Ariel Helwani shuts down Sean Strickland for questioning his love for MMA
Ariel Helwani's mordant sense of humor was on full display when Sean Strickland questioned the MMA journalist's love for the sport. A pioneering figure in the space of MMA reporting, Helwani is famed for his sharp retort and penchant for honest journalism.
Strickland recently made an appearance on The MMA Hour following his unanimous decision victory over Nassourdine Imavov at UFC Vegas 67. 'Tarzan' was able to snap his two-fight losing streak with a dominant performance in his second consecutive main event appearance.
Ariel Helwani has been covering the sport of MMA since 2006 and has been winning the MMA Journalist of the Year at the World MMA Awards every year since 2010. Sean Strickland questioned the veteran MMA journalist's love for MMA and his roots in the sport by saying:
"I don't know how you got this job bro. You should be like a golf commentator, a golf analyst. I want to know how you got in the MMA world. I don't think you're a big MMA fan. I'm just saying is this wasn't your job bro, I don't think you would be at the bar with the boys watching motherf**kers get knocked out."
Ariel Helwani made a snappy comeback and replied:
"I was at the bar watching MMA when you were in your father's nutsack. When you didn't even know what MMA was, I was talking about MMA. I was doing a radio show at Syracuse University in 2001. You were in fourth grade when I was talking about MMA."
Catch the exchange below:
Kids these days. https://t.co/Mfc9IQRdg9
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Fans react to Ariel Helwani's witty comeback when Sean Strickland questioned his love for MMA
It is reasonable to say that Ariel Helwani is one of the most influential voices in MMA journalism, and the respect he demands from MMA athletes and fellow peers is unparalleled. For a large number of fighters and MMA enthusiasts, his platform is the most reliable source of the latest developments and most compelling stories in the sport.
Several MMA fighters flocked to the Instagram post in which Helwani shut down Sean Strickland for questioning his love for MMA. Needless to say, netizens thoroughly enjoyed Helwani's witty retort. One fan wrote:
"Ariel really been putting his foot down only took for him to get in his 40s , good job Ariel."
@arielhelwani Ariel really been putting his foot down only took for him to get in his 40s , good job Ariel.
Another fan wrote:
"Ariel is on fire these days handing out 10-8’s like candy on Halloween."
@arielhelwani Ariel is on fire these days handing out 10-8’s like candy on Halloween
Another fan claimed that Ariel Helwani's moral victory was greater than Alex Pereira's knockout victory over Sean Strickland:
"Ariel ko worse than Alex."
@arielhelwani Ariel ko worse than Alex
Check out some of the best reactions below:
@arielhelwani Ariel handing out Ls without even getting in the octagon
@arielhelwani Damn that’s a 10-7 and I’m not even a Ariel fanboy lol
@arielhelwani Common 10-7 for Ariel. You have become a menace. 😂
@arielhelwani 🤣🤣🤣 Strickland really tried to start a non-starter