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MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has named which former champion and MMA superstar he believes could be considered the most overrated fighter of all time. In mixed martial arts, a host of debates exists. From the overall and divisional GOAT arguments to th…
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has named which former champion and MMA superstar he believes could be considered the most overrated fighter of all time. In mixed martial arts, a host of debates exists. From the overall and divisional GOAT arguments to the best at each discipline of the sport, fans and pundits are never left…
Continue Reading Helwani Presents Argument For The Most Overrated MMA Fighter Ever at MMA News.
MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has spoken out in defense of former ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith, who has been a polarizing figure when it comes to the coverage of mixed martial arts. Smith has established himself as one of America’s most well-known sports television personalities. Through his SportsCenter appearances and analysis of sports like basketball,…
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MMA journalist Ariel Helwani has spoken out in defense of former ESPN colleague Stephen A. Smith, who has been a polarizing figure when it comes to the coverage of mixed martial arts.
Smith has established himself as one of America’s most well-known sports television personalities. Through his SportsCenter appearances and analysis of sports like basketball, the 54-year-old has amassed a large following, including close to four million on Instagram and over 5.5 million followers on Twitter.
But if there’s one sport that Smith has struggled to find a place in when it comes to the fanbase, it’s MMA.
Since ESPN became the exclusive broadcast partner of the UFC in January 2019, Smith has become a more active pundit in the sport, which has included appearances at some high-profile pay-per-views. Perhaps most notable was his work at UFC 246 in January 2020.
Following Conor McGregor’s dominant and fast victory over Donald Cerrone, Smith suggested that “Cowboy” quit inside the Octagon, a comment that was disagreed with by color commentator Joe Rogan, sparking a brief social media feud between the two analysts.
While his appearances on UFC broadcasts have remained scarce, they still get fans talking, many of whom do so negatively, as was evident last July at UFC 264 when Smith joined Dominick Cruz and Michael Bisping at the ESPN desk.
But one of Smith’s former ESPN peers believes that he receives underserved slack.
During a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani, who departed ESPN last year, praised Smith for his kindness and positive attitude. The Canadian also branded the controversy over Smith’s Cerrone comments as “silliness.”
“Stephen A isn’t a bad dude. Stephen A actually would come up to me — like, are his takes off? No, we could debate that. That’s all inconsequential crap,” said Helwani. “Stephen A, for me personally, every time I would see him at the Seaport, on campus, he would go out of his way to be kind to me, to give me props, text me, shout me out — why would I hate that man?
“As far as I’m concerned, Stephen A was a good teammate. Like what? So he spoke about Donald Cerrone, oh wow! Silliness,” concluded Helwani.
Interestingly, Cerrone later came out and admitted that he simply didn’t want to be inside the cage that night against McGregor, seemingly giving credence to Smith’s comments.
Do you agree with Ariel Helwani? Does Stephen A. Smith receive unnecessary criticism from MMA fans?
Continue Reading Helwani Defends Stephen A. Smith Against “Silly” MMA Criticisms at MMA News.
MMA reporter Ariel Helwani has revealed the latest word on Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC, and it’s not a positive one for fans of the Irishman. McGregor, who became the promotion’s first-ever simultaneous two-division champion in 2016, hasn’t been in action since last July. In a disappointing 2021 for the Dublin native competitively, he…
Continue Reading Helwani Shares Rumblings About Conor McGregor’s Delayed Return at MMA News.
MMA reporter Ariel Helwani has revealed the latest word on Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC, and it’s not a positive one for fans of the Irishman.
McGregor, who became the promotion’s first-ever simultaneous two-division champion in 2016, hasn’t been in action since last July. In a disappointing 2021 for the Dublin native competitively, he suffered back-to-back losses to Dustin Poirier. While the first saw him knocked out for the first time, the second was to be a lot more damaging.
In the UFC 264 main event, the two rivals’ trilogy ended in disastrous fashion for MMA’s biggest superstar, with a gruesome broken leg towards the end of the first round marking a third setback in his last four outings.
Poirier mocking McGregor while he’s sitting down with a broken leg.
#UFC264
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— Monkey Knife Fight (@mkf) July 11, 2021
Now almost a year on, McGregor appears far along his road to recovery. Having consistently updated fans on his journey across social media, the former champ-champ has been back in training in recent weeks, and has been stepping up talk of his comeback, including discourse surrounding an opponent.
But while the 33-year-old has appeared optimistic about making the walk again later this year, Ariel Helwani has put a dampener on that expectation.
During a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Helwani answered questions from fans, one of which suggested that McGregor should be the opponent for Nate Diaz’s final contracted UFC fight. In response, the Canadian revealed he’s heard that the Irishman is unlikely to be back inside the Octagon until early 2023.
