The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani

Latest Episodes:

Demetrious Johnson in studio, Shane Burgos in studio, Marlon Vera, Leon Edwards, Bo Nickal, Nate Landwehr, and more Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

Ariel Helwani discusses Rory MacDonald’s retirement and legacy.

Shane Burgos around (14:14) discusses his move to PFL from the UFC, how hard a decision it was to make, if the UFC tried to match, which weight class he would compete in, why he spars just once a week, tests Ariel with his UFC knowledge and vice versa, and more.

Bo Nickal around (1:02:26) discusses his first DWCS experience, his performance, comments from some of the analysts, his treatment by the UFC, how he would do against top fighters, and more.

Nate Landwehr around (1:38:35) discusses his performance at UFC San Diego, why he didn’t get the finish, what he said to David Onama in the hospital, why he chose MMA, and more.

Demetrious Johnson around (2:07:52) discusses his upcoming rematch against Adriano Moraes, his friendship with Henry Cejudo, why he and Cejudo have clicked, why it’s impossible to escape MMA unscathed, why he takes losses so well, Marlon Vera’s recent assessment of Dominick Cruz, why he swears in front of his kids, the time he upset Dana White, when the UFC threatened to close the flyweight division, the origin of the Ben Askren trade, and more.

Marlon Vera around (3:01:43) discusses his big win at UFC San Diego, what he repeated in his head during the fight, if Dominick Cruz surprised him, the pictures his coach sent him, his “electric” walkout, if a title shot is next, if Henry Cejudo will jump the line, his “low level comments,” and more.

Leon Edwards around (3:34:26) discusses his upcoming UFC 278 title fight against Kamaru Usman, Usman’s hand injury, the BT Sport promo, the first fight, and more.

GC, NewYorkRic and Ariel Helwani around (3:49:31) discuss best bets from the past weekend.

They also discuss what’s next for Marlon Vera, Shane Burgos’ move to PFL, the UFC bantamweight Grand Prix, Jon Jones’ possible return this year, and much more.

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Aljamain Sterling, Anthony Smith, Cris Cyborg, Kayla Harrison, Sam Alvey, Juliana Miller, and more Aug 10, 2022

Show notes

Ariel Helwani around (3:43) discusses “Judo” Gene LeBell’s death, and a classic interview with the combat sports pioneer, Bo Nickal’s DWCS debut, and more.

Juliana Miller around (30:31) discusses how she ended up on The Ultimate Fighter, the lockdown before the show, what it was like during the show, her celebration after her big win, her tough childhood, she shows off her nunchucks, and more.

Anthony Smith around (1:05:28) discusses his painful loss at UFC 277, when he broke his leg during the fight, how long he might be out, why he re-signed with the UFC, his thoughts on the light heavyweight division, Luke Rockhold’s changes, troubling weight cuts, and more.

Aljamain Sterlng around (1:37:50) discusses how his title defense ended up at UFC 280, his issues with MMA fans and the UFC brass, facing T.J. Dillashaw, the Sean O’Malley vs. Petr Yan fight, his predictions for big BW clashes in next couple of weeks, his “fun” song, and more.

Sam Alvey around (2:07:23) discusses his most recent loss at UFC Vegas 59, his broken jaw, his UFC departure, if he’s done with MMA, why he doesn’t like Jake Paul, sparring Logan Paul, possibly doing pro wrestling, his tough weight cut, and more.

Cris Cyborg around (2:34:46) breaks news about who she will face in her boxing debut and discusses if she will return to Bellator or stick to boxing, her chances of going to PFL, and more.

GC and Helwani around (2:59:37) break down their best bets for the UFC event this weekend and pick their latest parlay.

In the latest On the Nose around (3:37:36), Ariel Helwani discusses who will get the next bantamweight title shot, the road to be an MMA journalist, if he would have a manager as a fighter, the Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman fight, Cesar Gracie’s recent interview with Sub Radio, how Ariel prepares for interviews, and more.

Kayla Harrison around (4:33:50) makes a surprise appearance to discuss a possible clash with Cris Cyborg, potential PFL talks with Cyborg, why she wants elbows in a possible clash, and more.

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Dominick Cruz, Marlon Vera, Jamahal Hill, Terrance McKinney, Geoff Neal, and more Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

Ariel Helwani and The MMA Hour around (08:32) crew discuss their experience at PFL event Friday, their latest winning parlay, UFC Vegas 59, and the recent Hasim Rahman vs. Jake Paul weigh-in cancellation.

Terrance McKinney around (1:01:54) discusses his latest performance at UFC Vegas 59, the chances he gets to fight Paddy Pimblett, facing possible legends next, and more.

