‘This is the best podcast I’ve ever been on’ – UFC president Dana White bonds with rising star Paddy Pimblett over MMA journalist’s shared dislike

UFC President Dana White has linked up with Paddy Pimblett over their shared dislike of MMA’s most popular journalist.

Pimblett is in action Saturday night, fighting Jared Gordon at UFC 282 and was able to convince his boss to appear on his podcast during fight week.

The pair previewed the final UFC pay-per-view card of the year and touched on a range of topics, including their mutual dislike of Ariel Helwani.

Helwani is best known for hosting The MMA Hour, but previously worked for Fox and ESPN, having become a prominent figure in the sport after 15 years covering it.

“I hate all these reporters, especially the ones making money with us,” Pimblett said. “Ariel Helwani, in particular, he likes making money from fighters, saying he was fired from all the good jobs he had before.

“Now he’s just a biased content creator. He hates you [Dana White]he hates the UFC, he even hates me now.

“It really annoys me because he uses fighters for clicks, uses fighters to make money, and then tries to have the audacity to talk about the UFC and yourself, saying: “They don’t pay the fighters enough.

Although he has no knowledge of the exact numbers Helwani earns, Pimblett believes it’s enough to pay fighters for interviews.

“Get out your dough, Ariel! Start paying people for these interviews where you make thousands and thousands and thousands of pounds.

White celebrated audibly when Pimblett finished ranting about Helwani who he publicly fell out with and banned from attending UFC events in 2016.

The Baddy went on to explain that his beef with Helwani began when the MMA reporter apparently asked him to pass up a paid interview opportunity elsewhere to speak to him, but refused to pay due to his “journalistic integrity”.

Helwani then went on his podcast and talked about his shock at being asked to pay a fighter for the first time in his career and it didn’t sit well with Pimblett who admits he called it ` `cheeky c***’ via text message. a little after.

Helwani has won Reporter of the Year at the World MMA Awards every year since 2010, but White was also unimpressed and was scathing when he spoke.

“He’s the biggest fuckin’ shit ever and I couldn’t have said it better…He’s one of the slimiest, most villainous motherfuckers you’ll ever meet,” he said. he declares. said.

The 53-year-old clearly enjoyed bashing Helwani as he ended that particular section of the conversation by saying, “This is the best podcast I’ve ever been on!”

Helwani suggested he will respond to White and Pimblett’s comments on the latest episode of his podcast due to air Wednesday night.