"It's the UFC, they are the top dog" - Ariel Helwani delivers brutal reality check on MMA landscape, declares GFL story "gone" amid crumbling scene

Ariel Helwani recently delivered a brutal reality check on the current landscape of MMA after GFL canceled their first two events scheduled for next month. He noted that he doesn't believe the promotion will recover and will cease to exist as a result.

GFL had launched their new team-based promotion that attempted to provide a sports league element to MMA. They boasted a roster of many notable names and UFC greats including Tony Ferguson, Chris Weidman, Tyron Woodley, and Anthony Pettis.

During the latest episode of The BITB, Helwani highlighted the lack of viable alternatives to the UFC for fighters to compete. He mentioned that the sport as a whole is in trouble because of others like GFL, PFL and ONE not having the ability to compete with the UFC in terms of fighter pay:

"To me, it's a story that has come and gone, the GFL... We know what the MMA business is, it's the UFC, they are the top dog. But the MMA business has always had a two, three, four and five. That does not exist. PFL isn't paying as much as they once did. The Bellator No. 2 brand doesn't exist. ONE isn't paying nearly as much for MMA fighters. GFL was that hope, it doesn't exist and that's not good for the business."

Check out Ariel Helwani's comments below:

Helwani also expressed his doubts about the GFL hosting an event after canceling their first two shows, one of which was to be headlined by Tony Ferguson vs. Dillon Danis.

During the aforementioned clip, Helwani mentioned that GFL founder Darren Owen still wants to host an event to salvage his reputation but is doubtful that it would go ahead:

"Could [GFL] get one [event], maybe but honestly that would be shocking to me at this point.. [Owen] just wants to survive, this is his reputation. Who knows if he can work in combat sports again. And this is a guy who has worked in combat sports for many many years."

Check out the full episode featuring Ariel Helwani's comments below: