The Ariel Helwani Show

Ariel Helwani kicks off the show with more excitement for the New York Knicks’ NBA Finals run, before recapping the weekend. The Boys in the Back and Petesy Carroll join him to discuss Ilia Topuria saying Justin Gaethje made their fight personal, Arman Tsarukyan claiming he wagered $1 million on Gaethje, Sean Strickland’s White House drama, Dana White suggesting Alex Pereira could become MMA’s GOAT, and more (01:36).

Diego Lopes is back on the show, previewing his meeting with Steve Garcia at the White House, then talking about frustrations with things being taken out of context in the media, lessons learned from his two fights against Alex Volkanovski, his prediction for Volkanovski’s presumed title defense against Movsar Evloev, and more (37:01).

Darren Till returns to recap his big BKFC debut, shoot down accusations of PED use due to his transformed physique, express interest in fighting Mike Perry and Yoel Romero, tease a potential return to MMA, weigh in on Eddie Hearn’s handling of Tom Aspinall’s career, and more (1:03:17).

Steve Garcia joins the show to discuss the Lopes fight, competing on the White House lawn, feeling disrespected by not having more notoriety despite his success, teammate Holly Holm’s controversial loss to Stephanie Han, his love of golf, and more (1:32:05).

Levy Rozman, aka chess International Master “GothamChess,” joins Ariel in-studio to talk about his life and career, the recent popularity of chess, building a successful YouTube channel, his combat sports fandom and training, and more. Then Levy takes Ariel to chess school (2:01:31)!

Ariel closes the show with news and notes, including Dana White and Eddie Hearn’s latest war of words (3:05:03), before answering your Super Chats (3:35:03).

Petesy Carroll, Chuck Mindenhall, and Ben Fowlkes return for another edition of The Craic.

Chuck kicks off the show by sharing his plans to attend the UFC White House card in person (4:43).

Paramount also weighed in on its partnership with the UFC, outlining what they hope to achieve through the deal (16:30).

After years of speculation, Croke Park is officially set to host Katie Taylor’s next fight. Petesy sheds light on the mood in Ireland ahead of the historic event (43:30).

Fellow Irishman Conor McGregor’s reported sparring partners have also come to light. Are these the right names to help prepare him for his return (54:58)?

Michael Bisping had some harsh words for Tom Aspinall regarding his recovery from eye injury. The lads examine Bisping’s apparent change in stance (59:50).

To close up shop, the boys look ahead to PFL action (01:10:05), before answering your Super Chats (01:32:21).

Dan Canobbio and Chris Algieri open the show discussing the recent WBO ordering of Devin Haney vs. Keyshawn Davis at welterweight, including if the fight will happen, who will win, and the entire welterweight picture at this very moment (03:18).

Lamont Roach is returning to the ring and the lightweight division as his fight with William Zepeda was made official for Aug. 1 in Las Vegas for the vacant WBC title (14:38).

Chris Billam-Smith vs. Ryan Rozicki is this weekend’s fight to keep an eye on and we have your picks for this one (26:59).

We end the show with your voicemails, ranging from favorite pizza spot on Long Island, to Tank Davis’ status, to what we do not like about the changes being made to the Muhammad Ali Revival Act (33:03).

After reading your five-star podcast reviews (04:02) and tackling some news and notes (08:03), The Boys in the Back react to Sean Strickland claiming he was banned from attending the UFC White House card (11:53), leading to a back-and-forth with headliner Justin Gaethje. Tom Aspinall also came out and said he wasn't invited to attend the event.

The Boys then preview UFC Vegas 118 (39:20) and give their picks (1:07:21), before delivering their P4P worst mic moments (1:12:45).

The show closes with your voicemails (1:45:19) and Super Chats (2:14:54).

Ariel Helwani kicks off the show by reveling in scenes from the New York Knicks’ NBA Finals appearance, before answering your On The Nose questions, with topics including Action Bronson’s brilliance, whether Tom Aspinall vs. Francis Ngannou is a realistic fight, the strength of the UFC White House card, and more (00:57).

Dakota Ditcheva is back on the show to talk about her fight against Denise Kielholtz, why there’s no PFL belt on the line, returning from injury, wanting to retire by the time she’s 32 years old, her criticism of Ronda Rousey’s comments about Khamzat Chimaev, and more (58:28).

Holly Holm returns on the heels of her loss to Stephanie Han to discuss the scoring of the fight, frustrations with the referee for their first fight in Puerto Rico, whether she believes she’ll end up facing Katie Taylor, potential fights against Gina Carano and Ronda Rousey, and more (1:35:56).

BKFC President David Feldman joins to talk about Darren Till’s impressive promotional debut, Mike Perry’s contract status, a timeline for the $25 million “World’s Baddest Man” tournament, whether Conor McGregor will compete for the promotion when his UFC deal ends, and more (2:08:51).

Cory Sandhagen is back to break down his rematch against Mario Bautista, give his predictions for Sean O’Malley vs. Aiemann Zahabi and Conor McGregor vs. Max Holloway, explain his social media voice, his friendship with the late Chuck Norris, and more (2:35:55).

After answering more On The Nose questions (3:09:08), Ariel tackles Super Chats (3:22:46).