Ariel Helwani Blasts ESPN: ‘Sad-Sack Fake Journalists’

Ariel Helwani, one of the biggest MMA journalists, left ESPN after the terms of his contract ended. However, now that he’s the most reputable and recognized free-agent in the entirety of MMA journalism, he decided to reveal just how bad a job ESPN does at doing it.

As he appeared on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz” Helwani decided to let loose and reveal how he received too little money in return for his efforts at ESPN, getting removed from the promos of 2 shows which now feature other stars and important events at the UFC being covered by ESPN’s “sad-sack fake journalists.”

Helwani revealed that he was in fact offered a new contract with revised terms, but chose to go past it because he felt that he was being undervalued by the company where he had provided a lot of value.

I don’t want anyone to think that ESPN, you know, fired me, or didn’t extend any contract. They did. Of course, it wasn’t what I was hoping for, and you can come up with your own type of theory as to why they extended the offer they extended. I think I’m worth a lot more than they offered, and I’m out to prove it.

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After Helwani left the company, ESPN ran advertisements for two of his shows, namely “DC & Helwani” and “Ariel & The Bad Guy” which completely ticked him off. He stated:

I’ll just add, you know, the pettiness knows no bounds. The real estate, as they say in Las Vegas, I hear is pretty good these days. For Ariel Helwani, and I’ll talk to myself here in the third person, it’s rent-free.

The former ESPN journalist expressed a lot of discontent over the change in featurette of the shows during the advertising, and said that he was the one promoting them without an end but never even got a plug. Daniel Cormer’s praise to a new talent covering the UFC 264 also hit him personally. While he may be at a phase of transition, hopefully he will have more lucrative opportunities soon.