Featured Image Credit: The Ariel Helwani Show
Topics: Ariel Helwani, UFC
Nasir Jabbar
Ariel Helwani produced a hilarious response after reminiscing over his interview with Justin Bieber in 2009.
The Ariel Helwani Show crew looked back at classic interviews this week, including Nate Diaz, Jorge Masvidal and Chael Sonnen.
Helwani spoke to Diaz following his UFC 111 victory over Rory Markham, chatted with Sonnen ahead of his rematch against Paulo Filho for the WEC middleweight title and previewed Masvidal's proposed rematch against Toby Imada.
Among the classic interviews was a chat with music superstar Bieber, who was just 15 at the time.
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Helwani, a self-proclaimed intrepid reporter at the time, began the interview with Bieber by jokingly saying that he 'hates' him because of the singer's Toronto allegiances.
They spoke about ice hockey and basketball in Canada before Helwani changed the subject to rumours about Bieber dating Taylor Swift.
Bieber said: "No, it's not true. She is a little bit older than me."
To which Helwani replied: "That's great, man. Everyone would love you if that was true," before concluding the interview by telling him to 'keep up with the good work'.
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Recalling his interview with Bieber, the 43-year-old reporter laughed: "What the hell was I doing?"
Eric Jackman, known as New York Ric, weighed in on the interview, stating: "You were grilling Justin Bieber."
Helwani responded: "Was it too much?"
Jackman said: "You were going hard on the young man. You were not giving that man any air space."
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Helwani defended his interview with Bieber by calling himself an 'intrepid reporter', with Jackman praising Bieber's conduct.
"A few things about that one," he said. "One, he handled it well and two, Justin Bieber knows ball. He's smart."
Despite his interview with Bieber, Helwani went onto become one of the most influential journalists in combat sports - in particular in MMA.
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He used to work for ESPN and hosted the MMA Hour before teaming up with Yahoo Sports to create The Ariel Helwani Show - a flagship show for Uncrowned.
Helwani has won MMA Journalist of the Year at the World MMA Awards every year since 2010 and is considered a leading voice in combat sports journalism given his expertise on MMA, boxing and professional wrestling.