Francis Ngannou vs. Dana White is one of the biggest feuds/stories of the year. The announcement of Ngannou vs. Fury is arguably the climax of that feud. That being said, I have a two-part question:
1) How is it possible that no media member has asked Dana White for his reaction to this blockbuster announcement?
2) Is it possible that some form of gag order was placed on the media from broaching this subject to Dana White?
As someone who does not follow wrestling as intently as MMA, would you be able to provide your thoughts on the loss of Bray Wyatt. When I saw the news, I instantly thought of your interview with Triple H, where you had asked about his return to the WWE. Can you put into perspective the impact he had on the sport and what his legacy will be.
what are your thoughts on the CM Punk AEW drama that transpired over the last week, from backstage fights to getting fired? Do you see him back in WWE?
Welcome back from your hiatus, I hope you had a great time with your family and are enjoying your new pearly whites. I too have decided to make my long awaited return to On The Nose today!
Max Holloway proved once again that he is still a dominant force at featherweight with his spectacular KO of the Korean Zombie at UFC Singapore. It doesn’t seem like he’s going to get another title shot anytime soon, as long as Volk is the champ. Do you think Max’s next fight will be at 155, and who are some potential opponents for him? I personally would love to see a rematch with Charles Oliveira at 155 since their first fight in 2015 ended in the first round due to a neck injury to Charles. What do you and the guys want to see next for Max?
Glad you're all back. Hope you all enjoyed your time away. Q - How bad did Merab/Team Longo drop by the ball by not confronting Suga Sean in the Octagon after his W? Looks like now neither Aljo nor Merab will be next but they could have easily been in the main spot if Merab would have got in his face or something. Thoughts?
At what point do we start including Izzy in GOAT conversations? If he wins this weekend he will have 6 title defenses to his name and be a 2x champ. His only meaningful loss, in my opinion, is his loss to Pereira which he then went on to avenge. How many more wins does he need to rack up in order to be in the same conversation as Jones/GSP as the GOAT? Does he need to win the title at 205 to be considered?
What do you make of the differing UFC292 buy numbers spouted between Henry and Suga… 350K to 570K. If it’s closer to 350K or if Suga’s claim that Aljo/Henry did 135K (was he trolling?), then does your nose detect the slightest.. faintest early whiff of change brewing that will force the UFC to evolve with the class action lawsuit looming, declining stock price, PFL/Bellator/Saudi $, Dana’s never ending bitchy mood, and ESPN deal up for renegotiation?
Also, beyond the regular subscribe/listen/watch actions, what small actions can people take to support your show and MMAfighting.com that would be helpful? For example, divert all individual traffic from ESPN’s mma page to mmafighting.com?
You’ve been featured/interviewed on a couple different documentaries talking about connor and jake paul. My question is about what it’s like to be on those documentaries. Did you feel the questions they asked were geared to get you talking about a certain topic or go in a certain direction? And did you know the topics or questions they were going to have you talk about beforehand?
For UFC 292 my friends and I had a watch party and someone brought a dyanometer, which is a device you squeeze to measure grip strength. We had a blast messing around with it, and I couldn't help but think about how much fun The MMA Hour crew and future in-studio guests would have with it.
They're cheap about $20 on Amazon, I know GC likes ordering stuff so why not order one and keep one in studio and have in-studio guests whether fighters or not give their all on the dyanometer. I think it would be a fascinating database to look back at years from now and see who had the highest grip strength. Would also love to see who on the crew has the highest, my guess is Frank.
It's your friend Eran from Israel. Glad to have you back, we missed you and the crew.
I would like to hear your thoughts about the $100M the Saudi fund invested in PFL. Do you think that on the long run PFL would have a chance to pass the UFC in terms of popularity?
Hola Ariel, 2-part question for you. As a fellow disliker of pools, I was elated to hear you push back on the pro-pool propaganda being forced on you by the rest of the team a few weeks ago. My first question is an etiquette one: if a group of friends invites you to the pool but you have no interest in swimming, how do you handle that invitation? Go and sit by the pool? Offer to be in charge of the BBQ? Don’t go at all? Second question, why is it that people who love pools/swimming tend to be unable to accept that others may just not like it? It feels like a socially unacceptable thing to dislike swimming; if you sit out it always leads to people pressuring you to get in, and then you have to deal with the fallout of them being disappointed when you don’t get in, even if it was clear from the jump that you weren’t interested. Always a tough situation. Thank you for your insight Mr Helwani and welcome back we missed you
This isn’t a question but more that I want to congratulate the team for stepping up while Ariel was on holiday, they did a fantastic job. GC played the role perfectly, with the low key bullying of Frank and the Ariel personification. The show is really a great moment every time I watch it, and I’m glad you guys are all keeping it alive.
By the way, to support GC, I also got a switch at 29 years old, and I’m also playing breath of the wild at the moment. Can’t agree more that this is a great purchase.
Hello Ariel,
This Saturday the legendary Badr Hari will take on former UFC-fighter James McSweeney in the main-event of GLORY 88 in Paris.
Any predictions for this fight?
Viva Helwani and greetings from the Netherlands,
Maurits School
Francis Ngannou vs. Dana White is one of the biggest feuds/stories of the year. The announcement of Ngannou vs. Fury is arguably the climax of that feud. That being said, I have a two-part question:
1) How is it possible that no media member has asked Dana White for his reaction to this blockbuster announcement?
