Why does Dana White hate Ariel Helwani? Exploring the origins of one of the UFC's most iconic feuds of all time
Ariel Helwani is arguably the most popular mixed martial artist journalist. Before the Conor McGregor era, the MMA fanbase was much smaller, consisting mostly of people who trained in combat sports. When most outlets weren't covering MMA, Helwani was in the field grinding away, paving a path for the hundreds of media members who now cover the sport as a career.
To this day, Helwani continues to greatly impact the industry by hosting The MMA Hour, where he interviews many superstars and public figures. The Canadian-American has solidified himself as a legend, but every influential person eventually receives backlash for various reasons.
Why does Dana White hate Ariel Helwani?
Later this week, the UFC will reach another historic milestone, as UFC 300 goes down inside the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. To understand the complicated relationship between Ariel Helwani and Dana White, one must go back to 2016, when UFC 200 took place in the same venue as the upcoming event on Saturday.
In the UFC 200 co-main event, Brock Lesnar returned to the Octagon for a heavyweight bout against Mark Hunt, which ended up being the WWE superstar's last professional fight.
Several weeks prior, the announcement of Lesnar's return was supposed to be made by the UFC. Instead, Helwani did his job as a reporter/journalist and broke the news, leading to his credentials temporarily being revoked. Since then, his relationship with the UFC and Dana White in particular has soured.
Helwani has maintained that he did nothing wrong because that's his job. White also isn't a fan of the journalist because the latter isn't afraid to discover the truth and provide that information to the public.
Contrary to popular belief, the Canadian-American's UFC credentials have been reinstated, but he chooses not to attend the events.
It should be noted that Helwani and White's relationship isn't as hostile as it once was. With that said, the host of The MMA Hour continues to be outspoken about his grievances with the UFC, frequently pointing out how the promotion's CEO manipulates situations to his advantage.
Helwani's primary frustration with the UFC has been over fighter pay, but he has also targeted the promotion for hosting events at it's APEX facility.
Watch Ariel Helwani discuss the APEX events below: