UFC bantamweight jokes he is "willing to pay" for an interview with Ariel Helwani amid Paddy Pimblett's beef with the reporter
Ariel Helwani was recently engaged in a heated feud with UFC rising star Paddy Pimblett.
UFC bantamweight Brian Kelleher seems to have enjoyed the back-and-forth and even offered to pay to be a guest on Helwani's popular show The MMA Hour. On Twitter, Kelleher said:
"[Ariel Helwani] how much for an interview on the mma hour ? I’m willing to pay at this point haha"
Check out Brian Kelleher's tweet below:
@arielhelwani how much for an interview on the mma hour ? I’m willing to pay at this point haha
This came after Pimblett attacked the veteran journalist on a recent edition of Chattin Pony. The lightweight prospect alleged that Helwani was exploiting UFC fighters for his own monetary gain:
"I hate all these journalists, especially the ones that earn off us. Ariel Helwani, in particular, loves earning money off fighters. Every decent job he’s had, he’s been sacked from. And now he’s just a biased content creator. He hates on you [Dana White], hates on the UFC, and he even hates on me now. It proper annoys me."
Pimblett added that his manager once contacted Helwani for an interview. However, the Liverpudlian alleged that Helwani asked for pay, which the journalist vehemently denied.
Catch Helwani's response in the clip below:
Ariel Helwani Responds To Paddy Pimblett:
"I ain't paying for shit!"
@arielhelwani https://t.co/ptJetpR0IY
Helwani has been involved in a longstanding feud with UFC president Dana White. While he doesn't have a positive relationship with the UFC bosses, the journalist is generally respected by MMA fans and fighters alike.
Ariel Helwani leaks Paddy Pimblett's old message
Ariel Helwani added that Paddy Pimblett once asked him to pay for an interview.
The MMA reporter played an old clip of Pimblett reaching out to him. 'The Baddy' can be heard inviting Helwani for some sort of get-together.
Helwani mentioned that once he contacted Pimblett's manager to finalize the details, it was implied that he would have to pay for 'The Baddy' to appear on his show.
Check out the video below:
UNREAL!
Paddy Pimblett Sends a message to Ariel begging for an Interview... then asks for a Payment...
@arielhelwani https://t.co/7sejpsxR7T
Pimblett, of course, is one of the hottest commodities in the MMA world. 'The Baddy' is currently undefeated in the UFC with wins over Luigi Vendramini, Rodrigo 'Kazula' Vargas, and Jordan Leavitt.
The Liverpool native will return to action on the main card of UFC 282 on December 10 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. He will face cage veteran Jared Gordon in the co-main event.