Dana White’s surprising gesture of goodwill makes Ariel Helwani hopeful of rekindling old relationship again

MMA journalist Ariel Helwani believes that there might still be hope for him and UFC president Dana White to get back on good terms.

Helwani recently started a new show called Ariel & the Bad Girl with co-host and UFC octagon girl Luciana Andrade where they discuss non-MMA things and take questions from the fans. In the second episode of the show, Helwani asked Andrade if Dana White or the UFC had any issues with her working with him.

The Brazilian replied in the negative and said that White and the UFC staff were supportive of her actions:

"Not really. So, technically I'm an independent contractor. So, I don't have to ask them but I did it anyways, you know, out of respect and relationship with the company for almost nine years. So, I did ask Dana and he was like, 'No, you can do whatever you want.' He did appreciate me asking but you know, they're super supportive."

Helwani said that Andrade's words made him happy and stated that it might be possible for him and White to "be friends again":

"Wow! That actually warms my heart. Maybe there's hope that we can be friends again... I'm happy to hear that. That's actually the nicest thing I've heard all day. Can I be honest? I think deep down Dana actually likes me."

Check out Ariel Helwani's comments below:

Watch the full episode below:

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What started the beef between Ariel Helwani and Dana White?

Things were not always bad between Dana White and Ariel Helwani. As can be seen in the video below, the two used to share a cordial relationship in the past.

But things went downhill in 2016 when Helwani reported that Brock Lesnar would be making his return at UFC 200. The UFC brass was upset that the MMA journalist released the information before they had a chance to make an official announcement. This resulted in Helwani getting his credentials revoked and being thrown out of the UFC 199 event.

Ariel Helwani's ban was later lifted but things continued to get worse between him and White. On multiple occasions, Helwani has claimed that the UFC president was not in favor of him working with ESPN.

The beef was reignited in December last year when Dana White hurled insults at Helwani during his appearance on Paddy Pimblett's podcast. The journalist stood his ground and responded to White's comments and, in the process, gained a lot of support from the MMA world.