Exactly one week ago, the #MayMac world tour kicked off. MMA’s top reporter Ariel Helwani was pegged by showtime to follow the tour and do his thing for the MMA side of the promotion.
Unfortunately, as revealed by Ariel himself, the UFC requested that Showtime terminate his involvement, on the day of the first stop in Los Angeles.
Showtime obliged the UFC, and now Ariel has broken his silence on the situation.
Check it out: [Via the MMA Hour]
“I was going to work for Showtime. This was a big deal for me. It was a dream come true to not only work for a network like that, But also be apart of the broadcast team.”
“I was very excited, went to the airport, got on the flight. Landed at around 2AM, didn’t have much sleep, but I was pumped. I was excited.”
“Around an hour before I was going to leave, I was told by the producer, ‘Before I go to the arena, could I stop by their hotel real quick’.”
“I had a bad feeling about it all…”
“They told me Monday night that UFC president Dana White got word that I was going to be apart of the coverage, and he threw a fit. And said absolutely not, ‘he cannot be a part of it. ‘He’s the only one I don’t want to be apart of it’.”
“This was very disappointing. I was totally bummed.”
“When you’re dealing with someone like Dana White, you can’t let them walk all over you and bully you and intimidate you.” And you have to tell people what’s going on. Especially because I already told everyone I was going to be a part of it.”
“So I just put it out there. It was very weird.”
“I’ll be honest. I’d be lying if I … I felt a little down that day. But I put it aside. I’m not going to lick my wounds, I’ll deal with this later.”
“As he [Dana White] continues to go lower and lower… Continues to take money away from my family, taking food away from my kids. I’m going to keep going higher. I will continue to cover the UFC and Dana as I always have covered them.”
“And when they do something great like the UFC 214 promo, I will tell you… There’s no bias.”
“I’m not going to stoop to his level.”
“He’s talked about my kids … That’s crossing the line. I’m not going to allow him to get the best of me.”
