Ariel Helwani vs. Zuffa: Who do you side with on this one?

[Scamrock]

If MLB tried to do this to Ken Rosenthal for breaking a trade rumor, the entire media would rise up against them and put so much pressure and scrutiny on them that it's unthinkable for MLB to actually do it. But baseball is a huge sport and a lot of people notice what they do. The media isn't going to be shown up so publicly. They'd have to push back for their reputations. MMA (UFC especially) has always been small enough that very few notice how controlled they've kept the media, so reporters in other sports have never bothered to care. That appears to be changing. I think Zuffa is going to learn that getting bigger and more successful brings more scrutiny with it. And when they ban a Sherwood, Gross, Helwani, a lot more people are going to notice.

But you're correct that they have the right to do this. The question will be whether the rest of the MMA and sports media will continue to allow it to go without consequences.

With the support Helwani is getting from bigger names in sports media, outside of the MMA bubble, maybe we will actually see Zuffa get a taste of what you're talking about. Not sure to what degree. But it could be enough to either lift his ban, apologize, or something. Or maybe Dana tells them to fuck off too.

But we have already seen Dana step back a little and chill out on some of the crazy shit he used to say. So obviously there was some concern about image. Having that same image emerge in more mainstream sports media might get a similar reaction. But who knows?

 

[helltoupee]

Ariel's leaks actually help the UFC, because it's publicity, but of course Dana and Lorenzo don't see it like that, because they're micro-managers who crave as much power and control as possible.

Agreed.

While I understand that Zuffa has a right to remove anyone's credentials from their events, I don't see how this makes any business sense at all.

You know all this hype for Conor vs Mayweather? Does it contribute to the magnitude with all the speculation, or does it take away from it?

 

[Noleggeisha]

Ariel by pure sympathy.

He honestly is part of why I'm so passionate about the UFC. Him and Ben Fowlkes, I don't miss anything they're putting out there. I literally haven't watched any other interviewer ever.

This really is a shame.

 

[BJ@LW&WW]

And 66% getting paid by Vox Media imo.

15.1% are broke as bitches imo

 

[LouisBolanos]

15.1% are broke as bitches imo

I'm one of them

 

[Mochan]

"The UFC made Ariel the celebrity he is today. Without the UFC, Ariel would be a nobody." - Strawman. Completely irrelevant to what is being argued here.

"UFC has the right to deny him privileged access to their events if he doesn't play ball." - Sure, I guess that's probably true. But do you think it's a GOOD thing? You think MMA reporters should be squashed if they don't follow exactly what the UFC tells them? Do you think that's good behavior?

It's not a straw man. It's a response to the other guy's post where he was claiming that Ariel was only making the UFC bigger and better and helping them with his wonderful interviews and coverage. If you don't know what's being talked about, you can shut up and avoid sticking your nose in a place you know jack shit about.

As for the 2nd one -- let me flip the perspective. You have breaking news. You can either report it and say you did a good job as a reporter, or you can keep it secret because revealing it will interfere with the operations of your partner organization. Should you report it? If yes, do you think it's a GOOD thing? You think MMA reporters can say whatever they want without thinking about how it affects the people they're working with? Do you think that's good behavior?


Seriously. You people act like you know what journalism is about, but you have no freakin' clue. Journalism is a huge responsibility. It's not just about digging up secrets and putting them out there. It's about weighing to see what good you can do by publishing this and that. Best you learn that. Just because you can publish something, doesn't mean you should.


Let's look at Helwani's behavior. He published the Brock story ahead of the event. What was the good he did here? Did he serve the fans? Not really. They would have learned it anway during the event. He maybe served some people who want spoilers early and want information as soon as it can possibly be available. But he also maybe annoyed some fans that don't like spoilers. It's a wash.

Did he serve the UFC in doing the report? Obviously not. The UFC was pissed as hell at what he did.

So who does that leave? Who did it serve? Yes. That's right. It only served his ego and his self interest. When your journalism is more about your ego than about providing a service to others, you should hold off a bit on pressing that Publish button and rethink why you're doing what you're doing.

 

[Scamrock]

Not arguing that Zuffa is a speckless company or anything. If there was no embargo, so be it. But as you said, Zuffa can just ban him for whatever reason they see fit.