Geoff Neal around (1:20:03) discusses his big win over Vicente Luque at UFC Vegas 59, what it’s like fighting in the UFC Apex, why he called out Gilbert Burns, Burns’ performance against Khamzat Chimaev, Kamaru Usman vs. Leon Edwards, when he would like to return, how a bad tooth created a recent medical scare, and more.

Jamahal Hill around (1:42:47) discusses his big UFC Vegas 59 win over Thiago Santos, if he was nervous heading into main event, where he gets his suits, what’s next, if he’ll be a champ next year, and more.

Conner Burks around (2:03:58) looks back at his best bets for the PFL and UFC Vegas 59.

Dominick Cruz around (2:31:01) discusses his UFC San Diego main event against Chito Vera, why Vera doesn’t seem to like him, why he represents himself in fight negotiations with the UFC, his takeaways from a recent rules seminar, wanting to debate ABC president Mike Mazzulli live on-air, his current zen-like state, Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley, and more.

Marlon Vera around (3:01:29) discusses if his main event clash with Dominick Cruz is the biggest fight of his career, his issues with Petr Yan, why he has asked Cruz to fight backstage, Petr Yan vs. Sean O’Malley and other top bantamweight fights coming up, if he will get a title shot next with a win, his return to Ecuador, if he’s keeping his beard, and more.

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All in-studio edition with Anthony Pettis, Stevie Ray, Josh Silveira, PFL CEO Peter Murray, and more Aug 03, 2022

Show notes

Ariel Helwani around (3:03) delivers some breaking news on Dustin Poirier vs. Michael Chandler, discusses Vin Scully’s recent passing, and more.

PFL CEO Peter Murray around (15:39) discusses where his promotion stands in the world, the critics of their format, if they will do a pay-per-view this year, how many events they plan on holding in 2023, creating a “champions league” for MMA, holding a combine,

Anthony Pettis around (45:03) discusses his PFL rematch with Stevie Ray on Friday, the UFC sending him multiple $1 million bonus checks during his title reign, his gambling success, the biggest bet he’s ever won, being the betting underdog to Ray, whether PFL is ready for PPV, Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev, why fighters are addicted to the fame of fighting in the UFC, doing Sergio’s first UFC interview, this being his final season under PFL contract, and more.

Josh Silveira around (1:17:00) discusses his road to the PFL tournament, his childhood memories with his father as a coach and a fighter, how he feels about Amanda Nunes leaving ATT, what it was like to train with Colby Covington, life in the PFL, and more.

Stevie Ray around (1:46:38) discusses how he ended up with the PFL, what happened with his UFC deal, his “modified Twister” submission against Anthony Pettis, and more.

Ariel Helwani and crew around (2:19:37) reveal their latest MMA parlay and GC makes his best bets for this weekend’s PFL and UFC events.

In On the Nose, Ariel Helwani around (2:46:41) discusses the infamous Dana White interview on the Strikeforce sale, what would happen if Dana White would retire from the UFC, his Barry Bonds memories, his favorite drink, and more.

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UFC 277 reaction, Brandon Moreno, Deiveson Figueiredo, Roberto Soldić, James Krause, and more Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

Ariel Helwani and crew around (8:43) react to a memorable UFC 277, discuss the cancellation of Jake Paul vs. Hasim Rahman Jr., and more after a busy combat sports weekend.

Brandon Moreno around (1:01:15) discuss his injuries from UFC 277, the mind games before the event, his performance, his work with James Krause, the knockout, and more.

Roberto Soldic around (1:29:14) discusses why he left KSW for ONE Championship as a free agent, if he thought about joining the UFC, when he wants to make his ONE debut, if he would box Jake Paul, and more.

Deiveson Figueiredo around (2:01:58) discusses Brandon Moreno’s performance at UFC 277, his post-fight meeting with Moreno after main event, facing Moreno for a fourth time, his new management, if his next fight will be at 125 pounds, where he got his sweater, and more.

James Krause around (2:29:17) discusses his first UFC title win with Brandon Moreno, how Moreno ended up in Kansas City, the knockout of Kai Kara-France, why Krause will never fight again in the Octagon, if a union will happen in the UFC, the favorite moment of his career, and more.

Conner Burks and Ariel Helwani around (3:14:45) wrap up the best bets from UFC 277.

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Sean O’Malley, T.J. Dillashaw, Big E, Megan Anderson, and more Jul 27, 2022

Show notes

High drama to kick off the show as Ariel Helwani, Conner Burks, NewYorkRic, and Mysterious Frank lay out their latest MMA Hour parlay. The gang also reacts to the news of The MMA Hour being nominated for “Best MMA Programming” in the World MMA Awards.

