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UFC champ Jon Jones is denying allegations he slapped a cocktail waitress at an Albuquerque strip club back in April ... and telling fans, "I'm definitely not in any trouble."

According to police, the alleged victim claims 32-year-old Jones not only slapped her inside TD’s Eubank Showclub, but kissed her neck without consent ... and then put her in a chokehold that was so powerful, he lifted her off the ground.

The woman told police Jones continued to put his hands on her until he left the club, according to KRQE in New Mexico.

The woman called police to her home after the incident to report the alleged crime. Jones was later charged with misdemeanor battery and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

A spokesperson for Jones told the media Jon was unaware of the case against him -- and didn't know about the warrant because the paperwork was sent to the wrong address.

Jones later paid a $300 bond and the arrest warrant was rescinded.

"Today, the media told Mr. Jones about a false accusation launched against him and that paperwork had been sent to an incorrect address," a Jones spokesman said Sunday night.

"However, after receiving the documents from the press, Mr. Jones immediately went to pay the small fee, and he, and multiple witnesses, stand ready to factually refute the malicious lies being told about him to the public."

Jones later tweeted about the allegations -- telling one fan, "I’m definitely not in any trouble my friend, don’t be so quick to believe everything you read on the Internet."

He told another user, "I know there’s a whole bunch of people hoping for my downfall but there’s even more who are proud of me and love seeing me do well. And screw staying inside, I love this community.. excited to keep climbing, haters going to be mad when I win in December."

Story developing ...

The two baddest women in combat sports could be on a collision course -- because Dana White says he's open to let Amanda Nunes take on undefeated boxing superstar Claressa Shields!!!

First off, Amanda Nunes is the greatest female UFC fighter of all time -- with devastating victories over everyone from Ronda Rousey to Cris Cyborg and Holly Holm.

Claressa is the top dog in boxing -- she's 9-0 as a pro and a 2-time Olympic gold medalist.

Shields has made it abundantly clear she wants Nunes in a boxing match -- and told TMZ Sports bluntly, "I'd put [her] to sleep."

So, we asked Dana if he'd ever let Amanda follow in Conor McGregor's footsteps and take a super fight in the boxing ring ... and his answer was VERY interesting.

"Amanda Nunes has things that she needs to do here [in the UFC] first, but I'm not opposed to it," White said.

"Maybe Claressa comes over here and fight in MMA."

So, what does Amanda need to do in the Octagon before a possible Shields matchup?

Dana says he's trying to sign Cris Cyborg to take a rematch with Amanda -- but White claims Cyborg won't put pen to paper ... insinuating she's scared of getting beaten up again.

"I think it's pretty obvious why she wouldn't want that fight. It's a bad fight for her."

"I think that [Cyborg] is at the point where she's afraid to lose again. Losing again isn't something she's interested in."

White says Amanda Nunes REALLY wants the fight -- and since she's basically cleared out the women's division, White wants to give her whoever she wants.

NBA star Trae Young says the hype about LaMelo Ball is REAL -- because he believes it's entirely possible the youngest Ball bro ends up a top 3 NBA draft pick in 2020.

The Atlanta Hawks star just came off a FANTASTIC rookie season, and has been working out with LaMelo while he's out here in Los Angeles.

So, when we saw Trae in BH (#shopping) we wanted to know if he thinks Ball has the goods to be a top three pick in the NBA draft when he's eligible next year.

"Possibly, yeah for sure. He'll be ready the by the time he gets to the league."

Young didn't stop there, telling us it really doesn't matter where Ball is drafted, because no matter where it is he's gonna be a dope NBA player.

"He'll be good in the league. If he's #1, #2, #3 ... regardless he'll be a good player."

Ball is a mystery in basketball circles -- he's 6'7" with real playmaking ability ... but his bizarre basketball journey (remember Lithuania?) is making some scouts think twice.

We'll see what happens, but at the very least we know 'Melo seems to have Trae's vote.

Cleveland Indians legend Kenny Lofton says he belongs in the Hall of Fame ... telling TMZ Sports he was better than Tim Raines!!!

"Look at my WAR and how that turns out," Lofton says.

Of course, Kenny's been a Cooperstown snub for years ... and now needs a special nomination from the Veteran's Committee if he ever wants to get an HoF plaque some day.

Lofton told us out at LAX he thinks that's a shame ... saying his career was just as good as new HoFer Harold Baines' -- and better than 2017 inductee Raines'.

