Ariel Helwani and Cris Cyborg clash heads on X over latter's Kayla Harrison claim - "Why aren’t you fighting anyone"
Ariel Helwani recently butted heads with Cris Cyborg on social media after the MMA journalist dismissed the Bellator women's featherweight champion's claims about PFL star Kayla Harrison turning down a blockbuster fight against her.
The PFL recently acquired Bellator in a complete takeover deal and plans to host a bumper fight card to pit superstars from both promotions against each other. However, it appears the long-awaited Cyborg vs. Harrison will not be featured on the card, which is reportedly set to go down on Feb. 24, 2024.
During a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Helwani answered a fan's question about a potential Cyborg-Harrison fight taking place at the PFL vs. Bellator event. He reported that Harrison hadn't declined a fight against Cyborg, contrary to what the Bellator champion claimed.
After @jedigoodman posted a clip of Helwani's statements on X, Cyborg questioned why he dismissed her claims about Harrison turning down a fight and wrote:
"What % is not true? Was I not offered a bout against @KaylaH by @PeterMurrayPFL? Did I not agree? @PFLMMA? Is my Boxing fight the reason #CyborgHarrison is not happening?"
Not one to shy away, Helwani took to the post's comments section to explain himself and pointed out where Cyborg was being disingenuous. He wrote:
"The part where Kayla turned down a fight against you. You know this isn’t “100%” true... You tried to spin a narrative that Kayla was ducking you, knowing full well that wasn’t the truth... And if she did, in fact, turn it down as you said she did, why aren’t you fighting Pacheco? Was that not offered? Why aren’t you fighting anyone on 2/24?"
PFL vs. Bellator: What did Cris Cyborg say about Kayla Harrison?
Earlier this month, Cris Cyborg shared his thoughts on a potential fight against Kayla Harrison. Despite the PFL-Bellator deal making their bout an easy fix, the Brazilian claimed that it couldn't happen due to Harrison allegedly ducking her.
The 38-year-old Brazilian recently took to social media to slam the Olympic gold medalist judoka for refusing to sign a fight contract. Cyborg claimed that while she had accepted an offer made by PFL frontman Peter Murray, Harrison had refused to reciprocate. In a now-deleted post on X, she wrote:
"I am disappointed to hear that after @PeteMurrayPFL offered me the date and location for a fight against @KaylaH and after we accepted the bout, she has now declined the offer."