The UFC is a notoriously thin-skinned organization. They’ve fired fighters for not wanting to sign away their lifetime likeness rights (only to relent and hire them back). They’ve banned reporters from covering their events because of reports on news that wasn’t public.
At best, their treatment of the media could be called “misguided”. At worst, it’s “petty and unethical”. In any case, the UFC took things to another level on Saturday night during UFC 199 when they revoked the credentials, escorted out, and banned for life three extremely respected journalists – Ariel Helwani, formerly of Fox and still of SBNation/MMA Fighting, E. Casey Laydon, and Esther Lin.
What as the trio’s fatal sin? Why, Helwani doing his job, of course, and reporting that Brock Lesnar would be fighting at UFC 200 hours before the UFC announced it.
you can see tweets of Helwani:
Helwani was on a roll during the show at the Forum in Inglewood on Saturday, because he also reported that Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz would fight at UFC 202, hours before the UFC announced that as well.
Everything was going fine with Helwani’s coverage of the pay-per-view …until the main event, when his former Fox colleague Michael Bisping took on Luke Rockhold for the middleweight title. Helwani (along with Laydon and Lin) was escorted out of the arena, had his credentials for the evening revoked, and was told he (along with his colleagues) was banned for life.
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At best, their treatment of the media could be called “misguided”. At worst, it’s “petty and unethical”. In any case, the UFC took things to another level on Saturday night during UFC 199 when they revoked the credentials, escorted out, and banned for life three extremely respected journalists – Ariel Helwani, formerly of Fox and still of SBNation/MMA Fighting, E. Casey Laydon, and Esther Lin.
What as the trio’s fatal sin? Why, Helwani doing his job, of course, and reporting that Brock Lesnar would be fighting at UFC 200 hours before the UFC announced it.
you can see tweets of Helwani:
Helwani was on a roll during the show at the Forum in Inglewood on Saturday, because he also reported that Conor McGregor and Nate Diaz would fight at UFC 202, hours before the UFC announced that as well.
Everything was going fine with Helwani’s coverage of the pay-per-view …until the main event, when his former Fox colleague Michael Bisping took on Luke Rockhold for the middleweight title. Helwani (along with Laydon and Lin) was escorted out of the arena, had his credentials for the evening revoked, and was told he (along with his colleagues) was banned for life.
READ MORE:
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