"The guy I look at is Tim Raines," Lofton says. "He got in, and my numbers are just comparable to his, but look at my WAR and how that turns out."

Here's how the two stack up in the major categories:

-Lofton -- .299 batting average, 2,428 hits, 130 home runs, 622 steals and a 68.3 WAR.

-Raines -- .294 batting average, 2,605 hits, 170 home runs, 808 steals and a 69.4 WAR.

Lofton tells us the way he played center field should also factor in ... saying, "I did what I did at my position."

Prosecutors have finally hit Darren McFadden with charges in his wild Whataburger case ... charging the ex-NFL star with 2 misdemeanors that carry jail time if he's convicted.

McFadden was arrested back on January 21 after cops say the 31-year-old was asleep at the wheel of his 2019 GMC Yukon in the drive-thru at a Whataburger in Texas.

Officials say during the incident, McFadden resisted officers ... and it all ended up with the ex-running back's driver's side and passenger windows being smashed in.

Now, TMZ Sports has learned prosecutors have finally hit Darren with charges for the altercation -- charging him with resisting arrest and DUI with a BAC of greater than or equal to .15.

Both counts are defined as Class A misdemeanors in Texas ... which means McFadden is facing up to 2 YEARS behind bars and $8,000 in fines if he's convicted.

McFadden is due in court in October to face the charges.

Darren was a superstar at Arkansas before the Oakland Raiders drafted him with the 4th overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.

Usain Bolt is correct ... the United States DOES have a leg up on Jamaican sprinters for now -- so says track legend Sanya Richards-Ross!!!

We got the FOUR-time Olympic Gold Medalist out at LAX ... and seeing as she was born in Jamaica -- we had to ask about Bolt's comments that the new generation of Jamaican sprinters are "spoiled" and lazy.

Richards-Ross wouldn't go that far with her analysis of the situation ... but tells us she agrees with Bolt -- and says the country's love for the legendary sprinter is actually partly to blame.

"When you have a megastar like Usain Bolt," Richards-Ross tells us ... "it kind of suffocates the next generation of stars."

Richards-Ross also says that because Bolt was so dominant in the main sprinting events ... younger runners came up trying to make their way in OTHER events -- leading to an issue now.

But, good news for USA, Richards-Ross says all of that will lead to Americans being dominant in sprinting ... for now.

"Probably in the next four years you'll see a huge Jamaican star. But, right now, I think it's going to be Team USA."

Gilbert Arenas was NOT the problem in a crazy car crash earlier this month that wrecked his Maybach and caused another car to FLIP OVER ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Arenas was involved in a terrifying accident back on July 7, when a 2000 Toyota RAV4 collided with his 2018 Mercedes on the 101 freeway in Encino, California.

But, the California Highway Patrol tells us a 27-year-old man, who was the driver of the Toyota, was actually at fault for the car crash ... 'cause the CHP says he was speeding when he hit the NBA superstar.

Fortunately for everyone involved, the CHP says the man only suffered minor injuries ... while 37-year-old Arenas was not hurt at all.

But, seriously, it's crazy no one was hurt ... we obtained 911 calls from the scene -- and they paint a picture of a wild accident.

We're told no arrests or citations were issued in the incident ... and it's unclear what the cost of all the damages were.

Ex-San Diego Chargers star Shawne Merriman is being sued by the parents of a deceased Playboy employee, who claim he drugged and possibly assaulted their daughter before she overdosed while partying with him ... but Merriman flat-out denies wrongdoing.

The employee was Kimberly Fattorini, who died in 2017. At the time, her death was ruled accidental, with the cause being overdose from a cocktail of substances ... including booze, coke and a commonly used date rape drug known as GHB.

In a lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Kimberly's parents claim that she and some friends went to a club event 'cause of an invite from a promoter, who the parents allege went on to host the girls at his house, continuing to party into the early morning.

The lawsuit alleges that the promoter texted Shawne at some point the next day, saying ... "Got 3 whores over," with the idea being that Shawne could take a couple off his hands.

Kimberly's parents go on to claim that Shawne did in fact show up, and was allegedly witnessed carrying a bottle with some sort of liquid inside. After that, the parents allege that Kimberly texted the promoter from inside the house saying, "you friend just poor'd half G in my drink," and the parents believe G refers to GHB, which is a powerful depressant.

The lawsuit alleges Kimberly sent a number of texts afterward that made no sense, with the implication being that she was incredibly intoxicated. The suit claims that Kimberly, Shawne and a friend of hers then went to her friend's place after ... and then around 3 PM, a 911 call was placed by Kimberly's friend who found her unresponsive.

