The UFC have had themselves a PR disaster.
The main talking point to come out of the UFC 199 weekend was not an absolutely fantastic night of fighting. Dustin Poirier, Max Holloway, Dominick Cruz, and not least, Michael Bisping can all feel aggrieved that their impressive wins are not being discussed as much as they should be because there is a dark cloud hanging over MMA journalism.
The lifetime ban inflicted on Ariel Helwani - which he discussed in detail on The MMA Hour - has caused a serious backlash from fans, fighters, and media alike, and since the decision given is essentially that Lorenzo Fertitta doesn't like him, things are going to go from bad to worse.
That is why Dana White should probably treat questions regarding the future of Helwani with a bit more respect.
TMZ tracked down the UFC president and asked him if Ariel Helwani would be allowed to attend UFC 200, and his was response is not likely to be well received by Helwani's supporters.
We asked White about the "ban" -- and he explained, "He can cover all the events he wants, he just can't have a credential."
When asked specifically if he would be allowed to attend UFC 200 if he bought a ticket, White replied, "Yes."
We also asked if the ban was really a life sentence, and White told us, "As long as I'm here."
That not only goes against what Helwani said White suggested in person, that it was the decision of Lorenzo Fertitta and that Dana felt bad about the situation, and really was just an unnecessary thing to say.
We've seen it with much-loved cut-man "Stitch" before, when the UFC don't want you around anymore, then you're not going to be around anymore.
Helwani will still, of course, cover the events for MMAFighting.com, but he will no longer be allowed to interview the fighters at the events, which is something we all lose out over because the fighters trusted Ariel more than others for understandable reasons.
It's all very frustrating, but unlikely to change soon.
