at New York City's American Museum of Natural History for The Museum Gala ... and they looked good as they strutted in front of paps.

Belichick ditched his normal cut-sleeve hoodie for a black tuxedo, white shirt and black bowtie ... while Jordon donned an elegant black dress for the occasion.

The stars shone particularly bright in Los Angeles last night with Jennifer Lopez, Selena Gomez and Pamela Anderson, among others, stepping out for a local awards show.

Check it out ... the notable names hit the town in the City of Angels Thursday night, where several of the starlets were honored at the 2024 IndieWire Honors. There was Lopez, who literally shimmered in a glittering metallic dress as she accepted one of the night's big honors.

Specifically, J Lo was given the Maverick Award for her work in her recent sports biopic, "Unstoppable," in which she plays the mother of Anthony Robles, a one-legged wrestling champion.

Max Verstappen keeps winning -- the four-time Formula One champion and his girlfriend, Kelly Piquet, just announced they have a baby on the way!!

The Red Bull driver and model shared the news on social media ahead of this weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix ... saying, "Mini Verstappen-Piquet on the way ❤️"

"We couldn’t be happier with our little miracle 💫"

Ohio State Buckeye fans are still dealing with the effects of their loss to hated rival Michigan ... OSU legend Maurice Clarett has begun to look ahead, telling us the Buckeyes will be in the playoffs, with an opportunity to win a championship!

Babcock caught up with the former national champion following the Wolverines 13-10 win over his alma mater on Saturday. While Clarett hoped the team would compete for the Big Ten championship this weekend, he's not going to cry over spilled milk.

"I'm not the person to cry over one moment when you have a bunch of other things in front of you. We still have the playoffs coming up. Chances are we'll play here either December 21 or 22, and we have a handful of games."