Kimberly's parents claim that first responders found her "half-naked with her jeans unzipped and unbottoned." They also allege Shawne was in the room when 911 was called, and that he made clear to the present parties that he didn't want it known he was there.

The suit alleges that a preliminary report from the autopsy didn't indicate any foul play, but they also note that a test for sexual assault wasn't done because officials said it wasn't conducted at the time of the initial autopsy, and couldn't be done properly afterward.

Now for an alleged text Kimberly's parents claim they dug up between a friend of Kimberly's and the promoter who initially invited Shawne ... it allegedly read, "Shawn killed her ass, what a f***ing idiot." Another alleged text from the promoter reads, "That dumbass been drugging girls for years."

The complaint claims negligence, battery and a violation of the drug dealer liability act. The family's asking for damages.

As for Shawne, a representative for him tells TMZ ... "As of right now Shawne, nor his attorney, have any knowledge of him being named in any lawsuit. This alleged lawsuit is baseless. Shawne attended an after party more than two years ago where a young woman unfortunately overdosed."

Luke Voit is one tough SOB -- he took a baseball to the face this weekend, but temporarily stayed in the game and even ran the bases right afterward.

The Yankees slugger was up to bat Saturday against the Rockies at the bottom of the 4th -- with the Yanks up 6-0 -- and on a 0-2 fastball from pitcher Chad Bettis, which got away from him ... the ball made contact with the front of Voit's face ... grazing his lip and chin.

It looked a lot worse than it ended up being, but geez ... talk about freaky. Miraculously, Voit avoided a serious injury and took his place at first ... no big pause or anything either.

Yankees manager Aaron Boone rushed out right away to check on his first baseman, and as Voit worked out some kinks in his jaw and wiped off his lip, he seemed to signal that he was okay. A short while later, he got to third on another hit ... and appeared fine doing it.

Still, the ball definitely connected with Voit's face and it's quite a sight to behold in slow-motion. You can see his face jiggle and vibrate as the ball slides across his mug.

Manny Pacquiao says he wants to fight until he's 45 years old ... and when he retires, the boxing star tells TMZ Sports he will seriously consider buying an NBA franchise.

The 40-year-old superstar has made a FORTUNE during his boxing career -- and says he feels he's got AT LEAST another 5 years of fighting before hangin' 'em up for good.

"I feel like young, like late 20s," PacMan says ... explaining that he still loves the sport and all of the training that comes with it.

Pacquiao -- who's fighting undefeated star Keith Thurman on Saturday -- tells us he feels blessed by God ... and plans to use his gifts as long as his mind and body hold up.

Part of Manny's training regimen is playing basketball for 4 to 5 hours a day ... seriously.

In fact, Manny's so obsessed with the sport, he bought his own semi-pro basketball league back home in the Philippines called the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).

FYI, Forbes says Manny has made more than $500 MILLION during his boxing career -- including a $26 million haul over the past year.

So, we had to ask if he had NBA ambitions and the boxer gave us an emphatic "Yes!"

New team, new pad -- L.A.'s newest superstar Anthony Davis has found a temporary home in his new territory ... renting an INSANE $14.1 million mansion in Bel-Air!!!

TMZ Sports has learned ... The Brow is resting his feet in a super private gated community in L.A. ... and the 12,000-square-foot house is a perfect for a big-time baller.

The 6-bedroom, 6-bathroom pad comes with a decked out gourmet kitchen, bar, personal gym, master bedroom with marble fireplace and walk-in closet, pool ... and of course, a basketball court!!!

We're told AD is renting the place for around $50k a month ... but the guy's in the middle of a 5-year, $127 million contract ... so it's a drop in the bucket for the All-Star.

FYI -- if Davis decides to crash at this spot during the season, it's only about a 35-minute drive to Staples Center!!! (But, you never know with L.A. traffic.)

AD's not gonna be far from his bestie, LeBron James, either ... he'll be about 15 min from his Brentwood neighborhood.

Stipe Miocic says it "kinda sucked" when Brock Lesnar was in the mix for a UFC title fight with Daniel Cormier ... telling TMZ Sports he didn't think it was fair since Brock hadn't fought in years.

Remember, Stipe had defended the UFC heavyweight title THREE TIMES (the most in UFC history) before losing to Cormier at UFC 226 in July 2018.

