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Ariel Helwani Takes a Nasty Swipe at Dana White After Interview Addressing the Wife Incident: “He’s More of a Deterrent at This Point…”

Published 01/12/2023, 1:44 AM EST

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Dana White is surrounded by controversies from the start of the year. Ever since ‘the video’ went viral, he has been subject to criticism and scrutiny from the MMA world and media. Moreover, California Legislators are demanding for an “immediate removal” of the UFC President from his position. White spoke about all this in a recent interview. However, his views are not resonating with the mind of controversial journalist Ariel Helwani. The former ESPN journalist has his say on Dana White’s recent statement regarding his actions on his show, “The MMA Hour”.

Ariel Helwani disagrees with Dana White’s comments in the interview

Dana White discussed in the press the controversial viral video of New Year’s eve. The UFC President discussed what would happen if he is made to leave the company. He compared his removal from the company would be equivalent to COVID. He said, “We were going through COVID. COVID could last 10 years I could set it out… What would be the only problem its’ much like COVID actually you know. Me leaving hurts the company, hurts my employees, hurts the fights. Doesn’t hurt me I could have left in 2016. I don’t know do I need to agree with that to reflect. No, I don’t need to reflect.

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This statement didn’t resonate with journalist Ariel Helwani. In The MMA Hour, he said, “I disagree with that. My personal feelings aside, I disagree with that statement. I think that the ship will sail very very nicely without him at this point. And you can make the argument, you can make the case that he’s more of a deterrent at this point than not.

Furthermore, Dana White also discussed what would be his punishment. He enlightened the media on what he would have to go through for the rest of his life.

Dana White says he has to ‘deal’ with his actions

White clarified his stance on the incident. He said, “I woke up… I’ve been against this, I’ve owned this I’m telling you that I’m wrong…” Furthermore, he added, “We’ve had plenty of discussions on this internally, with Ari [Emanuel], ESPN, and nobody is happy. Nobody is happy about this you know. Neither am I…”

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Moreover, he discussed his punishment going forward in life. White said, “Here is my punishment, I gotta walk around for however time I live, is it 10.4 years or is it another 25 years, and this is how I’m labeled now.”

The UFC President spoke about another punishment that he thinks he is getting. He added, “My other punishment, you know, I’m sure a lot of people whether be it media, fighters, friends, acquaintances, who had respect for me might not have respect for me now. There’s a lot of things that I have to deal with for the rest of my life that are way more than a punishment than what I take. A 30-day/60-day absence? That’s not a punishment. The punishment is that I did it and now I have to deal with it.”

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What do you think about Dana White’s stance on his actions? Do you agree with Ariel Helwani on this one?

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Written by:

Faizan Mirza

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Faizan Mirza is a UFC Writer at Essentially Sports. He has had a keen eye on the UFC since 2015 and is a fan of Conor McGregor because of his attitude and charisma. Faizan had been following McGregor's ascent in the sport.
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Edited by:

Yeswanth Praveen