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wandshogun09

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Alright. Who are your favourite and least favourite MMA journalists?

 

Obviously, Ariel Helwani is the daddy. His content is so good and he's consistently putting new stuff out there. I'd be lost on fight week these days without his YouTube channel. The MMA Hour is great. The MMA Beat is great. But I think it's his one on one interviews where he really shines most. Not the fight week ones, although they're quality as well. I'm talking those in depth longer ones like the Walk Around Dublin with McGregor, the two with Rampage in New York and Japan, the one with Bisping before the Anderson fight. Nobody gets more out of the fighters than Helwani does. MMA is better for having him involved in it.

 

Anyone who knows what the thread title refers to though, will know I'm throwing some love to the big man Luke Thomas. I don't agree with everything he says. There's been times I've thought him a dick. And the stuff a while back where he was trying to act like you're a big racist if you don't like Jon Jones was ridiculous. But on the whole, I think he's probably my favourite MMA media guy these days. Helwani aside. He's not for everyone but I love his live chat/podcast 'Promotional Malpractice', which is on every Wednesday. He's pretty outspoken and opinionated, probably moreso than most of the MMA media actually. But I like him. He's really good on the MMA Beat, he's good in media scrums (he was all over that Dana scrum at 207 this week) and even if I don't agree with something he says he usually has a solid argument for his case. I just wish he wouldn't censor his own swear words. Either swear or don't. No-one's going to melt if they hear the word 'fuck' on a podcast.

 

In relation to nothing MMA, here's Luke explaining why he doesn't listen to Drake...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=4itrdRNQQJ0

 

Luke being a Sean Price fan also gets him bonus points from me.

 

On the negative side of MMA media;

 

d3for.jpg

 

It's got to be Big Bad GAD. Not even bothering explaining that one. It's been done to death on here. If you don't know just watch an interview of him. Pretty much any.

 

So there you have it. There's loads more I like but I'll leave it there for now. Feel free to link to other journalists work, podcasts, articles, what have you.

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Fairly obvious, but Helwani is the undisputed MVP of MMA media. I don't think anyone is as good as him in terms or reporting, interviewing or sources. There was a fear for a while that he would become a UFC stooge, but recent events have negated that concern. 

 

Elsewhere, I've always liked Jordan Breen. He started working for Sherdog at a really young age. I was listening to his radio show in 2008, and he's the same age as me, so he must have only been 21 at the time. Before I started posting properly on here, he was my go-to guy for MMA opinions. He's a fountain of MMA knowledge. This is his key strength, but also his only weakness. Sometimes he's not the most inspirational person to listen to, as he's very pragmatic and borderline snarky. A bit like the Grunge fans that are parodied on the Simpson episode where Homer becomes a circus act. There is a fun side to Breen though, as his humour more often that not hits the mark. I haven't listened to his podcast in a while, but I presume it's still more of the same. 

 

The worst is obviously GAD. The reasons for this have been said many times before. However, I can offer a new spin on the greasy haired one. It seems that he's more respected in boxing circles. Maybe not by the majority of his peers, but certainly amongst boxing fans. IFL interviewed him last month, and the comments section was mostly gushing over him. Elliot Worsell who I rate as a boxing writer and pundit also seems to respect him. GAD is probably a hack when it comes to MMA, but there's a chance that he's not as bad when it comes to boxing. Then again, most of my exposure to him has been in a MMA context, so I'm not talking from personal experience.

 

I also don't like The Fighter and The Kid. I get their appeal, and people whose opinion I have a lot of time for really rate them, but they're just not for me. It really shines through that they are mates with Rogan, who I can only abide by in structured environments these days. I'm not a fan of either, but Callen is the more annoying of the two. That clip that someone posted of their reaction to Lesnar getting a testing exemption sums up my issue with them. I just don't like their style of presentation, it's a bit too hyperbolic for my tastes. 

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Definitely agree with you on Luke Thomas. Initially you do get a bit put off by how pompous he can sometimes come across, but once you realise he's not completely humourless he's easier to listen too. I probably listen to him more than any MMA journalist these days. Unlike Helwani, Thomas trains in the sport so can offer different and more in depth view points on certain things - like when he brakes down fights frame by frame. He's the best thing about the MMA Beat and is the reason I tune in every week. Similar to wand, I don't agree with him sometimes, but he does do a good job arguing his point with some logic and what not.

 

I can never make it through Fighter and the Kid, even when they've got a good guest on. It's a bit boring and most of the jokes are duds. In fact, I find Schuab is infinitely better when he's away from Callen and talking to a Rogan or even breaking down fights with some other random.

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For me, the best from a pure actual journalism standpoint has to be Gareth A. Davies. The guy just gets combat sport and MMA in particular. You can tell he has been there from the very beginning as you just can't learn that knowledge base he has amassed over the decades he has pounded the beat.

 

There is so much jealousy aimed at him in my opinion, a lot of Johnny Come Latelys think they should be the new king on the block but that's what separates GAD from them. Ego. They are all about their own ego and raising their own profile where as GAD is totally humble and is only interested in raising interest and the profile of the sport he dearly loves. So yeah, GAD all the way for me and long may he reign

 

Regarding a snippet from his latest column, spoiler end just in case

 

 

lol, j/k. But if I posted this on April 1st it would have been even more obvious

 

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Yeah, you can't deny the top spot to Ariel. 

