MMA Off-Topic

[DJ]

Just 42 years old. Way too young to pass. He certainly led an interesting life. Who else can say they went from backyard brawler to UFC headliner?

R.I.P.

[WarMMA]

Damn man...R.I.P Kimbo. He may not have been great, but he was definitely an entertaining guy to watch.

[DJ]

Quote: Originally Posted by aholbert32

On another note, the UFC has reinstated Helwani.

Calculated wording by the UFC in its statement, and they are clearly still very pissed at Ariel. It'll be interesting to hear how Ariel is treated at the next UFC show.

[Dave_S]

Considering Dana said he will never get press credentials while he's in charge I suspect there will be bitterness for sure, but I would expect the UFC employees that are actually professionals will treat them just fine. I expect the UFC won't feed Helwani info for a while, and it's probably been a pretty terrible day for UFC employees that work Dana and Lorenzo.

[Yaari]

How very sad to hear about Kimbo's passing. Especially since he was active so recently.

I didn't became a fan because of him because I was already watching then, but seeing him in Strikeforce etc after originally only knowing him from his backyard brawls was amazing.

He seemed like a genuinely nice person too.

[Phobia]

The whole dictatorship thing the UFC has going on is starting to wear thin. It just shows how petty and unprofessional they are as a whole or maybe its just Dana and the Fertitta's, either way it looks bad because it has this "I have the power and get my way" stink to it.

Ban the man for doing his job? Really? Most of the time he is helping the UFC with their gate numbers, it sure isn't hurting by reporting on up coming match-ups.

Now I seen the UFC has reinstated his credentials but the statement still rings of self-righteousness, as if they worked out a deal on what Ariel can cover. They are acting shady, like they can silence journalist.........I feel for Ariel though. He has been nothing but professional from what I've seen and to be treated this way surely has to feel like a slap in the face.

[Money99]

Still in shock over Kimbo's death.
I know he was older and carried a lot of muscle, but as his career went on, he seemed to gas earlier and earlier.
That's why I wonder if his death is heart related. Maybe he had a genetic condition?

He also came across as quite humble - at least in some of the interviews I read.
RIP big man.

P.S. Phobia, I love your avatar. I'm in love with Gina Carano. She's been#1 on my Hall Pass list for quite some time.

[aholbert32]

Quote: Originally Posted by Phobia

The whole dictatorship thing the UFC has going on is starting to wear thin. It just shows how petty and unprofessional they are as a whole or maybe its just Dana and the Fertitta's, either way it looks bad because it has this "I have the power and get my way" stink to it. Ban the man for doing his job? Really? Most of the time he is helping the UFC with their gate numbers, it sure isn't hurting by reporting on up coming match-ups. Now I seen the UFC has reinstated his credentials but the statement still rings of self-righteousness, as if they worked out a deal on what Ariel can cover. They are acting shady, like they can silence journalist.........I feel for Ariel though. He has been nothing but professional from what I've seen and to be treated this way surely has to feel like a slap in the face.

Lets not act like Ariel has been a saint. What the UFC did was absolutely wrong but it was primarily because they banned the entire site for what Ariel did. A press credential isnt a right. Its a privilege. Teams in major sports have pulled press credentials for negative coverage of their teams so this isnt new.

Here are the things that Ariel did that pissed off the UFC:

- Covered a Bellator press conference while he was technically a Zuffa employee.

- Did an interview with Rory McDonald that was seen as him encouraging Rory to consider Free Agency while Ariel was a Zuffa employee.

- Asked Travis Browne questions about his relationship with Ronda before they officially went public. (He asked Travis before hand so I dont have an issue with this).

- Had an interview with Nate Diaz that was widely seen as anti-UFC and he failed to challenge any of the blatant false statements Diaz made.

- Broke the Brock story without attempting to get a comment from the UFC which is against journalistic protocol.

So I get why the UFC is pissed. They arent in the business of granting press credentials to journalists who are really negative about the business.

They also dont really need him. I love Ariel and the MMA world does too but if he retired tomorrow, the MMA world doesnt change. The UFC announces all of its fights through its social media channels. It conducts its own interviews with fighters. Major outlets like ESPN and Fox give them plenty of coverage.

Back in the day, sites like Sherdog and MMAFighting were necessary. Now they are mostly just reporting what everyone else does.

I still dont think what the UFC did was right but I can understand it. Its funny because after hearing Ariel on the MMA Hour, I was less sympathetic for him (even though he was crying). He admitted to getting paid by the UFC for years (which he never disclosed) and seemed to have lame excuses for some of the things that he did to hurt his relationship with the UFC.