The Ariel Helwani Show

Ariel Helwani is joined by the Boys in the Back and Petesy Carroll to quickly recap Venezuela’s stunning upset over the United States in the World Baseball Classic. Then, they tackle On The Nose, answering questions about March Madness, Joe Rogan’s recent comments on UFC fighter pay, Ronda Rousey suggesting Dana White isn’t UFC’s decision maker, Nate Diaz potentially returning to the UFC, and more (13:14).

Sean Brady joins next, recapping his performance against Michael Morales, explaining why he believes Ian Machado Garry should get the next title shot, discussing his interactions with upcoming opponent Joaquin Buckley, predicting how Morales would do in a fight against Islam Makhachev, and more (1:32:08).

Rising boxing star Moses Itauma is back to preview his bout against Jermaine Franklin, reflect on not being able to break Mike Tyson’s record for being the youngest heavyweight champion ever, express his desire to fight the division’s top names, including Oleksandr Usyk, Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley, and more (2:01:23).

Top Rank President Todd duBoef joins Ariel in studio following the announcement of the promotion’s new broadcast deal with DAZN to discuss the inner workings of the partnership, other networks that they spoke to during negotiations, Top Rank’s stable of young stars, the state of the boxing business, the Ali Revival Act and Zuffa Boxing’s entry into the sport, and more (2:28:47).

Jeremy Stephens is the final guest of the day, talking about returning to the UFC against King Green, whether he’ll fight again for BKFC, financial struggles over the last few years, his timeline for retirement, and more (3:31:06).

Ariel answers your Super Chats to close the show (4:03:14).

Jason Solomon is back and he opens with his thoughts on the terrible OVW incident, where a referee suffered a mid-match seizure (2:24).

Then he reviews AEW Revolution (13:13), with MJF retaining his championship in a Texas Death Match over Hangman Adam Page, major returns on the show including Kenny Omega and Will Ospreay, and a surprise appearance by Ronda Rousey (19:28).

On the WWE side, news on internal discussions regarding the status of their upcoming Saudi Arabia shows, as war remains ongoing in the Middle East (43:06).

Then it's onto Monday Night Raw, with Oba Femi accepting Brock Lesnar's open challenge for WrestleMania in a tremendous segment (47:31) and the weakest confrontation yet between Roman Reigns and CM Punk, which already feels like it's running out of gas (55:48).

Randy Orton's BRUTAL heel turn on Cody Rhodes on Smackdown, what made it work so well, why it might have worked better at Mania, and who Orton might have been seen on the phone with on Raw (59:19).

News on Pat McAfee's future with WWE from the man himself, plus some listener Q&A, and a great story about Jake "The Snake" Roberts approaching 14 years of sobriety (1:13:42).

Ariel Helwani starts the show briefly touching on the fan reaction to Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry and the promotional tribalism forming (01:15).

Mick Conlan joins the show ahead of his WBC International title defense against Kevin Walsh in Belfast to preview the fight. But first, some Saint Patrick's Day trivia, with Mick taking on our very own Petesy’s Carroll (06:16).

Aiemann Zahabi returns to discuss his upcoming White House fight against Sean O’Malley, explaining how it came to be, his plan to have Drake walk him out, what it means to have Georges St-Pierre in his corner, and who could be next with a win over O’Malley (31:50).

Mike Perry is back following the massive announcement that he’ll be fighting Nate Diaz on Netflix’s first MMA card, talking about how long the fight had been in the works, his return to MMA after five years, getting the biggest payday of his career, how he expects Diaz to approach the buildup, wanting to finish Diaz inside three rounds, and more (1:03:24).

Carlos Prates joins to discuss his upcoming fight against Jack Della Maddalena, buzz around a potential Conor McGregor bout, witnessing the madness at Hype FC in Brazil, today being the 14th anniversary of his MMA debut, hoping for a title shot if he beats Della Maddalena, and more (1:33:39).

BKFC’s Gzim Selmani, formerly known as Rezar during his time in WWE, is our final guest of the day, breaking down his journey through combat sports, how he got his nickname, ‘The Albanian Psycho,’ being recruited by WWE, the end of his wrestling career, getting back to fighting, and more (2:01:45).

Ariel answers your Super Chats to end the show (2:38:29).

Ariel Helwani starts the show by reacting to breaking news that Nate Diaz vs. Mike Perry has been added to the Rousey vs. Carano card on Netflix, how it impacts the event’s potential, and whether the UFC could have a new rival. Plus, the crew gives their thoughts on UFC’s latest round of announcements, including Khamzat Chimaev vs. Sean Strickland, recap UFC Vegas 114, and more (08:39).

Kyle Daukaus is first up, discussing his UFC White House meeting with Bo Nickal, how the fight came together, noise coming from Colby Covington about the matchup, fan reaction to his placement on the card and the event overall, and more (1:08:29).

Coach Eric Nicksick returns to talk about some of his athletes, including Chris Curtis’ UFC Vegas 114 fight, Sean Strickland’s win over Anthony Hernandez and upcoming matchup against Khamzat Chimaev, and Francis Ngannou’s recent demeanor and addition to Netflix’s first MMA card (1:35:20).

After tackling some other news and notes (2:09:17), Ariel connects with old friend Anderson Silva to discuss his new dramatic series, being offered a spot on the Netflix MMA card, only wanting to box moving forward, his commitment to becoming a police officer, and more (2:17:36).

Kevin Vallejos joins following his big win over Josh Emmett, breaking down the finish, expressing his desire to fight in front of a sold-out arena, calling for a rematch with Jean Silva, giving a timeline for when he plans to compete for UFC gold, and more (2:44:37).

Alex Pereira and coach Plinio Cruz are back in-studio, touching on Pereira’s knockout of Magomed Ankalaev in their rematch, how long he planned his move to heavyweight, whether he was offered a fight against Jon Jones or Tom Aspinall, signing a new UFC deal, where winning a third belt would put him in the GOAT conversation, potentially fighting Jones in the future, the honor of being on the White House card, and more (3:05:28).

Ariel wraps up the show with your Super Chats (4:20:36).

The boys are back and kick off the show recapping Najee Lopez’s wild win over Manuel Gallegos, its Fight of the year worthiness and Chris’ experience being on the call for it. Could Lopez climb the ranks at light heavyweight and what does this mean for ProBoxTV (02:39)?

Next up, we dive into the full weekend of boxing from Golden Boy’s show, featuring wins from Arnold Barboza, Alexis Rocha, Gabby Fundora, Oscar Collazo and Anthony Caccace overseas (18:03).

Lastly, we take your voicemails! Calls ranging from HBO Boxing content, Ryan Garcia-Devin Haney, to the current state of club level shows in the US (27:09)!