 

After that, my picks would be Dave Metlzer and Mark Raimondi. Raimondi reminds me of my friend & I like his enthusiasm. And this article by Chuck Mindenhall was amazing:

http://www.mmafighting.com/2015/3/24/8259545/in-search-of-strange-brew

 

Don't like Luke Thomas - comes across as very arrogant 95% of the time. Not for me; although I like him now more than I used to.

 

Re The Fighter & the Kid - sometime I enjoy Shaub - I've warmed to him a bit. But Callan is a complete bell-end.

 

And as we can all probably agree, the worst by a country mile is GAD. The absolute shits.

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Gad is horrid - And its a shame there's a number of quality writers based over here that just can't get a break whilst the likes of GAD (who doesn't even appear that bothered about MMA) lap it up.

 

Jim Edwards is also on my list of journalists I dislike. Mass accumulated a social media presence by following and unfollowing people online once they'd followed him back. Got called out and didn't bother responding to accusations he's being paid to cover events for ONE, A1 and KSW and generally writes click bait articles.

 

Meltzer is one of my personal favourites, guys got great knowledge of the history of the sport and you can tell fights still really captivate him from time to time.

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I agree on Fighter & the Kid.

 

First of all, I'm assuming Schaub's the fighter, right? So Callen's the kid? Fucker must be about 50. And Schaub's not a fighter anymore either so the title of their podcast is wrong on all fronts.

 

I can't listen to it either. Callen is so shit he makes Schaub seem bearable in comparison. These two are even worse when they're on the Fight Companion podcasts with Joe Rogan and Eddie Bravo. Fucking hell those four together are too much. I like the concept of the Fight Companion thing but it often just descends into a bunch of middle aged blokes, all having a mid life crisis, in a shouting contest about aliens or conspiracy theories or whatever. They're like a bunch of teenage girls acting drunk off their first WKD or something. It's much better when they've got someone like Donald Cerrone or Joe Schilling or someone like that there.

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Im a big Fighter & The Kid fan, i dont think i was into it initially but i warmed to it, its not brilliant as an MMA podcast, and Schaub's breakdowns are pretty shit, but as a comedy/lifestyle podcast (i dunno how you'd label it) it's lot of fun to listen too, each to their own and all that. Schaub's recent Breakdown podcasts have been good though in that he's had a guest on and chatted to them for an hour purely about MMA (Tito & Jouban).

 

Helwani is the king of MMA journalists. Luke Thomas like some have mentioned here is such a smug prick that he's hard to like at first but he does great work.

 

John Morgan deserves a mention but looses kudos points for wearing attention seeking bright tshirts in the front row of pretty much every show he attends.

 

The whole Fight Network team are up there for me too. Great content.

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Does Jeff Wagenheim, a regular guest on the MMA Beat, get on anyone else's tits as much as mine? He's dreadful. It's not so much that he has such different opinions to mine (he's a pure sports type, hates anything entertainment-based), it's that he takes it to such crazy, desperate lengths that it constantly stifles discussion.

 

Everyone else on the panel is great. It's the usual MMAFighting crowd, and despite often having different stances on the entertainment aspect, they're still able to have interesting chats that give balanced viewpoints. Guys like Luke Thomas, for example, might not enjoy goofy promos as much as Ariel, but they can still discuss It normally, and agree that they sell pay per views regardless of personal taste. Wagenheim, however, is like having a shit, contrary, stubborn old man in the room, when you're trying to talk about MMA wth your mates. Like your dad won't take a hint and fuck off.

 

"You can't book fights to appeal to the casual audience, that's ridiculous."

 

Urgh.

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He doesn't bother me really. Probably because he's always surrounded by the likes of Helwani, Thomas, Mindenhall or whoever they've got on. I usually just end up tuning him and his loud shirts out most of the time. It's like 'oh, grandad's off again'. He's inoffensive enough but he never says anything interesting really. He offers the least on the panel and is definitely the weak link of the MMA Beat lot. Like Vincent in the NWO. One thing that does really grate on me though with Wags, is his overuse of the word 'meritocracy'. He fucking loves that word. I don't think I've ever seen an episode of the MMA Beat where he doesn't use it at least once. You could set your fucking watch to it.

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Around the start off year it was noticeable that Ariel was totally fed up with Jeff views. Seemed Ariel was intent on trying to get a rise out off him. Seems sorted now since it kinda got awkward. 

Maybe he released if Jeff went they would probably have to deal with the bland twink that is Danny Segura. Plus by the intros it seems Jeff lost a job this year and isn't really part off the MMA CIRCLE. He needs to cut out his "Imagine if the.. NICKS-METS-BRONCOS... line though.

 

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Wagenheim is fairly awful. Pretty much always when he makes some mental point and it's usually shattered when Thomas and co throw a bit of logic and common sense his way. I wouldn't mind him if he could keep pace and argue his point well, but it usually leads to awkwardness.

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I don't really know all their names but half the staff at Bloody Elbow seem like bellends. I try not to read the comment pages but I've seen the writer of the article threaten to or actually ban posters who disagree with the article.

 

I am not talking trolls just saying stupid shit to annoy the writer but actually someone trying to make a valid point, even if I don't agree, either ignore the comment or argue your point back, don't ban someone for having an opinion, otherwise what's the point in having a comment section.

 

Another thing I hate is the MMA media dragging interviews over a week or so, they take one or two lines of an interview and write an article, sometimes two or three over the same thing, then they do the same thing with another few comments and rinse and repeat. I used to think why is this fighter, promoter or manager doing so many interviews and keep banging on about the same thing until you realise it's all from the same interview, obviously I know why they do it for page views but it's still really annoying.

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