TMZ Sports - Page 50

Conor McGregor didn’t step up to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223, but Dana White says it’s a “100%” certainty the Irishman fights in the Octagon again -- THIS YEAR.

But, bad news for Conor – he won’t be coming back a UFC champion.

Dana just dropped the bombshell at the news conference for UFC 223 in Brooklyn .... confirming McGregor will continue his MMA career sometime in 2018.

But, as the UFC prez has told us in the past, Conor's gonna have to drop his 155-pound belt as soon as Khabib and Max Holloway get it on at 223.

As for McGregor's opponent -- Dana didn't say. But, the winner of Khabib vs. Max for the UFC lightweight title would make sense as Conor’s matchup.

Khabib and Max also got in their shots at the Q&A sesh ... with Khabib mocking Holloway for thinking he stands a chance against him.

Former Miami Dolphins cornerback Dimitri Patterson is suing ESPN for $50 million claiming the network defamed him in a 2017 article saying he was in custody after a "courtroom escape attempt."

The article -- published on August 15, 2017 -- says Patterson injured two police officers while trying to abruptly exit a Miami-Dade courthouse and avoid being arrested.

ESPN says it confirmed the info with police -- noting, "a female officer suffered neck and back injuries, and a male officer injured his wrist while apprehending Patterson."

FYI, Patterson played in the NFL from 2005 to 2013, racking up 9 interceptions in 79 games.

But, Patterson says the information is wrong -- saying, "The article is false and defamatory in its overall portrayal of DP as a violent, impulsive, unstable person."

Patterson says there is court video footage which backs up his claims.

In his suit, which he filed while acting as his own lawyer, Patterson includes a letter from ESPN legal team in which the network defends the accuracy of the article.

Patterson is demanding $50 MILLION in damages.

Here's your NFL savage hit of the week ... courtesy of a U.S. military attack dog that just BLEW UP Mark Ingram!!!

The Saints running back decided to go 1-on-1 with the dog during a USO visit with troops in Venice, Italy. Don't worry, Ingram was in full pads ... but dude still got dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Ingram tried bustin' out a spin move ... but nothing could save him from the K9 Ray Lewis, who took him airborne before slammin' him back down, HARD.

Before the dog sunk his teeth in, you can hear Mark screamin' for his damn life -- and we don't blame him. That was terrifying.

On the plus side, Mark got to sit back and watch the same pooch take out 300-POUND Falcons lineman Ben Garland.

FYI, Ingram, Garland and other NFL stars have more stops in Italy and Germany coming up as a part of the league's "Salute to Service."

Drew Brees got clean finessed by his jeweler -- and the only way to stop it from happening again is to get some gangstas on his squad ... so says rap star Rich The Kid.

We broke the story ... Drew filed a lawsuit against San Diego jeweler Vahid Moradi claiming the bling he bought from Moradi over the years -- around $15 million worth -- was actually worth MILLIONS less.

For his part, Moradi and his attorney Eric M. George deny all wrongdoing and say Brees has no one to blame but himself.

Rich is no stranger to ice (duh, rapper) so when we got him in ATL we asked him what he thought about the whole ordeal, and it's clear he thinks Brees took an L.

"He got finessed."

FYI -- for those of you who don't know, being finessed means to get played. If you don't know what getting played means it means to get duped. If you don't know what duped means we can't help.

All is not lost for Drew (what's a couple million right?) ... because Rich had advice to keep it from happening again.

"He needs some gangstas with him."

Ronda Rousey's been in some of the biggest UFC events in history ... but NOTHING can compare to the pressure cooker she's about to enter at WrestleMania 34 -- so says WWE star "The Coach."

We spoke to Coach with Rousey's 1st official match just days away ... and the "Monday Night Raw" commentator told us why Ronda's facing a situation like no other superstar in WWE history.

"She's been in main events before in the UFC but this is on another level," Coach told TMZ Sports.

"Just the pressure to perform in front of her new peers, because she's coming in and she's taken a very, very lucrative spot at WrestleMania."

Jose Fernandez and a passenger killed in his fatal boat crash were both drugged before the incident as part of a robbery scheme ... this according to a lawyer for the ex-MLB star's estate.

Attorney Ralph Fernandez has filed new documents in the wrongful death case brought against the Miami Marlins pitcher -- claiming he was carrying $15,000 in cash in a backpack on the night of the incident ... which made him a target for thieves.

