Ariel Helwani gets to play God with each of PFL, Bellator, and ONE. What is the most impactful single change you would make to each to supercharge their growth?
I agree that a face is needed to represent these promotions. A celebrity investing in to PFL would really go far in to putting them on the map. They seem to have the "less is more" model down, as well as an easy barrier to entry for casual fans. Their model heavily reward finishes as well as celebrating million dollar champs.
I actually thought Chael was great calling the playoffs too!
Do you have a theory as to why Dana/the UFC seems to be signing way more fighters each episode of the contender series than he did in earlier seasons? In the first few seasons he would sign one or two fighter per episode but last night he signed 5 fighters from 4 fights, and for the first time ever signed someone who lost a fight. That never used to happen.
Do you think if Frances, Kamaru and Israel since all close friends stood up as a group to improve fighter pay by some sort of protest would get traction?
The Mummy Cats Million Dollar Question Of The Week:
First, congrats on passing your test my friend!
If you had $1MIL to allocate to fighter pay would you go back and compensate some older fighters or shell it out to some active fighters?
Also you guys forgot to add Kimo Leuopold to the greatest walk outs from last weeks question on “GOAT walkout uniforms”… the man carried a whole ass cross!!! God Bless!
P.S. Not sure what your favorite genre is, but you should take a listen to The Mummy Cats.. if you don’t think it’s good then I’ll drink a smoothie with ranch dressing, dirt, mayo and dog food and then run a sub 5 minute mile... Also I'd at least give Jeremy Horn $50k for whippin Chael 3x .. also I love your show so i'd easily license any music to you for free
This week the UFC announced/has been promoting that they're going to be inducting GSP into their hall of fame. Considering they are currently actively subverting his ability to make money in combat sports by blocking his contract release what are your thoughts on that conflict of interest? It's like they're saying "Hey let's celebrate this man and all of his achievements and all of the money he generated for us by being a great face for the business while also stifling his ability to earn money now because we're THAT petty even though it's been years and years since he fought in our organization." To me this is just comically tone deaf and also an extremely accurate portrayal of the UFC. Celebrate someone publicly when its beneficial for you whilst simultaneously and actively trying to harm them in whatever way they can.
When is the UFC going to stop using the Apex for fight nights? Dana used to say the UFC would be going back to full capacity before everyone else, but we’ve had full stadiums in football, baseball, and basketball for a while now and we keep getting the same lifeless, empty Apex fight nights. Wouldn’t they make more money by selling out arenas every weekend?
(This is a genuine question. No matter how I worded this question. I honestly have no opinion on what you did but I am curious of what you think)
Regarding the Brock Lesnar return which you leaked 1 hour before the UFC was to reveal a surprise promotional video.
If you spoke to somebody at the UFC and they asked you not to spoil the surprise because we have a cool promotional video that we are going to show in one hour, Would you still have broke that news when you did?
If you say yes, can you explain the difference between what you did & what Tony Schiavone did by revealing that Mick Foley/Mankind will be winning the WWF title before the show started, as it is universally frowned upon on the decision for Tony Schiavone to do that.
Been listening to you since you were a frequent guest with John Pollock back in the Fight Network Radio days. Being a long-time fan of that show as well as Live Audio Wrestling, how long have you've known John alongside Jason Agnew and Dan "The Mouth" Lovranski? The LAW was truly one of the best shows in Canadian radio as it revolutionized pro wrestling and MMA coverage.
Ariel I have two questions.. 1. If Jake Paul sticks exclusively to his model of fighting just MMA fighters who do you think would be a reasonable bet for his next fight. Do u think the ufc would let a masvidal or GSP step in and fight him as Dana would want to shut him up?
2. Honestly... If you were offered a full time gig as a nba side line reporter but it meant you had to leave or stop reporting on MMA would you be able to turn that down?
Ariel, I'm a long time fan. Been listening to you since you had a call in show where a Nick Diaz fan would constantly pester you. I have to finally know, when you look at your career now, are you the taxi or the uber?
Have you ever considered being "the man" to organize fighters pay? I think you might be the one person in this entire world who could actually pull it off.
How close to complete are the Oliveira/Poirier, Moreno/Pantoja, and Diaz/Luque fights for UFC 269? And is there any reason why they haven’t officially announced it for Las Vegas?
Hi Ariel, fantastic job on the broadcast over the weekend! When Conor fully recovers from his injury, do you think it would be a mistake for him to fight Poirier immediately and risk losing three in a row? I personally think he should take somewhat of a “tune up” fight first, and take on someone like Tony Ferguson, perhaps Nate Diaz afterwards, and if all goes to plan finally fight Poirier again on a win streak.
Who would be on your ultimate all-time fantasy UFC broadcast team (including yourself if applicable!)
Ariel Helwani gets to play God with each of PFL, Bellator, and ONE. What is the most impactful single change you would make to each to supercharge their growth?
Thanks for taking the time to answer Ariel.
