Part of being a reporter is trying to report the news before anyone else. The bit in bold is literally his job. Do you really expect him to be deliberately less good at his job?
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Part of being a reporter is trying to report the news before anyone else. The bit in bold is literally his job. Do you really expect him to be deliberately less good at his job?
Rumoured that WWE wants Paige VanZant and other female UFC fighters for Summerslam. hmmm
Just caught up with ufc199 unspoiled
So fecking happy right now.
So fecking happy right now.
Hearing Kimbo Slice has passed away, heart attack. RIP
It is really difficult to want to support UFC after watching Ariel Helwani cry on his podcast.
Just watched The MMA Hour. As a journalist you have your job to break news and be the first with the information. He stuck to his guns and stayed true to what he believes in.
Obviously the UFC has a right to be pissed off and ban him from being at their events but a lot of the reasons for many fans being interested in UFC cards is because of Ariel Helwani getting in depth with many fighters.
He is the most interesting journalist in the sport because of the quality of his content. Him breaking news was never really anything big for me as I love the sport and intriguing match ups will always get me excited, but in the build up to fights The MMA Hour and The MMA Beat are always the most intriguing shows and reveal the fighters true uncensored feelings and breakdowns on what's going on. His fight week interviews at the media day are always the best, and I'm sure he raises a lot of interest for the UFC.
It was because of his show that Conor McGregor was able to get his first real platform and put a lot of eyes on him and for I specifically made sure I watched his first fight for the UFC because of that MMA Hour intervies. He is now the biggest star in the UFC.
Personally I feel it was a bad move on the UFC's part because I'm sure although he is upset and shocked at the situation, it will now just make him even more determined and a lot more UFC news is going to be broken before they want it to be. I wouldn't be surprised if he get's some big job offers in the light of this because MMA is rapidly growing in the world and if you can have the guy who breaks all the news first on your team then your ratings will rise for that audience.
I wouldn't put it past the UFC trying to ruin him though by making him look incompetent every time he breaks a news story, even if he is right they will just change the match up.
Obviously the UFC has a right to be pissed off and ban him from being at their events but a lot of the reasons for many fans being interested in UFC cards is because of Ariel Helwani getting in depth with many fighters.
He is the most interesting journalist in the sport because of the quality of his content. Him breaking news was never really anything big for me as I love the sport and intriguing match ups will always get me excited, but in the build up to fights The MMA Hour and The MMA Beat are always the most intriguing shows and reveal the fighters true uncensored feelings and breakdowns on what's going on. His fight week interviews at the media day are always the best, and I'm sure he raises a lot of interest for the UFC.
It was because of his show that Conor McGregor was able to get his first real platform and put a lot of eyes on him and for I specifically made sure I watched his first fight for the UFC because of that MMA Hour intervies. He is now the biggest star in the UFC.
Personally I feel it was a bad move on the UFC's part because I'm sure although he is upset and shocked at the situation, it will now just make him even more determined and a lot more UFC news is going to be broken before they want it to be. I wouldn't be surprised if he get's some big job offers in the light of this because MMA is rapidly growing in the world and if you can have the guy who breaks all the news first on your team then your ratings will rise for that audience.
I wouldn't put it past the UFC trying to ruin him though by making him look incompetent every time he breaks a news story, even if he is right they will just change the match up.
Ban lifted lol
I'm siding with Ariel with this one. He is one of the most trustworthy and respected journalists in the game, so much so that football writers could take an example of him and his ethics. As he says. he only reports when he's sure and not when the person serving him at Starbucks tells him a rumor. If multiple sources confirm that Brock is gonna fight, he's gonna report it. It's his goddamn job. UFC should look at themselves and the fighters camps, because there are people talking. UFC can be mad about it yet, thats fine. but no need for him (and his team) to be banned for life.
And they don't have to allow him access. He isn't their employee
Wow on the Kimbo news. I know people take the piss about him being a bit of a freak show in MMA but man it's been fun watching him all the way from back in the days when he was brawling on the streets to him in TUF and MMA. Quite a sad one this one.
That's not how it works. The UFC allows journalists to cover their events.
Great news. Seems Dana and Lorenzo realized you can't run the UFC like its North Korea.
Looks like it's true.
RIP Kimbo.
Sad. Dada had a heart attack in the ring and now Kimbo's had one outside it.
Probably has more to do with their $4bn valuation going down the pan.
Reading the statement it seems they're pissed off with Helwani but have seen this is more harm than good really and it is something that could of been avoided. Again I can see both sides of the argument, I felt sorry for the UFC but I do think any business would be pissed off if people kept leaking their news and the timing did always seem a little coincidental.
Helwani does seem a genuine nice guy but I do find it funny how people think it's clear cut as UFC are straight up dicks and he's as innocent as they come. Journalism isn't the most honest of professions really. I'd imagine if this was United vs. Jamie Jackson for example then a lot of people would be siding with the company. If he went on a podcast and started crying over how Ed Woodward treated him then most the posts would be along the lines of "Can't believe this idiot has gone on a podcast crying over being banned
"Anyway it's a shame it overshadowed a great card, hopefully next MMA hour or whatever the likes of Bisping and Cruz can go on, I'm sure they're not to bothered anyway.
Shame to hear about Kimbo Slice always seems a good guy on TUF especially and genuinely seemed interested in learning more about fighting than just brawling on the street.
The Norwegian Emil Weber Meek has signed with UFC!
Finally a Norwegian in the UFC.
Probably cause he beat Palhares senseless.
Apparantly he's going to have his first fight in Fight night in september.
Finally a Norwegian in the UFC.
Probably cause he beat Palhares senseless.
Apparantly he's going to have his first fight in Fight night in september.
Namajunas vs. Kowalkiewicz set for UFC 201. Winner surely get's the next title shot (I think Namajunas will end the unbeaten streak here and earn her title shot).
Kimbo was going to be on the next Bellator card, wasn't he?
What the hell, I can't believe that about Kimbo. He was going to fight in London next. Damn, RIP.
While yes he was no good really, he was in some ways an important figure for the sport. A well known name and who didn't know about his legendary street fights like the one with Sean Gannon that was arranged on mma forums in their early days.
While yes he was no good really, he was in some ways an important figure for the sport. A well known name and who didn't know about his legendary street fights like the one with Sean Gannon that was arranged on mma forums in their early days.
What was the cause of death (beyond just cardiac arrest). I know he popped for PEDs after the Dada fight.
I don't know why the UFC would be so pissed anyway. Helwani is a popular journalist and all he is doing is hyping up fights and events for free by breaking stories.
Feck, used to love watching Kimbo beat up people in backyards
This year is fecking relentless.
This year is fecking relentless.
Glad the ban got lifted. I dont really care for Helwani but he was doing his job and as there wasn't an embargo on the Brock news then it's fair enough what he did.
@Mark_GrumpyLion I'm on Co-Main Event again! This time as Zlatan Ibrahimovic... clearly from how they read the name you know they dont know who the hell that is
@Mark_GrumpyLion I'm on Co-Main Event again! This time as Zlatan Ibrahimovic... clearly from how they read the name you know they dont know who the hell that is
Sad about Kimbo. Was actually a nice guy whenever interviewed, was often in the MMA hour
He was meant to main event for Bellator in England next month against James Thompson.
Can't believe Dana said yesterday Ariel could only attend if he buys a ticket and they reversed less than 12 hours later.
Feel a bit sorry for him at times. At the end of the day he is the mouth piece for the Fertittas and it's not he first time he has been left out to dry like that
He was meant to main event for Bellator in England next month against James Thompson.
Can't believe Dana said yesterday Ariel could only attend if he buys a ticket and they reversed less than 12 hours later.
Feel a bit sorry for him at times. At the end of the day he is the mouth piece for the Fertittas and it's not he first time he has been left out to dry like that
Because the UFC wanted to announce it on their PPV.
Unlike other sports, they are reliant on reveals, buzz, promos and tours etc to help fuel PPV buys. They wanted to do the reveal as part of their 199 PPV offering. Arial breaking the story early has shat all over the reveal and can only negatively effect future PPV buys.
