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A DCBLOG Sports Special
BY DC CUEVA
Amidst my focus on the MTV Trifecta on here and the Summer of Sports blog series I plan to do here also, I wanted to take a moment to do a special edition of DC FORUM to offer my thoughts on a story in the sports and media worlds that has become so big in the past week that it became too big for DCBLOG to ignore. So here we go...
The past week has been a most eventful one for those who follow the fight game: the passing Friday night of the man known as call "The Greatest," Muhammad Ali, the unexpected death of MMA star Kimbo Slice late Monday, and UFC 199 on Saturday night. There at the Forum in Los Angeles, Michael Bisping became the first Englishman to win a UFC championship when he knocked out champion Luke Rockhold for the middleweight title and culminating a long journey to the top of his sport; Dominick Cruz defended his bantamweight strap, and Dan Henderson make what's likely his swan song in the cage after a nearly 20-year career with a great KO win.
Saturday also came news of two major bouts coming to the sport that has seen immense growth in the past several years: mega-star Conor McGregor returning to the Octagon in mid-August at UFC 202 for a rematch with Nate Diaz after he gave the Irishman his first loss in KO fashion; and WWE superstar Brock Lesner returning for what's billed as MMA's own Super Bowl: UFC 200 taking place next month in Las Vegas. That fight card also features Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier for the undisputed light heavyweight crown; Miesha Tate defending against Amanda Nunes the women's bantamweight title once held by Ronda Rousey; Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar for a shot vs. McGregor in the fall; and bouts featuring TJ Dillashaw, Johny Hendricks and others.
Typically, the announcements of these bouts are a tightly-kept secret until they're revealed to the world, but on Saturday the UFC were beaten to the punch by the person who's considered the top journalist in mixed martial arts. Ariel Helwani is to MMA what Adam Schefter and Jay Galzer are to the NFL, Adrian Wojnarowski is to the NBA, Ken Rosenthal in baseball and Bob McKenzie in hockey: the top insiders in the sports they cover and the person fans go to for big news and scoops on their favorite sport. Those stories were broken by Helwani, who works for MMAFighting.com, in the Forum's press room while the undercard bouts took place, just hours before the Lesner and McGregor/Diaz fights were announced on the pay-per-view telecast.
There were no embargoes issued to the press on those fights, so after confirming with his network of sources, Helwani went ahead with reporting the news on his Twitter @ArielHelwani anyway - just as he would do of other stories involving the sport, and almost immediately the news got to the UFC's top brass - including head Dana White and owners Frank & Lorenzo Fertitta (for whom we wrote about of them supporting TJ Lavin in our post on his accident). And in a snap judgement, and also with a checkered history between him and the insider that had developed over the years, White sent people to escort Helwani and two members of his MMA Fighting site from UFC 199 before Bisping's win and blacklisted him from the promotion, all for leaking news of those two fights. Here was Helwani's tweets...
There were no embargoes issued to the press on those fights, so after confirming with his network of sources, Helwani went ahead with reporting the news on his Twitter @ArielHelwani anyway - just as he would do of other stories involving the sport, and almost immediately the news got to the UFC's top brass - including head Dana White and owners Frank & Lorenzo Fertitta (for whom we wrote about of them supporting TJ Lavin in our post on his accident). And in a snap judgement, and also with a checkered history between him and the insider that had developed over the years, White sent people to escort Helwani and two members of his MMA Fighting site from UFC 199 before Bisping's win and blacklisted him from the promotion, all for leaking news of those two fights. Here was Helwani's tweets...
"I was escorted out of the building by Zuffa staff before the main event. Credential taken away, too. Didn't see Bisping realize his dream. My long-time colleagues @ekc and @allelbows were also escorted out of the building w/ me. Sorry to report no post-fight coverage tonight. I love this sport & this job with all my heart. Did nothing unethical. I reported fight news. That's it. & then told we're banned for life. My teammates and friends @Ekc and @allelbows are the very best at what they do. I wish they didn't have to leave with me. They did nothing. Here's hoping cooler heads prevail. I sincerely love every fighter & fan of this sport. You have helped me realize a dream. Thank you." -@ArielHelwani
