In 2016, Dana White told TMZ Sports, “As long as I’m here… he can cover all the events he wants, he just can’t have a credential.” The UFC boss made it clear that he would permanently ban senior journalist Ariel Helwani from covering any future UFC events as long as he remained in charge. At the time, Helwani worked for SB Nation’s MMAFighting.com.  White grew furious because Helwani reported Brock Lesnar’s return at UFC 200 before the UFC officially announced it at UFC 199.

Helwani’s scoop on Lesnar — which he posted ahead of the UFC announcement — led to him being escorted from UFC 199 and his credentials being revoked. The UFC lifted the credential ban just days later after public and media backlash; MMAFighting regained credentials.

Additionally, Ariel Helwani also revealed the Conor McGregor vs. Nate Diaz rematch for UFC 202 ahead of time. As a result, White revoked Helwani’s “credentials,” which directly affected Helwani’s livelihood. While the credential removal was immediate, the ban was rescinded on June 6, 2016 — Helwani returned to covering UFC events for MMAFighting after the reversal. However, the personal relationship between Helwani and Dana White remained fractured: Helwani has said he hasn’t interviewed White since the incident. Although the UFC later lifted the ban, the former ESPN journalist has not attended UFC events since, largely due to his strained relationship with White. Helwani says he only did his job and did not “leak” information, but the trust between them never recovered.

More recently, Ariel Helwani faces fresh controversy involving YouTuber-turned-WWE star Logan Paul. During Paul’s ‘IMPAULSIVE’ podcast, ‘ accused Helwani of leaking details about his rumored boxing match with Conor McGregor in India, reportedly backed by the Ambani family. However, the bout never materialized, and the hype died down—something Paul blames on Helwani.

Speaking about it, Logan Paul said, “You did the Conor thing.” Helwani responded, “What Conor thing?” ‘reminded him of their conversation last year: “You did. Tell me. Uh-uh. When it was rumored that I was fighting McGregor… you—you DM’d me and said, ‘Is it true?’… And I said, ‘At the moment, no.’ And I didn’t say, ‘This is proprietary information, and I’d like to keep this rumor going for clout,’ but maybe I should have… But you went—you went right on your show and said, ‘They don’t have anything in place.’”

The planned Conor McGregor vs. Logan Paul exhibition boxing match at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, however, never came to fruition. This was seemingly due to ‘The Notorious’s UFC contract, which currently requires him to fulfill two more fights with the promotion before he becomes a free agent. Dana White and Co. effectively shut down any hope for McGregor’s return via boxing, making it clear that such a fight was not going to happen.

Conor McGregor and Jake Paul reacted to UFC’s broadcast shakeup with Paramount+

Before the ESPN-UFC deal, Fox served as the UFC’s broadcast home. Fox signed the partnership in 2011 and aired UFC prelim fights, some fight nights, and the main cards on Fox and Fox Sports 1. At that time, fans who purchased the PPVs also watched re-airings of major pay-per-view events. Now, UFC has moved away from the traditional pay-per-view model that began in 1993 with its new 7-year deal with Paramount.

After decades, UFC has chosen to follow other major sports leagues by shifting to OTT platforms and CBS to bring fights directly to fans. This shift highlights a notable moment for Conor McGregor, whose UFC 229 bout still holds the record for the highest pay-per-view buys at 2.4 million.

That record remains unbroken, and fans forever remember UFC 229 for McGregor’s fight against Khabib Nurmagomedov. Reflecting on this, Conor McGregor recently wrote on X, “goodbye UFC PPV! proud to serve as king.”

However, the Paramount deal also opened an immediate debate about fighter pay and revenue transparency. Jake Paul reacted on X, writing: “Every fighter in the UFC now has a clear picture of what the revenue is… no more PPV excuses. Get your worth boys and girls.” The remark reflects a broader industry pressure point: whether the huge broadcast fees will translate into higher purses for fighters, or whether the promotion will retain most of the windfall. Fighters, former champions and labour observers have publicly questioned whether the structural change will materially raise fighter pay without formal protections or greater transparency.

What’s your take on Dana White & Co. moving away from the pay-per-view model? Do you think fighter pay will drop as Dana White expects, or will it go the other way? Share your prediction below.