Tag: Ariel Helwani Banned

Report: Ariel Helwani Banned From First Leg Of McGregor vs. Mayweather World Tour

It looks like the first leg of the awaited Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather world tour will be without one of MMA’s biggest media personalities. With the hype and trash talk set to get started today from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, at 5:30 p.m. EST /2:30 p.m. PST, lines are reportedly out […]

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It looks like the first leg of the awaited Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather world tour will be without one of MMA’s biggest media personalities.

With the hype and trash talk set to get started today from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, at 5:30 p.m. EST /2:30 p.m. PST, lines are reportedly out the door for the anticipated event. But when the questions do start from the press, MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani will apparently not be with them.

Helwani just tweeted that he would no longer be working for SHOWTIME Sports as the UFC specifically requested to have him removed from the opening leg of the tour, after which he expressed his disappointment at their decision:

Helwani also revealed that he had taken a late flight from New York City to be in L.A. for the tour, and was dealt the news when he arrived. Even with that disappointment, however, he reassured fans he would be at future tour stops in Toronto and New York:

If you’ll remember, Helwani’s beef with the UFC runs deep, and he was notoriously barred from covering last year’s UFC 199, also in Los Angeles, when he broke the massive story that former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was returning at the landmark UFC 200 hours before it was to be officially announced during the pay-per-view (PPV) main card.

He then opened up about his tepid past with the UFC in an emotional segment on his weekly show “The MMA Hour” the following Monday, discussing his tenuous-at-best relationship with the previous UFC regime and adding that it even once became physical became him, Dana White, and Lorenzo Fertitta.

It appears that dislike for Helwani’s style of journalism has carried over into the new regime, as well.

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Dana White Blasts ‘Dirty’ Ariel Helwani For ‘Crying On Camera’

A few weeks have passed since the now infamous UFC 199 scenario regarding well-known mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani. To sum up the situation, Helwani and two of his colleagues were essentially kicked out of the arena after Helwani broke the news of Brock Lesnar’s UFC 200 return before the promotion could do so

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A few weeks have passed since the now infamous UFC 199 scenario regarding well-known mixed martial arts journalist Ariel Helwani. To sum up the situation, Helwani and two of his colleagues were essentially kicked out of the arena after Helwani broke the news of Brock Lesnar’s UFC 200 return before the promotion could do so themselves.

Helwani and company had their credentials removed and the UFC had issued a lifetime ban against the reporter. UFC President Dana White had even went as far to say that Helwani would have to buy a ticket if he planned on attending the blockbuster July 9th card from Las Vegas.

Needless to say, Helwani went on his show, The MMA Hour, and detailed not only this specific situation, but his rocky history with the UFC as well in a dark and emotional segment. Not so long after, his lifetime ban was lifted and his credentials were reinstated.

Since then, the situation has appeared to have been put to rest, although White clearly hasn’t forgotten about it. Recently appearing on the inaugural edition of the UFC Unfiltered Podcast with Jim Norton and Matt Serra, White blasted Helwani, saying that the journalist threw a ‘pity party’:

“I know that he threw a big pity party for himself and all that sh*t, but there was a lot more to it. A lot more people were involved in that thing, and it almost blew up a huge relationship that I wouldn’t even get into publicly. That’s why we just came out with a statement, and I don’t know, it was dirty. He knows it was dirty, and he threw a big pity party for himself, crying on camera and sh*t. Just ridiculous.” White said.

Despite the harsh comments, White admitted that he’s done a tremendous amount to boost Helwani’s career over the years, a statement that Helwani has also confirmed on multiple occasions:

“Ariel Helwani knows I’ve done a lot of s–t for Ariel Helwani,” added White when speaking on the podcast.

