TMZ Sports - Page 50

UFC fighter Ray Borg says tough genes run in the family ... with his newborn son fighting like a champ after undergoing his 2nd major brain surgery

Ray's son, Anthony, was diagnosed with hydrocephalus -- excess fluid in the brain -- after a premature birth at the end of March.

Anthony underwent two major brain surgeries -- and unfortunately suffered seizures -- but the good news ... Ray says things have taken a turn for the better and he's getting healthier every day.

Still, the medical costs are adding up so Ray started a GoFundMe page ... and his MMA pal Cody Garbrandt stepped up in a big way, donating $1,000.

Pretty cool right?!

Don't get it twisted, Ray says this experience has been one of the hardest things he's ever had to go through in his life ... but he's hopeful he'll get to take his son home soon.

4:48 PM PT -- A rep for Ajayi tells TMZ Sports the lawsuit is bogus ... adamantly denying Jay ever physically pushed the owner of the home.

They also deny Jay damaged the property in any way ... or hosted any parties.

Instead they claim the owner tried to get Jay and his friend to pay him cash directly -- bypassing the Airbnb website -- so they say they left the house several days early ... but still paid the full rate.

Ajayi's people also say the group filed a complaint against the home owner with Airbnb.

NFL star Jay Ajayi shoved the owner of a fancy L.A. mansion who charged the Eagles running back $25k in damages for trashing the place ... this according to a new lawsuit obtained by TMZ Sports.

The 24-year-old is being sued by the owner of a swanky 6,000 square foot pad located above the famous Sunset Strip ... where the RB and a friend stayed back in February for 5 days after Ajayi won the Super Bowl.

According to the suit, Ajayi and his buddy threw at least 3 parties at the house despite the fact they were specifically told -- NO PARTIES!

In fact, the owner claims he charged a $5,000 fee for each party at the home ... which Ajayi never paid.

Additionally, the owner claims Ajayi broke a table, scratched some floors and violated the no smoking rule.

In total, Ajayi racked up $25,000 in penalty fees -- but when the owner confronted Jay on Feb. 18, he claims Ajayi "pushed [him] on [his] chest in a menacing and threatening manner."

The owner describes the incident as battery -- and said he had to call local security to remove the NFL star from the property.

UFC Hall of Famer Urijah Faber is PRAISING Raquel Pennington's corner for talking her out of quitting after the 4th round at UFC 224 ... saying Raquel would live to regret it if she did.

Pennington was getting pummeled by Amanda Nunes during the championship fight Saturday night -- and told her corner, "I'm done. I want to be done."

Her coaches talked her out of quitting and they've been catching hell ever since ... with many critics saying they failed in their duty to protect Pennington's health since she lost in the 5th round anyway.

But, Faber is not one of those critics ... saying the corner did exactly what they were supposed to do -- motivated her to take advantage of her championship opportunity.

Plus, Faber points out ... "If she really wanted out of the fight, she could have told the ref."

Urijah says he would hope his corner would do the same exact thing if he was in Raquel's position -- because quitting on the stool is a decision fighters regret for the rest of their lives.

Sorry, John Cena ... your pouring-your-heart-out move on the "Today" show to win back Nikki Bella didn't work.

In fact, the WWE star looked downright unimpressed when "Extra" asked her about Cena's emotional segment with Hoda and Kathie Lee ... when he admitted he desperately wants her back.

“Wow," Bella said enthusiastically ... "I'm speechless. That's crazy."

Not exactly the reaction Cena was hoping for when he professed his undying love for Bella on national TV and talked about how sad his life has become without her.

Still, Nikki kinda left the door open for a reconciliation ...

"I have hope ... I’m at a point in my life where I feel like I kind of lost me and I want to find me and work on me."

She also said the TV cameras from their reality show put major pressure on her and she needed a break.

"I just want John and I both to live happily ever after whether it's together or separate and I just don't want us to go down the road in life and have regrets of like 'I did this for you' or 'you did this for me,' so I think it's okay in relationships to take that moment."

John said he's also changed his mind and would consider having kids with Nikki if it would save their relationship ... but she didn't comment on that.

File under: "When the rich get richer ..."