Fernandez claims he and Eduardo Rivero were "unwitting recipients of a spiked drink or a mickey of sorts" in a plot to disorient them and steal the money.

Fernandez, Rivero and Emilio Macias were killed in Sept. 2016 when Jose's boat crashed while traveling at an extremely high speed. Investigators say Fernandez's body tested positive for cocaine and booze.

The families of Rivero and Macias filed a civil suit against Fernandez's estate each seeking $2 million.

But, Jose's attorney claims investigators found NO evidence of drug paraphernalia or drug residue at the crash scene ... supporting his theory that the player was drugged without his knowledge.

Fernandez also claims the investigative body handling the crash refused to consider the possibility Jose was not driving the boat. For the record, the boat was owned by Jose.

Rob Gronkowski is one of the best damn players in the NFL, and he's sick of not getting paid like it -- so says ex-Patriots tight end Jermaine Wiggins.

You've probably heard ... rumors have been swirling about Gronk splitting with New England all offseason long -- for reasons ranging from his relationship with Bill Belichick to just being tired of football.

But according to Jermaine, the biggest thing doggin' Rob is his contract.

"I definitely think he's frustrated with the money that he gets when you look at what he does," Wiggins told TMZ Sports.

"He should be getting paid $15-16 million a year, but he's not, so there's definitely that frustration there."

Jermaine says it's obvious Gronk is the league's most dangerous receiver -- "by far more valuable" than top WRs like Antonio Brown and Julio Jones -- so getting paid way less than 'em ain't right.

Josh Norman is so confident he'd take Cam Newton 1-on-1 in basketball, he told Cam straight-up ... and TMZ Sports has the video!

We got Josh after a beach workout in L.A. with his NFL bros Julian Stanford and Demario Davis ... and the stud safety opened on why we keep spotting him droppin' sweat on the sand.

But, things got really interesting when our guy asked Norman about ballin' up Cam at his charity game in South Carolina this weekend.

Turns out, Cam was on the phone with Josh ... and when we asked who the better baller was, Norman wasn't about to back down.

"Me, of course. I'm not gonna say him."

FYI, a bunch of NFL stars are coming out to hoop at Norman's event -- but, is it gonna be bigger than Quavo's Huncho Day?

Did you know ... Josh Rosen has been tight with Snoop Dogg's son Cordell Broadus since the 7th grade??

It's true ... they're still good friends today (after playing together at UCLA) -- and now Cordell is giving us the REAL inside scoop on the QB.

In fact, Cordell says critics who think Rosen would fail in Cleveland are wrong -- and explains why a BIG, FAT PAYCHECK could drive a "millennial" like Josh to greatness in LeBron's city.

"If you give anybody $1 million they'll be mentally stimulated," Broadus told TMZ Sports at LAX. "He could thrive anywhere with the right check and the right dedication and the right determination."

Justin Verlander won the World Series ... Kate Upton is winning at life -- if you use giant diamonds to keep score.

The Houston Astros pitcher let his supermodel wife rock his brand new World Series ring -- on the same hand as her massive engagement ring ... and it's a kind of photo that would make Drew Brees blush.

The World Series ring -- which Verlander got on Tuesday -- is 10.40 carats with 214 diamonds, 16 natural blue sapphires and 9 natural orange sapphires.

The ring has 11 custom diamonds that make up the "H" on the top of the piece -- one for every playoff victory ... and 101 diamonds overall on the top (one for every regular season win).

There are 56 diamonds which surround the "H" -- representing each season the Astros played until the first franchise title.

The engagement ring is reportedly 8 carats and worth $1.5 million.

Good Lord.

Drew Brees is speaking out on his lawsuit against a San Diego jeweler -- saying he trusted the man with $15 million in diamonds ... but "in the end it was all a scam."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... Brees sued Vahid Moradi of CJ Charles jewelers claiming Moradi misrepresented the quality and value of several high-priced diamonds over the years.

In fact, Brees claimed he severely overpaid for an $8.1 MILLION blue diamond in 2015 -- which is really only worth about $3.75 mil.

Now, Brees has issued a statement through his attorney Andrew Kim saying, "From 2010 to 2016, Moradi advised [my wife and I] to allocate funds into an alternative asset class of investment grade diamonds and told us that he would use his connections and expertise to acquire them on our behalf at or below market value."

"In an effort to diversify our investment portfolio, we trusted Moradi and invested. Moradi assured us he was being compensated by the sellers for any investment grade diamonds he acquired on our behalf."