I am not sure why we are talking about Esther or Casey. They have no relevance whatsoever to this argument. I've already established that I don't give a shit about MMA reporters. They don't factor into my judgement at all. I still side with Zuffa because what Helwani did is a dick move, regardless of whether it was his job or not. The UFC allowed him to become the successful person he is today. Without the UFC, he'd be a nobody. In return, he has zero respect for the UFC and is just looking to do his own thing, and has done it repeatedly over the years from what I gather here, without any regard for the UFC's interests. That's just biting the hand that feeds you. A plain dick move. And that's why I can't side with him.


If you are bringing them up as a means to paint Zuffa black, there's no need. I already know that Zuffa has shady dealings and tendencies. But if you had to ask me if I were to side with Zuffa or with Casey and Esther, then from what I know now I'd side with them. But we're not talking about that. We're talking about Helwani and UFC.

I'm talking about Esther and Casey because when they kicked Ariel out of UFC 199, they also kicked them out with him, even though they had nothing to do with him breaking the story. Casey was with Ariel, but had nothing to do with the situation. When they kicked out Ariel and Casey, they asked where Esther was. She was ringside taking pictures. They said she has to go too. You ask what it has to do with them, well, nothing. That is part of the problem. They kicked them out for nothing. It was guilt by association. People want to support them for kicking out Ariel for crossing them. But what about the collateral damage? This isn't just about Ariel. Others were needlessly banned as well.

I also deeply disagree with what you are saying about respect. Suggesting he should not break UFC news because he owes it to Zuffa, Dana, UFC or whoever seriously compromises his journalistic integrity. I really feel like you would be hard pressed to get many people from the journalism field to agree with you. It's a serious conflict of interest. Sure, Dana did a lot for him. He admits it. But he should in no way let that get in his way of doing his job. They wouldn't do that for him. If fact, if you haven't watched the MMA Hour, you should. You get an idea of what it is like working with them. They jerked him all around the place. They certainly don't come across as very ethical. They do a lot of dick moves of their own. But he also has sat on news before when they asked him to.

The UFC giving credentials to journalists shouldn't come with strings attached. Helwani working for Fox shouldn't come with strings attached. You are talking about all they did for him, but he bit the hand that fed him. But they fed him with a payday as a Fox employee. That shouldn't come with strings attached, especially after they fired him multiple times. After they cut official ties with him, he shouldn't be obligated to them at all. He should be obligated to his current employers at MMA Fighting. Not getting the scoop could be regarded as disrespecting them in favor of some on again off again "friendship" with Dana White.

 

[zerofux]

The UFC is a capitalist operation. America is a capitalist country. If they feel Helwani's free press pass is costing them dollars, they have all the right to deny him access to protect their operations. Or maybe you think capitalism is wrong and communism is the way to go?

You're one of those idiots that doesn't even know what capitalism is, but wants to lecture people on politics. Capitalism is an economic system, not a form of government, you moron. The United States is a democratic republic, not a "capitalist country." Capitalism as a form of government is feudalism. Capitalism only flourishes in the US because it is a free and open society. Freedom creates open markets, which creates competition, which creates innovation and progress. Capitalism or Socialism fails when the dissemination of information is controlled by corporations or governments.

 

[roventu]

ariel. even though UFC is fully in their rights to be douchebags, why would i support their douchebaggery? lol

 

[Najtnub]

im going with zuffa here, they had no choice but to act. when you have a business you cannot let some reporter continually steal the spotlight away and do nothing about it, you have to act and that is what the UFC did.

Just because you understand why the UFC did what they did does not mean you, as a fan of the sport, have to approve of it. Is it in your interest to only get information about UFC from people that work for the organisation or from journalists that are too afraid to publish articles out of fear of repercussion? To me it seems as though many people confuse how things are done with how they should be done.

 

[Scuba]

#teamariel

 

[Mochan]

The crux of the issue for me is there seemingly being no clear rules of engagement established. As you mentioned before Ariel experienced a similar backlash with leaking McGregor/Diaz II being in the works. Between that transition between him being let go from the Fox position and back to merely being a member of the press they accommodate for media days, events, etc.. why would there not be a talk between the UFC and Ariel about big announcements going forward?

I don't think anyone would excuse Helwani agreeing to holding back on scoops and then going back on that. You said Ariel isn't an idiot here, neither is the UFC. They know how he runs his journalism career and gave him these "special" privileges back following the Fox split. According to AH there was a lack of communication from the UFC once the issues with Fox were brewing up until after the big UFC 199 blow up.

