The Ariel Helwani Show

Ariel Helwani kicks off the show by discussing World Cup drama involving the U.S. men’s national team and Taylor Swift marrying Travis Kelce at MSG (05:50).

Craig Jones joins the show to announce the return of The B-Team, including a brand new gym, then talks about approaching Tom Hardy and Mark Zuckerberg to compete for CJI, his rivalries with Gordon Ryan and Dillon Danis, crashing White House fight week with Sean Strickland, the state of CJI and UFC BJJ, continuing to work with Alexander Volkanovski, and more (23:27).

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is back following his big win over Xander Zayas, discussing the exciting third round, critics claiming Zayas quit, reaction to the fight from Terence Crawford and Vergil Ortiz, being forced to shave down his beard by the New York State Athletic Commission, his thoughts on attending his first BKFC event and who he hopes to fight next (1:06:09).

Wrestling legend Jeff Jarrett joins Ariel in-studio to preview his 'Dark Side of the Ring' special, discussing how it came together, his relationship with Dixie Carter and her absence from the project, Owen Hart’s death and its lasting impact on him, the true story of negotiating with Vince McMahon for his match against Chyna, his WWE firing, creating TNA, and other stories from his illustrious career (1:32:04).

Ariel closes out the show with some news and notes, before answering your Super Chats (3:03:42).

Dan Canobbio and Chris Algieri open the show breaking down Abdullah Mason’s somewhat controversial stoppage of Albert Bell. Who should Mason fight next and is he the true future of boxing (2:56)?

Bruce Carrington picked up a hard-fought decision win over Rene Palacios that left the crowd and audience wanting more (25:38). At age 29 and with a world championship belt, where does ‘Shu Shu’ go from here?

This fight also spawned an open scoring debate, as official scores were read after the fourth and eighth rounds (32:24).

Finally, this was TNT Sports first foray into boxing and the production was outstanding with Terence Crawford, Tim Bradley and Shawn Porter at the host desk offering their thoughts throughout the night (46:25).

Petesy Carroll and Ben Fowlkes are back on The Craic.

This week, they dive into their picks for Uncrowned’s MMA mid-year awards (08:20).

Following recent criticism of Herb Dean, the duo discuss the current state of MMA officiating (51:35).

Next, they tackle the stigma around "quitting on the stool," following Ilia Topuria’s title loss to Justin Gaethje (56:01).

With UFC 329 just two weeks away, the lads assess Conor McGregor’s energy during his pre-fight media run (01:02:21).

To close things out, the boys discuss their World Cup plans (01:11:15) before answering your Super Chats (01:17:24).

The Boys in the Back quickly cover some news and notes (06:38), before reacting to Terence Crawford's response to Conor McGregor, who claims the pair were offered $200 million for a two-fight — one MMA, one boxing — deal (11:49).

They also recap Jon Jones speaking on a variety of topics (26:17) and predict who could be the next American UFC champion (35:37).

Plus, the Boys deliver their P4P lists of greatest American moments (46:27), listen to your voicemails (1:19:04), and answer your Super Chats (1:52:05).

Dan Canobbio and Chris Algieri open the show discussing Jaron 'Boots' Ennis' next opponent, as a report that Sebastian Fundora could be next was quickly shot down. Will it be Josh Kelly or even a voluntary defense (05:14)?

Abdullah Mason steps back into the ring this weekend, taking on late replacement Albert Bell in TNT’s first foray into boxing. Will Mason continue his winning ways (23:32)? Bruce 'Shu Shu' Carrington also appears in the co-main event against Rene Palacios (33:12).

Tyson Fury announced he will take fight Mariusz Wach before his showdown with Anthony Joshua (41:40). 

Lastly, Moses Itauma has been mandated by the IBF to fight Frank Sanchez for their vacant title. Itauma currently has a fight against Filip Hrgovic scheduled for late August and there is speculation that Itauma could forego that fight to take on Sanchez (49:57).

Ariel Helwani opens the show by covering news from the worlds of soccer and basketball (02:31), before launching into On The Nose.

Question topics include Turki Alalshikh’s promoter “peace summit,” the likelihood of Jon Jones as Oleksandr Usyk’s next opponent, and more (19:52).

Matchroom Mult-Sport CEO joins Ariel in-studio to discuss the other sports in Matchroom’s portfolio, including billiards, their new ESPN broadcast deal for pool, working with Barry and Eddie Hearn, how her career began, ambitions in the United States market, and more (1:0135).

Dave Allen is back to discuss his upcoming fight against Thomas Carty at Croke Park, reflecting on his loss to Filip Hrgovic, suggesting he might retire if he loses to Carty, expressing his desire to wrestle for WWE, how upcoming fights in the heavyweight division play out, and more (1:59:19).

Terence Crawford returns to discuss his debut as an analyst for TNT Sports, the potential of prospect Abdullah Mason, the performances of Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Xander Zayas, Conor McGregor saying there was a $200 million offer to fight him, whether he ever considered going into MMA, Ilia Topuria’s loss, his thoughts on the sanctioning bodies, and more (2:29:22).

