Ariel Helwani's MMA Show

On this week's episode, Ariel is first joined by NewYorkRic to talk about the state of the flyweight division going into this weekend's UFC Norfolk card (8:00). Then, they discuss the Henry Cejudo vs. Jose Aldo title fight booked for May and NewYorkRic's experience at Wilder-Fury 2. Afterwards, Fury's co-promoter Frank Warren joins the show to talk about what's next for Fury, the likelihood of the Anthony Joshua fight happening soon and his feud with Eddie Hearn (32:00). Finally, TST joins the show from Denmark to tell us about his trip to Scandinavia and offer his Minimalist Tip of the Week, which concluded with a potentially shocking twist (1:02:00)

Coming off a historical weekend in the boxing world, Ariel reacts to the Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder rematch and what could be next for Fury and the UFC Auckland card. Then he welcomes famed combat sports nutritionist George Lockhart, who worked with Tyson Fury leading up to the big fight. Lockhart explains how he prepped Fury for this win. (22:46) Then, Eddie Hearn, Sports Promoter and Managing Director of Matchroom Sport, joins the show to talk about the possibility of a fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua and the beef between him and Fury (44:16). After that, MMA fan and Center for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Steven Adams, talks with Ariel about his MMA fandom and which fighters are his favorite. (1:12:00) Next, UFC Women's strawweight contender Joanna Jedrzejczyk calls in to preview her upcoming match on March 7 vs. Zhang Weili and how she can potentially make history with a big win in just a couple weekends. (1:18:20) Speaking of making history, UFC Flyweight Contender Joanne Calderwood steps away from her training to preview her upcoming title fight vs. Valentina Shevchenko and her upcoming wedding. (1:35:18) What's next for UFC Featherweight Ryan Hall, you ask? Ariel brings Hall on the show to talk about what the future holds and whether or not he feels like he is being frozen out. (1:50 :16) Next, Conor McGregor's teammate, Bellator bantamweight James Gallagher talks to Ariel on his progress following a small muscle tear in his back. Gallagher is training again and has a few things to say to Ricky Bandejas who says he "doesn't deserve a rematch". (2:09:11) UFC light heavyweight Jimmy Crute joins the show next to discuss his bounce back win vs. Michal Oleksiejczuk. Crute tells Ariel that he "has never felt more nervous" before a fight. (2:22:37) Another fighter coming off a great win, UFC lightweight Dan Hooker calls into the show to discuss his somewhat controversial victory over Paul Felder. Hooker breaks down what was going through his head throughout the fight and says Felder is "one heck of a poker player." (2:31:46) Lastly, Hooker's teammate UFC lightweight Brad Riddell joins Ariel to recap his victory over Magomed Mustafaev. He says the experience fighting in New Zealand in front of his home crowd was unreal. (2:46:07)

In a contentious episode of the show, UFC legend Diego Sanchez and his coach and life guru, Josh Fabia, defend themselves against the criticism they've each received since Saturday night's controversial ending in Rio Rancho. Plus, ESPN's Antonietta Collins is in Las Vegas to set the scene for Tyson Fury/Deontay Wilder II and also to describe what it's like being from Jorge Masvidal's hometown (56:02). And, TST brings another "Minimalist Tip of the Week" (1:11:57).

Ariel begins by delivering his thoughts on Jan Blachowicz's Saturday night win in Rio Rancho and the illegal knee that defined the Diego Sanchez/Michel Pereira fight. Then, Blachowicz himself discusses the magnitude of the win, his callout of Jon Jones, if he thinks he's ahead of Dominick Reyes for a title shot and the reception of him in Poland (25:48). UFC bantamweight Aljamain Sterling, absent since June, next talks about his recent injuries, the Petr Yan "hype train" and why Sterling feels he deserves a shot at the belt (45:35). Then, just days away from his highly-anticipated boxing heavyweight rematch with Deontay Wilder, "The Gypsy King" Tyson Fury discusses what it's like being the betting underdog, if he'll approach this fight differently than the first time around, what he may do next and when he thinks he'll call it quits (1:09:10). After that, former interim UFC lightweight champion Dustin Poirier on the possibility of fighting Nate Diaz, his campaign for a Conor McGregor matchup, if anyone can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov and his work with the Good Fight Foundation (1:27:47). Gegard Mousasi, former Bellator middleweight world champion, next talks about this upcoming weekend's bout with Douglas Lima (1:45:02) and then UFC middleweight Darren Till discusses his Twitter game, budding friendship with Israel Adesanya and the impact of his visa issues on UFC 248 (2:05:48). After that, a new-look "Platinum" Mike Perry on potentially moving weight classes, dealing with his UFC 245 loss to Geoff Neal, and his Saturday Submission Underground grappling matchup against Al Iaquinta (2:28:10). Lastly, Iaquinta talks about facing Perry, why he wants to fight Poirier and more (2:45:00).

In the wake of a controversial UFC 247, Ariel welcomes veteran MMA official Marc Goddard to discuss misconceptions about officiating, the scoring of close rounds, the criteria officials adhere to and the comments Colby Covington made about him. Plus, Andy Foster, Executive Director of the California State Athletic Commission, joins the show to examine how officiating can improve (31:17). Later, Marc Raimondi explains the new Kansas open scoring laws and how they will be implemented (52:48). And, false accusations against Nate Diaz (1:06:40), the latest on Conor McGregor, "TST's Minimalist Tip of the Week" and a special Valentine's Day surprise for Ariel.