Dana White is now, to some degree, involved in Ariel Helwani's ongoing feud with former UFC welterweight Jake Shields. The aforementioned pair have been at each other's throats for over 24 hours, and it has culminated in a particularly brutal response from Helwani that has drawn fan attention.
Their issues took center stage on X/Twitter after Shields accused Helwani of never inviting reigning UFC welterweight champion Belal Muhammad for an interview on his show, The MMA Hour. The implication is that Helwani, who is Jewish, does not want to interact with Muhammad, who is of Palestinian descent.
This culminated in Helwani sharing a clip of White, wherein the UFC CEO sarcastically repeats "Jake" at a press conference before laughing off whatever conversation he was having.
Check out Ariel Helwani's Dana White clip:
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Helwani's use of the clip seemed to be a hit with the fans, who praised his comic timing.
"Perfect clip for this"
Another fan compared Helwani's online trash talk to that of reigning UFC middleweight champion Dricus du Plessis, who has even driven his opponents to tears.
"Ariel and DDP: two dudes I've yet to see lose a Twitter beef."
Others continued praising Helwani for his comeback.
"Damn this is a 10-6"
One fan even accused Shields of manufacturing a feud in an ill-fated attempt at getting attention.
"He's moved onto the next thing he can get attention for"
A collage of fan reactions can be seen below:
Given that Shields is an outspoken Israel critic and promotes numerous antisemitic conspiracy theories, including the idea that world politics and economies are controlled by a clandestine Jewish elite, it is no surprise that he has taken aim at Helwani.
Dana White once banned Ariel Helwani from UFC media events
The relationship between Dana White and Ariel Helwani was never overly positive but experienced a massive dip around UFC 200 when the latter leaked the return of Brock Lesnar on the card. This drew the ire of the UFC, leading to Helwani having his media credentials revoked and facing a lifetime ban from the UFC.
"Happy to report the UFC has lifted the ban on me and my colleagues. Cooler heads indeed prevailed. Now back to normal. Thank you again."
Fortunately, the ban lasted all of two days after immense media blowback. Nevertheless, Helwani's appearances at UFC events diminished, with him even alleging that the promotion engineered his removal from the broadcast team for the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor media tour.