Ariel Helwani responds to Dana White and Paddy Pimblett going after him in their recent podcast

Ariel Helwani has found himself on the receiving end of considerable criticism from UFC president Dana White and UFC superstar Paddy Pimblett. Ahead of his much-awaited lightweight bout against Jared Gordon at UFC 282 on December 10, Pimblett relentlessly sounded off on Ariel Helwani.

On his Chattin Pony podcast featuring White as a guest, Pimblett labeled Helwani a "rat" who earns large sums off fighters by procuring free interviews with them. 'The Baddy' highlighted that Helwani has been badmouthing him [Pimblett] and his manager Graham Boylan. Pimblett further claimed that Helwani was a "biased content creator," not a journalist.

Meanwhile, Dana White referenced his own long-running rivalry with Ariel Helwani. White referred to Helwani as one of the "slimiest, scummiest motherfu****s" one could ever come across.

In the latest edition of The MMA Hour, Helwani refuted Pimblett and White's accusations. He explained that he's grown immune to being consistently castigated by White.

Helwani pointed out that his respect for White as a promoter, businessman, and, most importantly, as a human being is "non-existent." Helwani said:

"I've said this before. I don't view him [White] as a human. I just view him as an entity. I view him as the face of the organization [UFC] that we talk about ad nauseam [tirelessly] on this show and other shows."

Furthermore, Ariel Helwani acknowledged that Paddy Pimblett did clash with him in their private conversations in 2021, but this is the first time 'The Baddy' has spoken about their feud on a public platform. That said, Helwani stated that he's still ready to bury the hatchet with Pimblett if the latter is willing.

Watch Helwani discuss the topic in detail at 3:45 in the video below:

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A closer look at Ariel Helwani's feud with Dana White and Paddy Pimblett

Back in 2016, the UFC banned Helwani from covering its events after he reportedly leaked the news regarding Brock Lesnar's UFC 200 return before the organization could make an official announcement. Dana White and the UFC brass were said to be extremely displeased with Helwani's actions.

The pre-existing differences between Helwani and White reached a crescendo courtesy of the incident. Moreover, to this day, Helwani and White haven't reconciled.

As for Ariel Helwani's issues with Paddy Pimblett, Helwani's known to have long been one of his biggest supporters over the past few years, well before 'The Baddy' became a UFC fighter.

However, in November 2021, they fell out with one another after Pimblett's manager purportedly alluded that Helwani ought to pay his client for gaining an interview with him.

Helwani refused to do so and messaged Pimblett, who then fired back at the journalist. Their back-and-forth online chats swiftly escalated and thereby dented their professional relationship.