In the end, although his credentials were reinstated, Helwani doesn’t appear to be the UFC President’s favorite person:

“Well, he got his credential back I wouldn’t say he’s in decent graces. We built that promo, and a lot of people were quiet about it. It was for the fans, and for that wow factor to be there, and go oh wow Brock’s back, and the way that he the way that he did it had a lot of people pointing fingers at each other.”

The brash and outspoken UFC boss also called Helwani’s actions a ‘weasel move’, and claimed that he had made it ‘all about Ariel’.

What do you make of White’s comments?

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Ariel Helwani Denies Joe Rogan’s Report On Brock Lesnar Fiasco

The UFC has lifted its lifetime ban on highly-touted journalist Ariel Helwani, but the mixed martial arts (MMA) community hasn’t dropped the situation just yet. Ultimately, Helwani was escorted out of The Forum last Saturday (June 4, 2016) prior to the main event after breaking the news of Brock Lesnar’s return before the UFC could

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The UFC has lifted its lifetime ban on highly-touted journalist Ariel Helwani, but the mixed martial arts (MMA) community hasn’t dropped the situation just yet.

Ultimately, Helwani was escorted out of The Forum last Saturday (June 4, 2016) prior to the main event after breaking the news of Brock Lesnar’s return before the UFC could announce it themselves. Helwani’s credentials were also taken away.

The MMA world was thrown into an uproar, lobbying behind the Canadian journalist, and the UFC eventually reversed its actions.

However, as he detailed on an intense edition of The MMA Hour last Monday (June 6, 2016), his relationship with the UFC has always been a rocky one.

From Helwani’s side, he explained that he was simply doing his job.

UFC color commentator Joe Rogan recently touched on the situation, however, detailing what he thought to be the UFC’s view on the situation. Rogan claimed that the UFC felt as if there was a ‘mole’ feeding Helwani information, and that the promotion actually warned the journalist prior to his breaking of the news:

“That’s cool, because that means that public support made them lift that. But it also must mean that they worked out whatever the f*ck it was. See, this is what they were saying, this is what I’m hearing, okay. I haven’t talked to Ariel, but let me just give me the UFC perspective. The UFC perspective was that there was a mole. They believed that someone was giving Ariel information, and that information he was using to scoop the UFC’s official promotions. So the UFC, which is a private company, they don’t have to have… you don’t have to let people into your business, if you’re a private company, to come and report. So they were feeling that somehow or another he was getting a hold of this inside information, and releasing it, and making them look bad.”

“Now, I get the UFC’s perspective. They would wanna know who the f’ck is leaking this secret information, and that they don’t want this guy taking this information and putting it live. Now from what I understand, the conversation with him was, ‘Don’t do this, because if you do this, there’s only a hand full of people who know this information. So we’re gonna fire everybody. We’re gonna fire a bunch of people and you’re gonna ruin people’s lives’. This is what I was told, was a conversation they had with him. After the conversation he leaked the Brock Lesnar stuff.” Rogan said on a recent edition of his podcast.

Helwani then quickly took to his official Twitter account to reject Rogan’s theory:

What do you make of the latest in this ever evolving story?

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UFC Lifts Lifetime Ban On Ariel Helwani

Highly-touted mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Ariel Helwani has experienced a roller coaster of wild events over the course of the last few days. To break it down, Helwani and two of his colleagues were essentially escorted from The Forum in Inglewood, California last Saturday (June 4, 2016) prior to the main event of UFC

The post UFC Lifts Lifetime Ban On Ariel Helwani appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Highly-touted mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Ariel Helwani has experienced a roller coaster of wild events over the course of the last few days.

To break it down, Helwani and two of his colleagues were essentially escorted from The Forum in Inglewood, California last Saturday (June 4, 2016) prior to the main event of UFC 199.

Helwani’s credentials were taken away, and he was handed a ludicrous lifetime ban from the UFC.

The reasoning for the move appeared to be that the UFC wasn’t too happy with Helwani breaking the news of Brock Lesnar’s return before they could air the epic UFC 200 promo video. The journalist also beat the promotion to the punch on confirming the UFC 202 rematch between featherweight champion Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz.