"In the end it was all a scam. After thinking long and hard, Brittany and I decided to take this lawsuit on in part because we fear we are not the only ones Moradi has misled and defrauded."

Moradi has denied any wrongdoing -- with his attorney -- saying the fault lies with Brees.

"Mr. Brees's behavior and his belief that he was wronged because the jewelry did not appreciate in value as quickly as he hoped both demonstrate a lack of integrity and contradict basic principles of both economics and the law."

Gennady Golovkin is NOT giving up on a second mega-fight with Canelo Alvarez, despite his positive PED test ... and now has his sights set on a September 15 rematch.

TMZ Sports spoke with GGG's promoter, Tom Loeffler, who tells us Gennady is "100%" committed to getting the Canelo rematch on the calendar ... explaining "that's the main focus for GGG."

Loeffler says Golovkin is still committed to fighting on May 5 ... and his team is searching for the best possible opponent to step in for Canelo.

As we previously reported, Canelo withdrew from the rematch Tuesday after testing positive for Clenbuterol, a banned substance that helps athletes cut fat while maintaining muscle mass.

Loeffler says GGG is "frustrated" with Canelo -- and added that's there's a lot of bad blood between the guys.

UFC star Khabib Nurmagomedov just got into an intense, face-to-face verbal sparring match with one of Conor McGregor's BFFs/training partners ... and the whole thing's on video!

Unclear what exactly triggered the scuffle, but Khabib and UFC fighter Artem Lobov crossed paths at the fighters' hotel for UFC 223 in NYC ... and things got REAL quick.

Immediately, you can see Khabib getting all up in Artem's grill as they exchange words in Russian and English ... and their teammates are forced to jump in.

At one point, it looks like Nurmagomedov slaps Lobov straight in the dome before they're separated for a final time ... and Artem walks away.

FYI, Khabib ripped McGregor on Monday, saying he should've stepped up to replace Tony Ferguson at 223. Of course, Max Holloway ended up getting the fight vs. Khabib.

He's not "officially" retired ... but Kristin Cavallari says she's pretty convinced her husband Jay Cutler is finished in the NFL.

"I think he's done," Kristin said on SiriusXM's "The Jenny McCarthy Show" ... "It's not official. But yeah."

Kristin says 34-year-old Jay is still trying to figure out his professional future and noted he has "a few offers on the table" ... but she didn't say if those offers were from NFL teams or media outlets looking for a broadcaster.

Of course, Jay signed a 1-year deal with the Miami Dolphins in 2017 to take over after starting QB Ryan Tannehill went down with a knee injury. Cutler threw for 2,666 yards with 19 TDs and 14 interceptions ... not terrible.

Cavallari has said she supports Jay no matter what decision he makes -- but it's obvious she's ready for the QB to hang up his cleats already.

In fact, she talks about how Jay has been working weekends as an NFL player for years and she's ready for him to spend ALL of his Sundays with their kids.

Khabib Nurmagomedov's manager is going NUCLEAR on Conor McGregor after he didn't answer the call (literally) to fight Khabib at UFC 223.

"He's not really a fighter -- he only fights when he knows he can win," Ali Abdelaziz told TMZ Sports.

Ali continued -- "Khabib is his daddy ... this motherf**ker is so afraid of his daddy."

"It's a shame. All Irish people I know [are] tough. He's the only soft Irish I know."

FYI, Khabib told us he immediately contacted the UFC asking Conor to replace an injured Tony Ferguson ... but was told they had trouble reaching Conor -- who wasn't ready, anyway.

Ali says that proves Conor is a "little Irish punk" -- unlike "real Hawaiian warrior" Max Holloway, who jumped at the chance to scrap with Khabib.

The Canelo Alvarez vs. GGG rematch has gotten the axe -- with Canelo formally announcing he's withdrawing from the fight at an L.A. news conference in the wake of a positive PED test.

Canelo and Gennady Golovkin were scheduled to have their rematch on May 5 after a controversial first fight, but Alvarez got popped for a banned substance on March 5.

At the conference, Canelo said he still blames the failed drug test on tainted Mexican beef -- claiming he ate steak that was pumped full of Clenbuterol. He also vowed to prove that he is not a drug cheat.

Alvarez was issued a temporary suspension by the Nevada Athletic Commission a couple weeks ago ... and his official hearing with the NAC is scheduled for April 10.