TMZ Sports - Page 50

Daniel Cormier says there's a secret about Jon Jones everyone should know ... HE LOVES DANIEL CORMIER!

"He may not like to admit it, but he's my fan," Cormier tells TMZ Sports ... "He enjoys watching me compete. He does!"

DC says there's not a doubt in his mind JJ will be tuning in when he fights Stipe Miocic at UFC 226 on Saturday because, despite all the trash talk over the years ... "he likes watching me."

Cormier has a secret, too ... and it has to do with Jon Jones -- admitting he'll use JJ when he's playing the UFC video game because his character is "the best guy in the game."

At the end of the day, Cormier hates Jones -- but he hates losing in video games even more!

Cormier says he's also aware that he's a heavy underdog going into the Stipe fight ... but has some advice for gamblers out there -- the smart money is on DC, and he explains why!

The reigning women's hot dog eating champion, Miki Sudo ... couldn't care less about getting equal coverage as men, she just wants the bread -- and we mean money, not buns.

Miki won her 5th consecutive title at this year's Nathan's Famous July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest -- but tells us she doesn't make nearly as much money as 11-time men's champ Joey Chestnut. He reportedly earned $225k one year from competitions, appearance fees and endorsements.

To be frank about it (LOL) ... Miki says she'd like a piece of that pie too.

Miki also has some gripes about people who dog her for not eating more weiners this year than she did last year. She downed 37, as opposed to 41 in 2017.

Human garbage disposal Joey Chestnut says he feels like pure trash after scarfing down 74 HOT DOGS on July 4th ... but he ain't about to retire anytime soon!

Of course, Chestnut set a new world record at the 2018 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest -- but tells TMZ Sports, his body is paying for it 24 hours later.

"It's not pretty, bro. There have been some double-flushers."

And at 34 years old, Chestnut says it's becoming tougher for his body to recover from the constant gluttonous abuse ... pointing out pain in his throat, jaw and stomach.

But don't even think about retirement -- at least not until he gets the championship matchup he's been dreaming about for years ... against former world champ, Takeru Kobayashi.

"Before I retire, I want Kobayashi to come back ... and I want to end things on my own terms against the best."

Cristiano Ronaldo could give Kim Kardashian a run for her money ... because the soccer star is reportedly in talks with Facebook for a new reality show.

CR7 is shopping the show to Facebook Watch and could score a $10 MILLION paycheck for 13 episodes ... according to Variety.

And, there's a Tom Brady connection -- the show would be produced by Religion of Sports, the media company that did "Tom vs. Time" for Facebook Watch.

Ronaldo definitely has an interesting life -- he's got 4 kids including newborn twins that were reportedly birthed by a mystery surrogate in the United States.

He's also rumored to be engaged to Georgina Rodriguez -- the mother of his daughter, Alana, who was born just over 7 months ago.

Ronaldo's son, Cristiano Jr., is 8 years old and a soccer prodigy -- could be interesting to see how CR7 is training him to become the next big thing.

The show would be the latest in a strong of Hollywood projects for Ronaldo -- who's launching a superhero series, "Striker Force 7," based on himself, along with a scripted soccer TV drama series.

They've partied together ... they're fans of each other ... and now rapper YG says he knows why Paul George ultimately decided NOT to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers -- Kobe Bryant.

It's not a personal thing ... YG says PG knows the Lakers are (and always will be) Kobe's team and Paul would rather create his own legacy in Oklahoma City, which is why he re-signed with the Thunder.

"Make your own legacy, my n****," YG said.

"That's Kobe Bryant's team right there. The Lakers are Kobe's team. [Russell Westbrook] and Paul George got a chance to make the f*cking Thunder their team."

There's more ... YG added, "Paul George ain't trying to be up under the curse of the Lakers."

NY Giants star Janoris Jenkins says the man who was killed at his New Jersey home was a "good friend" -- and it "hurts my heart to know that he's passed."

TMZ Sports broke the story ... officials found a dead body in Jenkins' basement on June 26. The body was identified as music producer Roosevelt Rene, aka Trypps Beats.

Janoris' brother William Jenkins has been charged with aggravated manslaughter in connection to the death.

Now, Janoris is speaking out, saying, "With regret and sadness I wish to inform the fans, and the public a good friend of mine Roosevelt Rene a.k.a. Trypps Beats was found dead at my place of residence."

"Trypps was a good friend and we were collaborating on music production together. It truly hurts my heart to know he has passed away."

"At the time of the incident I was in Florida preparing to finish off my promotional tour. As this is an ongoing incident, I cannot answer any questions related to the investigation."

Chuck Liddell says he's not just taking the Tito Ortiz fight because he's missing the sport -- telling TMZ Sports he wouldn't have signed on if he wasn't getting a fat ass paycheck.

We broke the story ... the 48-year-old legend hooked up with Oscar De La Hoya to return to MMA for the first time since 2010. Chuck and Tito finally signed their deals last week and Liddell is excited.

"I never get tired of hitting that guy," Chuck told us outside of Sushi Nishi in Calabasas ... "He never stops running his mouth. I really don't like him."

Chuck has scored the W in both of his previous fights with Tito -- and says he's going for the knockout this time around too.

As for the money, Chuck says he's getting paid handsomely -- and the size of his check was a huge factor in his decision to come out of retirement.

LeBron James may not be the richest guy floating off the Amalfi Coast right now ... because Jimmy Iovine just showed up!

The music mogul was spotted on a yacht with LeBron on the 4th of July -- as the NBA star continues to celebrate his new $154 million Lakers contract.

