I'm a ufc fan. As much as I want to say I'm gonna cancel fightpass over this and never buy ppvs because Dana is Stalin...I can't bring myself to do it.
VID The MMA Hour - Ariel's Ban
- Thread starter Wild
- Start date
It will die down as they get new fighters. People will still tune in for fighters they're currently familiar with but once new ones start yapping away, they'll lose interest and slowly stop watching all together.
I also think other sports will begin to pressure the UFC with unfavorable comparisons etc. It will be interesting to see if this actually sparks anything
If you Google Ariel Helwani right now, this TMA story is the first thing that comes up:
Dana White -- Ariel Helwani Can Come to UFC 200 ... If He Buys a Ticket
6/6/2016 10:17 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
EXCLUSIVE
Dana White confirms to TMZ Sports ... MMA reporter Ariel Helwani will never receive another media credential to another UFC event "as long as I'm here" ... but says he can still buy a ticket.
Brock Lesnar's comeback AND that the contract for Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor rematch was done.
Helwani had said he was told he was banned for life. A UFC rep explained the organization was upset Helwani didn't call for comment before publishing the news.
We asked White about the "ban" -- and he explained, "He can cover all the events he wants, he just can't have a credential."
When asked specifically if he would be allowed to attend UFC 200 if he bought a ticket, White replied, "Yes."
We also asked if the ban was really a life sentence, and White told us, "As long as I'm here."
Dana White -- Ariel Helwani Can Come to UFC 200 ... If He Buys a Ticket
6/6/2016 10:17 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
EXCLUSIVE
Brock Lesnar's comeback AND that the contract for Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor rematch was done.
Helwani had said he was told he was banned for life. A UFC rep explained the organization was upset Helwani didn't call for comment before publishing the news.
We asked White about the "ban" -- and he explained, "He can cover all the events he wants, he just can't have a credential."
When asked specifically if he would be allowed to attend UFC 200 if he bought a ticket, White replied, "Yes."
We also asked if the ban was really a life sentence, and White told us, "As long as I'm here."
I've said it for years...there are MMA fans, and there are UFC fans. Then there are UFC shills. Nothing wrong with falling into one of the first two categories. It's that 3rd category that's the problem.
He's such a dick. It really does boil down to it being that simple.If you Google Ariel Helwani right now, this TMA story is the first thing that comes up:
Dana White -- Ariel Helwani Can Come to UFC 200 ... If He Buys a Ticket
6/6/2016 10:17 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
EXCLUSIVE
Dana White confirms to TMZ Sports ... MMA reporter Ariel Helwani will never receive another media credential to another UFC event "as long as I'm here" ... but says he can still buy a ticket.
Brock Lesnar's comeback AND that the contract for Nate Diaz vs. Conor McGregor rematch was done.
Helwani had said he was told he was banned for life. A UFC rep explained the organization was upset Helwani didn't call for comment before publishing the news.
We asked White about the "ban" -- and he explained, "He can cover all the events he wants, he just can't have a credential."
When asked specifically if he would be allowed to attend UFC 200 if he bought a ticket, White replied, "Yes."
We also asked if the ban was really a life sentence, and White told us, "As long as I'm here."
Waiting until you are on the outs and you cannot get back to talk about shit you witnessed or were a part of and did not disclose is petty. Ariel the journalist has now admitted to being complicit is covering shit up and not speaking about things so he could keep playing in the sandbox.
If there are strides being made it is because people like Ariel Helwani and others who want to be on the inside no longer have control.
He is intolerable. His voice, his bald head, the way he walks, his greed & self-promotion...I can't stand BLAF. Somehow, someday, I hope BLAF finds his way out of the sport.
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I remember some defending Dana & Cindy O's behavior because they did those meet & greets at events. Like all the shit they've done to harm people's lives should be forgiven because they met 50 fans outside of an arena for 15 minutes & comped a few tickets they couldn't sell. I would tell those people that they weren't doing that shit out of the kindness of their hearts. It's PR. It's manipulation. Those that attended the meet & greets just couldn't believe it. Zuffa is very good at what they do.
Yeah. The fact that UFC is by far the best product is a problem. Makes it difficult to stop watching the fights because the owners are draconian jerks. I've considered skipping Fight Week next month, but flight, hotel, and event tickets are already bought, so the UFC already has my money and it would be a futile gesture. I'll definitely cut back a lot on my UFC consumption after that though, and try to minimize putting any money in their pockets.
