Ariel Helwani, Brendan Schaub and Joe Rogan beef explained after the MMA journalist fired shots at the podcast hosts on his show The MMA Hour. The drama stems from Helwani’s ban from the UFC, and Schaub’s recent comments about him.
Where did the Ariel Helwani beef with Joe Rogan start?
Ariel Helwani is the most famous journalist in MMA.
After working for ESPN for many years, hosting Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Ariel and the Bad Guy on ESPN+ and the DC & Helwani podcast, Helwani left the network in 2021.
Level Playing Field | Official Promo | HBO
He now works for MMA Fighting and Vox Media, as well as BT Sport and The Ringer.
In 2016, though, Ariel was well and truly in the inner circles of the UFC.
However, he was banned from all UFC events for life by Dana White after he allegedly revealed information about Brock Lesnar’s return to UFC 200 before the official announcement.
At the time, UFC commentator Joe Rogan said that Helwani was asked to not report the news. He added that the UFC believed there was a mole leaking information to the journalist, which was harming the promotion in the process.
At the time Ariel said this wasn’t true.
Rogan spoke about the drama in an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, which you can watch below.
Brendan Schaub recently spoke about Ariel Helwani on his own podcast
This incident was recently brought up by former UFC lightweight, and longtime friend of Rogan, Brendan Schaub, on his own podcast.
Speaking on Below the Belt, Schaub essentially said that Helwani was notoriously difficult to work with.
Schaub claimed that he had “heard from million people he [Helwani] doesn’t play well with others.”
He added: “Anybody I know who’s ever worked with him, does not have nice things to say.”
You can hear Schaub talking about Helwani here.
Ariel fires back at both Rogan and Schaub
Ariel first fired back at Joe Rogan and Brendan Schaub while speaking to UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling on an episode of The MMA Hour.
“What Joe Rogan had spewed is 1000% false. What Brendan Schaub has then paraded is 1000% false,” he said.
Check out the footage below.
However, Ariel then followed that up during a segment on The MMA Hour.
He revealed that Schaub had texted him to apologise, but Helwani told him he should do it on the airwaves so the public know the truth.
You can watch the full show where Ariel addresses the beef here.
Both Rogan and Schaub are yet to respond.
