There is probably no journalist Dana White dislikes more than Ariel Helwani. White, known for his many spats, simply doesn’t like Helwani, especially since the journalist allegedly ‘leaked’ something White didn’t want him to. But now it appears that that feud could be resolved.
Helwani is arguably the biggest journalist in the sport. While he may not be in White’s good books, Helwani is well-liked by many, including key figures such as Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia.
For the uninitiated, he is responsible for the flood of combat sports events in Saudi Arabia over the past few years. While speaking to Helwani in a recent episode of ‘The MMA Hour,’ Alalshikh stated that he wanted to achieve the impossible.
“A small direct message for you, when you finish your fight with Dana White, we want to see you together. I have a direct message now to Dana White, and to you. It is time to turn the page and beginning new page. If you come to the card, any card with us, I want to sit me and you and Dana White together. I will try my best but I think he is a smart guy.”
Ah, you thought, it would be resolved inside an octagon. No no, that’s WWE! You can’t just put journalists and CEOs in cages and ask them to duke it out. Well, it could potentially be beneficial to society but we just aren’t there yet as a people.
Joke’ aside, Helwani is infamously banned from attending all UFC events. He has also often criticized by Dana White for his approach to reporting the sport.
Those new to the sport might not know the origins of the fallout, so let’s take a closer look.
Origins of the beef between Dana White and Ariel Helwani
During his initial years in the sport, Helwani was heavily favoured by Dana White. Back then and even today, the 41-year-old was one of the premier reporters of the sport. However, the relationship between the two soured when Helwani allegedly leaked the information about the main event for UFC 200. The 41-year-old revealed before the UFC could that Brock Lesnar is returning to the sport.
This did not sit well with White who banned Helwani for life from attending UFC events. Since this incident, White and Helwani are not on good terms. To be fair to Helwani, if a journalist reveals information to the public that they don’t know, that’s just called reporting the news. It’s only a leak if someone from UFC had done it.
To reiterate, a leak is an inside job, and reporting is what journalists do. So the real question is, was Helwani a journalist, or was he employed by the UFC while he was asking White questions at pressers?