TMZ Sports - Page 50

Justin Bieber isn't ready to write off Conor McGregor just yet ... telling TMZ Sports when it comes to the UFC's violent attack, "We all make mistakes."

Bieber has been following McGregor's career for years -- and publicly supported him when Conor fought Nate Diaz back in 2016.

He even vouched for McGregor's toughness before Conor fought his old friend, Floyd Mayweather.

So, when we saw Biebs out in Beverly Hills following a gym workout with his crew, we had to ask if he was concerned for Conor moving forward.

"I think Conor will be fine," Justin says ... "We all make mistakes."

The big question now ... will Dana White be as forgiving as Bieber when it comes to Conor's future?

UFC 223 still has a main event!!!

Khabib Nurmagomedov will be scrappin' with lightweight contender Al Iaquinta, who's steppin' up after Max Holloway got yanked from the fight during weigh-ins ... the UFC announced.

After Max got pulled, it was rumored former champ Anthony Pettis would step in ... but he was reportedly asking for too much cash.

So, the honor of facing the UFC's scariest dude goes to Ragin' Al -- a lightweight contender most famous for feuding with Dana White and the UFC brass. Iaquinta's currently riding a 5-fight win streak.

FYI, Khabib's still eligible to win the 155-pound title the UFC is stripping from Conor McGregor ... but it appears Al is not in the running for the belt.

It's been a crazy sequence of events to determine Khabib's opponent. Last Friday, Tony Ferguson suffered a freak accident -- tripping during a media sesh. Then, Holloway answered the call ... but doctors abruptly forced him to stop cutting weight Friday morning.

Conor McGregor will be allowed to board his jet and return back to Ireland as soon as he posts his $50,000 bail ... this according to his bail bondsman.

We spoke with Ira Judelson -- who's become the NYC bail bondsman to the stars (Ja Rule, Katt Williams, Lawrence Taylor) -- who tells us Conor's bail package is as follows:

Conor pays a $50k bond to be released on bail and must report to Ira once a week by phone, otherwise the court could take his passport.

Conor is allowed to travel but all travel must be pre-approved by Ira. No ankle bracelet. Conor gets to keep his passport.

The bail package is expected to become official when the arraignment begins in just a few minutes -- but the judge could always pull a last second audible ... so stay tuned.

Conor is facing several criminal charges including assault and felony criminal mischief for attacking a UFC bus at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Thursday.

The world-famous "Rocky III" statue just got a major upgrade courtesy of the city of Philadelphia ... and the real-life Rocky wasn't about to miss the ceremony!!

Sylvester Stallone, who's in town filming "Creed 2," says he stopped by the bronzen Balboa earlier today to help unveil a plaque made for the statue 12 YEARS ago ... but got "misplaced" somehow (we blame Drago).

Joining Sly at the ceremony was Philly Mayor Jim Kenney ... and a pack of screaming "Rocky" fans!!

"I want to thank the Mayor Jim (Kenney) and his staff, the Philadelphia Police Department and of course the loyal fans that braved the cold. Keep punching, Philly," Stallone said on social media.

Remember, there were only TWO versions of the famous Rocky statue made for "Rocky III" -- and Sly has the other one back at his L.A. home ... which he's been showing off to some of his famous friends.

Dana White is adamant the UFC had nothing to do with planning the Conor McGregor melee -- and slams theories it was all a publicity stunt gone sideways.

"I'm seeing tons of dummies out there saying this is something staged," White said on "TMZ Live" -- "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life."

White says he was horrified by McGregor's actions and says the whole thing is "just a disaster."

"I still can't believe it's real and that it actually happened."

White says he would NEVER put Conor or any of his fighters in a dangerous situation to sell a fight, and he's livid at McGregor.

One of the UFC fighters Conor McGregor injured during his window-smashin' bus attack at the Barclays Center has filed a police report against the Irishman ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Our sources say Michael Chiesa -- who was hospitalized with facial lacerations -- spoke with cops at the arena after the incident on Thursday ... and again when they visited his hotel later that night.

