Helwani Nose is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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.
Greetings once again from London, Ontario. Canada. A brief story is required to frame my question, please bear with me. One time, when my younger brother was taking an escalator down to the Union station subway in Toronto, his pant leg got caught in the escalator. His pants were pulled down as he was violently dragged down to the ground by the escalator, and he started to cry. I'm sure you can imagine that the scene of him, pantless and bawling in the middle of Toronto after being mauled by an escalator, was a dramatic one.
While the vast majority of people are not afraid of escalators, to this day my brother is terrified of them due to this traumatic experience. I have come to realize that everyone has at least one "escalator" in their life. A person's "escalator" refers to something that seems benign to others but that strikes fear in their heart, much like the escalator does to my brother. For some people, their "escalator" is obvious (as an example, New York Ric's "escalator" is obviously GC). I was unsure about you though, Ariel, and so I would like to ask: what is your "escalator"?
After the events of last weekend, the welterweight division has gotten more clear at the top of the division. Whenever Usman fully recovers he will face Leon (hopefully), and it seems like Dana is leaning towards Colby x Khamzat next.
This week’s main event is the rematch of Luque x Muhammad almost 6 years later. While I can see if Belal wins how he can get matched up with Burns, my question is where would Luque go with a win after Saturday being that both him and Burns have been vocal about not fighting each other?
I wanted to give a shoutout to Jackie Chan who just celebrated his 68th birthday last week. He is someone who I feel has played a huge role in the popularization of martial arts and I feel doesn't get enough credit from the MMA community. I understand he is an actor and never competed professionaly, but he is still a life long martial artist who had tremendous influence.
I also wanted to say rest in peace to Brad Allen, an Australian kickboxer who was Jackie Chan's long time stunt coordinator, and the American kickboxer who fought against Jackie Chan in the movie Gorgeous. Sadly I didn't see any media coverage about his death.
I'd like to know what your favorite Jackie Chan movie growing up was? And can we get Jackie Chan on The MMA Hour?! My personal favorite was Legend of the Drunken Master.
According to some reports online Petr Yan made $410k, Gilbert Burn made $250k, Aljo made $520k, Zombie made $380k, Khamzat made $205k, and Volkanovski made $1.10mm all before bonuses at UFC 273. How far off do you think these numbers are?
G'day G'day from Ottawa, Ontario. Long time fan of the show. I wanted to get your thoughts on Chimaev's performance this past Saturday. People have been saying he was partly so impressive because he's beating someone of Burns' level merely 5 fights into his UFC career. My issue with that is simply that this rise in competition can't be compared to any other fighter. I think it's possible Volkanovski, Jones, Usman, or Makhachev may very well have beaten a top 5 guy, had they been given the same opportunity earlier on in their respective paths. They had to grind a slow rise to the top because that's what the matchmakers allowed for. Chimaev was put in a unique position to fight a top caliber fighter earlier on. So, I just think it's odd when people speak of Chimaev's experience-vs-opponent ranking when it's not as thought the others have tried and failed.
My question is this: Do you sometimes think the UFC takes too long moving fighters up the rankings when they've had several consecutive wins? This might be why we have champs lapping the top contenders and traffic jams starting to build at the top. Arnold Allen and Islam Makhachev come to mind as obvious ones.
Dear Ariel, Cooking with folk was one of the greatest segments the show has ever had, And made me realize segments like this are like stipe fighting in Ohio, GSP fighting in Canada. I hope to see more segments like this that showcase the fighter's personalities!
Hello MMA hour Crew, Ariel, a few short answer questions.
1a.) When both careers are over, who will be considered to have been the bigger name/draw overall, Nick Diaz or masvidal???
1b.) Now strictly speaking at this moment only, and not their whole careers overall, bigger draw/name Nick or masvidal??
2. Any truth to Cesars post about Nick returning?? And if so, how would you feel about a in shape(like he was in the pictures from a while back after that test cut) Nick v. masvidal??
3. You have stated, that ufc is trying to buy time for Nate v. Conor, how long can they hold out b4 they have to make a decision?? Is it the end of this month, which is 6 months after the khamzat offer??
