Tag: Ariel Helwani

Dominick Cruz: More People Tune Into The Prelims Than The Main Card

Dominick CruzFormer UFC Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, is relishing being the featured prelim of the upcoming UFC 259 PPV event. Whilst claiming a coveted spot on the main card of an event is the dream of many an upcoming fighter, the experienced veteran in Cruz is realistic about what placement on a UFC card really entails. […]

Dominick Cruz

Former UFC Bantamweight champion, Dominick Cruz, is relishing being the featured prelim of the upcoming UFC 259 PPV event. Whilst claiming a coveted spot on the main card of an event is the dream of many an upcoming fighter, the experienced veteran in Cruz is realistic about what placement on a UFC card really entails.

In a recent interview with ESPN MMA’s Ariel Helwani, Cruz had the following to say about being on the prelims:

“That’s probably the most seen position on the entire fight card. I’ll have the most eyes on me. Like I said, I’ve had a pretty decent layoff, so let’s get me in front of a lot of eyes is what I’m thinking. At the same time, being on the prelims, that’s an ego thing. I’m not really attached to my ego at this point. I know what I am. I know the things that I’ve accomplished. It doesn’t affect me to be seen more, and I will. I’ll be seen more”(transcribed by Farah Hannoun).

“More people tune into that then they will the main card. I’m right before the main card so everybody is watching that one because it’s the end of the prelims. It’s kind of like the lead-off hitter of a baseball team. That’s usually the fight that people wanna see almost every time they put these fights together. I’m excited to be in that position.”

Cruz will face off against rising prospect Casey Kenny, at UFC 259. Following a controversial loss to former champion Henry Cejudo, ‘The Dominator’ is looking to remount a title shot at 135lbs.

How well do you think Dominick Cruz will fare against Kenny? Let us know in the comments.

ESPN Issue Statement After Dana White Criticizes Ariel Helwani For Responding To Gina Carano

White HelwaniESPN has issued a statement on Ariel Helwani following recent criticism from UFC president Dana White. White notably called Helwani “a douche” for his video response to Gina Carano’s controversial social media tweet that saw her get fired from “The Mandalorian” last week. Carano’s tweet compared being a conservative in America today to Jews living […]

White Helwani

ESPN has issued a statement on Ariel Helwani following recent criticism from UFC president Dana White.

White notably called Helwani “a douche” for his video response to Gina Carano’s controversial social media tweet that saw her get fired from “The Mandalorian” last week.

Carano’s tweet compared being a conservative in America today to Jews living in the period of Nazi Germany which naturally drew plenty of criticism and eventually led to her firing.

Helwani is Jewish and being a friend of Carano’s, was naturally disappointed by her tweet as he put out an eight-minute video giving his thoughts on the situation.

Of course, this rubbed White the wrong way as he believed Helwani — who he is on bad terms with — was trying to make it about himself.

“Leave Gina alone,” White said on Friday when asked about her situation. “Listen, we make mistakes. We all make mistakes. For everybody to go in on her – I love how Ariel Helwani made it all about him. It was all about him. Such a douche.”

Many ESPN colleagues came to Helwani’s defense and after initially declining to comment, ESPN finally release a statement, albeit a very short one.

“Ariel is a valued colleague and an exceptional MMA reporter. His record speaks for itself,” ESPN said in a statement to the New York Post.

It says nothing about White’s comments but that is unsurprisingly natural given ESPN’s partnership with the UFC that has been ongoing since 2019.

What do you make of the situation?

Conor McGregor Says Retirement Tweets ‘Brought Out Of Frustration’

McGregorConor McGregor makes his long awaited return to the Octagon for UFC 257 this coming weekend. The event is generating huge levels of excitement through the sporting world. However, it was not long ago that fans thought that they may have seen the last of the ‘Notorious’ one. In June of 2020, McGregor shocked followers […]

McGregor

Conor McGregor makes his long awaited return to the Octagon for UFC 257 this coming weekend. The event is generating huge levels of excitement through the sporting world. However, it was not long ago that fans thought that they may have seen the last of the ‘Notorious’ one. In June of 2020, McGregor shocked followers of the sport by announcing his retirement through Twitter.

However, this retirement was quickly U-turned, as McGregor lobbied for a fight against former opponent, Dustin Poirier. After extended negotiations, the fight was once again booked. And once again Conor McGregor will headline the first PPV of the year.

With the first Fight Night of fight island 3 already off to a massive success, McGregor is now in full flow, promoting his upcoming bout. In an interview with Ariel Helwani, on ESPN’s Youtube channel, the Notorious one detailed the reasoning behind his initial retirement. He also swiftly dispelled any rumours of him retiring in the near future.

“I’ll probably never retire from the game, to be honest,” McGregor said to Helwani. “I’ll be competing for a long, long time yet. It is certainly brought out of frustration when you’re trying to get these events going. You’re trying to get things moving and it’s just not happening. It felt like I was shelved almost. I felt like if I’d have been ran out a couple of more times that year, not only would my skill set and my sharpness and everything be in tune a lot more, we’d also be talking about $800 million in revenue for the company, it was certainly out of frustration.