Of course, Conor was also arrested late Thursday night ... and charged with 1 count of felony criminal mischief and 3 counts of misdemeanor assault.

We're told one of the assault charges is for injuring Chiesa ... who was forced to withdraw from his fight vs. Anthony Pettis at UFC 223 as a result of his injuries.

Conor McGregor was just escorted out of an NYPD precinct in Brooklyn -- wearing handcuffs ... and TMZ Sports has the footage.

McGregor was arrested late Thursday night for attacking a UFC bus with a dolly -- shattering a window and injuring multiple people, including UFC fighters Michael Chiesa and Ray Borg.

He was arrested for misdemeanor assault and felony criminal mischief and spent the night in the precinct.

McGregor is NOT being released -- he's being transported to court where he will be arraigned.

Also, McGregor's mug shot has now gone public.

Dana White previously told us McGregor is in a ton of trouble ... and outside of the criminal case, he'll likely be sued by several people involved in the incident.

White also told us his fighting future is in jeopardy ... but would not say if the UFC will cut ties with Conor going forward.

The robe Muhammad Ali wore on the night of his world-famous "phantom punch" 1965 fight against Sonny Liston is about to hit the auction block -- but it ain't gonna come cheap!

Goldin Auctions is putting the historic ringwear up for grabs with a starting bid of $75k ... but we're told the terry cloth robe with "Muhammad Ali" stitched on the back should fetch a quarter mil, at least!!

It ain't hard to see why -- Ali's rematch vs. Liston was one of the biggest fights in The Greatest's career. It was also his first bout after becoming a Black Muslim ... and recognizing himself as Muhammad Ali instead of Cassius Clay.

"The historical significance of this robe is tremendous, not just for its link to one of the greatest fights in boxing history, but also for the cultural impact Ali’s religious beliefs made," G.A. tells TMZ Sports.

The fight also spawned one of the most iconic images in sports history -- Ali standing over Liston after KO'ing him with the "phantom punch."

FYI, if you're worried about authenticity, the robe comes with a notarized letter of provenance from the guy who got the threads straight from Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee.

Meek Mill got some surprise visitors in prison this week -- Philadelphia 76ers stars Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons ... TMZ Sports has learned.

We're told 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin organized the visit ... hoping Meek could provide some inspiration for the rookie stars so they can make a push for the NBA playoffs. Rubin's been a huge supporter of Meek while he's been locked up, visiting often and bringing along other players, like Joel Embiid.

One source with knowledge of the situation tells us ... "the conversation was very positive and Meek's spirits are still high. He is also proud of the 76ers."

Meek also dished out some "words of wisdom" for the guys.

Remember, Meek also received a ton of support and love from the Philadelphia Eagles during their Super Bowl run -- so, maybe he's the key to success?!

Things just got even worse for UFC 223 -- Max Holloway was not medically cleared to fight in the main event vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov, according to multiple reports ... less than 24 hours after Conor McGregor’s violent bus attack forced 3 FIGHTS off the card.

Remember -- Max took the fight on 6 DAYS notice and had a ton of weight to cut. Seems his health was at risk in the final hours before hitting the scale ... and doctors had to call it off.

Holloway issued a statement shortly after learning the bad news -- "(Khabib) my brother I want to keep going but they are stopping me. Sorry to your team and the fans. You don’t deserve this."

As of now, unclear if another fighter could step in on a day's notice to fight Khabib.

FYI, doctors already told Michael Chiesa (facial cuts) and Ray Borg (eye cuts) they can't fight at 223 due to the injuries they suffered during the window-smashing attack by McGregor and his entourage at the Barclays Center.

Conor’s close friend, Artem Lobov, was also yanked from his fight after taking part in Thursday's melee.

Chris Brown can sympathize with Conor McGregor -- telling us when it comes to his crazy bus attack, "We all get crazy sometimes."

Brown would know ... especially when it comes to smashing glass -- the singer famously hulked out and threw a chair through a window at "Good Morning America" back in 2011.

Chris was on probation at the time of the window-smashing incident stemming from another violent outburst -- the 2009 domestic violence incident with Rihanna.

