Ariel Helwani News
Joaquin Buckley believes Ariel Helwani and other media members attempt to hurt the careers of fighters: “I shouldn't have even took the interview”
Harry Kettle - April 3, 2024
UFC fighter Joaquin Buckley has given his explosive thoughts on Ariel Helwani and MMA media in general. This past weekend, Joaquin Buckley secured arguably the biggest win of his career as he dusted off Vicente Luque. Now, many are wondering what the future holds for the exciting 29-year-old.
Ariel Helwani responds to Dana White's "total bulls**t" claims about UFC Saudi Arabia postponement
Zain Bando - January 23, 2024
Longtime MMA journalist Ariel Helwani continues to defend himself against UFC CEO Dana White. Most recently, Helwani reported that the UFC’s plans to host an event in Saudi Arabia on March 2 were pushed back to June due to the country’s dissatisfaction with the event. At the UFC 297 post-fight press conference, White was asked about the report without the mention of Helwani’s name.
Ariel Helwani goes to bat for Tom Aspinall after recent criticism from UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones
Susan Cox - January 10, 2024
Ariel Helwani is going to bat for Tom Aspinall after the Brit received recent criticism from UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones. It was Tom Aspinall (14-3 MMA) who recently fought and defeated Sergei Pavlovich (18-2 MMA) by KO this past November at UFC 295 for the interim heavyweight title.
Ariel Helwani claims Dana White and company “have a rabbit in their hat” for UFC 300
Susan Cox - January 4, 2024
Ariel Helwani is claiming that Dana White and company ‘have a rabbit in their hat’ for UFC 300. The historic UFC 300 will take place on Saturday, April 13th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ariel Helwani responds to recent criticism from former UFC champion Jamahal Hill: “I am not going anywhere”
Josh Evanoff - November 6, 2023
Longtime MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has responded to former UFC champion Jamahal Hill. Over the weekend, ‘Sweet Dreams’ put out a video slamming Ariel Helwani. The video itself took aim at the journalist’s recent interview with Chael Sonnen on The MMA Hour. ‘The Bad Guy’ got into it with him over Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, as well as the pay-per-view numbers accompanying it.
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones sounds off on "backstabbing" MMA journalist Ariel Helwani
Chris Taylor - November 4, 2023
UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones had some choice words for “backstabbing” MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. Jones (27-1 MMA) was recently forced to withdraw from his scheduled UFC 295 main event title fight with Stipe Miocic after suffering a torn pectoral tendon in training.
Ariel Helwani is “baffled” by Tyson Fury’s extreme disrespect towards Francis Ngannou
Susan Cox - October 5, 2023
Ariel Helwani is ‘baffled’ by Tyson Fury’s extreme disrespect towards Francis Ngannou. Former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou is set to make his boxing debut against WCB heavyweight champion Tyson Fury on Saturday, October 28th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ariel Helwani responds to recent criticism from former UFC champion Jamahal Hill: “I come here with love in my heart”
Harry Kettle - August 3, 2023
Ariel Helwani has responded to Jamahal Hill after being called out by the former UFC champion recently. Throughout the course of his career, Ariel Helwani has rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. In equal measure, he’s also been the benchmark for MMA journalism in the eyes of many. He’s certainly a divisive figure and in recent years, that has also extended to the fighters themselves.
Bellator gets some serious props from Ariel Helwani: “There is no other promotion, outside of the UFC, that has a collection of champions like that”
Zain Bando - June 22, 2023
Ariel Helwani shares his thoughts about Bellator’s roster Long-time MMA journalist Ariel Helwani always gives credit where credit is due, especially when it comes to the sport as a whole. Last Friday showcased Bellator 297, which featured two world title fights. Bellator light heavyweight champion, Vadim Nemkov, took on Yoel Romero in the main event, while Sergio Pettis fought Patricio Pitbull for the bantamweight strep in the co-main.