It's not just about rights. Many find it distasteful the amount of control the UFC can exert on a variety of areas, this specifically concerning the MMA media esp. compared to sports and entertainment parallels.

I concede that it is rather distasteful for the UFC to have the kind of bullying control they have. I have felt the same for a long period of time. Truth be told, that is the bigger issue here. And in many cases, f you are going to have me choose between Zuffa and a lot of other entities, I will very rarely side with Zuffa.

In the vacuum of this case though, just surrounding Zuffa and Helwani, I just can't find it in me to condone Helwani's actions. They are childish, entitled, arrogant, and even self-destructive. Add to that his whiny, pathetic behavior and refusal to own up to his actions, and instead cry on Twitter to play the victim. It's unsightly. It's far more distasteful than Zuffa and their bullying tactics. That's the kind of response his behavior illicits in my gut.

With Zuffa I think of their bully tactics and it just flies out of my head the moment I turn my attention to something else.
But when I think about Helwani and what he's done, it leaves a foul taste in my mouth. It leaves such a strong emotional response that I've spent the better part of my day here on Sherdog talking about him instead of doing something else more productive -- and I have a deadline on some articles today. That's how much he has affected me.

 

[Jmatrix]

What did Ariel do wrong? Ruin the promo for everyone? Maybe you guys should stay off the TWITTER of an insider who is notorious for putting out breaking news.

The UFC is openly stating they don't want to be covered by reporters. They just want shills like cowherd.

 

[Scamrock]

Come on now. He knew damn well that that was not his news to announce . It's was big for the ufc . They wanted it to have some impact when they revealed it . He poked his nose in and stole the thunder . It's a matter of respect .
All that being said I like the guy . I watch his show and he's a great journalist . He done what a journalist does so I can't fault him for that .
There is a conflict of interest there . The ufc like things their way or the highway

But there is no conflict of interest. He doesn't work for them and has no obligations to them. He works for MMA Fighting. His job is to get the scoop. He got the scoop. It has nothing to do with respect. Any news is his news if he breaks it. Obviously, do it at your own risk. But that's his job.

You say you watch his show. Go watch today's MMA Hour. Then tell me about respect. Yes, they did a lot for him. But having strings attached that breeches his journalistic integrity isn't respectful. The way alleges he was treated over the years doesn't seem very respectful to me. But I will let you watch and and be the judge.

 

[HI SCOTT NEWMAN]

Team Ariel

 

[BruceLeeOnTRT]

Despite all the shilling going on right now, people still see the truth.

 

[TheRassler]

The punishment doesn't fit the crime lol.

It's like banning Nick for 5 years for a sketchy drug test lol.

It's like removing Conor from 200 for missing a press conference lol.

It's like banning Paul Daley for life for punching Koscheck after the bell lol.

 

[Scamrock]

Depends from your perspective. If you are the video editor/producer who spent days on putting the UFC 200 trailer together and then some reporter leaks the Lesnar story hours before your trailer hits the TV you might be really aggravated. But poor Ariel was just doing his job and had no choice.

I can understand why the video editor would be pissed, maybe. Assuming he cares about the surprise of Lesnar and not just the quality of the package. But if he is pissed, I could understand. Hell, maybe he is the guy leaking the info.

 

[VroomyJeeps]

Just because you understand why the UFC did what they did does not mean you, as a fan of the sport, have to approve of it. Is it in your interest to only get information about UFC from people that work for the organisation or from journalists that are too afraid to publish articles out of fear of repercussion? To me it seems as though many people confuse how things are done with how they should be done.

I dont disagree with the UFC though, and I do approve of what they did. They have to protect their business. Ariel didn't have to break that news, Ariel forced the UFC's hand, and any business would have done the same thing.

Thats the risk you take when you report on a private business. You have to play ball or there will be repercussions, that's life and that's business. You need to work around it. Maybe its not a perfect system but thats how it is.

 

[Noah]

Ariel is very good at playing the victim when the time comes, but he couldnt follow a simple order by keeping shut, do you think he did a great thing by leaking the Brock thing? obviously the UFC wanted to surprise everyone when the opponent was confirmed but nope Ariel is just a selfcentered douch, I bet all the reporters knew what was happening.

As for us the fans we probably missed out a on a huge pressconference regarding the news with Brock walk in and his opponent etc, thanks alot Ariel u twat.