“The past is the past. We’re in a great spot now. I felt like I’ve got what I needed to get off my chest and I felt like it’s been reciprocated well, it’s come back, the other side has come back as well. I’m in a great spot and I’m excited to come back and that’s what we’re at. We’re focusing on the positive side of it and we’re focusing on the future.” (Transcribed by MMA Fighting)

It is clear that the retirement tweet was merely a product of McGregor’s frustration, both in regards to multiple failed negotiations, as well as the pressure the pandemic put on everybody. However, it is now in the past, and McGregor will look to launch himself right back into the Lightweight division. If everything goes as planned for McGregor, there may once again be a champion with that tri-colour flag wrapped around his shoulders by the end of the year.

How do you see the main event of UFC 257 going?

VIDEO | Ben Askren & Chase Hooper Prank Ariel Helwani

Ben AskrenFormer Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren filled in for the UFC 252 bound Daniel Cormier on the latest episode of ‘DC & Helwani’ with hilarious results. Askren brought in UFC featherweight Chase Hooper to help play a joke on the veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani. Hooper quickly walks into and out of […]

Ben Askren

Former Bellator and ONE Championship welterweight titleholder Ben Askren filled in for the UFC 252 bound Daniel Cormier on the latest episode of ‘DC & Helwani’ with hilarious results.

Askren brought in UFC featherweight Chase Hooper to help play a joke on the veteran MMA reporter Ariel Helwani. Hooper quickly walks into and out of shot before Askren manages to convince Helwani that the 145lb prospect is not Hooper and is in fact his son who was born when Askren was just 16-years-old. It’s not until about 30 minutes later ‘Funky’ reveals the prank and to a very shocked Helwani – check out the full video below…

Daniel Cormier Claims He Looks Like Dwayne Johnson, ‘The Rock’ Agrees

Daniel CormierFormer dual weight UFC champion Daniel Cormier says he looks like Dwyane ‘The Rock’ Johnson and the movie star seems to agree. Cormier admits he has been struggling to keep the weight off during the lockdown. However, when an ESPN poster made him look podgy, Cormier intervened and asked for a bit more definition on […]

Daniel Cormier

Former dual weight UFC champion Daniel Cormier says he looks like Dwyane ‘The Rock’ Johnson and the movie star seems to agree.

Cormier admits he has been struggling to keep the weight off during the lockdown. However, when an ESPN poster made him look podgy, Cormier intervened and asked for a bit more definition on be added which resulted in him looking like ‘The Rock’. Check out the poster below.

Speaking on the latest episode of ESPN’s “DC and Helwani”, the MMA reporter tells Cormier he is being roasted online for the poster, he says.

“Robert Pearson made us this amazing poster and you are getting killed for this poster because they all think that you made it and you made yourself look like The Rock. You have this nice slim figure, the neck, what’s going on with this poster?”

Cormier then went on to explain how the whole poster situation played out.

“So here’s the deal, I was shown three copies…the poster,” Cormier said. “The first one was a little pudgy, you know, then I said ‘Make him a little less pudgy’ and then he made him a little less pudgy.”

“And then I said ‘Shave his head. Make his face look like mine but like The Rock, and then I want my body to look like The Rock.”

“Don’t hate,” Cormier said. “People are hatin’ because I look like Dwayne Johnson. It’s not my fault that there’s a very strong resemblance between me and The Rock.” (Transcribed by Heavy.com)

While not many fans seem to agree the only man who counts does. ‘The Rock’ took to social media to address the poster and his “twin” Cormier, he wrote.

“Maaan this gave me a good laugh. Me and my brother [Daniel Cormier] are pretty much identical twins. Get over it people. Sheeesh.”

What do you make of the poster of Daniel Cormier and Ariel Helwani?

Ariel Helwani Buries Dillon Danis With Social Media Put-Down

Ariel HelwaniMMA journalist Ariel Helwani continues to prove his social media game is strong, this time taking down Bellator welterweight Dillon Danis. The jiu-jitsu black belt Danis took to Twitter to go after ESPN reporter Helwani. He posted a clip of a street fight in which one man is knocked out – Danis captioned the video, […]

Ariel Helwani

MMA journalist Ariel Helwani continues to prove his social media game is strong, this time taking down Bellator welterweight Dillon Danis.

The jiu-jitsu black belt Danis took to Twitter to go after ESPN reporter Helwani. He posted a clip of a street fight in which one man is knocked out – Danis captioned the video, “Next time I see Ariel Helwani.”  

Helwani didn’t take the dig laying and quickly came back to bury Danis, he said. “You connecting with a punch let alone dropping someone? Well, I guess there really could be a first time for everything.” 

Danis is a 2-0 profession with Bellator MMA. Both his wins have come by first-round submission against lower-level opposition. ‘El Jefe’ is clearly a talented grappler but his striking leaves a lot to be desire. Despite training with Conor McGregor, he seriously lacks hand and will need to improve this to advance his MMA career.

Right now, Danis is currently sidelined after undergoing a seven-hour surgery to reconstruct his knee. Announcing the news via Twitter, he wrote. “7 hour surgery to reconstruct my knee today This has been one of the toughest tests of my career, but i’m fully committed to take it head on and come back stronger than ever. You can break my body but never my spirit!”

What do you make of Ariel Helwani and Dillon Danis going at it on social media?