Ariel Helwani Joins ESPN, Leaves MMA Fighting company. Will also have new ESPN+ show with Chael

[FrankieNYC]

@FrankieNYC where you at?

The goof has nothing on the mermaid, NOTHING

You fn called it man
Good job

Lets see how he is as far as UFC goes

 

[snackgod]

journalist and host Ariel Helwani will join ESPN in June to cover the MMA world. Helwani will have several roles at ESPN, including: co-host of “Ariel & The Bad Guy,” a new weekly MMA program on ESPN+; host of ongoing podcast “Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” and reporter for MMA across ESPN digital media and television platforms.

Helwani joins ESPN from SB Nation’s MMAFighting.com. He has been covering MMA professionally since 2006, is a six-time winner of “MMA Journalist of the Year” at the World MMA Awards and a previous contributor to MMA coverage for Fox Sports and Sirius XM Radio. Born in Montreal, Canada, he is a graduate of Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

Helwani said, “For as long as I can remember, my dream has been to work at ESPN. I know the term ‘dream come true’ is often overused, but this is truly that for me. Growing up in Montreal we didn’t get ESPN, but any time my family would travel down south I would stay in our hotel room as long as possible watching the morning SportsCenter on loop. I’ve loved all things ESPN since I was a kid, and in all honesty, it still feels a bit surreal that I am joining the gold standard in sports media. I couldn’t be more excited to get started and am extremely thankful for the opportunity.”

“Ariel and The Bad Guy” will team Helwani with professional fighter and ESPN MMA analyst, Chael Sonnen, for a fast-paced 30-minute weekly breakdown of the top stories, developments and upcoming fights. New episodes will be available on ESPN+ each Wednesday, beginning June 20, and there will be special episodes before and after major mixed martial arts events.

Rob King, ESPN’s Senior Vice President of Original Content, Newsgathering & Digital Media, said: “Ariel is a dynamic and talented insider, whose insights and acumen will expand and enhance our multimedia coverage of the mixed martial arts world. Pairing Ariel and Chael, the insider and the fighter, on ESPN+ is going to make for an energetic and engaging show that will be must-see for any MMA fan.”

On teaming with Helwani for their new show, Chael Sonnen said: “I’m pumped. Fans are going to love the show Ariel and I are doing. And like they say… You can’t spell MMA on ESPN without C-H-A-E-L! Ummmmm… Wait a sec….”

guess dana couldn't pressure espn or I know he didn't give a shit about what espn is doing.

 

[snackgod]

Dana will be forced to do sit down interviews with Ariel per the new ESPN deal

no it be awesome haha.

 

[Martialarts123]

What happens to the MMA Hour?

 

[TidWell]

Dana will be forced to do sit down interviews with Ariel per the new ESPN deal

Breaking news, dana white gets Ariel Helwani replaced on ESPN.

 

[neandertal]

Wtf man give up the best mma show 9 years running for a fucking gimmick show that will not see more then three seasons?

Dude is making a mistake imo

The money will probably be pretty huge.. with the ESPN+ investment in the UFC and all. Nothing like the pocket change from an mma site.

No use buying UFC shows for 150 mill a year and not paying good money for the highest regarded mma journalist around to help bolster that content on the platform.

 

[DaviVasco]

a crybaby joining a network of social justice warriors cry babies. perfect fit

 

[DS66]

Wtf man give up the best mma show 9 years running for a fucking gimmick show that will not see more then three seasons?

Dude is making a mistake imo

So no more MMA Hour? Wtf

I’m happy for him

What about the mma hour tho?

So no more MMA Hour.. Ric can take over lol.

What happens to the MMA Hour?

The article says that he'll be hosting his own regular Podcast, which I assume will be exactly like the MMA Hour, except streaming on ESPN+. We can only hope that it will be uploaded on YouTube as well...

 

[neandertal]

I'd rather have him then that other tool

Whos that..? Danny Segura?

I dont think he is ready.
Marc Raimondi is pretty good but hes based in LA.

 

[sabretitan]

The MMA hour will still be on though right?

 

[neandertal]

So Rogan named his mma show the MMA Hour first and then changed it when he realized Ariels had been the biggest show for nearly a decade.. then Rogan named his show the MMA Show.. and now ESPN/Ariel names his new show "Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show”.

Amazing creativity at work here..
To the point though.

 

[2sk]

no other clown would be able to weasel his way into fighters drama life the way ariel do so mma hour will take a dive

honestly mmafighting without ariel will die

 

[2004 account]

except Chael is not a CTE mongoloid who can barely speak and Ariel is not a cucked comedian.

You can’t see the many other parallels/similarities between them?

What about the power dynamic? I bet we will see the same “fighter verbally bullying his co host” relationship.

Self aggrandizing/humble bragging character that has fought and cheated in some form or another partnered with a weaker beta male with a victim complex

Oh and Chael has received brain damage from fighting, don’t you ever doubt that.

 

[tithas]

You can’t see the many other parallels/similarities between them?

What about the power dynamic? I bet we will see the same “fighter verbally bullying his co host” relationship.

Self aggrandizing/humble bragging character that has fought and cheated in some form or another partnered with a weaker beta male with a victim complex

Oh and Chael has received brain damage from fighting, don’t you ever doubt that.

Not bullying B, but motivating with words.
Not brain damage B, but slow words speaking.
Not cheating B, but flexing the rules.

 

[Peteyandjia]

Congrats to one of the best reporters in the game, he & Brett Okamoto are the two best imo, and now they're under one roof.

Ariel moving up in the world!

Suck it @FrankieNYC !!!

 

[Peteyandjia]

The MMA hour will still be on though right?

It should be. It always starts with "a Vox Media" show, not an MMA Fighting show.

Hopefully it's unaffected

 

[Mob69]

No MMA Hour will kill MMA Fighting. That site has torched fan goodwill with its SJW fixation. Night-night.

 

[FrankieNYC]

Congrats to one of the best reporters in the game, he & Brett Okamoto are the two best imo, and now they're under one roof.

Ariel moving up in the world!

Suck it @FrankieNYC !!!

lol
Lets see if he is neutered by ESPN in 2019
He done it before

 

[TheIrishPsycho]

It should be. It always starts with "a Vox Media" show, not an MMA Fighting show.

Hopefully it's unaffected

Pretty sure the press release says "“Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show” which is the MMA hour, we will see. It would have been smart of ESPN to just buy the rights off Vox or MMAFighting, whoever owns it. If its on ESPN it probably will not be 4 hours as it is now either...what other restrictions will he have?

Interesting thing is, Helwani thinks of himself as a journalist but it sounds like ESPN want a hype man...interesting times, especially if he gets to interview Dana again.

 

[LouisBolanos]

You know, if Ariel had given in and broke his journalistic ethics, he'd still be working on Fox Sports. Now, he's on ESPN. Ariel is proof that being ethical gets you to great places. Chael is proof that being unethical gets you to world championships. I guess what I'm saying is, I don't know what I'm saying. But the 2 of them together should be a great show!