Tony Khan Blasts Journalist Over Bellator Rumors – “It Would Not Be The First Inaccurate Thing”

Tony Khan took Ariel Helwani to task for a recent report about interest in Bellator MMA.

On a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Ariel Helwani reported that Tony Khan and his father Shahid Khan had interest in purchasing Bellator MMA.

Speaking on a media call ahead of this weekend’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view, Khan was asked about the rumors, and firmly denied that there was any truth to his interest in adding Bellator to his family’s impressive list of sports acquisitions.

“I’m familiar with Bellator, I’m familiar with MMA and have never worked professionally in the space other than having some stars from UFC appear at times in AEW but I saw that report and there’s really nothing to that. I’m not sure where that rumor got started.”

Khan then asked if it was Helwani who started the rumors, stating that he received word of the news while he was backstage at Dynamite. When it was confirmed the report came from Helwani, Khan had this to say:

“Well it would not be the first inaccurate thing Ariel Helwani has reported. That is completely inaccurate but that is Ariel Helwani for you.”

This is far from the first time Khan has had issues with the MMA journalist. Tension first built following Khan’s 2022 appearance on Helwani’s podcast, after which the journalist accused Khan of avoiding his questions. Fast forward to February of 2023, and Khan called the journalist a “fraud” after he appeared on WWE programming. In response, Helwani called Khan a “snowman” and insisted that he’s not a journalist when it comes to the world of pro wrestling.

[sided-debate-embed debate-id=”27618″]

h/t Inside the Ropes