Dana White Rips Ariel Helwani On Podcast

Dana White probably won’t be sending Ariel Helwani a Christmas card this year. On Monday, White went on the new UFC Unfiltered podcast and absolutely ripped Helwani and his actions in the aftermath of his brief “lifetime ban” from the UFC.

The UFC’s president went on an NSFW rant about Helwani’s actions at UFC 199 and how he scooped everyone by leaking the news that Brock Lesnar would be returning to the organization for UFC 200.

The segment was brutal, with White laying out exactly why he decided to ban Helwani and explaining to hosts Jim Norton and Matt Serra why he felt so strongly.

Again, this is very NSFW, but here’s what White had to say:

White basically claimed that Helwani isn’t a “real journalist” and that he should have asked UFC for comment as a courtesy before running with a story. White wanted a guy he had credentialed to ask him for comment. OK, sure that’s fair, but Helwani’s job isn’t to look out for the best interests of the UFC, it’s to do what’s best for his readers and his employer.

The thing is, the UFC has been locked down tightly for so long, I don’t think White actually understands the typical relationship between journalists and sports leagues. There can be friendly interaction, but it’s not on reporters to make sure the league’s interests are always protected.

I get why White was upset. He clearly worked really hard to get Lesnar back and had to work with WWE to make it happen. By leaking it early, Helwani ruined a surprise White had been protecting for a while. Sure that had to be disappointing, but the problem wasn’t with Helwani, someone at the UFC leaked that information to him. That’s White’s problem, not Helwani’s.

Helwani has since gotten his credential back but it clear he’ll never get the access he once had as long as White is around.