Tony Khan has denied that he and his father have been discussing a potential purchase of the Bellator MMA fighting promotion.
During a recent episode of Ariel Helwani’s ‘The MMA Hour’ podcast, it was reported that the Khans had discussed purchasing Bellator, the second biggest MMA promotion behind the UFC.
Speaking on the media call ahead of this Sunday’s AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door II pay-per-view event, Khan refuted the claim and made sure to take aim at Helwani. He said,
“I was surprised to see that report. I haven’t had any conversations with them about that, so I don’t know what that was about. My father hasn’t had any conversations with them either. I’m not even sure who you talk to. I don’t even know honestly who owns the promotion. Is Scott Coker the owner or the president? I’m not sure…I saw that report, and yeah there’s really nothing to that. I’m not sure where that rumor got started.
“I honestly have never had any talks, and my father has never had any talks about buying Bellator, so I was surprised to see that…Was that something Ariel Helwani reported? Okay, well it would not be the first inaccurate thing Ariel Helwani has reported. That is completely inaccurate, but that’s Ariel Helwani for you.”
Khan has had issues with Helwani ever since the MMA/Wrestling journalist stated that an interview with Khan, who refused to speak about All Out 2022, was one of his worst interviews.
After Helwani appeared on WWE SmackDown in his native Canada, Khan called him biased and a fraud, which was discussed backstage at WWE Elimination Chamber in Montreal.