2) Is it possible that some form of gag order was placed on the media from broaching this subject to Dana White?
Shalom Ariel!
You always provide a great commentary about soccer!
Can you provide your predictions for the current season of Premier League, La Liga, MLS and Champions League?
Hey Ariel,
As someone who does not follow wrestling as intently as MMA, would you be able to provide your thoughts on the loss of Bray Wyatt. When I saw the news, I instantly thought of your interview with Triple H, where you had asked about his return to the WWE. Can you put into perspective the impact he had on the sport and what his legacy will be.
Helwani 10-7
Zach
Ariel,
what are your thoughts on the CM Punk AEW drama that transpired over the last week, from backstage fights to getting fired? Do you see him back in WWE?
Hello Ariel!
Welcome back from your hiatus, I hope you had a great time with your family and are enjoying your new pearly whites. I too have decided to make my long awaited return to On The Nose today!
Max Holloway proved once again that he is still a dominant force at featherweight with his spectacular KO of the Korean Zombie at UFC Singapore. It doesn’t seem like he’s going to get another title shot anytime soon, as long as Volk is the champ. Do you think Max’s next fight will be at 155, and who are some potential opponents for him? I personally would love to see a rematch with Charles Oliveira at 155 since their first fight in 2015 ended in the first round due to a neck injury to Charles. What do you and the guys want to see next for Max?
Glad you're all back. Hope you all enjoyed your time away. Q - How bad did Merab/Team Longo drop by the ball by not confronting Suga Sean in the Octagon after his W? Looks like now neither Aljo nor Merab will be next but they could have easily been in the main spot if Merab would have got in his face or something. Thoughts?
Yo Ariel,
At what point do we start including Izzy in GOAT conversations? If he wins this weekend he will have 6 title defenses to his name and be a 2x champ. His only meaningful loss, in my opinion, is his loss to Pereira which he then went on to avenge. How many more wins does he need to rack up in order to be in the same conversation as Jones/GSP as the GOAT? Does he need to win the title at 205 to be considered?
HOT TAKE:
The FREE UFC Fight Night Grasso vs Schevchenko 2 is a better card than UFC 293
Do you and the boys agree or disagree??
I agree. 293 is trash for a PPV.
Hola Ariel
What do you make of the differing UFC292 buy numbers spouted between Henry and Suga… 350K to 570K. If it’s closer to 350K or if Suga’s claim that Aljo/Henry did 135K (was he trolling?), then does your nose detect the slightest.. faintest early whiff of change brewing that will force the UFC to evolve with the class action lawsuit looming, declining stock price, PFL/Bellator/Saudi $, Dana’s never ending bitchy mood, and ESPN deal up for renegotiation?
Also, beyond the regular subscribe/listen/watch actions, what small actions can people take to support your show and MMAfighting.com that would be helpful? For example, divert all individual traffic from ESPN’s mma page to mmafighting.com?
Ariel, how the hell you been?!
What’s good!,
You’ve been featured/interviewed on a couple different documentaries talking about connor and jake paul. My question is about what it’s like to be on those documentaries. Did you feel the questions they asked were geared to get you talking about a certain topic or go in a certain direction? And did you know the topics or questions they were going to have you talk about beforehand?
Happy UFC PPV week!,
-Isaac
Bonjour Lord Ariel,
For UFC 292 my friends and I had a watch party and someone brought a dyanometer, which is a device you squeeze to measure grip strength. We had a blast messing around with it, and I couldn't help but think about how much fun The MMA Hour crew and future in-studio guests would have with it.
They're cheap about $20 on Amazon, I know GC likes ordering stuff so why not order one and keep one in studio and have in-studio guests whether fighters or not give their all on the dyanometer. I think it would be a fascinating database to look back at years from now and see who had the highest grip strength. Would also love to see who on the crew has the highest, my guess is Frank.
God bless and thanks for what you do.
Shalom Ariel!
It's your friend Eran from Israel. Glad to have you back, we missed you and the crew.
I would like to hear your thoughts about the $100M the Saudi fund invested in PFL. Do you think that on the long run PFL would have a chance to pass the UFC in terms of popularity?
Thanks as always!
Hola Ariel, 2-part question for you. As a fellow disliker of pools, I was elated to hear you push back on the pro-pool propaganda being forced on you by the rest of the team a few weeks ago. My first question is an etiquette one: if a group of friends invites you to the pool but you have no interest in swimming, how do you handle that invitation? Go and sit by the pool? Offer to be in charge of the BBQ? Don’t go at all? Second question, why is it that people who love pools/swimming tend to be unable to accept that others may just not like it? It feels like a socially unacceptable thing to dislike swimming; if you sit out it always leads to people pressuring you to get in, and then you have to deal with the fallout of them being disappointed when you don’t get in, even if it was clear from the jump that you weren’t interested. Always a tough situation. Thank you for your insight Mr Helwani and welcome back we missed you
Hey Ariel and crew, long time first time.
This isn’t a question but more that I want to congratulate the team for stepping up while Ariel was on holiday, they did a fantastic job. GC played the role perfectly, with the low key bullying of Frank and the Ariel personification. The show is really a great moment every time I watch it, and I’m glad you guys are all keeping it alive.
By the way, to support GC, I also got a switch at 29 years old, and I’m also playing breath of the wild at the moment. Can’t agree more that this is a great purchase.