“Last I heard, by the way, Conor could come back February, March or so. It doesn’t look like he’s coming back in 2022,” said Helwani. “So now, here you have a guy who hasn’t fought since (July) of last year. He’s (Diaz) gonna wait a year-and-a-half for a dude that, obviously he knows he’ll make money fighting him, but does he really wanna sit around in the prime of his life when he’s as popular can be, for this fight?
“What if Conor is coming back, stumbles, and gets hurt again? There’s a million different things that could happen. There’s no guarantee that he’s coming back tomorrow, next month, the month after that, and the last I heard was early 2023. There’s no rush here, as there shouldn’t be a rush because he’s coming back from such a gruesome and serious injury.”
Should McGregor remain sidelined until the first quarter of 2023, it stands to reason that the boat on a trilogy with Diaz may have sailed, especially given the Stockton native’s push to secure the last bout on his active deal as soon as possible.
With that said, the Irishman will be keeping an eye on the welterweight and lightweight scene to see who captures his eye. Michael Chandler has made his desire to throw down with McGregor known, as has top lightweight Charles Oliveira.
Elsewhere, perhaps a fourth meeting with “The Diamond” is due after their anticlimactic trilogy clash. Or, maybe the Irishman will opt to face Poirier’s ATT teammate Jorge Masvidal in what “Gamebred” has described as the “biggest fight” of McGregor’s life.
Cannes bombs
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 20, 2022
Who should Conor McGregor face when he returns to the UFC?
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Renowned MMA journalist and avid pro wrestling fan Ariel Helwani has some direct advice for new All Elite Wrestling (AEW) signee Paige VanZant. Paige VanZant is known to wear many hats under the spotlight. She has turned in art as an author, dancer, UFC athlete, and even a bare-knuckle boxer. The latest chapter for “12…
Continue Reading Helwani Gives “Green” PVZ Advice On How To Be A Successful Wrestler at MMA News.
Renowned MMA journalist and avid pro wrestling fan Ariel Helwani has some direct advice for new All Elite Wrestling (AEW) signee Paige VanZant.
Paige VanZant is known to wear many hats under the spotlight. She has turned in art as an author, dancer, UFC athlete, and even a bare-knuckle boxer.
The latest chapter for “12 Gauge” has been taking a page out of Ronda Rousey’s book and stepping into the world of professional wrestling.
While Ronda Rousey reigns as the current WWE Smackdown Women’s Champion, VanZant’s rasslin’ career just got rolling at last weekend’s AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view. VanZant took part in a six person’s tag team match, and her performance was met with mixed reviews.
One person who wasn’t too impressed was Ariel Helwani. Helwani was not harsh of VanZant, and overall, his words appeared to be purely constructive criticism. Simply put, the MMA journalist feels that in order for VanZant to perform better at future showcases like Double or Nothing, she must first be All-In.
“I saw highlights of Paige VanZant’s pro wrestling debut this weekend, and well, I wasn’t too impressed,” Helwani wrote on the “Two-Cent Tuesday” post on his Substack. “She is super green, though. She’ll need to devote all her time to the craft if she wants to be successful.”
Prior to her AEW debut, VanZant made it clear that she will continue to spread her time between BKFC and AEW, not to mention remaining open to returning to MMA competition. She also lends much of her attention to her active social media presence and personal fan site.
That being said, VanZant has lost both of her BKFC fights, and company president David Feldman has implied that her next fight will be a must-win. Theefore, should VanZant lose her next bout, which is scheduled for next month’s BKFC London event, she may very well find herself with more free time to unwittingly follow Ariel Helwani’s unsolicited advice.
How do you think Paige VanZant will fare as a professional wrestler?
Continue Reading Helwani Gives “Green” PVZ Advice On How To Be A Successful Wrestler at MMA News.
MMA reporter Ariel Helwani has criticized the UFC and USADA for expecting fighters to update them on their whereabouts year-round. The discussion surrounding USADA’s whereabouts policy was brought up recently after UFC middleweight Derek Brunson took to Twitter to vent his frustrations after seemingly being flagged for a violation on the app. Since 2015, the…
Continue Reading Helwani Explains Why USADA Whereabouts Failures Are “F**ked Up” at MMA News.
MMA reporter Ariel Helwani has criticized the UFC and USADA for expecting fighters to update them on their whereabouts year-round.
The discussion surrounding USADA’s whereabouts policy was brought up recently after UFC middleweight Derek Brunson took to Twitter to vent his frustrations after seemingly being flagged for a violation on the app.
