Even after a couple of decades in combat sports, scribe Ariel Helwani remains the undisputed top dog of getting the inside scoop. Whether it’s a major fight announcement or a behind-the-scenes drama, Helwani loves breaking the news, even before the UFC has a chance to make it official.
Hardcore fans will remember a time when Helwani was a prominent presence at all UFC events. And then, while reporting at UFC 199, he revealed the promotion’s plans of hosting a rematch between Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz at UFC 202.
Furthermore, he also spoiled the return of Brock Lesnar at UFC 200, something Dana White wanted to be a secret, only to be revealed at the right time. Infuriated, White banned him from the UFC events, a punishment that will last as long as he remains president of the company.
However, his ability to constantly break news has left people wondering: how does he always manage to stay one step ahead? Well, according to Islam Makhachev’s coach, Javier Mendez, there’s a reason for that…
…And it involves a few well-placed moles feeding him all the juicy details. On the latest episode of the Javier and Mo podcast, the American Kickboxing Academy coach shared a Cain Velasquez story that proved just how efficient Helwani was at his job.
The story goes, a college wrestler had come to AKA to help out the fighters and was chosen to roll with Velasquez. The duo went at it hard from the get-go.
This led to Velasquez hurting his knee severely. While this is a part of training camps, the shocking part Mendez revealed was that two hours after this happened, he received a call from Helwani asking him if everything was okay at the gym.
Helwani obviously knew about the incident, and Mendes stated that the only way he knew what was going on was if he had moles in the gym feeding him information secretly.
While Helwani’s tactics might not sit well with people, Mendez finds it impressive.
“I know that he has great people who tell him things. He is so smart, he is a genius at what he does. He is always picked at number one because he goes above and beyond to report things. He is really good at it. He has inside information from some people”, the AKA coach noted.
However, as mentioned above, this quality has not always worked out for him.
Unfortunately, despite the UFC lifting Helwani’s lifetime ban just two days after issuing it, the UFC boss maintains that the journo was simply not welcome at UFC events.
White accused Helwani of being “too negative” and even suggested he cover other promotions instead. It should be noted that Helwani has remained a public advocate for better pay for fighters in the UFC.
And even though he does it in a limited capacity, Helwani continues to cover the sport, hosting interviews with all major players ahead of their fights and otherwise.
