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Hey Ariel,

on the latest episode of the Joe Rogan Podcast with Belal Muhammad, the two talked about his fight against Sean Brady and Brady saying that someone on the internet threatened him or his wife that he would bury him in the desert.

Jamie said that Sean told this on your show, to which Rogan said that you like to make people say certain things. What are your thoughts on that?

I think it's a shame that he seems to have such an opinion of you and we will probably never see you and him on a show together.

Best regards from Northern Germany to the whole crew, you make time go by faster at work.

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Max, would you know a timestamp for this part of the discussion on JRE with Belal?

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And 2:52:15 is the important part

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Since Joe Rogan is too scared to invite Ariel on his podcast, can Ariel just crush in the JRE podcast the next time his uncle is a guest on the JRE? Likewise, I would love Ariel to interview Joe on The MMA Hour!

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It starts at 2:49:50

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I don't think Joe said that in a negative way. That being said, I cannot wait for Heelwani on the JRE

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Joe Rogan needs to have Ariel on his podcast ASAP! How many times can we watch him having same guests over over again. Joe needs Heelwani!!!

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I genuinely think a face to face conversation between Ariel & Joe would probably be better for them, rather than awkward communication via the separate platforms.

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Ariel's talked about this before. He'll never be on JRE because Joe's relationship with Dana.

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Right! Well aware, I just think a lot of beef would be settled if it could be talked out

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Hello Ariel!

On Monday’s show, you and the guys briefly discussed UFC / WWE comparisons. It got me thinking, and two immediate comparisons came to mind:

Jorge Masvidal and Razor Ramon

Ben Askren and Bob Backlund

Both MMA fighters resemble their WWE counterparts in appearance, personality, and fighting style. Masvidal famously KO’d Askren at UFC 239, and Razor destroyed Backlund in less than 4 minutes at Wrestlemania 9.

Could their possibly be a better UFC/WWE comparison that actually played out in both?

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Great question!

Bob Backlund had one of the greatest submission moves!

The Cross-Face Chickenwing!!!

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Hi Ariel,

I have both a question and suggestion. With all the talk about GC being a babyface, who do you think is the biggest babyface in MMA right now and could you add the Babyface of the Year award to next years award show?

Thanks!

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Hello R-E-L & Crew

It feels like 284 is being massively undersold. With #1 taking on #2 P4P to become double champ, the stakes are historic. Instead, the UFC just isn’t promoting this fight, outside of the weird face-off in Australia. They’ve posted significantly more about slap fighting than 284. With the unfriendly start time of the next fight night, there just isn’t much time left to properly promote it. Has the UFC just phoned it in, or are they in need of a serious reprioritization of goals and a shakeup in leadership?

Dana suggested his presence benefits the fighters’ and company’s success, but the lack of promotion of this massive fight is detrimental to both. The fact that Dana is more invested in power slap and eating the pickle corn dog than promoting this card makes me think a change in leadership may be necessary.

--

King Tyler

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You really want him to give his views on Dana as a promoter again just to hear your name be read out? we know the stance. “Dana won the race, he mails it in now, he’s not crucial, he does very little of the negotiating himself these days, he’s not essential”

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I fully get where you're coming from, Vince, but I feel like the UFC is really doing a disservice to itself by not promoting this fight in particular, and it is emblematic of a larger issue. While Dana is the face of the promotion and thereby the easiest scapegoat, I am hoping there will be discussion about how the organization overall is setting itself up for failure. They are not building up two of their best fighters going head-to-head. The leadership team and Dana are taking the viewership for granted and are making no efforts to capture more fans and build their fighters. It feels like they are not operating under the same innovative and prescient mindset that they once did. This lack of foresight makes me question what the product will look like 5 years from now and who the PPV stars will be. The conversation regarding how the leadership team and Dana may need changes in their goals or personnel is an important one, and for that dialogue to begin, it has to be out in the public forum. As a fan of the sport, this is the best way that I can have my displeasure be heard and not allow the UFC to put out a lackluster product.

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Agreed, but we’ve heard from Ariel about this multiple times, It’s all out there in previous episodes. We gotta move on.

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We've heard about it to an extent: the criticism has been chiefly levied against Dana, and not the larger organization. Ultimately, it is up to Endeavor to deliver a good product to consumers, and its long-term vision and current choice of president is in the way of that. There has to be acknowledgement that they are reducing Volk and Islam's paydays. I agree that the narrative is out there, but the overt underpromotion of this card is a new low. It's #1 vs #2. Best fighter on the planet vs. Khabib's protégé. To not promote this as an all-time super-fight merits this discussion. They've yet again moved the line in the sand to a new low, such that we are no longer in the same point that we were once in to move on; I think it's a new chapter of the Apex-mentality infecting the mega-events.