Since 2015, the UFC has partnered with the United States Anti-Doping Agency to ensure the integrity of the sport is upheld. In testing for banned substances, the organization demands that athletes are available at all times, meaning that they require an accurate update on every fighter’s location.
When competitors are found to have not updated their whereabouts and can not be accessed for testing, they are struck with violations. Perhaps most notably in recent times, featherweight contender Yair Rodriguez was suspended for six months towards the end of 2020 after registering three whereabouts failures.
According to longtime MMA journalist Ariel Helwani, the entire policy is questionable. During a recent episode of The MMA Hour, the Canadian assessed Brunson’s tweets on the matter, criticizing the fact that UFC fighters, who are independent contractors, are required to provide an organization with their location when they aren’t employees.
“The Derek Brunson tweets of last week, where he talked about the USADA app, and he talked about how, ‘This app sucks, and I have to tell them where I am 24/7, and this is crazy.’ And I responded to it a little bit,” said Helwani. “Could you imagine being an independent contractor, meaning someone who comes to your house, your gardener, right, your guy who fixes your cable, your guy who fixes your broken sink, your plumber, whatever… could you imagine being that guy and coming to your house twice a year, three times a year, but having to tell me what you’re doing for 365? Having to update your whereabouts 365 because you did two or three jobs for me?
“I’m only paying you two to three times a year, but you gotta tell me where you are at all times, and by the way, you’ve gotta wear a uniform when you come to my house, you’ve gotta do what I say, you can’t come in wearing this type of clothes. No, that’s not how life works,” asserted Helwani.
Helwani went on to note that actual employees of the UFC aren’t required to provide their whereabouts, while independently contracted fighters are. That, he says, is “f*cked up.”
“You guys have to update an app to let the promotion know where you are. And guess what, you know what’s the best part? The actual employees of said organization don’t even have to do that… But the independent contractors do. Do you guys realize how f*cked up that is?”
Do you agree with Ariel Helwani’s take on USADA’s whereabouts policy?
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UFC veteran Al Iaquinta thinks that if a universal open scoring system was implemented across MMA, it would do more harm than good. Iaquinta has been a strong advocate for UFC fighter rights, more specifically when it comes to fighter pay. But, the former lightweight title challenger doesn’t think an open scoring system would be…
Continue Reading Iaquinta On Open Scoring: “The Smarter Fighter Doesn’t Need To Know” at MMA News.
UFC veteran Al Iaquinta thinks that if a universal open scoring system was implemented across MMA, it would do more harm than good.
Iaquinta has been a strong advocate for UFC fighter rights, more specifically when it comes to fighter pay. But, the former lightweight title challenger doesn’t think an open scoring system would be a good idea.
The concept of open scoring has run rampant in public discourse following the controversial fight between Holly Holm and Ketlen Vieira this past weekend. Vieira won via split decision despite getting outstruck in virtually every category by Holm.
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Iaquinta explained how an open scoring system would change the trajectory of a fight.
“The smarter fighter going into the fifth round doesn’t need to know the score,” Iaquinta opined. “They know the score. If their technique and their experience and everything, their fight IQ is higher than the other fighter, you’re evening the playing field by giving the dumber fighter the scorecard going into the later rounds. Or going into any round, really.
“A fighter might come out and they might’ve thought they won, and they didn’t. Now, say I know I won the fight, I might know I lost the round, he might’ve thought I lost it too but I know I lost it and so I know I need to go hard in the third. So, I think the smarter fighter doesn’t want the other fighter to know in between rounds.”
Helwani has been a strong advocate of open scoring over the past few months and feels that it’s the best solution for a quick fix to controversial judging. On the other hand, Iaquinta isn’t sold on the idea that MMA should be treated like other sports such as baseball and football where the scores are publicized.
Iaquinta also argued that the discussion has switched to just talking about scoring rather than athletes going out and trying to finish the fight. Helwani went on to point out that an open scoring system would treat judges like umpires in baseball, with fighters getting a general idea of how each judge tends to score vs. how umpires set up a strike zone.
Iaquinta was The Ultimate Fighter: Season 15 runner-up, losing to Michael Chiesa in the finale. He went on to win his first three fights in the Octagon, including over former interim title challenger Kevin Lee.
Iaquinta has gone on to have a successful career in the cage with wins over the likes of Jorge Masvidal, Diego Sanchez, and Joe Lauzon. He has lost three in a row and seems in no rush to return to fighting.
In the meantime, the debate surrounding open scoring marches on, and it’s unclear if there will be significant changes to the current scoring system in larger promotions such as the UFC and Bellator.
Do you agree with Al Iaquinta’s position on open scoring?
Continue Reading Iaquinta On Open Scoring: “The Smarter Fighter Doesn’t Need To Know” at MMA News.
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