I agree that a face is needed to represent these promotions. A celebrity investing in to PFL would really go far in to putting them on the map. They seem to have the "less is more" model down, as well as an easy barrier to entry for casual fans. Their model heavily reward finishes as well as celebrating million dollar champs.
I actually thought Chael was great calling the playoffs too!
Hi Ariel.
Do you have a theory as to why Dana/the UFC seems to be signing way more fighters each episode of the contender series than he did in earlier seasons? In the first few seasons he would sign one or two fighter per episode but last night he signed 5 fighters from 4 fights, and for the first time ever signed someone who lost a fight. That never used to happen.
Thanks!
P.s. how long have you worked at P.F. Chang’s?
Say Paddy the Baddy has a dominant performance on Saturday… does he get on the mic and call someone out? If so, think he’ll aim inside the top 15?
Do you think if Frances, Kamaru and Israel since all close friends stood up as a group to improve fighter pay by some sort of protest would get traction?
The Mummy Cats Million Dollar Question Of The Week:
First, congrats on passing your test my friend!
If you had $1MIL to allocate to fighter pay would you go back and compensate some older fighters or shell it out to some active fighters?
Also you guys forgot to add Kimo Leuopold to the greatest walk outs from last weeks question on “GOAT walkout uniforms”… the man carried a whole ass cross!!! God Bless!
P.S. Not sure what your favorite genre is, but you should take a listen to The Mummy Cats.. if you don’t think it’s good then I’ll drink a smoothie with ranch dressing, dirt, mayo and dog food and then run a sub 5 minute mile... Also I'd at least give Jeremy Horn $50k for whippin Chael 3x .. also I love your show so i'd easily license any music to you for free
This week the UFC announced/has been promoting that they're going to be inducting GSP into their hall of fame. Considering they are currently actively subverting his ability to make money in combat sports by blocking his contract release what are your thoughts on that conflict of interest? It's like they're saying "Hey let's celebrate this man and all of his achievements and all of the money he generated for us by being a great face for the business while also stifling his ability to earn money now because we're THAT petty even though it's been years and years since he fought in our organization." To me this is just comically tone deaf and also an extremely accurate portrayal of the UFC. Celebrate someone publicly when its beneficial for you whilst simultaneously and actively trying to harm them in whatever way they can.
When is the UFC going to stop using the Apex for fight nights? Dana used to say the UFC would be going back to full capacity before everyone else, but we’ve had full stadiums in football, baseball, and basketball for a while now and we keep getting the same lifeless, empty Apex fight nights. Wouldn’t they make more money by selling out arenas every weekend?
(This is a genuine question. No matter how I worded this question. I honestly have no opinion on what you did but I am curious of what you think)
Regarding the Brock Lesnar return which you leaked 1 hour before the UFC was to reveal a surprise promotional video.
If you spoke to somebody at the UFC and they asked you not to spoil the surprise because we have a cool promotional video that we are going to show in one hour, Would you still have broke that news when you did?
If you say yes, can you explain the difference between what you did & what Tony Schiavone did by revealing that Mick Foley/Mankind will be winning the WWF title before the show started, as it is universally frowned upon on the decision for Tony Schiavone to do that.
Greetings Ariel! Happy Early Labor Day!
Been listening to you since you were a frequent guest with John Pollock back in the Fight Network Radio days. Being a long-time fan of that show as well as Live Audio Wrestling, how long have you've known John alongside Jason Agnew and Dan "The Mouth" Lovranski? The LAW was truly one of the best shows in Canadian radio as it revolutionized pro wrestling and MMA coverage.
Ariel I have two questions.. 1. If Jake Paul sticks exclusively to his model of fighting just MMA fighters who do you think would be a reasonable bet for his next fight. Do u think the ufc would let a masvidal or GSP step in and fight him as Dana would want to shut him up?
2. Honestly... If you were offered a full time gig as a nba side line reporter but it meant you had to leave or stop reporting on MMA would you be able to turn that down?
Ariel, I'm a long time fan. Been listening to you since you had a call in show where a Nick Diaz fan would constantly pester you. I have to finally know, when you look at your career now, are you the taxi or the uber?
Thanks Ariel. Glad to see you doing your best and most interesting work. Cheers to the future; you were always beyond uber my man. Real ones know.
What are your thoughts on open scoring? Do you see more states adopting this process in the future?
Have you ever considered being "the man" to organize fighters pay? I think you might be the one person in this entire world who could actually pull it off.
How close to complete are the Oliveira/Poirier, Moreno/Pantoja, and Diaz/Luque fights for UFC 269? And is there any reason why they haven’t officially announced it for Las Vegas?
Hi Ariel, fantastic job on the broadcast over the weekend! When Conor fully recovers from his injury, do you think it would be a mistake for him to fight Poirier immediately and risk losing three in a row? I personally think he should take somewhat of a “tune up” fight first, and take on someone like Tony Ferguson, perhaps Nate Diaz afterwards, and if all goes to plan finally fight Poirier again on a win streak.