Adriano Moraes appears to be siding with Sean Strickland in the latter’s ongoing dispute with MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. This conflict ignited when Helwani criticized Strickland for seemingly retracting some of his aggressive pre-fight remarks made towards Khamzat Chimaev, just before Strickland defeated ‘Borz’ to reclaim the UFC middleweight championship.
Following UFC 298, in a segment from “The Ariel Helwani Show” shared on X by the account @HappyPunch, Helwani stated:
“That is the biggest bunch of bulls**t I’ve ever heard. That is fraud. That is cowardly s**t. You cannot walk that back. You called Khamzat’s mother a w**re! That tells me you’re not who you say you are. You’re a walking contradiction.”
The newly crowned 185-pound champion responded to the veteran MMA reporter on X, with Strickland commenting:
“This is why I dont do media with him. You are a leech who I’ve never respected. The moment I met this man I knew his quality. End of the day the hatred between was real, what he said about me was wrong, what I said about him was wrong. This what hate and anger does to people and it still might be there but we earned each other’s respect through blood and I would never expect a man of his quality to understand that.. You are and will always be a pathetic MMA leech who has done nothing besides criticizing men who are better than yourself.”
Former ONE Championship titleholder and recent MVP MMA 1 victor, Adriano Moraes, retweeted the UFC champion’s response to Helwani, adding his own sentiment:
“Now I can tell I agreed 100%”
Adriano Moraes Sides with Strickland in Helwani Feud, Public Reacts
Moraes seemingly has his own grievances with Ariel Helwani, stemming from a recent interview with Moraes’ opponent at MVP MMA 1, Phumi Nkuta. Nkuta discussed the controversial nature of their bout’s finish.
The Netflix broadcast showed Moraes winning by submission, but some viewers felt the hold was maintained even after the bell sounded. Nkuta suggested Moraes was cheating and is reportedly seeking a commission appeal regarding the bout’s verdict. It’s possible the Brazilian fighter perceived a negative sentiment directed towards him through Helwani’s platforming of this interview.
Several users on X reacted to Moraes aligning himself with Strickland in the dispute with Helwani. Some of the comments included:
“You only agree with him because of what Phumi said on Ariel’s show. You cheated and held in a choke well after the bell. We all saw it.”
“Because he thinks it should have went to decision?”
“You agreed that you’re a cheater? I’m not sure I’ve seen a more pathetic way to cheat. You weren’t “in the moment.” Be better.”
“It sometimes surprises me how sensitive mma fighters are compared to other sport athletes. Grow a pair.”
“Bro you cheated. Straight up. Herb had to literally pry your arms off of that man CLEAR after the bell.”
