"Wouldn't be the first time" - Ariel Helwani blasted by AEW CEO Tony Khan for "inaccurately" reporting about the purchase of Bellator
It appears as though Tony Khan is upset with Ariel Helwani for reporting that he and his father, Shahid are interested in purchasing Bellator MMA.
During yesterday's episode of The MMA Hour, Helwani noted that Bellator has been on the market since late last year and that the promotion had generated interest from potential buyers. He then mentioned that the AEW CEO and his father were among those that were interested in acquiring Paramount's MMA entity.
The Canadian said:
"I can also tell you that the Khan family has looked into them [Bellator]. To what degree is unclear...That would be a wild one, right? Imagine they own Bellator and AEW while Endeavor owns WWE and UFC. That would be wild stuff."
Ariel Helwani talks Bellator and PFL.
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When asked about the report during an AEW press call, Khan denied that his family is in talks to purchase Bellator and took a jab at The MMA Hour host. He mentioned that he is known to make inaccurate reports, saying:
"I've honestly never had any talks, and my father has never had any talks, about buying Bellator, so I was surprised to see that. Was that someone Ariel Helwani reported? It would not be the first inaccurate thing Ariel Helwani has reported. That is completely inaccurate, but that's Ariel Helwani for you."
Like the Canadian alluded to on his show, it would be interesting if the AEW CEO and his father purchased Bellator because of the pro wrestling and MMA connection between their competition, but it doesn't appear likely at the moment.
Tony Khan denies Ariel Helwani's report of being interested in Bellator
Tony Khan has had a number of Bellator and UFC fighters appear on AEW programming since their inception in 2019, especially during American Top Team coach Dan Lambert's tenure with the company.
During the affromentioned press call, the AEW CEO noted that he is familiar with the sport as well as Bellator, but denied Ariel Helwani's report that he is interested in further venturing into the sport. He mentioned that isn't familiar with MMA from a business standpoint and hasn't spoken to Bellator's current ownership, saying:
"I don't even know who owns the promotion. Is Scott Coker the owner, the president? I'm not sure. I'm familiar with Bellator. I'm familiar with MMA. I've never worked professionally in the space, other than having some stars from UFC appear at times in AEW. I saw that report, and there's really nothing to that." [h/t Fightful]
#TonyKhan says that neither he or his father have had discussions with Bellator regarding a purchase. He said he was surprised to see that report.
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