On top of that, it does sound like the Dana and the UFC have helped Helwani to get where he is in terms of access, popularity, offering advise on contracts whens he's asked for it and getting him work on UFC programming at Fox. Ariel has said himself, in the past he's been asked not to leak news and he's gone ahead and done it anyway. Naturally Dana and Lorenzo are going to be pissed. You can't be in bed with Dana White then switch to a humble unbiased journalist with a podcast when it suits.
This backtrack seems to show that Ariel is almost too big to touch now. He's more popular than most UFC fighters at this point.
Why would it matter who revealed it ? Just because they didn't get to present it the way they wanted to doesn't necessarily mean there will be less PPV buys for 200, which let's face it is already a stacked card before Lesnar and Hunt were added. Helwani has 377k Twitter followers and countless others who listen and watch his podcast, both of which are followed by anyone with any interest in MMA coverage. Therefore this argument that UFC may have been hurt financially is completely bogus and little more than an excuse to go after Ariel, since the very fact that he broke the story publicized it to roughly the same amount of people who would've seen it during the PPV event.
Also, Dana denying it earlier in the day, then calling Helwani backstage to go all Donald Trump on him is proof that Dana and Lorenzo made complete mess of it and the fact that they have quickly moved to reinstate Ariel is proof that they admit they were wrong.
Basically to sum things up - it sounds like White and Fertitia may have had a roid rage moment because they don't have their PR house in order and took it out on Ariel.
Did Dana actually deny it though? He lied yes but he never said Lesnar wasn't coming in that interview. They asked why Lesnar was on the roster and he said it was an error in the fact they were uploading old fighters....they may have been doing that. He seemed pretty clever with his words.
What seems odd to me is that it seems people are so adamant in picking sides there has to be a good guy and a bad guy. Why is that the case? Both sides have made errors really for me, the UFC over reacted massively in banning him "for life" for spoiling it. In all honesty I think a kick out the arena and maybe a couple of events ban would suffice. Ariel has constantly revealed their scoops before them. I'm sorry but I fail to believe the timing is coincidental 100% of the time, I'm sure he can be petty as well when he wants to and I'm sure he feels he has an axe to grind. Why does everyone take his word as gospel? Maybe he is telling the truth but no one knows he could be exaggerating a huge amount.
It's all a bit childish the UFC sulking a bit cos they wanted to reveal the Lesnar stuff but so what? They're entitled to be pissed off. It's funny that people imply they don't care about fans but the genuine uproar to this was probably cos it ruined a huge surprise for fans. Again, people say "what's the harm in Ariel revealing it?" and I agree there is no real harm but then to counter that "what's the harm in him waiting a few hours?"
A petty argument has escalated out of control. The reveal is the UFC like to control the media and that's not a surprise. Most top organisations want to do the same I'd guess.
@Mark_GrumpyLion I'm on Co-Main Event again! This time as Zlatan Ibrahimovic... clearly from how they read the name you know they dont know who the hell that is
I was actually wondering if that was you!! Amazing!
The upgrading of roster thing came across as a bit deceptive for me. It could be true, or it could just have been a clumsy way of squirming out of not revealing anything or it could've just been Dana being unprepared on how best to deal with the question. More broadly, the UFC people seem completely devoid of the concept of journalism. They view everything as promotion where anyone who covers them has to fall in line with their preferred narratives or else get the boot, which is not how journalism works. They are going to have to grow up a bit which starts with realizing that journos have a responsibility to provide the public with information, in which case UFC should be building bridges with them instead of escorting them out because the UFC can't keep the information confidential.
It's Ariel's job to get the scoop as soon as he can and that's what he did (there was no embargo so it's all fair). The UFCs job is to sell PPVs and I dont think Brock being revealed by Ariel will stop that.
Ariel's got too big for his boots, though. He's made a role for himself as this outspoken guy who's going to ask the tough questions. He's the MMA version of Geoff Shreeves. And, like Geoff Shreeves, he's going to have to accept that the people he's being a dick to are gonna be pissed off with him sometimes. I watched the presser when Conor had sensationally retired and Dana answered the same questions over and over again. Then Helwani gets the mic, gets a round of applause, then asks the same shit that had been dealt with already. Dick move.
