Ariel Helwani slams UFC over "criminal" treatment of Charles Oliveira compared to Khabib Nurmagomedov, GSP, and Daniel Cormier

Ariel Helwani believes past UFC champions Khabib Nurmagomedov, Georges St-Pierre, and Daniel Cormier received preferential treatment that Charles Oliveira wasn't given.

On the latest episode of The MMA Hour, Helwani mentioned three separate instances when champions went over their division's weight limits, but were allowed to fight for the title. The MMA journalist went on a scathing rant and explained how Oliveira was "screwed" over by the UFC:

"We all saw the clip, I reposted it – not because I have an ax to grind with Khabib – [but] because it was very noticeable. Khabib, Gaethje, that thing wasn't even settled. Boom, boom, please go to the back and rehydrate. We've seen this time and again. And in case you're gonna sit there and say, 'Call out you're boy DC.' Of course, and I've called him out to his face. In Buffalo, he didn't make the weight, he held on to the towel. GSP in Montreal – my other boy – he was over 170 and they rounded it down. So time and again, people in championship fights have been over. If you think your that your favorite champion fighter hasn't been over back in the day... you're fooling yourself."

---

Ariel Helwani says Charles Oliveira should still be UFC lightweight champion

According to Ariel Helwani, Charles Oliveira should have been afforded the same leniency that the UFC had previously extended to champions.

He also pointed out that half-a-pound doesn't help a fighter's performance, saying it was "criminal" for the UFC to strip the Brazilian of the belt. Helwani furthered:

"All of a sudden, Charles gets the bad luck, the misfortune of running into a stickler, who's gonna be like, 'Nope, we're gonna get this on the dot.' I'm not even talking about the conspiracy the the weight thingy, the calibration and the scale... I'm not even talking about that. But for half-a-pound to be that big of a stickler, when there is nothing that is going to happen in this fight on Saturday as a result of a half a pound over – that is not a performance enhancer. The fact that he was stripped of the belt, to me is absolutely criminal."

Catch Ariel Helwani's comments in the video below:

To Helwani's point, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Daniel Cormier, and Georges St-Pierre have a history of weight issues in the past. However, all three were spared of the consequences of going over the division's limit.