The Ariel Helwani Show

The Boys in the Back return to react to recent news, including PFL's former CEO departing, UFC Houston fight announcements, and LFA's new broadcast home (03:21).Next, they cover the unexpected talk of friendship between Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier, before discussing some of the other biggest rivalries in MMA history (13:06).Plus, the Boys debut the first annual Backie Awards (44:36), listen to your voicemails (1:19:14), and answer your Super Chats (1:56:23). 

Ariel Helwani is joined by The Boys in the Back and Petesy Carroll to review their predictions from last year, then forecast the MMA landscape for 2026.After giving their Must-See Fights (10:53), Breakout Fighters (45:39), Stories To Watch (58:58), and Male and Female Fighters (1:21:27), the crew predicts how many new UFC champions will be crowned (1:33:50), play a round of True or False (1:41:16), and each make one bold prediction (1:58:49).The show closes with a debate about the Michael Morales record controversy (2:16:21), Super Chats (2:53:43), and some other news and notes (3:05:02).

Ariel Helwani and Ade Oladipo reunite to roll out our second annual boxing awards spectacular, but first, they honor Anthony Joshua's close friends Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele (07:32).The duo hands out hardware in 20 categories, including Fight of the Year (18:26), Knockout of the Year (23:12), Trainer of the Year (1:09:08), Promoter of the Year (1:16:24) Moment of the Year (1:41:49), Female Fighter of the Year (1:53:52), Male Fighter of the Year (1:59:21), and many more.After saying goodbye to Ade, Ariel is joined by The Boys in the Back and Petesy Carroll for a supersized edition of On The Nose, with topics including Rico Verhoeven's next move (2:22:15), Adam Sandler vs. Will Ferrell (2:37:39), speculation about Justin Gaethje's status for UFC 324 (2:44:52), sportswashing and the state of modern journalism (3:03:21), Conor McGregor calling for a fight against Floyd Mayweather (3:17:50), Sean O'Malley setting a timeline for retirement (3:49:27), and more.Finally, Ariel answers your Super Chats to close the show (4:02:36).

Ariel Helwani, The Boys in the Back, and Petesy Carroll ring in 2026 with the long-awaited, never-duplicated 13th Annual Helwani Nose Awards.Before getting into the categories, the show pays tribute to MMA media member Abbey Subhan and Anthony Joshua team members Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele (08:28), then looks back at some of the moments we missed over the break (21:23).The gang jumps into the most comprehensive awards in sports, with categories including Performance of the Year (36:00), Fight of the Year (39:51), Knockout of the Year (52:19), Rivalry of the Year (1:33:33), Story of the Year (3:11:24), Female Fighter of the Year (3:25:18), Male Fighter of the Year (3:33:56), and many more.Finally, Ariel reacts to some breaking news about Jon Jones and rival Daniel Cormier (3:44:51) and answers your Super Chats (3:51:03).

Ariel Helwani starts the final live show of 2025 with a recap and reaction to Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua, including the big winners and losers, before The Boys in the Back and Petesy Carroll join him to further break down the aftermath and forecast what’s next for both Paul and Joshua (04:07).Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn is back to provide his perspective on Joshua’s knockout of Paul, Paul’s game plan and toughness, Joshua’s rising star power, potential bouts for Joshua against Tyson Fury and Rico Verhoeven, Katie Taylor’s next fight, the brewing Zuffa Boxing rivalry, and more (1:04:01).Andrei Arlovski returns to the show to give details about his run-in with streamer Jack Doherty, including who was involved, how the whole thing kicked off, his reaction to Doherty’s comments after the fact, and more. Plus, he previews his upcoming BKFC heavyweight title bout against Ben Rothwell and gives thoughts on the Paul vs. Joshua fight (1:42:49).Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian provides an update on Jake Paul’s health after being knocked out by Anthony Joshua, and discusses Paul’s next move, how the loss impacts Paul’s stock, the main event purses, accusations of fight fixing, Netflix’s reaction to the event, and more (2:08:27).One-half of the AEW Women’s Tag Team Champions, Harley Cameron, joins Ariel in-studio to talk about her ascent in 2025, her early life and knowing she wanted to be an entertainer, WWE facilitating her early wrestling training, the AEW locker room, working with Mercedes Moné, before showcasing her ventriloquism skills (2:35:17).Ariel touches on a few news items, including Andrew Tate falling short in his Misfits debut against Chase DeMoor, and answers your Super Chats to wrap up the show (3:32:56).