Logan Paul and Ariel Helwani engaged in a heated exchange after the WWE superstar claimed the MMA journalist leaked details about his mooted fight with Conor McGregor.
Helwani, who has been on interview duties at events involving the Pauls, was a guest on the IMPAULSIVE podcast and discussed a number of topics - including being banned from UFC, on Jon Jones vs Tom Aspinall and whether a UFC card will take place at the White House in line with Donald Trump's plans.
But in one segment, Paul and Helwani got into a disagreement when the 15-time MMA journalist Helwani made a point of stating that he does not break trust when speaking to fighters confidentially.
He then claimed that he has had conversations with Paul which have remained private and not leaked or posted - though 'The Maverick' disputed that and said "I think you did on one of them" - claiming that there was one instance where Helwani ran with information provided.
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Firing back, Helwani said: "What? [Get] the f*** out of here! I've never in my life, I never will."
Paul explained that he was referring to "the Conor thing" - claiming that Helwani shared details of his potential boxing bout with Conor McGregor.
He stated: “When it was rumoured that I was fighting McGregor. You DM me and [asked], ‘Is it true?’ And I said, ‘At the moment, no.’ I didn’t say this is proprietary information, and "I’d like to keep this rumour going for clout. But maybe I should have. You went right on your show and said they don’t have anything in place.”
Helwani wasn't having it and fired back, saying: "This is inaccurate. I actually went on my show and said, ‘There was something. There were discussions."
Paul responded: "Well, there were discussions in place. I just don’t know if I was ready for that information to break.”
Helwani disputed that he broke anything and said he has a strict rule whereby he assumed everything is "off the record" unless stated otherwise.
The two continued to argue, with Paul adamant that Helwani went on the record after their direct message and the scenario made him feel as though he had to "be careful" with what he told the Canadian and "didn't think" he would go "right to the show and say it".
Helwani said he would "stick to my guns" and when Paul claimed the only way people would have known that legitimate conversations about the McGregor fight
"Absolutely not. Do you not think I talked to people on the other side of the fence. Were you fighting your shadow? There's other people involved. I'm not saying I spoke to anyone but you weren't the only player involved."
Helwani responds on social media to Paul podcast claim
A short clip of the exchange was shared on the IMPAULSIVE social media channels with the caption, "Logan Paul VS Conor McGregor was LEAKED by Ariel Helwani" - which irked the 43-year-old and prompted a reply.
"Yeah, this never happened. In fact, the EXACT opposite what he said happened actually happened. I take this very seriously. Should I post the DM @LoganPaul or …?"
In a separate reply, Helwani posted a video from his show where he dissected the possibility of Paul and McGregor squaring off.
Topics: Logan Paul, Ariel Helwani, UFC, Boxing
Josh Lawless