Happy Wednesday! You know the drill by now. Hit me with your best questions below. Everything and anything goes. Questions only available to paid subscribers. Sorry, them’s the rules. And try to keep them short and sweet, if possible. That increases your chances of having the question answered.
Chad Mendez fighting in BKFC was the first time other than Connor that we saw an under contract UFC fighter fighting elsewhere with no strings attached.
Do you think there is more of this to come? And why is Chad the guy who was allowed to do this and not GSP, Silva, Ngannou etc?
I personally would love to see more of the “forbidden door” in MMA
First I just wanted to say I thought you handled the Bryce Mitchell interview incredibly well. It was riveting stuff and I was on the edge of my seat the entire interview.
Now I want to ask about the stakes of his upcoming fight against Edson Barboza and your thoughts on the matchup. I’ve watched Mitchell since TUF and am always impressed by his wrestling, but other than Andre Fili he has beaten a bunch of cans who are no longer even in the UFC (Tyler Diamond, Bobby Moffett, and Matt Sayles), while Barboza was fighting the top lightweights in the world for the last decade.
I just checked the betting odds and Mitchell is the slight favorite. Do you think he is ready for this level of competition, and who in the top 10 would be a good next opponent for Bryce if he wins?
If you were running the UFC, would you allow Priscila Cachoeira to fight in your organization after her eye gouge attempts in her previous fight against Gillian Robertson?
Shalom! At the end of their careers, which Canadian interviewer/journalist will be seen as having a more legendary career, Helwani or Nardwuar? I’d love to see you interview Nardwuar on your personal channel btw.
Question for the great GC aka G-city this week. with your sports betting earnings what is the biggest thing you have bought for yourself, in 2019 I have all my bet slips still where I made it to 3k and put a down payment on the car I have now a 2020 corrolla hatchback. Some of the bets that hit big that I can remember Tracy cortez contender series fight, a lot of live plays and cheeky ALL INS on sizeable favorites.
While reporting is different from training MMA. What valuable life lessons have you learned from the sport itself? Also, favorite fight this weekend is McKinney v Ziam hoping for a battle!
P.S. The growth from GC and Frank in this short amount of time has been awesome to witness. The whole crew has been killing it and you can start to really feel the chemistry!
Hey Ariel. You and Andrew Schulz are two of the most insightful people in the industry, willing to talk about anything and everything without bias… Anyone who knows both of your work will agree - We’re gonna need a podcast. The insights that would come out of it would be crazy. “Heelwani & Hezi” (his nickname). What do you think?
Want to give a big shoutout to darren till. Took his loss on the chin and seeked out one of the best wrestlers in the ufc in khamzat to improve. Shows tremendous maturity in my view.
But also, just how amazing is the banter between them, doing everything from training to feeding stockholm’s homeless together. I’d love to see them corner each other, although i fear this might be the final twist of the knife in platinum mike perry’s heart.
Question 1: How long till a UFC PPV takes the record off boxing with 4.6 million buys. Is there a hypothetical card now that you think would pull those numbers?
Question 2: 1987 Mike Tyson vs Present Tyson Fury?
My name is Anthony and I’m writing to you from Chicago. My question is: I’m going to propose to my girlfriend, Vi (pronounced like the letter 'V') this June 18th on a boat along Lake Michigan. I have just secured the private boat and am working with a jeweler to design her ring. What advice can you share on engagement and marriage? How was your experience leading up to your proposal?
Is Khamzat Chimaev vs Gilbert Burns still the plan for April 9th? Can you confirm this with any Vegas cab drivers?
Hey Ariel!
Chad Mendez fighting in BKFC was the first time other than Connor that we saw an under contract UFC fighter fighting elsewhere with no strings attached.
Do you think there is more of this to come? And why is Chad the guy who was allowed to do this and not GSP, Silva, Ngannou etc?
I personally would love to see more of the “forbidden door” in MMA
Hello Ariel!
First I just wanted to say I thought you handled the Bryce Mitchell interview incredibly well. It was riveting stuff and I was on the edge of my seat the entire interview.
Now I want to ask about the stakes of his upcoming fight against Edson Barboza and your thoughts on the matchup. I’ve watched Mitchell since TUF and am always impressed by his wrestling, but other than Andre Fili he has beaten a bunch of cans who are no longer even in the UFC (Tyler Diamond, Bobby Moffett, and Matt Sayles), while Barboza was fighting the top lightweights in the world for the last decade.
I just checked the betting odds and Mitchell is the slight favorite. Do you think he is ready for this level of competition, and who in the top 10 would be a good next opponent for Bryce if he wins?
👋 Hola Ariel!!!
If you were running the UFC, would you allow Priscila Cachoeira to fight in your organization after her eye gouge attempts in her previous fight against Gillian Robertson?
Viva Heelwani 🦹🏻♂️
Shalom! At the end of their careers, which Canadian interviewer/journalist will be seen as having a more legendary career, Helwani or Nardwuar? I’d love to see you interview Nardwuar on your personal channel btw.
P.s., I see the string is still there….
Question for the great GC aka G-city this week. with your sports betting earnings what is the biggest thing you have bought for yourself, in 2019 I have all my bet slips still where I made it to 3k and put a down payment on the car I have now a 2020 corrolla hatchback. Some of the bets that hit big that I can remember Tracy cortez contender series fight, a lot of live plays and cheeky ALL INS on sizeable favorites.
Hi Ariel - have you heard about how Tatiana Suarez's recovery is going after her knee surgery?
While reporting is different from training MMA. What valuable life lessons have you learned from the sport itself? Also, favorite fight this weekend is McKinney v Ziam hoping for a battle!
P.S. The growth from GC and Frank in this short amount of time has been awesome to witness. The whole crew has been killing it and you can start to really feel the chemistry!
What’s up Ariel! Dia Dhuit from Ireland!
Since you ask all the fighters about how much money they are making was wondering how much the nose is reeling in a year,
might make the fighters change lanes to journalism!
Slaínte xx
Good afternoon Ariel, if you could pick one UFC story line from 2021 for ESPN to make a 30 for 30, on what would it be and why?
Hey Ariel. You and Andrew Schulz are two of the most insightful people in the industry, willing to talk about anything and everything without bias… Anyone who knows both of your work will agree - We’re gonna need a podcast. The insights that would come out of it would be crazy. “Heelwani & Hezi” (his nickname). What do you think?
What are some of the top fights that were scheduled or in the works but never happened?
Ça va Ariel!
Want to give a big shoutout to darren till. Took his loss on the chin and seeked out one of the best wrestlers in the ufc in khamzat to improve. Shows tremendous maturity in my view.
But also, just how amazing is the banter between them, doing everything from training to feeding stockholm’s homeless together. I’d love to see them corner each other, although i fear this might be the final twist of the knife in platinum mike perry’s heart.
Question 1: How long till a UFC PPV takes the record off boxing with 4.6 million buys. Is there a hypothetical card now that you think would pull those numbers?
Question 2: 1987 Mike Tyson vs Present Tyson Fury?
Buenos Dias Ariel!
My name is Anthony and I’m writing to you from Chicago. My question is: I’m going to propose to my girlfriend, Vi (pronounced like the letter 'V') this June 18th on a boat along Lake Michigan. I have just secured the private boat and am working with a jeweler to design her ring. What advice can you share on engagement and marriage? How was your experience leading up to your proposal?
Thank you!