Ariel Helwani Slams Dana White for His Response to Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales UFC Title Question
The long-running feud between Dana White and Ariel Helwani has flared up once again. This time, over a question surrounding one of the fights on the UFC 322 card. So, what happened? Well, the event is shaping up to be a stacked night, headlined by two major title fights. Jack Della Maddalena will make his first welterweight title defense against former lightweight champion Islam Makhachev, while Valentina Shevchenko puts her flyweight crown on the line against Zhang Weili.
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The undercard is equally loaded, featuring Sean Brady vs. Michael Morales, Leon Edwards vs. Carlos Prates, and Beneil Dariush vs. Benoit Saint Denis—a lineup that promises non-stop action. However, during Thursday’s press conference in New York City, UFC CEO Dana White fielded questions from reporters, and one of them pushed him to confirm that Brady vs. Morales is now a title eliminator. The response from White, however, didn’t sit well with journalist Ariel Helwani.
Ariel Helwani goes off at Dana White
During the presser, Sean Brady and Michael Morales were on stage with the UFC CEO when a reporter pressed Dana White about whether the winner of their fight would earn a shot at the welterweight title. Jed I. Goodman shared the clip on X, showing White quickly agreeing to the idea and effectively turning the matchup into a title eliminator. “Sure,” he said. The moment soon caught the attention of Ariel Helwani, who reacted on X soon afterward.
These guys DREAM of being champions. DREAM of fighting for the belt. Their hopes and dreams are in the hands of a couple people. Brady should already be next for the belt and he gets a “sure lol” response to this question with the same delivery as someone replying whether they… https://t.co/WxgpIWtYLa
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) November 14, 2025
The journalist fired shots at White, arguing that Brady should already be next in line for the title. “These guys DREAM of being champions. DREAM of fighting for the belt,” Helwani wrote. He added that whether these fights materialize depends on only a select few people, continuing, “Brady should already be next for the belt and he gets a ‘sure lol’ response to this question with the same delivery as someone replying whether they want lemon with their soda.”
As a reminder, UFC matchmaking is ultimately decided by a small group led by UFC President Dana White and Chief Business Officer Hunter Campbell, with the final decisions coming from the top. White and Helwani, once close allies, have been at odds for years. Their relationship famously soured in 2016 when Helwani broke the news of Brock Lesnar’s UFC 200 return ahead of schedule, prompting White to revoke his credentials.
The credentials were restored two days later, and Helwani stopped attending UFC events thereafter. Their feud only escalated in the years that followed. In recent years, however, there have been attempts to right the wrongs.
Helwani doesn’t think the relationship with White is fixable
Ariel Helwani isn’t convinced his fractured relationship with UFC president Dana White can ever be repaired. Speaking on his podcast after White made unexpectedly soft remarks about him on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive in September, Helwani dismissed any notion of reconciliation. “I am not holding out hope,” he said. “I believe, right now, that it will never get fixed.”
Helwani also questioned White’s sincerity, suggesting the UFC boss was merely being sarcastic. “I don’t believe that he was being 100 percent sincere,” he explained. He noted that White typically unloads insults whenever his name comes up, calling him “scumbag” or “piece of crap,” but this time the tone was noticeably restrained. “Is that because I’m so irrelevant to him? Maybe. Or is that because he misses me? Maybe. I don’t think it’s the latter.”
Still, Helwani added that if someone genuinely offered a path to peace, “I would do it”—but he’s far from expecting that day to come.
Having said that, only time will tell who the UFC decides to pit against the winner of Islam Makhachev and Jack Della Maddalena. But who do you think deserves a shot at the title the most?
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