Ariel Helwani takes aim at Dana White for his “bullsh*t way of framing” former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou
Harry Kettle - May 23, 2023
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has taken a shot at Dana White for the way in which he framed Francis Ngannou’s UFC departure. It’s safe to say that the relationship between Dana White and Francis Ngannou isn’t the best right now. In fact, you could probably go a step further and claim that it’s broken for good. Following his exit from the UFC, Ngannou was slandered by White in a variety of ways – and the president kept that going during last weekend’s post-fight press conference.
Ariel Helwani reveals Francis Ngannou could find his next MMA home as soon as this week
Josh Evanoff - May 1, 2023
According to Ariel Helwani, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou won’t be a free agent for long. ‘The Predator’ has been out of the octagon for over a year, last defeating Ciryl Gane by decision in January 2022. That victory will likely end up being the last of Ngannou’s UFC career, as he left the promotion earlier this year. In the process, he vacated his heavyweight title.
Paddy Pimblett snubs idea of rekindling friendship with Ariel Helwani: "He tried to ruin my career"
Lewis Simpson - April 24, 2023
UFC lightweight Paddy Pimblett snubbed the idea of rekindling a relationship with mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani, stating the Canadian “tried to ruin” his career prior to his UFC 282 fight with Jared Gordon. Before his UFC 282 clash with Gordon back in December last year, Pimblett’s stock was rising significantly. The lively Scouser joined the UFC in 2021 and quickly became a mainstream name, finishing his first three opponents under the UFC’s lights.
Ariel Helwani shares theory as to why Ali Abdelaziz deleted IV-related tweet suggesting he would “expose everybody”
Harry Kettle - February 17, 2023
Ariel Helwani has given his thoughts on why Ali Abdelaziz deleted his tweet in relation to recent IV allegations. While Islam Makhachev did manage to defeat Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284, there’s been a bit of controversy since then. It stems from a tweet by Dan Hooker that suggests Islam illegally used an IV before the fight in order to make weight.
Ariel Helwani believes USADA’s reputation is at stake following latest accusations from Dan Hooker: “We need to figure this out”
Susan Cox - February 15, 2023
Ariel Helwani believes that USADA’s reputation is at stake following the latest accusations from Dan Hooker. It was this past weekend at UFC 284 that Dan Hooker was in attendance at the RAC Arena in Perth, Australia to witness and cheer for Alexander Volkanovski (25-2 MMA) taking on Islam Makhachev (24-1 MMA) for the lightweight title. The result was a unanimous decision win for Makhachev.
Ariel Helwani dismisses comparisons between Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov following UFC 284: "I’m sorry, he isn’t as good as Khabib. He is not!"
Lewis Simpson - February 14, 2023
Following UFC 284, mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani is confident that Islam Makhachev is not as good as his mentor Khabib Nurmagomedov. Since Khabib’s retirement in 2021, the former lightweight champion and his late father have pushed their prodigy Makhachev to become the next dominant sensation from their team.
Ariel Helwani responds to criticism from UFC commentator Joe Rogan: “Especially rich coming from the guy who was pushing false narratives”
Susan Cox - February 2, 2023
Ariel Helwani is responding to criticism from UFC commentator Joe Rogan. The two very popular YouTube podcasters, Ariel Helwani on ‘The MMA Hour’ and Joe Rogan on ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ are apparently coming to heads.
Ariel Helwani reacts to Dana White's New Years' Eve altercation with wife: "What are your kids going to say about you?"
Josh Evanoff - January 4, 2023
Ariel Helwani has chimed in on Dana White’s New Years’ Eve altercation with his wife. Over the weekend, the UFC president was in Cabo, Mexico, alongside his wife, Anna. In a video caught by TMZ, White was slapped by his wife in the midst of an argument. He then slapped her several times, prompting onlookers to break up the incident.
Ariel Helwani shares suggestions for next year’s 30-year anniversary UFC event
Zain Bando - December 19, 2022
Ariel Helwani teased some interesting ideas about what direction the UFC might take for its 30-year anniversary event, scheduled for Nov. 2023. The UFC has just completed its 282nd pay-per-view event Dec. 10 with 11-13 additional events to occur in 2023, inching much closer to another triple-extravaganza with UFC 300 in 2024.