Ariel covers some news and notes, including images of Ilia Topuria as he recovers, Ian Machado Garry on how he plans to upset Islam Makhachev, Daniel Cormier saying Jon Jones was offered seven figures for a wrestling match between the rivals, and more (3:05:56).

The show ends with Ariel answering your Super Chats (3:28:58).

Solomonster covers a lot of ground this week, starting with WWE Night of Champions, Sami Zayn winning the WWE championship, the finals of the King and Queen of the Ring tournaments, Piper Niven putting Jade Cargill on blast on social media, and more (03:56).

Brock Lesnar returned on Raw last night, with Oba Femi accepting his challenge to a Hell in a Cell match. Solomonster breaks down what this means for Femi's title shot, Seth Rollins challenging Roman Reigns, and what the overall SummerSlam card is looking like (25:41).

Next, TNA Slammiversary thoughts with Nic Nemeth regaining the title, Mike Santana’s future, the latest on Road Dogg joining their creative team, and Amazing Red being named to this year’s TNA Hall of Fame class (44:11).

Finally, thoughts on AEW Forbidden Door with Will Ospreay and Mercedes Mone punching their tickets to Wembley Stadium, Maya World’s star-making performance, and how the original card was impacted by injuries and visa issues (49:35).

Ariel Helwani kicks off the show with a bit of news and notes (03:28), then welcomes in longtime referee “Big” John McCarthy to discuss all things officiating.

McCarthy covers the controversial ending to Adriano Moraes vs. Phumi Nkuta, the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven stoppage, whether Ciryl Gane landed shots to the back of the Alex Pereira’s head and how Herb Dean handled the call, Michel Pereira having his hair pulled by Shara Bullet, how the doctors treated Ilia Topuria’s damage eye at the White House, and more (13:28).

UFC strawweight title challenger Gillian Robertson is back, discussing how her grappling compares to Mackenzie Dern’s grappling, whether there’s any friction between the two, hoping to submit Dern, how she unwinds when not competing, her marijuana use, career ambitions, and more (1:03:24).

WBO lightweight champion Abdullah Mason joins the show ahead of his Ohio homecoming fight against Albert Bell, having familiarity with his opponent, being willing to take on major challenges like Shakur Stevenson, what’s next, and more (1:31:20).

The Boys in the Back, Petesy Carroll, and special guest Marc Raimondi join Ariel to close the show, touching on Tyson Fury’s next fight, the approaching anniversary of the NWO formation, Ian Machado Garry and Eddie Hearn speaking to Irish media, Max Holloway reacting to Dustin Poirier’s arrest, Merab Dvalishvili’s friendship with Sean O’Malley, and more (1:47:24).

The show wraps up with your Super Chats (2:51:48).

Ariel Helwani kicks off the show by recapping a huge combat sports weekend that included thrills from the Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. Xander Zayas card (10:07), developments in the the Dana White and Eddie Hearn rivalry (33:03), and a fun UFC Baku Fight Night (45:13).

Rafael Fiziev returns after a big win in Baku to talk about fighting again in his home country, getting back on the winning track, scoring his first knockout since 2022, being surprised by Justin Gaethje’s win over Ilia Topuria, not appearing in the new Meta rankings, and more (1:04:12).

Anthony ‘Fluffy’ Hernandez joins to discuss his main event booking for UFC’s return to Sacramento, being excited about fighting close to home, lessons learned from his loss to Sean Strickland, recently training with Strickland, thoughts on the White House card, and more (1:31:14).

Inside Boxing’s Dan Canobbio makes his show debut, breaking down the weekend’s action, touching on the fallout from ‘Boots’ vs. Zayas, a potential fight between ‘Boots’ and Vergil Ortiz, what’s next for Ben Whittaker, Turki Alalshikh trying to play peacemaker for Dana White and Eddie Hearn, the current state of Zuffa Boxing, Oleksandr Usyk vacating his titles, Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli being postponed, and more (1:51:05).

UFC strawweight champion Mackenzie Dern is our final guest of the day, discussing her upcoming title defense against Gillian Robertson, why the fight with Zhang Weili isn’t happening, her experience at the Golden Globes, not being able to fight on the White House card, Ronda Rousey’s comeback, playing in celebrity poker games, and more (2:3731).

Ariel covers some news and notes, before answering Super Chats to close the show (3:05:26).

Dan Canobbio and Chris Algieri open the show dissecting Jaron 'Boots' Ennis’ seventh-round stoppage of Xander Zayas in front of a raucous Brooklyn crowd (02:00).

Next, they touch on what's next for 'Boots,' including mention of Terence Crawford and Vergil Ortiz (28:38), as well as unifications against Josh Kelly or Sebastian Fundora (30:15).

Then, they cover Ben Whittaker's very impressive US debut (35:09) and Emiliano Vargas' stoppage win over Bryce Mills (39:58).

Finally, they hit big headlines from the weekend, including Canelo Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli being postponed and Teofimo Lopez vs. Rolly Romero taking shape (46:12), plus Oleksandr Usyk relinquishing his heavyweight titles, likely to fight Deontay Wilder (47:59).