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If the UFC got bought out, the Reebok deal got kicked to the curb where it belongs, and Dana got shame marched through the streets Game of Thrones style...
...I could easily go back to being as big a UFC fan as I used to be.
Hard to imagine this ever happening though.
This thing just keeps snowballing. From Forbes:
UFC Risking Credibility In Mainstream Sports Arena By Banning MMA Reporter Ariel Helwani
At UFC 199 Saturday in Inglewood, Calif., the UFC’s ban of MMA reporter Ariel Helwani put a black eye on an otherwise momentous night for the company. A pair of major announcements — former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returning at UFC 200 and Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II being booked for UFC 202 — underscored one of the UFC’s best fight cards in recent memory. It was the perfect storm of enthralling storylines and MMA excellence and that would make a fan out of any casual observer.
But Helwani beating the UFC to the punch on the Lesnar scoop, leading to his sudden dismissal before the main event and later being told he was “banned for life,” is what has left the most lasting impression — at least, among fellow journalists and the fans who respect their work.
In a 24 hour-period since the ban, MMA reporters and major national outlets have laid into the UFC. MMA Junkie’s Ben Fowlkes called the organization’s ban “petty, pointless and counter-productive,” while the Washington Post’s Jeff Wagenheim deemed it “minor league smallmindedness.”ESPN ’s Rachel Nichols, one of the most revered sports reporters in the country, may have put it best:
“Those of you spending your dollars on UFC should be concerned. I’m not pretending sportswriters are producing the Pentagon Papers here. But sport is a central part of American life … if you create a system where the only people who are allowed to cover a sport are people who do or say exactly what the league wants them to, then you don’t have a media who can question things when they go off the rails. And as we’ve seen … they do sometimes.”
UFC Risking Credibility In Mainstream Sports Arena By Banning MMA Reporter Ariel Helwani
At UFC 199 Saturday in Inglewood, Calif., the UFC’s ban of MMA reporter Ariel Helwani put a black eye on an otherwise momentous night for the company. A pair of major announcements — former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar returning at UFC 200 and Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz II being booked for UFC 202 — underscored one of the UFC’s best fight cards in recent memory. It was the perfect storm of enthralling storylines and MMA excellence and that would make a fan out of any casual observer.
But Helwani beating the UFC to the punch on the Lesnar scoop, leading to his sudden dismissal before the main event and later being told he was “banned for life,” is what has left the most lasting impression — at least, among fellow journalists and the fans who respect their work.
In a 24 hour-period since the ban, MMA reporters and major national outlets have laid into the UFC. MMA Junkie’s Ben Fowlkes called the organization’s ban “petty, pointless and counter-productive,” while the Washington Post’s Jeff Wagenheim deemed it “minor league smallmindedness.”ESPN ’s Rachel Nichols, one of the most revered sports reporters in the country, may have put it best:
“Those of you spending your dollars on UFC should be concerned. I’m not pretending sportswriters are producing the Pentagon Papers here. But sport is a central part of American life … if you create a system where the only people who are allowed to cover a sport are people who do or say exactly what the league wants them to, then you don’t have a media who can question things when they go off the rails. And as we’ve seen … they do sometimes.”
He'll find a home somewhere. ESPN would hire him in a heartbeat IMO. I dont think fighters are going to stop breaking news to him either, because they know they can trust him. I dont think the UFC believed Ariel had this much pull.
I agree there's no way he comes back (at least under current UFC ownership).
But he's also going to be the first person called when a disgruntled fighter or exec has some juicy tidbit on the UFC that Dana and Lorenzo would rather not see go public.
But he's also going to be the first person called when a disgruntled fighter or exec has some juicy tidbit on the UFC that Dana and Lorenzo would rather not see go public.
Uh oh I thought it would be resolved but it looks like this is the end for Ariel. God it's so awkward to watch a grown man cry. 
Ariel is too high profile, not to mention represented by CAA. He's going to have multiple job opportunities, but that may be something that not even he is ready to consider at the moment. For Ariel, what happened on Saturday night must've felt like the first time your bald boxercise instructor girlfriend dumps you for the juice head son of a billionaire casino owner. The wounds are still fresh, and stingy. In time he'll be able to see the forest through the trees.
