Ultimate Fighting Championship 199 began with a flourish of surprises at The Forum in Inglewood, California. This past Saturday, June 4, spectators witnessed Max Holloway's impressive win over Ricardo Lamas, thus solidifying the former's position as a top contender in the featherweight division. Fight fans were also gifted with the opportunity to see longtime veteran Dan Henderson knockout opponent Hector Lombard in the second round. Aside from these exhilarating performances, returning champion, Dominick Cruz, cemented his top rank in the bantamweight division after dominating his adversary Urijah Faber. The night concluded with Michael Bisping undoubtedly shocking the mixed martial arts world after defeating the middleweight champion Luke Rockhold with a knockout in the second round.
Bisping's victory was not the only unforeseen event that took place that night. Prior to the main event, MMAFighting.com reporter, Ariel Helwani, was escorted out of the building. Helwani reported on his Twitter:
I was escorted out of the building by Zuffa staff before the main event. Credential taken away, too. Didn't see Bisping realize his dream.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 5, 2016
I love this sport & this job with all my heart. Did nothing unethical. I reported fight news. That's it. & then told we're banned for life.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) June 5, 2016
Helwani, a Syracuse journalism graduate, received these unfavorable consequences after reporting two upcoming fights before the UFC announced them to the public. After revealing that Nate Diaz would face Connor McGregor in a rematch at UFC 202 and that Brock Lesnar would make his return against Mark Hunt in UFC 200, the UFC found it necessary to terminate the reporter's access into any future events.
Following the airing of an emotional episode on his podcast, the MMA Hour, Helwani's ban began generating a tremendous amount of attention on social media. Numerous fans, fighters and fellow journalists, like Ben Fowlkes, expressed their support for the reporter. Hours after airing this MMA Hour episode on Monday, June 6, the UFC released a statement declaring, "Following a conversation with the editorial team at SB Nation, UFC will not prevent MMAFighting.com from receiving media credentials to cover live UFC events. We respect the role the media plays in our sport and beyond, including MMAFighting's ability to report news. However, in our opinion, we believe the recurring tactics used by its lead reporter extended beyond the purpose of journalism. We feel confident our position has been adequately communicated to the SB Nation editorial team." Although the UFC lifted their ban from Helwani, this event exemplifies the injustices that journalists face for simply doing their jobs. The UFC's ability to punish reporters for solely reporting fights is outrageous. Helwani has never gotten any of his information unethically, and moreover, his fight announcements have always been one hundred percent accurate.
This event undeniably took away attention from UFC 199 and the organization's announcement, but it can also be utilized as a didactic lesson, showing fans and other journalists that it is not acceptable for the UFC to exude this tyrannical dominance over reporters. Ariel Helwani's job is to break the news on upcoming fights, if he happens to announce this information before the UFC, he should not be punished for doing so. The drive and passion he places into this sport should be praised, rather than condemned. It is important for fans to realize the truth behind this occurrence and not be blinded by the obscure perception that this powerful organization places on its viewers.
