Michael Chandler, Carlos Prates, Chris Duncan, David Samson on UFC rights deal, more

The Ariel Helwani Show

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14d ago 2:51:00

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Ariel Helwani starts the show with further analysis of the UFC’s new rights deal, focusing on Dana White’s comments that fighters will benefit from the deal and a comparison between Paramount and ESPN’s distribution platforms (01:52).

Carlos Prates joins ahead of his UFC 319 fight against Geoff Neal and talks about lessons learned from the Ian Machado Garry loss, his current smoking habits, the success of the Fighting Nerds, Neal predicting a first-round finish, and more (15:33).

Former Miami Marlins president David Samson makes his show debut to discuss UFC’s blockbuster seven-year $7.7 billion deal with Paramount, including his doubts about the suggested timeline, potential involvement in the deal by President Donald Trump, whether the deal will benefit the fighters, his own experience in making major sports deals, and more (43:53).

Chris Duncan is next, recapping his Fight of the Night-winning performance against Mateusz Rębecki, regularly crossing paths with Rębecki, who is an ATT teammate, finding purpose and motivation after overcoming his mother’s death, and more (1:16:30).

Michael Chandler is our final guest of the day, describing his initial reaction to UFC leaving ESPN and heading to Paramount in 2026 and how it will affect the fighters. He also looks back at his loss to Paddy Pimblett and talks about still seeking the Conor McGregor fight, aiming to be on the UFC’s White House card, wanting to interview all of his past opponents, and more (2:01:16).

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