Email Address:. Ariel was gracious enough to grant VigilanteMMA an exclusive interview, where we discussed everything from how the Montreal Expos jump-started his interest in MMA, why he was talking to Bruce Buffer back in college, his interviewing philosophy and why MMA fighters make for the best interviews. VigilanteMMA: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. How did your passion for MMA begin? I love pro wrestling and I love boxing.
My uncle, which a lot of people might not know, competed in the Olympics in Judo representing Lebanon, so I feel as though combat sports were sort of always in my blood. I remember watching UFC 1 and thinking it was like real pro wrestling and that got me really excited, since I was a big pro wrestling fan already. VigilanteMMA: Very cool. Have you always wanted to be a broadcaster? Soon after I remember reading a Sports Illustrated where they ranked the best schools for everything, and they wrote that Syracuse University was the best school for broadcasting.
Then a light kind of came on in my head. I thought maybe I could be an MMA journalist. So I always had that in the back of my mind. Did you know back then that MMA was going to get as big as it is today? It was on Sat. So when everyone else was out partying Friday night, I was doing research on Dan Severn and King Kong Bundy who were my guests the next day. Even Bruce Buffer, who I now talk to all the time at events, would come on before the Pay Per Views and preview them with me.
So MMA to me was like the underdog. Ariel Helwani: No, no. Maybe a bit of both. Nothing compares to it in my opinion. VigilanteMMA: Yes exactly. Ariel Helwani: I really try not to think about it too much. I just try to be, to put it as simply as possible, just a human being.
You still have to do your job, but on the flip side, you want these people to come back to you and you want them to feel comfortable in talking to you.