Megan Anderson around (31:10) discusses UFC 277, her life since taking a step back from MMA, her burgeoning streaming empire, whether she’s retired from fighting, her latest opportunities in the film industry, Invicta FC’s use of open scoring, and more.

Big E around (59:45) discusses the fallout from UFC London, his thoughts on Paddy Pimblett, his comeback from a broken neck, whether he’ll ever wrestle again, Amanda Nunes’ rematch against Julianna Pena at UFC 277, and more.

T.J. Dillashaw around (1:33:39) discusses his UFC 280 title fight against Aljamain Sterling, his road back from two surgeries since his win over Cory Sandhagen, Sean O’Malley’s fight against Petr Yan, his recent brush with Paddy Pimblett, USADA re-testing every sample of his dating back to 2016, Henry Cejudo’s comeback, and more.

Sean O’Malley around (1:59:05) discusses his UFC 280 booking against Petr Yan, his no contest against Perdo Munhoz, why he didn’t expect Yan to accept the fight, why he quit streaming on Twitch, being the UFC’s link to the YouTube generation, his plans for Abu Dhabi, Dana White’s comments about the fight, the reaction to Nate Diaz vs. Khamzat Chimaev, Henry Cejudo’s comeback, his current UFC contract, and more.

Ariel and GC around (2:35:02) discuss their best bets for the UFC 277 weekend.

Ariel around (3:01:12) answers your questions about UFC 277's big fights, how the UFC’s PPV points system works, the logical next step for Paddy Pimblett, Vince McMahon’s retirement from WWE, coffee preferences, and more in the latest round of On the Nose.

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Khamzat Chimaev, Curtis Blaydes, Jack Hermansson, Dan Hardy, Muhammad Mokaev, Nathaniel Wood, and more Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

Ariel Helwani, Conner Burks, NewYorkRic, and Mysterious Frank around (3:30) recap their UFC London sleepover adventure, look back on GC’s best bets and the result of the first-ever MMA Hour parlay, matchmake for Paddy Pimblett, and more.

Mohammad Mokaev around (1:00:57) discusses his UFC London win over Charles Johnson, the animosity between the two pre-fight, criticism of his “boring” method of victory, the Prince of Bahrain giving him $100,000 for his win, his targets for his next fight, his attack on Paddy Pimblett, and more.

Jack Hermansson around (1:22:40) discusses his UFC London win over Chris Curtis, the post-fight drama between the two and their subsequent meet-up, whether Darren Till would’ve been a tougher matchup, his theories for Khamzat Chimaev showed up at his gym, the push to get MMA legalized in Norway, who he wants next, and more.

Nathaniel Wood around (1:42:09) discusses his UFC London win over Charles Rosa, his decision to move up to featherweight, how heartbreaking it was to miss March’s trip to London, Mokaev’s criticism of the “Paddy and Molly show,” his excitement at ending a two-year layoff, why he wants to fight Vince Morales next, and more.

Curtis Blaydes around (2:04:14) discusses his UFC London win over Tom Aspinall, the sequence of events that led to Aspinall’s knee injury and his shock at the scene, his experience with the English fans in London, the UFC’s goals of building Aspinall up, his post-fight meet-up over beers with Aspinall, why Aspinall is already better than Derrick Lewis and Tai Tuivasa, the heavyweight title picture with Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic, and more.

Dan Hardy around (2:27:03) reveals an update on his scheduled boxing match with Diego Sanchez and discusses his potential walkout song, the status of his iconic red mohawk, the UFC’s return to London, the Paddy and Molly show, Pimblett’s potential next opponents, comparisons between Pimblett and Conor McGregor, McCann’s improvement, and more.

Khamzat Chimaev around (3:00:00) discusses his UFC 279 matchup against Nate Diaz, how the fight came to be, the reaction to his win over Gilbert Burns, the criticism of Israel Adesanya’s latest performances, Alexander Gustafsson’s tough stretch, and more.

GC and Helwani around (3:39:01) recap their best bets from UFC London, and more.

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Valentina Shevchenko, Rafael Fiziev, Ricky Simón, Arnold Allen, and more Jul 20, 2022

Show notes

Rafael Fiziev around (7:33) discusses his win after UFC Vegas 58, the injuries he suffered, when he would like to return, who the “little coward” is, why he didn’t call out Conor McGregor, why he wants Justin Gaethje next, who wins Charles Oliveira vs. Islam Makhachev title fight, his viral callouts, and more.

Ricky Simón around (31:58) discusses his performance at UFC Long Island, Jack Shore’s gameplan, his “callout” of Sean O’Malley, O’Malley’s “boring” effort against Pedro Munhoz, how his confidence has changed, losing his AirPod in a toilet, and more.

