Pretty interesting article about ESPN/UFC/Helwani at Ariel Helwani is thrilled to join ESPN, says "I never felt [Fox] had my back"
ESPN & Helwani say they see no issues with UFC (as far as Ariel) & Ariel said ...
“Even from the UFC, I heard from many people very high up in the company when this deal was announced saying how happy they were for me and how they were looking forward to working with me, even people I didn’t even talk to on a day-to-day basis. So it’s really all been incredibly positive.”
“As long as I can cover the sport, as long as I’m credentialed, as long as there’s no issues when I get to the arena and I have the same access as everyone else, that’s really all that I ask for. I am perfectly content. And as I’ve said before, I owe a lot to Dana White. You won’t hear me ever disparage his name or take any low blows or unnecessary shots towards him, because he’s done a lot for me, he gave me the time of day before a lot of other people gave me the time of day, and if I don’t ever speak to him again one-on-one, I’ll still have probably spoken to him more than anyone else, even if I continue covering this sport for 50 years. That’s how much time he gave me. So I’m content with where we’re at, we have a very good working relationship, I’m asking questions, he’s answering. As a journalist, that’s all you can really ask for.”
ESPN & Helwani say they see no issues with UFC (as far as Ariel) & Ariel said ...
“Even from the UFC, I heard from many people very high up in the company when this deal was announced saying how happy they were for me and how they were looking forward to working with me, even people I didn’t even talk to on a day-to-day basis. So it’s really all been incredibly positive.”
“As long as I can cover the sport, as long as I’m credentialed, as long as there’s no issues when I get to the arena and I have the same access as everyone else, that’s really all that I ask for. I am perfectly content. And as I’ve said before, I owe a lot to Dana White. You won’t hear me ever disparage his name or take any low blows or unnecessary shots towards him, because he’s done a lot for me, he gave me the time of day before a lot of other people gave me the time of day, and if I don’t ever speak to him again one-on-one, I’ll still have probably spoken to him more than anyone else, even if I continue covering this sport for 50 years. That’s how much time he gave me. So I’m content with where we’re at, we have a very good working relationship, I’m asking questions, he’s answering. As a journalist, that’s all you can really ask for.”