Then he does his podcast, states at the start that he should be talking about Bisping, Cruz, etc, but that he can't. Well, yes you can. You can say "I was thrown out, I don't know what I've done, hopefully it'll be resolved, but what about that card? Amazing!" He could have talked about his own situation for ten minutes, then about the event itself. But he bitched for nearly two hours.
Honestly, I find him incredibly boring and sycophantic. The guests are the only reason I watch his show.
Then he does his podcast, states at the start that he should be talking about Bisping, Cruz, etc, but that he can't. Well, yes you can. You can say "I was thrown out, I don't know what I've done, hopefully it'll be resolved, but what about that card? Amazing!" He could have talked about his own situation for ten minutes, then about the event itself. But he bitched for nearly two hours.
Honestly, I find him incredibly boring and sycophantic. The guests are the only reason I watch his show.
It was definitely deceptive and a side step to an answer but in his defence he didn't say Brock won't be on 200 in that interview. He just chose to avoid answering the question with a vague comment (which I agree was probably stretching the truth to be generous.)
I don't disagree with the rest of your comment either really. The UFC essentially has a monopoly on MMA, no one else is near them so they view it as their way or the highway. It's something they do lack a bit of common sense on but I just can see why they're pissed off.
I don't disagree with the concept of that mate, I said the same on previous pages. I can see why the UFC was annoyed by it though purely due to the buzz and shock it would of created of being at an event even just in the arena or for people watching on TV. Will it increase the PPV buys? No probably not. But it would of generated more excitement. Of course on BT Sport it didn't matter cos they cut the promo out and went to an advert stupidly so my first knowing of it was Mike Goldberg just casually saying Brock is back and I thought that was their reveal til I saw the trailer on Twitter after!!
The whole thing is really petty to be honest. I sympathise with Helwani because it seems he tried to deal with it like an adult but at the same time there's huge pressure on Dana and co so they will be annoyed and equally irrational. The whole thing seems to stem from a shit relationship with Helwani and Dana etc who don't "get him" as he said. That happens in jobs though, some people just aren't on the same wave length. Helwani and Dana White seem to be complete opposite personalities.
For what it's worth there's Rogan's view on it. So it kind of contradicts part of Helwani and makes him out to be a bit of a dick. Is Rogan a bullshitter as well? It seems only Helwani is the only one who speaks the truth in the MMA World!
I'm not talking about it effecting 200, but cards further down the line.
The reveal was part of their PPV product. It's extra incentive to buy future PPV events for MMA fans. They almost revealed the return of the biggest draw in the sport all wrapped up in a delicious promo.
Helwani would still have reached out to those 377k followers with the news after the reveal anyway. But going out hours before meant by the time the promo was shown, nearly everyone in the twitter universe already knew about it thanks to tweets, reposts etc. It would not create the same buzz and excitement that promo would have delivered.
And for whats its worth, I'm not going after Ariel Helwani. I watch MMA hour and MMA beat and I'm sure I've even posted about it in here. Discussions about the best way for Zuffa to make the most money pisses me off. I'm pointing why the UFC would be pissed at Ariel and that Ariel's not completely squeaky clean in all this.
I think reinstating Ariel is more to do with just burying the story ahead of 200 and not having it being brought up at all the up coming press conferences and distracting from the card. I fully expect another fallout with Ariel before the end of the year.
The bit about White berating Ariel backstage and telling him that it was Fertita that got him fired at Fox was pretty telling. They clearly resent Ariel's popularity and influence and this is just the latest example of attempting to intimidate him into submission.
It might be the new weigh in system, but damn the fighters came out to kill it for UFC199. What a card.
No massive surprise the UFC backtracked given the reaction, especially from mainstream outlets. The fact that the likes of Forbes were saying it risked damaging their credibility in the mainstream sports arena is pretty telling. Obviously they have the right to give accreditation to whoever they want but in reality banning him for this was pretty outrageous behaviour in comparison to the way journalists are treated in other sports.
Stupid move on their part and they've obviously been stung by it.
Stupid move on their part and they've obviously been stung by it.
Aye, it was immense. Have yet to hear anything bad about the new weigh in system. I wonder if the fighters will adjust to it after a while though and go for more extreme cuts knowing they won't have to maintain it as long?