The Ariel Helwani Show

Ariel Helwani and The Boys In The Back break down the UFC's future with Dana White's close ties to incoming U.S. President Donald Trump, the latest in Conor McGregor's sexual assault case, UFC Vegas 100, and more (04:24).

Katie Taylor discusses rematching Amanda Serrano on the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul card, criticism of the Tyson vs. Paul fight, concern for Tyson, landing on a U.S. stadium show before competing at Croke Park, fighting at a catchweight, potential retirement plans, and more (44:21).

Brandon Moreno discusses his vintage UFC return against Amir Albazi, braving the Edmonton cold, his hiatus from MMA, having negative thoughts during his losing streak, his new coffee hobby, his focus on regaining the UFC flyweight title, and more (01:04:30).

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez discusses his WBC super flyweight title defense against Pedro Guevara, where he ranks on the pound-for-pound list, his first interaction with Eddie Hearn, Japanese McDonald's, Naoya Inoue, criticism of Saturday's matchup, why Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul isn't a real fight, and more (01:28:34).

Ariel Helwani and The Boys In The Back answer your On The Nose questions about Conor McGregor's ongoing civil trial, controversy with Mysterious Frank's in-show drops, Sage Northcutt's bizarre career, WWE Crown Jewel, the difference between McDonald's in Ireland, the UFC's current lack of spectacular champions, and more (01:53:31).

Ariel Helwani and The Boys In The Back discuss how they're feeling about Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul as the big fight looms (15:21).

Andy Foster, executive director of the California State Athletic Commission, discusses his concerns for Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul, the new changes to the Unified Rules of MMA, the impetuous for the changes, whether Jon Jones' only career loss should now be overturned, further changes MMA needs, and more 39:35).

Frank Warren, headman at Queensberry Promotions, discusses his blockbuster broadcast deal with DAZN, whether the deal gets done if he hadn't mended fences with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom, Daniel Dubois' next fight, news for 2025, thoughts on Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul, and more (01:15:20).

Youssef Zalal discusses his big win at UFC Edmonton over Jack Shore, his roller-coaster road back to the UFC, how brother's untimely passing affected his career, being inspired by past opponent Ilia Topuria, considering early retirement, the night he picked up boxing, kickboxing, and MMA wins in the same evening, and more (01:39:51).

Todd DuBoef, president of Top Rank, discusses Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury 2, what it's like to work for Bob Arum, the state of the business, the effect of Saudi Arabia money in boxing, Naoya Inoue's future, Keyshawn Davis, Top Rank's upcoming broadcast deal, Dana White's criticism, and more (02:10:41).

Ariel Helwani and The Boys In The Back break down the state of the UFC welterweight division following Belal Muhammad's injury withdrawal from his UFC 310 title defense against Shavkat Rakhmonov (09:36).

Shavkat Rakhmonov discusses Belal Muhammad dropping out of their scheduled UFC 310 title fight, how he found out about the news, what happens next, the option of fighting for an interim title, Ian Machado Garry, Muhammad's title victory over Leon Edwards, and more (31:07).

Ariel Helwani and The Boys In The Back recap the highs and lows of UFC Edmonton (01:08:22).

Jasmine Jasudavicius discusses her big UFC 310 win over Ariane da Silva at UFC Edmonton, why she walked out to "La Bamba," her mindset, running into Tracy Cortez, her fight night routines, getting a post-fight bonus, kicking trees, and more (01:27:47).

Aiemann Zahabi discusses his UFC 310 over Pedro Munhoz, his five-fight UFC win streak, the running joke about how much he looks like Ariel, how working with a mindset coach has changed his career, Georges St-Pierre's role in the gym these days, and morev (02:01:29).

Sayif Saud discusses Brandon Moreno's vintage win over Amir Albazi at UFC Edmonton, Moreno's path back to the belt depending on what happens at UFC 310, how difficult life is in the UFC flyweight rankings, Pantoja vs. Asakura, Geoff Neal's recent win over Rafael dos Anjos, and more (02:30:40).

Valentina Shevchenko discusses recapturing the UFC flyweight title with a win over Alexa Grasso, her world travels since winning back the belt, her determination to make a statement in that trilogy fight, people's narratives leading into the bout, a potential Zhang Weili superfight, and more (03:05:29).

On the latest episode of The Craic, Petesy is joined by Uncrowned’s Chuck Mindenhall to discuss the cultural resonance of The Rumble in the Jungle on its 50th anniversary (05:42).

Legendary father and son duo Richard and Jack Shore join the show from Edmonton ahead of Jack’s bout with Youssef Zalal (40:45). 

The Boys in the Back are live for a special Halloween edition, but first Ariel Helwani joins the show to give an update on the breaking news that Belal Muhammad is out of UFC 310 and what that means for the main event (04:27).

Then, Eric Jackman (NewYorkRic) and Conner Burks (GC) preview UFC Edmonton (35:22) before bringing in The Craic's Petesy Carroll to dive deeper on the card (51:57).

Finally, Mysterious Frank joins The Boys to make parlay picks (01:13:15), give P4P Halloween candy rankings (01:21:15), and answer your questions (01:49:27).

