114 Comments

Hello Ariel, greetings from the Netherlands.

GLORY Collision 4: Badr Hari vs Alistair Overeem will take place in four weeks on October 8. Big event over here in the Netherlands, taking place in a sold out football stadium.

I was wondering, what do you think about inviting Badr Hari to The MMA Hour leading up to his trilogy fight with Alistair Overeem?

Would be cool to have an kickboxing icon like Badr on the show.

Viva Helwani!

Kind regards,

Maurits School

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Hi Ariel,

2 questions for you:

Win or lose Saturday night, do you think the UFC allows Rogan to interview Nate post-fight and risk him saying something negative about the company?

Anderson Silva and Jake Paul fight is a little under 8 weeks away. Is this a fight that Anderson Silva has known about or is the short prep time a tactic (similar to weight cutting clause) Jake’s team is using to give him an advantage?

Thank you,

Amin

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Favorite segment of the week. What are your thoughts on Nathan Diaz saying about his upcoming fight against Khamzat “What they got me doing right now is acting like I called for this fight, which I didn't call for, and I don't want, didn't want and still don't want.” If it were up to you, who would you matchup for Diaz in potentially his last UFC fight?

Thanks,

Logan

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Hi Ariel,

What are your thoughts on Leon saying that he wants to get a 'quick' fight this October before the Usman rematch? Do you think UFC will give him a Gilbert or Jorge or even winner of Khamzat/Diaz or rest him up until the rematch with Kamaru?

Thanks,

Ben

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Hey Ariel,

Missed having you as a part of the routine this week, but hope you all enjoyed the well deserved break! My question is pertaining to the rumored announcement of Darren Till returning in December to fight Dricus du Plessis at UFC 282. Im curious if we’ll ever get to hear your side of the story in regard to the leaked phone number and if this leak means we will not see the gorilla ever return to the MMA Hour?

With high regard,

Vincent

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First off, I am a long time listener of the last decade and big fan of you and your work. I feel that the show has gotten better and better overtime. I drive roughly 1100 miles a week for work and the two episodes each week really help me get through my work week.

I was wondering if you could clarify something in this question. Can you clarify the meaning of being a “star” vs being popular when it comes to a particular fighter. I feel that the word “star” is thrown around too loosely.

For example, Nathan Diaz is fighting this weekend. Everyone says that he is a massive star but is unable to sell a lot of ppv’s. For example, when Nathan fought Jorge for the BMF title they only sold around 100k ppv’s. To put that into perspective when Dillashaw fought Barao at ufc 173 they sold roughly 135k ppv’s. The only big time ppv’s he was apart of was both conor fights but to be fair, conor easily sells 1 million ppvs by himself.

We can all agree that Diaz has a cult following and is loved by some fans, but that doesn't translate to ppv buys. In my opinion, Diaz may be popular but to suggest he is a star is not accurate, especially when comparing to the actual stars as in conor, brock, gsp and ronda. Sorry for the question being so long but i feel i needed to provide context.

Give my love to the team and keep up the great work!

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Hey ariel..

1. I'm making the trip to Vegas from Ireland for the fight at the weekend. What are ur favourite non fight related things to do in Vegas?

2. Thoughts on the CM punk situation at AEW? Looks like he may be suspended after the fight backstage. Do you think there is any possible way he would go back into business with WWE now that vince is gone?

Thanks as always for the content

Eamon

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Hi Ariel,

Lets get personal! I'd love to hear about how you met your wife and whether she and/or your kids are interested in MMA.

Thanks,

Su

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Unmasking Mysterious Frank

(NOTE TO LOUIS: not sure if visual aids are possible, but if the team in the back can make it happen it'd bring the below to life a bit more).

Over the years there have been a number of Helwani dopplegangers. Two of my favourites are Nandor from "What we do in the shadows" (https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQQXSUDXnpCHxCe88Ln8ayMTfoyem5ssMTd6A&usqp=CAU) and the guy that went viral singing "Call me maybe" on Chat Roulette (https://youtu.be/KAQhG59zqZc).

Got me thinking - I love the mystery surrounding mysterious Frank and his appearance. I don't think I ever want to actually see his face - it'd feel like someone spoiling the ending of a good movie. But to feed our imagination a little more, wondering if the whole crew can put forward their Mysterious Frank doppleganger suggestion so we can imagine the face behind the mic.

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Thoughts on BKFC fighter Tai Emery's post fight Celebration? You may have missed it, it happened in a Flash...considering OnlyFans is a sponsor for BKFC is this just par for the course? What would happen to a UFC fighter if this had happened there?

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Good to have you back! Here’s a question which I’m interested in your take on, as you are both a self confessed germophobe and a collector of mma memorabilia. After wins we often see fighters take out their mouthpiece and throw it on to the crowd. Let’s imagine you’re in the arena, Leon Edwards has just landed that headkick, everyone’s on their feet and as you are stood there having just witnessed history you see the mouthpiece flying through the air right towards you. What do you do?

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Shalom Ariel!

Did you enjoy your experience watching a Premier League game live in person?

Can you and the MMA Hour team provide your predictions for the winner of Premier League and the winner of Champions League for the 2022-2023 season?

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Lord Ariel of Noseville, I wonder your viewpoint on whether we would ever see Jake or Logan fighting in MMA. Are there any top level fighters that you think they do well against? I personally think they’d do well against a Masvidal style fighter. Someone who brings a fight but will ultimately want to stand and trade with them. Thoughts?

Thanks,

Steve (Yorkshire, UK)

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What are your thoughts on the way the Buffalo Bills handled the Matt Araiza situation? Should a player be kicked off the team before due process? Seems like the court of public opinion found him guilty then the Bills took action...just curious your thoughts. Thanks

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Hi Ariel,

What were your thoughts on CM Punk’s comments at the AEW press conference? It was so painfully awkward looking at Tony Khan as CM Punk was going off. Seemed a little disrespectful to the company. Do you have any more insight on what exactly Punk was so angry about? I’ve never seen one of their press conferences before so maybe the F bombs are normal. Thanks.

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Why do you think Leon Edwards immediately jumped the cage after his KO win and hi fived Dana White? You would think after the shit Dana said about him and all the dismissing of Leon over the past numerous months that Leon would have no interest in being cool with him. I just thought it was weird. Thanks

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