Stipe -- and many UFC fans -- believed he deserved an immediate rematch with Cormier ... but when Lesnar expressed interest in fighting DC, it seemed Brock became the priority.

Lesnar eventually ended talks with the UFC so he could turn his full attention to his WWE career ... and that's when the UFC decided to give Stipe the fight in August at UFC 241.

Miocic tells TMZ Sports the whole waiting game for Lesnar rubbed him the wrong way -- explaining, "I mean, the dude hasn't fought in like, 3 years. Been popped twice, suspended."

"It's like, how you gonna put a dude like that ... he's not even a money fight anymore."

Miocic continued, "When he fought Mark Hunt, it didn't get a lot of Pay-Per-View sales. So, what's the difference of bringing him in? So, I don't know, whatever, it's all good."

"Brock's doing his thing. Good luck with everything he does, but right now, it's me and DC."

It's been 8 days since the Angels honored Tyler Skaggs by throwing a no-hitter ... but Tampa Bay Rays star Austin Meadows STILL can't believe it, telling TMZ Sports, "It was pretty surreal."

Skaggs tragically died at the team's hotel during a road trip to Texas earlier this month ... and in the Angels' first game back in L.A. without the pitcher, they threw a combined no-hitter.

The moment was amazing ... especially afterward, when players took off their jerseys and placed them on the mound as a tribute to the pitcher.

When we got Meadows out in NYC this week ... he said he's still having a hard time imagining the Angels were able to do all that, telling us, "It was unbelievable."

"It was just definitely jaw-dropping. It was amazing."

Meadows was able to hang out with the most famous Angel -- Mike Trout -- during the All-Star Game shortly after Skaggs' death ... and he told us being with Mike at that time was an incredible experience.

"That was awesome, man. Just being around him, just being in his presence, it was pretty special."

Looks like R.J. Hampton made the right decision passing up college basketball to get a check in Australia ... 'cause he's already dominating pro basketball players, according to NBA skills trainer Tyler Relph.

Relph is a basketball guru, having trained guys like Julius Randle, George Hill, Marcus Smart and Amare Stoudemire. He's currently working with Hampton before he heads overseas.

How's he getting him ready? Throwing him into the DEEP water with European pros and seeing what he can do, and according to Tyler, he can do a hell of a lot.

"95 percent of the time he's the best player on the floor," Relph says ... "Athletically the things that he can do, the spots he can get to."

Relph says Hampton ain't quite Kobe yet -- he says the kid is still young and has some things to work on, some of which are actually out of his control.

"With him, it's just gonna be -- physically -- it's gonna be a tougher game, but that will come with age," Relph says.

"Reads, defensive rotations, stuff like that, that a lot of kids that if they don't go to college or just played high school don't know yet."

FYI ... Hampton is gonna be playing with the New Zealand Breakers in the Australian National Basketball League. It's a place where a lot of NBA talent has played, so they'll be ready.

And, they better be.

Hall of Fame voters ... listen up, Atlanta Braves legend Andruw Jones says Derek Jeter better be a unanimous selection next year -- OR HE'S GOING TO BE PISSED!!!

"If Jeter don't get 100 percent," Jones tells TMZ Sports ... "we got a problem then."

Of course, there's only been one player EVER to receive that honor -- Yanks legend Mariano Rivera just earned the first unanimous vote in baseball history earlier this year.

Count Jones in as one of the people who think Jeter -- a 14-time All-Star, 5-time World Series Champ and a 5-time Silver Slugger winner -- should be next.

As for Andruw's own HoF candidacy, he didn't issue any warnings to the Cooperstown committee there ... telling us, "We'll see what happens with that."

By the way, we also asked Andruw about Aaron Boone's epic tirade against an ump earlier this week ... and Jones wasn't a fan.

"Baseball's getting too crazy now!!"

Patriots fans ... look away -- Tom Brady just hurled himself off a cliff with his daughter in Costa Rica!!!

And, yeah ... it's just as cringe-worthy as it sounds!!!

TB12 hit up a lagoon on his annual pre-training camp vacay with his fam ... and for some reason, he decided to throw himself off the top of the rocks into the water with his daughter.

Things didn't exactly go swimmingly (sorry) ... when he counted off his daughter to jump in with him -- she hesitated ... and it created some seriously tense moments!!!

Fortunately for Brady, his daughter and the entire state of Massachusetts, everyone came up from the water just fine.

Of course, the G.O.A.T. is no stranger to these dangerous situations ... remember, it was back in 2012 when he threw himself off an even BIGGER cliff in Costa Rica.