news The General MMA & Combat Sports Discussion Thread

[NitroFan]

Helwani says that Dana told him Brock was pissed about the leak and it couldve jeopardized the deal.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

Helwani says that Dana told him Brock was pissed about the leak and it couldve jeopardized the deal.

Replace three months with after UFC 200.

 

[BradWCE]

The people I feel bad for in this whole thing with the UFC and Helwani are Esther Lin and Casey Leydon. The **** did they do to get that treatment? They're taking photos and filming. They have **** all to do with the drama between Helwani and the UFC. Complete bullshit.

 

[Gigantic]

The people I feel bad for in this whole thing with the UFC and Helwani are Esther Lin and Casey Leydon. The **** did they do to get that treatment? They're taking photos and filming. They have **** all to do with the drama between Helwani and the UFC. Complete bullshit.

Yeah heard about his colleagues being escorted out with him. Ridiculous.

Part of the tin foil hat guy in me feels they set him up and intentionally gave Helwani the information knowing he'd leak it so they could take away his media pass

 

[BradWCE]

Part of the tin foil hat guy in me feels they set him up and intentionally gave Helwani the information knowing he'd leak it so they could take away his media pass

I hadn't thought of that. They could just ban him for no reason if they wanted to. So if your theory is correct they'd only be using the Lesnar news leak as a reason to get some people to take their side. I've seen some people say the UFC was right to do this, but most appear to be taking Helwani's side.

I certainly don't think doing this to Helwani was right. It's not the first time they've taken someone's access and it certainly won't be the last.

I saw it pointed out that Helwani losing his access isn't that big of a deal for him because he has his show and can do other things. His colleagues need access to do their jobs though. So not only were they bystanders caught up in it, they're also the ones who suffer more.

 

[Blueboiiz]

Helwani dropping bombs on the mmahour. Talking about the past how he got screwed over by the UFC.

 

[Ross]

I've got a few rambling thoughts about the Helwani situation.

Banning Helwani is petty and bullshit but it's also an established dick move that White, Fertitta and Zuffa have pulled on many others and nothing has ever happened in retaliation. Remember when everyone was super mad because they fired Burt Watson? And then Stitch? There's going to be a lot of empty words from other media writers about supporting Ariel and boycotting Zuffa but in a few weeks time when UFC 200 rolls around they'll all be there covering it. Plenty of MMA media are completely expendable and would probably lose their jobs if they took a stance, others like MMA Junkie are basically bankrolled by Zuffa and won't boycott anything.

It's a bit strange that Ariel apparently felt blindsided by the ban too. He's not stupid, he's seen how the likes of Josh Gross, Loretta Hunt, Deadspin and others have been treated. He had to know that being fired from Fox meant he wasn't in their good books yet he continually poked the bear by constantly breaking fight announcements right before UFC was set to announce them on their UFC Tonight show, which I'm sure was a contributing factor in the decision they made on the weekend.

It's also interesting to see Ariel finally admit what was always obvious but was constantly denied by he and others, that Zuffa used to sign his cheques. I think Ariel's always liked to see himself as a journalist first, but unfortunately the industry he chose to cover is a shitty one that makes it hard to actually be a journalist. He was basically a reporter/puppet working for UFC/Fox but he'd always get really touchy when called out on it, even though there's nothing wrong with doing that kind of job, it just meant he wasn't a journalist. Megan Olivi is more than happy doing that kind of work and has straight up said that she's not a journalist.

I also read a few tweets from media types like Botter about the Helwani being assaulted incident that were basically "Hey I knew about this". I really hope that it was Ariel's decision for them to never mention it before this because anything else makes them look really terrible. I'd seen FRB and others allude enough to the incident in the past to know about it and that it was pretty heated but I hadn't seen anything about him being choked until now.

Finally, the UFC saying the "professional" thing for Ariel would have been to ask them for comment is hilarious. In 2011 Gross had the story about UFC buying out Strikeforce and was going to publish it on a Monday, problem was he made the mistake of doing the "professional" thing and asked UFC, who weren't aware that Gross had the story, if they wanted to comment. White had (and still has) a massive grudge against Gross and didn't want him announcing the story, UFC then gave a "professional" response by immediately flying Helwani out from New York to Vegas and giving him the story to break on the Saturday morning through a 30 minute video interview with White.

 

[Jab]

 

[Jab]

Ariel has been reinstated!

http://www.ufc.com/news/UFC-Statement-June-6

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

Ariel has been reinstated!

http://www.ufc.com/news/UFC-Statement-June-6

none of the links are working on my phone.. can u copy paste the contents plz?

 

[Jab]

none of the links are working on my phone.. can u copy paste the contents plz?

http://www.ufc.com/news/UFC-Statement-June-6

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.