4. Can you let us know Volkanovski's response to GC's intro??
Dana was vey generous with bonuses this past weekend, including giving Burns his well-deserved win money. Do you think we will see more generosity from him in the future, or is it only dependent on the fights?
Also, the argument that they can't increase the minimum pay for fighters is becoming a weaker by the event after so many instances of extra bonuses.
My fighter pay hot take is that we see the $20k-$20k show-win become the minimum pay by the middle of 2023.
Fortunately, no question here but, unfortunately, you are my second favorite Ariel in New York. My long distance girlfriend is named Ariel and she’s from upstate New York, and as you are reading this I am meeting her for the first time in Universal Studios in Orlando. I’ve been going through mental health struggles and I just want you to know that this show helps me a lot. Thank you to the whole crew for everything, every week. Thanks lad :) Wish me luck!
No question today. I just wanted to say that you, GC, NY Ric, and Frank have got gotten into a real groove. The banter between the four of you is the best. Thank you for the great entertainment twice a week!
Wanted to you get your thoughts on whether the fight Khamzat had with Burns over the weekend increased or decreased Khamzat stock? Seems like folks are now either on the “he’s the real deal” train or now on the “he isn’t as good as we thought” train?
What's up ariel, during the weekend we saw the ufc update with some new graphics and new time hud. Is there anything production wise you would change or would like to see change. I personally would like to see the fight announcements updated similar to what wwe does when they announce who's facing who at an event. Thanks for all the great content and shoutout to everyone at mmafighting!!! THE BEST DAMN MMA OUTLET
Dear Ariel,
Greetings once again from London, Ontario. Canada. A brief story is required to frame my question, please bear with me. One time, when my younger brother was taking an escalator down to the Union station subway in Toronto, his pant leg got caught in the escalator. His pants were pulled down as he was violently dragged down to the ground by the escalator, and he started to cry. I'm sure you can imagine that the scene of him, pantless and bawling in the middle of Toronto after being mauled by an escalator, was a dramatic one.
While the vast majority of people are not afraid of escalators, to this day my brother is terrified of them due to this traumatic experience. I have come to realize that everyone has at least one "escalator" in their life. A person's "escalator" refers to something that seems benign to others but that strikes fear in their heart, much like the escalator does to my brother. For some people, their "escalator" is obvious (as an example, New York Ric's "escalator" is obviously GC). I was unsure about you though, Ariel, and so I would like to ask: what is your "escalator"?
Sincerely,
Adrian
👋 Hola Ariel!!!
After the events of last weekend, the welterweight division has gotten more clear at the top of the division. Whenever Usman fully recovers he will face Leon (hopefully), and it seems like Dana is leaning towards Colby x Khamzat next.
This week’s main event is the rematch of Luque x Muhammad almost 6 years later. While I can see if Belal wins how he can get matched up with Burns, my question is where would Luque go with a win after Saturday being that both him and Burns have been vocal about not fighting each other?
Viva Heelwani 🦹🏻♂️
Bonjour Lord Ariel!
I wanted to give a shoutout to Jackie Chan who just celebrated his 68th birthday last week. He is someone who I feel has played a huge role in the popularization of martial arts and I feel doesn't get enough credit from the MMA community. I understand he is an actor and never competed professionaly, but he is still a life long martial artist who had tremendous influence.
I also wanted to say rest in peace to Brad Allen, an Australian kickboxer who was Jackie Chan's long time stunt coordinator, and the American kickboxer who fought against Jackie Chan in the movie Gorgeous. Sadly I didn't see any media coverage about his death.
I'd like to know what your favorite Jackie Chan movie growing up was? And can we get Jackie Chan on The MMA Hour?! My personal favorite was Legend of the Drunken Master.
Long live the Man of Steelwani.
Ariel,
According to some reports online Petr Yan made $410k, Gilbert Burn made $250k, Aljo made $520k, Zombie made $380k, Khamzat made $205k, and Volkanovski made $1.10mm all before bonuses at UFC 273. How far off do you think these numbers are?
