Belal Muhammad sounds off on "clown" Ariel Helwani in fiery rant, MMA journalist issues response: "Same old, same old"
Belal Muhammad and Ariel Helwani seem to be developing a heated spat, as Muhammad recently launched into a furious tirade against the MMA journalist. The reigning welterweight champion's remarks sparked a response from Helwani, who shared his side of the tale in a recent social media post.
For context, in a recent episode of his REMEMBER THE SHOW podcast, Muhammad mentioned that Helwani had reigning heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall on his show and asked him about the challenges of competing early in the morning at UFC 304.
The 36-year-old then accused Helwani of reportedly siding with Leon Edwards, claiming that fighting so early may have contributed to Edwards' defeat over Muhammad, which didn't sit well with the latter.
Muhammad also charged Helwani with getting emotional following Edwards' title loss against the Chicago native at UFC 304.
''For you to keep hating like that, that just shows the person he is. He [Helwani] is a clown.''
In response to Muhammad's remarks, which were shared by MMA journalist Curtis Calhoun on X, Helwani slammed 'Remember the Name' for criticizing him, despite the 42-year-old's earlier support for Muhammad not getting a title shot.
''I only hear one dude throwing a lot of insults and hatin’. I’ve never done that, even though Belal always claims otherwise. Same old, same old...the notion that I’ve been asking everyone to hate on @bullyb170 is factually incorrect. I literally haven’t talked to anyone for three months. I’ve also not asked to speak to Leon since the fight. I’ve only had two shows...while also giving Belal props before and after the fight and again it’s all this insulting. I said repeatedly he was getting scr*wed by not getting the title shot earlier. Same old story. In short, it’s good to be back. Peace and love.''
Check out Ariel Helwani's response to Belal Muhammad's comments below:
Ariel Helwani condemns Belal Muhammad's bitter behavior towards him
After justifying his actions in the aforementioned tweet, Ariel Helwani took to X to respond to a user named AFeldmanMMA after the latter mentioned that Helwani had positive things to say about Belal Muhammad when he had Michael Chandler on The Ariel Helwani Show. He said:
''Example 1 of 1000 of me giving Belal praise over the last few months. But of course he throws a temper tantrum when I say one somewhat critical thing (which was more about Leon, than him, but alas). Figured things would change when he won the belt. Guess not.''