Ariel Helwani thanks Chael Sonnen for sticking by him when no one else would
Ariel Helwani commended Chael Sonnen for sticking by him during difficult moments during his career and remaining a loyal friend.
Sonnen appeared on a recent episode of The MMA Hour, where Helwani thanked him for being a great friend to him. He recalled a point where he was being told that he wasn't allowed to in certain areas of the UFC venues when he was working and covering the events.
He said:
"'Ariel, you have to go down through the freight elevator.' cause I was that much of a cancer...I was not allowed to go down and get food. I was banned from downstairs."
I always roll with you, buddy.
#TheMMAHour https://t.co/WMxzaUTcKG
The two worked together at ESPN, where they hosted their show Ariel and The Bad Guy until the Canadian MMA journalist left the network. The MMA Hour host mentioned that there was an act of kindness that meant a lot to him, saying:
"Everyone got out of the car except for you. Do you remember that?...You said, 'I'm going with him.' That's one of the nicest things anyone's ever done...yeah, it was incredible."
Regardless of how he was treated at UFC events, the Canadian is still a very respected MMA journalist and has continued to provide a platform for fighters on The MMA Hour.
Chael Sonnen confirms Ariel Helwani's story about his encounter with Ali Abdelaziz
When Ariel Helwani got into a Physical Altercation with Ali Abdelaziz
@arielhelwani / @ChaelSonnen https://t.co/s4v0q6iYIg
Chael Sonnen confirmed Ariel Helwani's story about squaring up to Ali Abdelaziz during an encounter at a UFC event at the Toyota Center.
During the affromentioned appearance on The MMA Hour, 'The American Gangster' recalled what transpired and noted that he never saw the Canadian upset like that, saying:
"I felt like I was in the process of saying hi to Kamaru [Usman], that's how I remember it in my mind. But then you and Ali [Abdelaziz] are attacking each other...well, there was touching physically...This is true, the story is true...I didn't know you had that in you."
It wasn't the first time Helwani and Abdelaziz were involved in a confrontational encounter as the Canadian MMA journalist called him out for trying to bully the media when he appeared on his ESPN MMA show in 2018.