As for Conor, he was arrested Thursday night in NYC for the bus attack which injured several people including UFC fighters and at least one executive.

Conor McGregor just surrendered to authorities in connection with the bus attack at Barclays Center ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported, cops wanted to speak with Conor after he threw a dolly into a bus which was carrying several UFC fighters and staffers. Multiple people were injured in the attack -- including fighter Michael Chiesa ... who was hospitalized with lacerations to the face.

Sources tell us Conor has been charged with 3 counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of felony criminal mischief.

We're told one assault charge is for the injuries to Chiesa's face ... and another for allegedly punching someone in the face several times.

We're told the criminal mischief charge is for the damages to the bus, which amounts to approximately $8,000.

TMZ Sports obtained video showing Conor attacking the bus -- so he really has no defense.

Dana White previously told us McGregor is in a ton of trouble and outside of the criminal case, he'll likely be sued by several people involved in the incident.

Cam Newton was involved in a collision with a dump truck in Atlanta on Thursday ... and TMZ Sports has a photo from the scene.

We're told the Carolina Panthers quarterback was driving his matte black Ferrari F12 (valued over $300,000) when the collision occurred around 4:00 PM local time.

Atlanta PD confirms the accident occurred but says neither party wanted to fill out a police report.

Unclear what caused the collision or who was at fault -- but calm down, Panthers fans, Newton appeared to be okay after the incident. In fact, he was seen walking the car around in his shorts and one of his funky hats.

FYI, Newton is from Atlanta and still lives there.

28-year-old Newton has been involved in car accidents in the past -- he overturned his car in North Carolina back in 2014. He was hospitalized with minor injuries and ended up being okay.

Dana White says Conor McGregor is in SERIOUS trouble following his violent bus attack in Brooklyn ... confidently telling TMZ Sports the UFC's biggest star is "going to jail."

We got Dana in NYC -- just hours after McGregor and his goon squad smashed up a bus filled with UFC 223 fighters at the Barclays Center.

The UFC prez told us he's "very disappointed and upset" with Conor's actions ... and is sure McGregor's punishment will go well beyond anything the UFC could throw at him.

"He's going to jail!!! People are gonna sue him. He's gonna have a bunch of civil lawsuits," White said.

TMZ Sports has obtained the police cam video of Jeremy Lane's DUI arrest -- which shows the ex-Seattle Seahawks star questioning why he was busted and then yelling in pain in the cop car.

Lane was initially stopped by the Washington State Patrol for doing 80 in a 60 mph zone on January 14. When cops pulled him over, Lane admitted to smoking weed several hours earlier.

In the video, Lane doesn't understand why he's being arrested since the breathalyzer shows his blood alcohol content was significantly under the legal limit.

The cop tells the 27-year-old he believes Lane is still under the influence of marijuana and the combination of weed and booze was causing him to drive in a dangerous manner.

During the arrest, Lane is placed in cuffs -- but complains that the cuffs are too tight and cutting off circulation to his fingers. At one point he wails in pain and appears to crying.

Lane was initially charged with driving under the influence but ultimately pled guilty to a lesser charge -- reckless driving. A sentencing hearing is set for next month. He's facing up to a year in jail.

Here's video of UFC Hall of Famer Ken Shamrock schoolin' Steve Aoki on the finer points of being a fighter -- like taking shots STRAIGHT TO THE BALL BAG.

The painful intro-to-MMA sesh went down at the UFC Performance Center in Vegas ... where Steve was filming a music video for his new EDM collab with Laidback Luke, "It's Time" (get the reference?).

Ken, who was playing Aoki's trainer, was slappin' abs on a core workout when he missed low ... and Steve immediately tapped out on account of the "electric shock across my whole groin."

"Instant stoppage right there," Shamrock said.

The full video -- ft. an Aoki vs. Luke DJ superfight and Octagon announcer Bruce Buffer -- drops on Friday ... but we got a sneak peek for all you candy kids.

Fun fact: Laidback's a WORLD CHAMPION Kung-Fu fighter ... so we hope Shamrock taught Steve some other MMA skills, too.