Kade Ruotolo discusses his upcoming ONE Championship fight against Ahmed Mujtaba, the experience of winning CJI, whether he'll do CJI again, his injury woes, advice for Michael Page ahead of his first big-time grappling match, the Olympics, and more (07:50).

Ariel Helwani and The Boys In The Back answer all your On The Nose questions about the road for Max Holloway after UFC 308, whether Khamzat Chimaev should jump Sean Strickland in the middleweight queue, the backlash from the Dana White vs. Francis Ngannou coverage, the team's worst injuries, Ireland's history with Halloween, Petesy's addition to the show, the first UFC events we've ever attended, the crew's bagel controversy, and much more (39:50).

Michael Page discusses his Polaris 30 grappling main event against Carlos Condit on Saturday, how the match materialized, why this is something he wanted to explore at age 37, advice from Kade Ruotolo, originally being booked against Donald Cerrone for Polaris, Belal Muhammad's ascent up the UFC welterweight division, his loss to Ian Machado Garry, wanting to fight Shara Bullet at 185 pounds, and more (01:32:28).

Mike Malott discusses his UFC Edmonton return against Trevin Giles, what went wrong against Neil Magny, his grueling road to building himself back up from that loss, why he wants to be an example for the next generation, the adjustments he's made for Giles, and more (02:00:06).

Jaron "Boots" Ennis discusses his upcoming IBF welterweight title rematch against Karen Chukhadzhian, his experience since signing with Matchroom, his reaction to having to fight Chukhadzhian as his mandatory, recent baffling decisions made by the IBF, his quest to unify the title, what he did wrong in the first Chukhadzhian fight, partnering up with Bam Rodriguez, whether the Terence Crawford fight will ever happen, and more (02:32:17).

Before the show ended, Ariel calls his old friend Daniel Cormier to get his response after what Derrick Lewis said about him at the UFC Edmonton media day (03:22:47).

Brian Sutterer MD, YouTube physician extraordinaire, breaks down Robert Whittaker's grisly jaw injury, Myktybek Orolbai gnarly eye, plus much more from the wreckage of UFC 308 in a fascinating medical deep dive (05:36).

Marlon "Chito" Vera discusses wrestling training with Arman Tsarukyan, changes he's making after back-to-back losses, why he wasn't impressed by the Las Vegas Sphere, comparisons between Ilia Topuria and Alex Pereira, his 1987 Buick Grand National, his plans after fighting, and more (01:02:43).

Diego Lopes discusses his experience as UFC 308's back-up fighter, Ilia Topuria knocking out Max Holloway, mistakes Holloway made against the champ, why a fight against Alexander Volkanovski in Sydney in early 2025 makes the most sense, how he'd fare against Topuria, his win over Brian Ortega at the Las Vegas Sphere, and more (01:02:43).

Alexandre Pantoja discusses his UFC 310 defense of the UFC flyweight title against Kai Asakura, how Kyoji Horiguchi is helping to prepare him, the state of the flyweight division, his growth in the fight game, wanting to train with Demetrious Johnson, keeping perspective, and more (01:28:55).

Ariel Helwani and The Boys In The Back get into a heated debate over Uncrowned's debut MMA pound-for-pound rankings (02:11:37).

Ariel Helwani and The Boys In The Back react to UFC 308, whether Ilia Topuria has a case for Fighter of the Year after his knockout of Max Holloway, Khamzat Chimaev's pursuit of the title after his demolition of Robert Whittaker, and more (18:15).

Lerone Murphy discusses his UFC 308 win over Dan Ige, sticking with his "The Miracle" nickname, challenges in the lead-up to Saturday, Ilia Topuria's knockout of Max Holloway, Topuria vs. Volkanovski 2, wanting Brian Ortega or Josh Emmett in March 2025, his chief hater, and more (01:00:58).

Ariel Helwani dives deep into the Dana White vs. Francis Ngannou feud following White's latest comments (01:25:23).

Darren Till discusses the latest in the MMA world, why UFC/PFL needs to make Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall, Khamzat Chimaev's win over Robert Whittaker, why Chimaev deserves the next title shot over Sean Strickland, his mental health, what's next for his career, and more (02:34:17).

Alexander Volkanovski discusses his weekend at UFC 308, Ilia Topuria's knockout of Max Holloway, his in-cage conversation with Topuria, how long he's willing to wait, the future of his "Old Man Volk" character, whether he regrets decisions that led to him losing the title, the Fighter of the Year debate, and more (03:05:21).

On the the UFC 308 Post-Show, Ariel Helwani gives his immediate reaction to Ilia Topuria star-making performance against Max Holloway, including the knockout itself, Topuria's next fight and Conor McGregor's social media responses (53:22).

Then, he covers Khamzat Chimaev's return to his dominant ways, finishing Robert Whittaker and setting up a potential title opportunity (21:21). Finally, Helwani recaps the rest of the night's action (29:48).

Denis Geiko from Russian-focused MMA publication, Red Corner, returns to The Craic to talk Khamzat Chimaev opening up on depression, Islam Makhachev possibly facing the winner of Ilia Topuria vs. Max Holloway and the Russian contingent at UFC 308 (06:45).

Lerone Murphy also joins the show to preview the biggest test of his career against Dan Ige and dive deeper on his nickname 'The Miracle' (40:08).