Adriano Moraes has publicly sided with Sean Strickland in the ongoing conflict between the UFC middleweight champion and MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. The dispute ignited after Helwani criticized Strickland for seemingly retracting some of his aggressive pre-fight remarks directed at Khamzat Chimaev, whom Strickland recently defeated to reclaim the UFC middleweight title.
In a segment from “The Ariel Helwani Show,” shared on X, Helwani voiced his strong disapproval of Strickland’s perceived backtracking, stating, “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 king responded vehemently on X, declaring his stance on Helwani: “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.”
Adriano Moraes, a former ONE Championship titleholder and recent winner at MVP MMA 1, retweeted Strickland’s response to Helwani, adding his own sentiment: “Now I can tell I agreed 100%.”
Moraes’ alignment with Strickland may also be influenced by a recent interview Helwani conducted with Moraes’ opponent at MVP MMA 1, Phumi Nkuta. Nkuta raised concerns about the controversial submission victory awarded to Moraes, suggesting the hold was maintained after the bell. Nkuta is reportedly pursuing an appeal, and it’s speculated that Moraes might perceive Helwani’s platforming of this interview as a form of negativity directed towards him.
Several social media users reacted to Moraes’ endorsement of Strickland’s criticism, with some questioning his motives and referencing the controversial ending of his recent bout. Comments included accusations of cheating and suggestions that Moraes was reacting to the Nkuta interview. Other users expressed surprise at the perceived sensitivity of MMA fighters.