Valentina Shevchenko around (1:02:44) discusses her tough win over Talia Santos at UFC 275, how much time between weigh-ins and the start of the event, if she was close to tapping, the head butt, the injury she suffered training in Singapore before the fight, the Miesha Tate vs. Lauren Murphy fight, the trash-talkers in the flyweight division, if she’s going to challenge for bantamweight title next, and more.

Arnold Allen around (1:32:53) discusses why he’s not fighting at the O2 Arena, his hand injuries, how close he is to a title shot, Alexander Volkanovski’s last fight, his YouTube channel, who he wants next, Paddy Pimblett’s return, and more.

GC and Helwani around (2:10:51) take a closer look at the best bets for UFC London and reveal the first MMA Hour Parlay of the Week.

In the latest On the Nose around (2:44:55), Ariel Helwani discusses how Nate Diaz will headline a main event against Khamzat Chimaev, the UFC heavyweight title picture, the UFC London main event, the rise of Charles Oliveira, UFC 281 and UFC 282 possible headliners, and more.

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Alexander Volkanovski, Yair Rodriguez, Hasim Rahman Jr., Shane Burgos, Dustin Jacoby, Matt Schnell, and more Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

Yair Rodriguez discusses around (6:27) his performance against Brian Ortega at UFC Long Island, why he let go of submission, the critics of his win, if he will get a title shot next, if he’s interested in an interim title, and more.

Dustin Jacoby discusses around (31:02) his performance at UFC Long Island, why he almost called it quits several years ago, how he ended up on DWCS, why he was nervous before the fight, how he got his nickname, what it was like to face Alex Pereira, and more.

Hasim Rahman Jr. discusses around (1:00:38) facing Jake Paul next, how he ended up sparring him, why he was upset in the sparring video released, how he ended up with the Paul fight, what he thinks of Paul as a person and a boxer, the rehydration rules after weigh-ins, Paul’s latest viral video, and more.

Matt Schnell discusses around (1:35:06) his win at UFC Long Island, how he gave himself a black eye, why he didn’t wrestle in high school, being on MTV’s ‘Caged,’ who he wants next, his favorite sports cards, who will win the UFC 277 flyweight title fight, and more.

Shane Burgos discusses around (1:58:55) his performance at UFC Long Island, if he was worried about scores from the judges, free agency, his unique look, MMA trivia, and more.

GC, NewYorkRic, and Ariel Helwani discuss around (2:22:46) the best bets from UFC Long Island, the Nate Diaz situation, their trips to UBS Arena on Saturday night, and what’s next after UFC Long Island.

Alexander Volkanovski discusses around (3:29:31) the latest on his hand injury, how he fought with it during UFC 276, why he was so confident heading into the trilogy, why he was so fired up after the fight, his new contract, his possible return, the Yair Rodriguez vs. Brian Ortega fight, challenging for the lightweight title, and more.

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Alex Pereira, Jan Blachowicz, Sean Brady, Maycee Barber, and more Jul 13, 2022

Show notes

Ariel Helwani and GC discuss Helwani’s memorable interview with Nate Diaz on Tuesday. They also discuss the press conference between Jake Paul and Hasim Rahman Jr.

Maycee Barber around (31:17) discusses her big win at UFC 276, fishing, her upcoming contract talks, dealing with critics after her losing streak, the Jon Jones record goal, bouncing back from an ACL injury, the move to Team Alpha Male, when she would like to return, and more.

Alex Pereira around (1:01:02) discusses his rise to contender for UFC middleweight title, Sean Strickland’s strategy, Israel Adesanya’s performance at UFC 276, if he will get the next title shot, his past fights with Adesanya, and more.

Sean Brady around (1:28:44) discusses his upcoming fight with Belal Muhammad, how he ended up with the clash, his nose injury, his win over Michael Chiesa, how he has never left the United States, and more.

Jan Blachowicz around (01:50:50) explains his recent tweet to Jiri Prochazka, what he thought about Prochzaka’s recent video, if he thinks he might be able to get the title shot next, what he said to Prochazka at UFC 275, what’s the key to beating the champ, his picture with Kamaru Usman, Israel Adesanya’s performance against Jared Cannonier, if he would go to middleweight, Joanna Jedrzejczyk’s legacy, and more.

GC and Helwani around (2:16:16) discuss GC’s best bets for UFC Long Island.In the latest edition of On the Nose, Ariel Helwani discusses the UFC and its use of “independent contractors,” UFC rematches, Dana White’s $250k gift to the Nelk Boys, GC and New York Ric headed to UFC Long Island, what if Miesha Tate loses in flyweight debut, and more.

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