TMZ Sports - Page 50

Robert Whittaker expected to fight Khamzat Chimaev in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, but will instead face Ikram Aliskerov after Borz was forced out of the scrap with an illness that hospitalized him. So, much easier fight, right?!

Not so fast ... according to 33-year-old Whittaker himself!

"I am thankful for [Aliskerov] to step up to the plate to fight, and a lot of fans probably don't know how dangerous this guy is. And, in a lot of ways, this guy is more dangerous than Chimaev was, especially mentality-wise, because he has nothing to lose and only everything to gain," Robert told TMZ Sports earlier this week.

A Boston Celtics mural in Massachusetts that was defaced by some jerks just got a facelift -- getting a fresh coat of Joe Mazulla's grill to hide all the vandalism!!

The OG art -- displayed in Cambridge -- featured Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Jaylen Brown and Mazzulla ... but at some point during the Celtics' playoff run the last few weeks, it was destroyed by a curmudgeon.

In pics of the defacement, obtained by TMZ Sports ... you can see the individual scribbled, among other things, "F*** Celtics" all over the image of Tatum.

Kyle Richards is defending a big purchase, Bianca Censori is spilling out of her top, and Travis Kelce is opening up about his next career move ... all this on today's TMZ TV Hot Takes.

On "TMZ Live" Harvey and Babcock explain why Kyle feels a pricey Porsche is a perfectly fine gift for her 16-year-old daughter.

Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert appear to be on the cusp of settling their nasty divorce ... but they're up against a tight deadline, and the clock is ticking.

The judge overseeing Teyana and Iman's divorce is giving them until June 27 to submit their divorce settlement in writing ... this according to new legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Teyana and Iman were in court Monday, Tuesday and Thursday this week, hashing out a bunch of issues they've been fighting about ... and now the judge wants them to put that all into writing and hammer out a judgment he can sign off on once and for all.

Barry Sanders suffered a heart-related medical scare over the weekend ... the NFL Hall of Famer announced Friday.

The former running back said the health issue happened out of nowhere on Father's Day, but did not go into detail on what he experienced.

"It was unexpected and served as a reminder of the importance of staying vigilant about our physical well-being, even when we are feeling fine," Barry said in a statement released by the Detroit Lions.

Taylor Swift's ready to have tea and crumpets with her man Travis Kelce after her show tonight ... 'cause he's out in London to support her -- and, it looks like it's a double date.

The singer-songwriter took the stage in England's capital at Wembley Stadium ... and, TK's front and center, dapping up his friends and signing autographs for fans in the crowd -- a real joyous scene.

BTW ... Travis is definitely bringing a taste of America across the pond -- 'cause he's got a U.S.A. Olympic cap on, so the dude's looking pretty patriotic.

The Boston Celtics' championship parade came and went -- and while it was a pretty laid-back affair, the big takeaway is who joined Jaylen Brown for the celebration.

Eagle-eyed viewers spotted WNBA star Kysre Gondrezick sitting in Brown's duck boat as it made its way from TD Garden through the Beantown streets on Friday in honor of the Celtics' 18th NBA title.

Kysre -- a member of the Chicago Sky -- looked rather thrilled to be with the Finals MVP ... smiling as Brown waved to the tons of fans in attendance.

"The View" turned into a roast of Bill Belichick's love life on Friday ... with Joy Behar ripping into the Patriots legend for dating 23-year-old Jordon Hudson.

The panel weighed in on the love birds' 49-year age gap during the ABC show ... and while a few hosts defended the romance, Behar scoffed at it -- and cracked several jokes at the coach and cheerleader's expense.

"This girl is hearing wedding bells," Behar said. "The question is -- can HE hear them?"

Conor McGregor is finally telling fans about the injury that forced him to pull out of his comeback fight against Michael Chandler on June 29 at UFC 303.

And ... it's a broken toe.

"We had a lapse in concentration and engaged in a training session without wearing the full protective gear and I hit the toe off the elbow and broke the toe clean," 35-year-old McGregor wrote on social media.

The fight was called off just over 3 weeks before the men were set to scrap.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll has undergone a massive physical transformation this offseason ... and at an event Thursday night, he proudly showed off his new bod!!

Check out images of Big Blue's head man from the red carpet at NY's "Giants 100: A Night With Legends" show at Madison Square Garden ... he looked goooooood.

His wife, Beth, also stunned in a white dress ... appearing to go through her own body transformation with Brian over the past few months.

Marcus Jordan wants the world to know he's NOT dating the woman he was spotted with in Paris this week ... setting the record straight about his dating life and confirming he's proudly "single AF."

TMZ Sports shared the video on Thursday ... showing Michael's son chopping it up with a woman named Gabrielle Wright at the Amiri fashion show.

Gab actually shared video from the event ... and the two didn't even sit right next to each other.

Bill Belichick's 23-year-old girlfriend is back on the competitive cheerleading mat ... and she's still getting some big air -- all while rockin' a skin-tight outfit!!

Jordon Hudson -- a former cheerleader at Bridgewater State University -- attended East Celebrity Elite Hingham practice in the Boston area on Thursday night ... making it clear she's returning to the floor for the 2024-25 competition season.

And, while she didn't land every stunt perfectly, she certainly looked good!!

Derrick White got his pearly whites fixed amid his victory bender ... making time for a trip to the dentist to correct his chipped tooth ahead of the Celtics' championship parade!!

The breakout star revealed his new look ahead of the big bash in Boston on Friday ... saying he went through a lengthy procedure to get his smile right again.

Of course, White put it all on the line in Game 5 of the Finals -- he dove for a loose ball and got tangled up with Dallas Mavericks player Dereck Lively ... and as a result, he lost part of his front tooth.

It's been a great week for U.S. swimmer Lilly King -- the soon-to-be 3x Olympian is looking to add more medals to her trophy case -- and now she's got a big, ol' shiny diamond ring ... after her boyfriend proposed to her poolside at the Olympic trials!

(She said YES!)

The wholesome moment went down on Day 6 of the U.S. Olympic Swimming Trials in Indianapolis on Thursday. Shortly after qualifying in the 200-meter breaststroke (the second Olympic race she qualified for), King was greeted outside the pool by her now fiancé, then-boyfriend, James Wells.

Taylor Wily -- an actor and former sumo wrestler best known for his recurring role on "Hawaii Five-0" -- has died.

According to an anchor for local Hawaii outlet KITV -- who described Taylor as a family friend ... Taylor died Thursday. KITV did not provide a cause of death.

Television producer Peter M. Lenkov confirmed the news on his official Instagram account ... posting a picture with Wily from behind the scenes of a television show and telling his followers he's "heartbroken.".

It took Al Horford 17 years to win his first NBA title ... but he's hoping he can double his ring collection next season -- telling TMZ Sports he's 100% NOT retiring and is returning to the Boston Celtics.

We spoke with the longtime vet fresh off his team's championship win over the Dallas Mavericks in the Finals ... and while many might assume he'd consider ending his career on the highest of notes, the 38-year-old told us that's absolutely not the case.

"There's no question about it," Horford said while working a shift at Raising Cane's in Boston. "I don't know why those speculations were out there, that I was, like, retiring. But I'm still playing and I'm very excited for next season."