 

[BradWCE]

The guy who was awarded MMA journalist of the year multiple times in a row wasn't even an actual journalist. Now there's no doubt about it. Only those with their heads in the sand thought he was to begin with, but now he's admitted it. The only way he was a journalist is if you want to ignore every ethically requirement of being a journalist. He tried to pretend he was a journalist when he wasn't, so **** him.

The UFC come out of this looking terrible. Helwani looks bad after everything he admitted to as well.

Helwani being reinstating is good because he shouldn't have been banned in the first place. Obviously he's being reinstated because of the backlash the UFC has received over this. It's sad that everyone rallied around Helwani while nobody stood up for previous journalists who were banned. Everyone loves the guy who was completely unethical because he became so well known, but didn't give a shit about the people who actually operate ethically.

Maybe Josh Gross could have ended up as the number 1 media figure in MMA if he was willing to operate as ethically as Helwani.

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

The guy who was awarded MMA journalist of the year multiple times in a row wasn't even an actual journalist. Now there's no doubt about it. Only those with their heads in the sand thought he was to begin with, but now he's admitted it. The only way he was a journalist is if you want to ignore every ethically requirement of being a journalist. He tried to pretend he was a journalist when he wasn't, so **** him.

The UFC come out of this looking terrible. Helwani looks bad after everything he admitted to as well.

Helwani being reinstating is good because he shouldn't have been banned in the first place. Obviously he's being reinstated because of the backlash the UFC has received over this. It's sad that everyone rallied around Helwani while nobody stood up for previous journalists who were banned. Everyone loves the guy who was completely unethical because he became so well known, but didn't give a shit about the people who actually operate ethically.

Maybe Josh Gross could have ended up as the number 1 media figure in MMA if he was willing to operate as ethically as Helwani.

that was one of my biggest takeaways from the MMA hour as well.

justified it by saying he wanted to be on tv and feed his family lol

I might be drawing a long now but it seems he may have been a little vindictive towards the UFC by breaking the news (I don't have a problem with him breaking obviously) due to them dropping him from UFC tonight.

 

[MMAPride Scott]

Wish stitch got reinstated after everyone rallyed behind him. I've never been a fan so many have had this happen to them.

 

[Ry009]

Ariel has been treated shit no doubt, and I personally didn't give a shit about the leak, but im not sure his motivations for the Brock announcement were about getting the truth out, and while it certainly didn't ruin the announcement, it would have been nice if it was kept under wraps, but that's UFC's fault for the leak but not Ariels.

 

[Jab]

To put this into context, it would be like Robbo from the Herald Sun breaking some news prior to the AFL releasing it, and the information would be something factual like a finals fixture and nothing controversial. Ariel did his job and the UFC threw a tantrum.

 

[Quivorir]

I dont follow the behind the scenes shit at all really...But didn't Ariel effectively work for the UFC? Robbo doesn't (for the AFL).

 

[DazalenkoUBewty]

I really thought this was the end of Helwani and the UFC'S relationship.. glad it's not!

Maybe Helwani should keep doing everything he does, except breaking the big events/fights. I think the UFC should be able to do that.

 

[BradWCE]

Just listened to the MMA Hour. At some points I have a lot of sympathy for Helwani and at others he really annoys me.

The most troubling parts are the instances of things getting physical. That's all he would say, but other MMA media people have said that this is certainly true. That's really messed up. He also made it pretty clear to me that he was worried for his safety at UFC 199 after he realised that he was in Zuffa's bad books. That's not a surprise given that things allegedly did get physical in the past. This is awful.

His constant references to what he learned at journalism school and about professionalism and ethics was hilarious and annoying. He constantly went on about all this and then reveals his complete lack of journalistic integrity at the same time. He was paid by Zuffa and admitted that he knew this was wrong.

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

the most annoying part was when he was crying and slurping his water bottle at the same time..

 

[Crimson Azure]

the most annoying part was when he was crying and slurping his water bottle at the same time..

No, the most annoying part is the UFC thinking this is 1939 Germany.

He mentioned that most sports have an independent media association attached to them, a la the AFL. I think that would be good. But Just like fighters Union or a UFC employees association the UFC hate anything that will solidify people in any way that gives them a measure of control or power. Autocratic rule probably helped build the brand but it has a shelf life. Perhaps that's why they are looking to sell the UFC off.

Anyway, screw everything.

 

[MMAPride Scott]

So ........ Anyone see tuf last week? Apprentley bisping is the new middleweight champ. You can file areil away with Connor v floyd

 

[Gigantic]

Pettis dropping to 145


I think it's a decent decision by him if the way cut doesn't take a huge toll on him.

 

[Barry Roundhouse]

Pettis dropping to 145


I think it's a decent decision by him if the way cut doesn't take a huge toll on him.

he doesn't exactly have many other options. if the cut doesn't take to much of a toll he should be fairly successful at 145.

 

[MMAPride Scott]

145 looking pretty sweet with or with out Connor