Helwani’s New Venture Excites Combat Sports Fans – ‘Game Changer’
Ariel Helwani has confirmed that he will work with Yahoo Sports following his exit from Vox Media and Spotify.
Helwani’s three-year contract ended after he turned down an opportunity to extend it. He will now work with Yahoo Sports to launch a new platform (called Uncrowned) for combat sports, which will cover MMA, boxing, and pro wrestling. The venture will also extend his ‘The Ariel Helwani Show’ show as he takes up an executive producer and executive editor role, allowing him full ownership of the content.
Helwani’s Venture
“I’m extremely excited to announce that I am partnering with @yahoosports to launch a brand new combat sports vertical. MMA, boxing, pro wrestling. The works. The spot? http://uncrowned.com. In addition, my show, now (finally) entitled “The Ariel Helwani Show,” is expanding. More days. More content. Same time. Same format. New NYC studio,” Helwani
Helwani has come a long way. He began his career at MMA Fighting and Fox Sports before moving to ESPN in 2018. That helped grow his brand as the UFC signed a seven-year deal with ESPN to showcase their fights. While the UFC has not had the best relationship with Helwani, after they banned him from press coverage for breaking Brock Lesnar’s UFC 200 return early, the reporter has played a part in growing the sport.
“I was brought to the back by UFC [public relations] and told by [White] that I had to leave the arena. Dana mentioned that from what I recalled that Brock Lesnar was upset the news was released early and that this could have ruined their deal. He repeatedly said, ‘Go cover Bellator. We don’t want you here.’ … I said, ‘What did I do wrong?’ He said, ‘You’re too negative,” Helwani stated
Helwani’s Reputation
But much more recently, Helwani has been praised for his coverage. He correctly suggested that there were issues with the Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler fight date for June 29. Helwani first suggested that McGregor could pull out shortly after the presser was called off. McGregor said there were ‘obstacles’ in place preventing it from happening.
It was a huge setback for the fans as the presser had sold out within nine minutes. McGregor was then pictured smiling from a doctors office, raising question marks over whether he would fight. Once the news was confirmed that McGregor was out of the fight, Helwani got his credit.
“Around this time last week, all the anxiety surrounding the UFC 303 main event seemed to start to dissipate. By Wednesday, no more feelers about replacements were being sent out. All systems seemed to be a go (again). Later in the week, Chandler did an interview with The Pivot about it being all good, and on Saturday UFC was promoting it again on the ABC fight night telecast.
“There was a scare about the fight being off and the scare appeared to be no more. But since this morning, multiple sources are now saying feelers are being sent out again for June 29. For a replacement and/or new fight(s). In short, there seems to pessimism all over again regarding the status of the 303 main event,” Helwani stated
Now, fans will see a new side to his content.
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