Floyd Mayweather decided to try his luck at a high stakes video poker machine Sunday night ... and hit a $100,000 jackpot.

For real.

Floyd started off with $20,000 in a "Ten Play Draw Poker" machine -- playing $25 per hand.

Then, as fate would have it ... he hit a Royal Flush on one of his 10 hands ... which paid off a cool $100,000.

He also hit some winners on the other hands he was playing at the time, which paid out an additional $1,250 ... for a grand total of $101,250.

Rob Gronkowski turns 29 today -- only 40 more years until his favorite number -- and he's celebrating with an insane trip to Jamaica with his bikini model girlfriend.

Gronk and Camille Kostek have been living it up at some super fancy resort -- eating fruit, hiking to waterfalls and busting out some sexy bikini dances (thanks for that, btw).

Gronk seems to be in a good place -- as you can see at the end of the dancing video.

The two have been connected for years -- they were serious, then took some time apart ... but now they seem to be in full swing.

No word if a ring is in Camille's future ... but it sure seems to be headed in that direction.

John Cena says his life's been a wreck ever since his fiancee, Nikki Bella, dumped him before their wedding ... and says he'll do whatever it takes to get her back -- including having children.

"I had my heart broken out of nowhere," Cena said to Kathie Lee and Hoda on the "Today" show ... "I still love Nicole."

Cena says he was blindsided by the breakup -- and blames it on an "unfortunate set of circumstances" ... though he wouldn't elaborate on the specifics.

Cena says he's been depressed -- and he's been reflecting a lot ... and has decided to change his stance on fundamental things in order to make the relationship work.

"I love her. I want to be with her. I want to make her my wife. I want to be the father of her children. I just want us to work."

Cena has been pretty vocal about the fact he didn't want kids -- but says he's a changed man now.

Master P says he's the perfect man to take the reins up in the north, now that Dwane Casey's been fired ... and he's stating his case to TMZ Sports.

Before you even start wondering ... P's serious ... he's been angling for an NBA coaching job for some time now, citing his on-court experience and knack for developing players.

The Raptors punted Casey last week, and when we got P in L.A. ... he broke down what Casey did wrong in the playoffs, and how he would've handled things differently if he was running things up there.

BTW ... Toronto is one of the teams P played with during his attempt at an NBA career, so it's not like he doesn't know the lay of the land up there.

SUPER BTW ... remember, P goes WAY back with Raptors star DeMar DeRozan, having coached him during his high school years in Los Angeles.

Ex-UFC star Tim Kennedy -- a U.S. Army Special Forces sniper -- doesn't believe waterboarding should be considered torture ... and to prove his point, he turned the hose on himself.

Yep, Kennedy and his pals waterboarded each other for roughly 45 minutes on Friday ... and barely even flinched.

So ... why???

Kennedy says the move was to show support for Gina Haspel, Trump's pick to lead the CIA. Haspel has been criticized for using waterboarding and other interrogation methods at black sites during her CIA career.

"It’s not torture!!!!" Kennedy wrote ... "Hell we had elk tacos and wine afterwards. Wake up people. #waterboarding."

Kennedy also described -- in detail -- the waterboarding technique -- "They wouldn’t tell me when they were going to put the towel on they would just smash it on my face and start pouring. You can’t hold your breath while they do it because the water runs down your sinuses. The water run through your eyes, down your nose, and pools at the back of your throat."

Still, seems Haspel could have an uphill battle -- with people like John McCain arguing against her nomination due to her connection to questionable interrogation methods.

A 27-year-old man was arrested Friday for sending a letter to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver that essentially demanded Silver to let him play in the league ... or else.

"If you don't let me play, I'm going to come up there and kill you with my f*cking gun," David Pyant allegedly wrote in an email sent to NBA offices ... police sources tell us.

It doesn't appear Pyant has any real professional basketball experience -- but he does have a criminal record ... 13 prior arrests, according to the NY Post.

We're told Pyant was arrested on May 11 and charged with aggravated harassment. A judge granted a temporary restraining order requiring him to stay away from Silver.

Pyant was eventually released without bail.

Oscar De La Hoya is issuing an ultimatum to Gennady Golovkin -- sign the deal to fight Canelo Alvarez in September ... or he'll find someone else who will!