Since Saturday, UFC president Dana White has commented on the situation, saying that the ban was indeed a reality, and that Helwani would have to purchase a ticket to attend UFC events in the future.

Helwani then explained the situation in full detail as well as revealing a somewhat dark past with the promotion on his show The MMA Hour today (June 6, 2016).

An emotional Helwani was clearly broken down by the news, and the mixed martial arts community was thrown into a frenzy.

The news appeared to be permanent, but apparently something has changed.

Lance Pugmire of the LA Times took to his official twitter account earlier tonight to announce that the UFC has lifted its ban on Helwani:

The UFC then released a statement confirming the report:

“Following a conversation with the editorial team at SB Nation, UFC will not prevent MMAFighting.com from receiving media credentials to cover live UFC events. We respect the role the media plays in our sport and beyond, including MMAFighting’s ability to report news. However, in our opinion, we believe the recurring tactics used by its lead reporter extended beyond the purpose of journalism. We feel confident our position has now been adequately communicated to the SB Nation editorial team.

UFC’s goal as the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion is to cultivate interest in its world-class athletes and events, and deliver for the fans. We will continue to introduce this sport and its athletes to new fans across the world, and we will do so by working alongside media across all platforms.”

What do you make of the situation now?

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Dana White Reportedly Accused Ariel Helwani Of Having A ‘Mole’

As if UFC 199 wasn’t crazy enough, highly respected MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has reportedly been ‘banned for life’ from all future UFC events for reasons not yet confirmed. Helwani alerted the MMA community via Twitter that he had been escorted out of the arena by Zuffa staff, following the conclusion of the co-main event

The post Dana White Reportedly Accused Ariel Helwani Of Having A ‘Mole’ appeared first on LowKick MMA.

As if UFC 199 wasn’t crazy enough, highly respected MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has reportedly been ‘banned for life’ from all future UFC events for reasons not yet confirmed.

Helwani alerted the MMA community via Twitter that he had been escorted out of the arena by Zuffa staff, following the conclusion of the co-main event bantamweight title bout between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber.

Earlier today Helwani took to Twitter once more to thank fans and fighters for their support, and stated he would address the issue on The MMA Hour tomorrow:

Thank you. I sincerely can’t thank you all enough. I’m still here. All will be addressed tomorrow on #themmahour, as well as other outlets.

It’s hard to wrap my head around all of this, but to everyone fan, fighter, manager, friend who reached out: thank you.

And to every journalist/media member who tweeted or reached out: I’m eternally grateful to you. Thank you all very much. Until tomorrow…

FTR, I will forever be proud to be an MMA journalist. I am proud of that title and take the responsibility that comes w/ it seriously.

Helwani also spoke to Yahoo Sports for a brief period of time, describing the incident that went down Saturday night:

“I was brought to the back by UFC [public relations] and told by Dana White that I had to leave the arena,” Helwani said. “Dana mentioned that from what I recalled that Brock Lesnar was upset the news was released early and that this could have ruined their deal.

It was then, Helwani said, that UFC President Dana White accused the journalist of having a ‘mole’ on the inside feeding him information:

“He repeatedly said, ‘Go cover Bellator. We don’t want you here.’ … I said, ‘What did I do wrong?’ He said, ‘You’re too negative.’

“I never go off one source anyway, so I guess they’re saying now there are two moles,” Helwani said. “But with God as my witness, there is no ‘mole.’ Honestly, I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around this. I’m almost embarrassed because people are saying, ‘You’re standing up for journalism.’

“I’m not doing any great investigative journalism here. This is not ground-breaking stuff. I’m not going to win a Pulitzer for this.”

You can check out Helwani’s Tweets from today bellow:

The MMA Hour will stream live on MMAFighting.com tomorrow (June 6, 2016) at 1 p.m. ET

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