UFC Lifts Ban On Reporter Ariel Helwani, Will Allow Him To Receive Credentials

Ariel Helwani’s indefinite ban from receiving UFC credentials has been lifted.

UFC president Dana White told TMZ Sports on Monday that Helwani won’t receive a credential “as long as I’m here,” after the reporter was escorted from The Forum in Inglewood, Calif., at Saturday’s UFC 199 after breaking a pair of stories without asking the promotion for a comment. The two stories he broke were Brock Lesnar’s return and the Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz rematch at UFC 202.

But UFC ended the ban and released a statement to reporters Monday night.

“Following a conversation with the editorial team at SB Nation, UFC will not prevent MMAFighting.com from receiving media credentials to cover live UFC events,” a UFC spokesman wrote in a statement, via The Los Angeles Times’ Lance Pugmire.

“We respect the role the media plays in our sport and beyond, including MMAFighting’s ability to report news. However, in our opinion, we believe the recurring tactics used by its lead reporter extended beyond the purpose of journalism. We feel confident our position has now been adequately communicated to the SB Nation editorial team.”

Thumbnail photo via Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports Images