Of course, Canelo and GGG were locked in for the rematch on May 5 -- until Canelo tested positive for PEDs and pulled out. Golovkin fought Vanes Martirosyan instead and destroyed him.

Now, the two sides are trying to hammer out another deal to get the rematch going ... but GGG hasn't signed on yet. Oscar says his priority is to make the fight, but he isn't gonna sit around and wait.

"He doesn't want to fight," De La Hoya told TMZ Sports ... "Regardless, Canelo's fighting in September so it's all gravy."

Oscar didn't name specific replacement fighters, but noted he'll search for the toughest guy out there -- which could be anyone from Jermall Charlo to Billy Joe Saunders to Daniel Jacobs.

Wiz Khalifa says he completely AGREES with Jay Glazer ... that he's good enough to take a pro MMA fight if he wanted to.

There's just one catch ... HE NEEDS A CRAPLOAD OF MONEY!

Earlier this week, Glazer raved about Wiz ... saying the rapper is an absolute beast in the gym -- and has legit power.

So, when we saw Wiz at LAX we asked if there was a chance ... and he didn't say no!

"You got to pay me a whole bunch of money to get me to fight, man."

Wiz says he still likes rapping better than fighting -- but he really enjoys training with some of the best MMA stars in the world.

"It's just fun, man."

Ex-NFL star Christian Okoye says marijuana has changed his life -- freeing him up from opioid-based pain meds -- and now his body is "almost pain free."

The Nigerian Nightmare says his body was a wreck after his NFL career wrapped up back in 1992 ... to the point where even a slow jog was a major challenge.

But now, Okoye says he's using CBD treatment -- aka Cannabidiol (a marijuana-based substance) -- and Christian says it's working so well he's kicked his other pain medication to the curb.

In fact, Okoye recently signed a deal to become a spokesperson for Kannaway -- and says he's trying to get his message to other NFL players, past and present.

"I think it's a way for players to help themselves be pain free."

Of course, the challenge ... marijuana is still on the NFL's banned substances list -- but several players are trying to change that.

In other news, Okoye recently learned The Rock's character in "Rampage" -- Davis Okoye -- is named after him ... and he's totally stoked about it!!!

Jimmy Garoppolo used his magnetic force Saturday night to connect with a hot blonde ... and no surprise -- it worked like a charm.

TMZ Sports got video of Jimmy leaving a San Jose cocktail lounge called Paper Plane. He was inside drinking with a couple of friends, including Fox Sports star Jay Glazer. We're told he was flirting with the girl in the video inside the bar and then took it outside.

Chris Long's quest to be the wokest man in the NFL continues -- he tells TMZ Sports he didn't celebrate his Super Bowl win in Vegas, L.A. or Miami ... instead going to Africa to build wells with his charity.

Long was out in NYC when we asked if he's still celebrating the Eagles' victory over the New England Patriots -- he isn't -- then we asked what huge party spot he hit to turn up after the historic win.

Prepare to feel bad about yourself.

"I went to Tanzania actually, to work on my charity called Waterboys.org."

If you didn't know, Waterboys.org is an organization started by Long that unites players from the NFL for the goal of bringing life-sustaining well water to East African countries.

One of the biggest fights of the year is only months away ... Logan Paul vs. KSI -- and Amanda Cerny and her boyfriend can't wait!

Paul and KSI -- both huge YouTube stars -- are on a collision course for August, when they will both step into the ring and fight.

Yes, it's real -- and the hype behind the fight is massive already.

For the record, KSI -- one of the biggest gamers in the world -- already fought YouTube star Joe Weller back in February and dominated. He called out Logan Paul in a post-fight victory speech.

Paul accepted and they signed a 2-fight deal. The first match will go down on August 25 in Manchester, England.

Enter Amanda Cerny ... who has 20 MILLION followers on IG and more than 120 MILLION views on YouTube. She's a social media force and she knows the KSI vs. Paul fight is a big deal.

"I think it'll show how powerful social media is," Cerny says with her BF, Johannes Bartl.

By the way, KSI is training with Floyd Mayweather's family at his TMT gym in Vegas.

The betting odds are out and KSI is the slight favorite at -150. Who ya got?!