Ali Abdelaziz lauds Dana White for having gotten rid of "cancer" MMA journalist Ariel Helwani: "Kicked out the UFC for being a piece of sh*t"
Prominent MMA manager Ali Abdelaziz had some scathing words for veteran MMA journalist Ariel Helwani and his less-than-perfect relationship with the UFC and Dana White. This was in response to UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad's criticism of Helwani during an interview with UFC commentator Jon Anik.
'Remember the Name' was critical of Helwani's assumption that he only beat Leon Edwards in Manchester at UFC 304 because they were fighting early in the morning.
Muhammad told Anik:
"Yeah, I mean, obviously Ariel Helwani is one of the biggest haters in the world, right? He knows what he's doing when he tries to bring these questions to fighters and he tries to get you to hate on him. He's been wanting to get people to make excuses for why Leon [Edwards] lost his fight."
Muhammad went on to point out that other UK-based fighters like Tom Aspinall and Paddy Pimblett won their fights that night via finish, further proving that the fight time wasn't an issue.
MMA media person Curtis Calhoun posted the statement on X:
In support of his fighter, Ali Abdelaziz retweeted the video. He reminded everyone of when Helwani's journalist credentials got temporarily revoked due to a leaked news incident in the lead-up to UFC 200 back in 2016. He posted it with the caption:
"This big [nose] coward he’s been kicked out the UFC for being a piece of sh*t good job @danawhite getting ready of this cancer."
What did Ariel Helwani say that drew the ire of Belal Muhammad and Ali Abdelaziz?
To understand the depth of this beef between Muhammad/Abdelaziz and Ariel Helwani, you have to listen to what the media personality said during an episode of The Ariel Helwani Show last Monday.
Speaking remotely to interim UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, Helwani said this of Muhammad's fight with Edwards:
"I promise, I'm not taking anything away from Belal [Muhammad], he won that fight fair and square. He looked great. I will forever believe that Leon [Edwards] lost that fight, in part, because he was fighting at 5:30 in the morning. It was okay for you [Aspinall], you won but I have doubts that the fight goes the same way if it's happening at 1AM or 12:30 as you usually fight."
Meanwhile, Aspinall pointed out that it's easy for people who don't fight to make this assessment but it's different for fighters themselves. He also lauded Muhammad for his performance.
Listen to the conversation here (15:08):