Hi Ariel,
G'day G'day from Ottawa, Ontario. Long time fan of the show. I wanted to get your thoughts on Chimaev's performance this past Saturday. People have been saying he was partly so impressive because he's beating someone of Burns' level merely 5 fights into his UFC career. My issue with that is simply that this rise in competition can't be compared to any other fighter. I think it's possible Volkanovski, Jones, Usman, or Makhachev may very well have beaten a top 5 guy, had they been given the same opportunity earlier on in their respective paths. They had to grind a slow rise to the top because that's what the matchmakers allowed for. Chimaev was put in a unique position to fight a top caliber fighter earlier on. So, I just think it's odd when people speak of Chimaev's experience-vs-opponent ranking when it's not as thought the others have tried and failed.
My question is this: Do you sometimes think the UFC takes too long moving fighters up the rankings when they've had several consecutive wins? This might be why we have champs lapping the top contenders and traffic jams starting to build at the top. Arnold Allen and Islam Makhachev come to mind as obvious ones.
Dear Ariel, Cooking with folk was one of the greatest segments the show has ever had, And made me realize segments like this are like stipe fighting in Ohio, GSP fighting in Canada. I hope to see more segments like this that showcase the fighter's personalities!
Hello MMA hour Crew, Ariel, a few short answer questions.
1a.) When both careers are over, who will be considered to have been the bigger name/draw overall, Nick Diaz or masvidal???
1b.) Now strictly speaking at this moment only, and not their whole careers overall, bigger draw/name Nick or masvidal??
2. Any truth to Cesars post about Nick returning?? And if so, how would you feel about a in shape(like he was in the pictures from a while back after that test cut) Nick v. masvidal??
3. You have stated, that ufc is trying to buy time for Nate v. Conor, how long can they hold out b4 they have to make a decision?? Is it the end of this month, which is 6 months after the khamzat offer??
4. Can you let us know Volkanovski's response to GC's intro??
Shalom Ariel!
Dana was vey generous with bonuses this past weekend, including giving Burns his well-deserved win money. Do you think we will see more generosity from him in the future, or is it only dependent on the fights?
Also, the argument that they can't increase the minimum pay for fighters is becoming a weaker by the event after so many instances of extra bonuses.
My fighter pay hot take is that we see the $20k-$20k show-win become the minimum pay by the middle of 2023.
Hey Ariel, any reason to believe the recent Nick Diaz return in 2022 rumors? Any chance he’ll come on the show?
El Nariz 🐐,
Some quick shooters for ya
How’s your relationship with Brian Ortega? (Would love to see him on the show)
What can fans expect from UFC X? (ufc convention coming up in July)
Can you have/ invite Megan Olivi on the show 😁
Thanks!
P.s. thank you again for the Panini NFTs will be holding them for decades!
Ariel Helwani,
Fortunately, no question here but, unfortunately, you are my second favorite Ariel in New York. My long distance girlfriend is named Ariel and she’s from upstate New York, and as you are reading this I am meeting her for the first time in Universal Studios in Orlando. I’ve been going through mental health struggles and I just want you to know that this show helps me a lot. Thank you to the whole crew for everything, every week. Thanks lad :) Wish me luck!
Hey, now! Who has the best chance of becoming a UFC triple champ before retiring for good? Conor, Cejudo or Khamzat?
Hello Ariel,
No question today. I just wanted to say that you, GC, NY Ric, and Frank have got gotten into a real groove. The banter between the four of you is the best. Thank you for the great entertainment twice a week!
Good Morning from Idaho!
Wanted to you get your thoughts on whether the fight Khamzat had with Burns over the weekend increased or decreased Khamzat stock? Seems like folks are now either on the “he’s the real deal” train or now on the “he isn’t as good as we thought” train?
Thank you as always!
-Israel D
What's up ariel, during the weekend we saw the ufc update with some new graphics and new time hud. Is there anything production wise you would change or would like to see change. I personally would like to see the fight announcements updated similar to what wwe does when they announce who's facing who at an event. Thanks for all the great content and shoutout to everyone at mmafighting!!! THE BEST DAMN MMA OUTLET
Ariel,
1. Any hope for a fight night in Atlantic City or Newark this year?
2. With UFC now looking at other opponents for Dustin, does that mean Nate vs Conor is pretty much the next thing?
3. Also, maybe the winner of Tony vs Chandler faces Dustin?
Thank you, have a good one