Anyways, cheers!

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What is up Ariel. Sorry it was a little bit of a let down here in STX, but glad you had some-what of a good time at least. But my question is about the rumored bout of Max Holloway x Arnold Allen. It’s obviously a gigantic fight and a huge opportunity for Arnold, but what does this fight do for Max? As long as Volk is champ, there is no way on Earth he gets another crack at it right? I can see them continuing to give Max top contenders, because maybe they feel there is a chance that Volk may go up there to 155 and just stay up there?? I don’t know, just wonder what your thoughts are about the fight and the direction it would take both fighters.

Also have you heard anything on what the main event is going to be for UFC San Antonio?? Please please don’t tell me it’s actually going to be Aldana x Pennington 2.

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2 weeks in a row. Might have to add ‘El‘ to your name.

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C’mon Louis you’re selling me short. I got 2 weeks as Cheeto, but I had others before the name change bapa. You’re the goat tho my man.

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What's good, Ariel. With ONE Championship coming to the US in May for the first time, it's an exciting time for MMA in the states. ONE championship is unique among US MMA promotions in its showcasing of different martial arts outside of just MMA, not to mentioned the slightly expanded rule-set (i.e. allowing knees to a grounded opponent). I would hate to ruin your relationship with Chatri, but my question is how much of a splash do you think ONE's foray into the States will make? Do you think ONE has potential to gain a foothold in the states and hold regular shows and pull more western talent? What about becoming the Number 2 MMA promotion in the US? Much love. Hope to see the crew in Colorado, can't wait for the fights!

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Good Day Ariel,

You’ve made it pretty clear Hunter Campbell, who has actually made appearances on the hottest new sport, Super Slap or whatever, would be the head man when Dana leaves. Would Hunter also be the face in the public eye the way DW is? Or just keep his role, running things like he does now and have DC, Jon Anik etc. take over as the face of the UFC.

Hope you’ll have a great week and thanks for all the great content!

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Mr Helvani,

I’ll soon be a father to a girl and was wondering what new dad advice you had to offer. Question: Ariel and the Bad Guy was great. Thank you for all of your 10-7s, and thank you for paying me for this question.

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Hi, Have you seen MMAI video on UFC's politics, seams everything is more rotten every layer down...

You think the bubble bursts in our lifetime?

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Howdy Ariel and Crew. My question is inspired by the, in my opinion, laughable "promotion" that Dana put out last week announcing fights. Not only was he late, he lacked passion, and didn't even have a crew competent enough to simulcast to YouTube and Instagram Live like they originally wanted. My question is, when was the last time you remember Dana White promoting with PASSION? Off the top of my head, it would be the Stipe v Ngannou 1, and all that talk about hitting as hard as a Prius on a frictionless plane, or whatever. (It bothered me how disrespectful Dana was to Stipe during all this, but it is what it is, as Holloway would say). Would love to hear y'all's takes. Love and Peace.

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Hey Ariel,

I can understand any potential reticence to speak about this, but I was hoping to hear your thoughts on Bloody Elbow closing up shop.

All the best to you and the boys in the back.

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Hi Ariel, I know bellator indicated they were very interested in Francis, but have we heard anything from PFL or ONE? Honestly, ONE seems like the best fit given the international platform, ability to fight in multiple martial arts, and heavyweight division with some interesting matchups - Arjun Bhullar and Anatoly Malykin (guy who beat Reiner de Ridder) to name a few. Plus, who wouldn't want to see Francis in a spot where the drug testing is... shall we say, lax?

Cheers to you and the crew!

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Hi Ariel, if I remember correctly you use to get guests to sign a whiteboard before they came into the studio. What happened to the whiteboard and do guest still do this?

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Ariel and gang!

If Izzy beats Pereira in April, where does the MW division go from there? Do they once again run it back to settle the best of 3 in MMA?

Rob probably needs at least 1-2 more wins to get a third crack at izzy and other than him, there really aren’t any other contenders. Perhaps Dolidze if he beats Vettori?

Maybe izzy takes the time to bulk up for LHW while MW figures out it’s contenders.

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Hey you SCUMBAG content creator.

Do you think Dana saw what you had to say about him after he grossly and pathetically hit his wife. You nailed it he is who we knew he was !

I'd love to know if he watched that 30 minutes. Or even knows about it.

I know he has blocked you from everything and none of his minions would have the balls to tell him about it but if you had to guess do you think he watched it ?

Man imagine seeing his little reaction ha.

Cheers lads.

NoSoupForYou

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Hello Ariel and team,

With Holloway vs. Allen recently being announced, do you think it should be for the interim featherweight title? I believe Allen deserves it and who knows how long until Volk returns to fight after moving up to fight for the lightweight title.

Thanks guys for always putting out great shows.

-Maverick

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