Unclear if LeBron is on Jimmy's yacht ... or if Jimmy is on LeBron's yacht -- but one thing is for sure ... they can both afford some sick boats!

By the way, they have a Beats By Dre connection -- Jimmy (who co-founded the company with Dr. Dre) made a fortune when Apple purchased it for $3.2 billion.

Did you also know ... LeBron ALSO made a ton of cash from the sale? He reportedly got a small stake in the company in exchange for promoting the brand back in 2008 and, when it sold to Apple, he made a cool $30 mil!

Todd Gurley wants ALL contracts to be guaranteed in the NFL ... and he says players might have to STRIKE in order to get 'em!

It's been a heated debate for years -- with NFL players like Eric Winston saying they're so serious about making NFL deals more like the NBA and MLB ... they're ready to call for a work stoppage to force owners to pay up.

The current NFL collective bargaining agreement ends in 2021 -- and Gurley made it clear he's ready to heed Winston's call when the time comes.

Over the weekend, NFL offensive lineman Russell Okung also spelled out his argument for guaranteed contracts:

"Considering football’s level of brute, immanent physicality, high turnover as well as the short life cycle of its participants, it would seem to me that NFL players are in the most need of fully guaranteed contracts."

FYI ... NFL players have gone on strike before ... but, the last time they actually missed regular season games to get owners to meet their demands was WAAAY back in 1987.

But, 2021 could be a different story ... even DeMaurice Smith, Executive Director of the NFLPA, says a work stoppage is a "virtual certainty."

Nick Diaz is finally breaking his silence on that domestic violence arrest back in May -- telling TMZ Sports, "I was framed."

The UFC star and his camp had been radio silent about the May 24 incident ever since Nick was arrested for allegedly choking a woman and slamming her to the ground at a Las Vegas home.

He was charged with felony domestic battery by strangulation and faces up to 5 years in prison if convicted.

So, when we saw Nick leaving Tocaya Organica in Los Angeles, we asked if he had a message for his fans. He cracked a smile and said, "I was framed."

Diaz also talked about his fighting career -- telling us he wants to get back in the Octagon next year -- with his sights set on fighting Georges St-Pierre.

"I win if he don't cheat," Diaz said ... "If he don't miss weight like he did last time."

UFC legend Matt Serra claims some drunk a-hole was threatening the servers at a Vegas cafe on July 4 ... so, he took action -- AND TOOK THE GUY DOWN!

Serra was chllin' at the Grand Cafe at Red Rock Casino -- the night before he's set to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame -- when he saw the alleged a-hole being a jerk to staff.

The former welterweight champ subdued the patron -- while the guy continued to yell at Serra, "I'm gonna f*ck you up."

Spoiler: he did NOT "f*ck" Serra up.

Security rushed to the scene and took over.

As if you haven't seen Josh Brolin enough on the big screen this summer, here he is again for the 4th of July ... getting his cornhole on with pro surfing legend Laird Hamilton.

The actor -- who's been in 3 blockbusters so far this year -- was out at a beach in Malibu Wednesday celebrating Independence Day with a good old-fashioned game of throw-this-sack-in-that-hole. Based on how damn happy he looks, we're guessing he scored well.

Laird was spotted on the beach alongside Thanos/Cable/Matt Graver too ... but he eventually made his way into the water and did what he, quite literally, does best -- surfed his heart out. This time, on an electric surfboard!

Kim Kardashian kinda sorta mastered wakesurfing her first time out, and it's tricky ... to say the least.

Kim spent the 4th out on a lake in northern Idaho with fam and tried her hand at the water sport with the help of a watchful instructor.

Oakland Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley is out for revenge against the woman who accused him of rape ... saying the "false" allegation caused him to fall in the NFL Draft, costing him a fortune.

Conley -- a star player at Ohio State -- was investigated for rape after Brooke Puscian told police he sexually assaulted her in a Cleveland hotel room a few weeks before the 2017 NFL Draft.

The case went before a grand jury -- which ultimately decided NOT to indict Conley.

But Conley is still pissed -- and has now filed legal docs of his own claiming the "false" allegations seriously damaged his reputation, hurt his draft stock and cost him multiple endorsement deals "including a contract with Nike."

Conley also lays out his side of the incident ... saying Puscian had aggressively tried to have sex with him during the night in question, but he turned her down and she was embarrassed.

Conley says she lied to officials out of spite for rejecting her advances.

David Grutman didn't invent the party boat scene, but he damn sure perfected it with the help of Kylie Jenner and Bella Hadid -- and now he's unloading their favorite floating playground.

We're told Miami nightclub and restaurant mogul Grutman is selling his 55' VanDutch boat, dubbed The GROOT, for $875k. The 2015 model is stunning and clearly built for ballers -- just ask Rob Gronkowski, Travis Scott and Hailey Baldwin.

It'll be the end of an era for Grutman -- for the last 3 years The GROOT's hosted all sorts of wild parties in the waters around South Beach.

The Cardinals cut ties with Tyrann Mathieu ... so he's cutting ties with Arizona -- putting his million dollar desert mansion on the market for $1.4 mil ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Honey Badger bought the 5,700 square foot pad back in April 2017 -- when he was in the middle of a five-year, $62.5 million deal. But he got the chop from the Cards in March and signed with the Houston Texans ... so his loss can be your gain!

The place is dope -- 6 beds, 6.5 baths, big backyard with a pool and a hot tub ... and a MOVIE THEATER!!

It also has a misting system -- which is nice ... since Arizona is hot as hell right now!! (It's 109 degrees in Phoenix!!!!)