Episode overview

LIVE FROM LAS VEGAS! Joanna Jędrzejczyk, Jon Anik, Aljamain Sterling ALL IN STUDIO | TAHS | 7/10/26

The Ariel Helwani Show · 10 July 2026 · 4h 27m · 3 Egleze moments

What happened in this episode?

Host Ariel Helwani broadcasts from Las Vegas during UFC 329 fight week, conducting in-depth interviews with UFC play-by-play announcer Jon Anik and former bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling, while also sitting down with UFC Hall of Famer Joanna Jedrzejczyk. Anik reveals his aspiration to call NFL games and announces plans to launch a broadcasting seminar called JABS, while discussing the demanding preparation behind his UFC commentary work, including handwriting fighter cards and memorizing all pre-fight copy. The episode extensively covers Conor McGregor's return fight against Max Holloway, with analysis of the press conference where McGregor delivered vintage trash talk and confrontational energy. Joanna Jedrzejczyk opens up about her daily internal struggle with retirement, revealing she discusses comeback possibilities with her manager constantly despite leaving the sport four years ago. Major news breaks during the show as Israel Adesanya announces his departure from City Kickboxing gym, while Merab Dvalishvili becomes involved in a physical altercation at a press conference in Georgia. Sterling provides insider perspective on the future of MMA training, arguing camps must adopt boxing's individualized model rather than traditional team structures. The episode also features detailed discussion of the ceremonial weigh-ins where both McGregor and Holloway successfully made weight, extensive analysis of Shakur Stevenson signing with Zuffa Boxing, and personal anecdotes from Helwani including an emotional letter from his son at summer camp and the crew's group outing to an upscale omakase restaurant and the Sphere to watch The Wizard of Oz.

What are the key points?

Jon Anik reveals NFL play-by-play would be his dream job and announces launch of JABS broadcasting seminar for aspiring announcers in December 2026
Joanna Jedrzejczyk admits she discusses UFC comeback with her manager every other day despite retiring four years ago
Israel Adesanya announces departure from City Kickboxing gym where he built his championship career, plans boxing-style individualized training approach
Merab Dvalishvili involved in physical confrontation with Umar Nurmagomedov supporter at RAF press conference in Georgia after refusing to fight Umar
Aljamain Sterling reveals three potential opponents being discussed but none is Lerone Murphy, who he believes is the fight that makes most sense
Conor McGregor delivers vintage press conference performance ahead of Max Holloway fight, with both fighters successfully making weight at 170 pounds
Sterling argues MMA must transition from team training model to boxing's individualized camp structure for fighters to reach their full potential

Which topics are covered?

Sports Combat & UFC

How is this page sourced?

Programme: The Ariel Helwani Show
Published: 10 July 2026
Duration: 4h 27m
Original episode: Open the original source ↗

Egleze verifies the speaker, source and timestamp for each linked moment. Unless a moment is explicitly marked independently verified, statements remain attributed claims by the named speaker rather than established facts.

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3 moments from this episode

Source-linked · editorially selected

Sports

Jon Anik Says He Would Leave UFC for NFL Play-by-Play Opportunity

at 3:05:18 · Attributed speaker claim

I don't have this big ego like, you know, I didn't get in this really to try to do anything more than like provide for my kids. And I felt like I could do, I always wanted to have kids. I felt like I could do that better as a broadcaster than as a sports writer, you know? And so I think there's a little bit of a hermit and introvert in me that isn't like, dude, I want to be, you know, like, you know, I mean, I'm not out here trying to win Emmys. I'm trying to, you know, do this job to the best of my abilities.

UFC play-by-play announcer Jon Anik revealed that calling an NFL game would be "the final itch" he'd love to scratch in his broadcasting career, despite his 15-year tenure with the UFC. While acknowledging he's an exclusive full-time UFC employee without wiggle room to pursue other sports, Anik expressed that football, basketball, and baseball remain more in his wheelhouse than martial arts due to growing up with those sports. He also announced plans to launch "JABS" (Jon Anik Broadcasting Seminar), a weekend-long in-person training program in Las Vegas for aspiring broadcasters.

Read this moment → Check original at 3:05:18 ↗

Combat & UFC

Aljamain Sterling Warns MMA Training Camps Must Adopt Boxing Model to Succeed

at 3:41:48 · Attributed speaker claim

The team thing is so played out. You got guys that come on the mat, some of these big gyms and there's like 40 50 bodies on the mat, 30 whatever. You can't service all those guys. If it's a young fight team, amateur team, you need to do that because this way you give everybody the same blueprint, the same foundational starting point so they can grow. But then as they start to develop and take fights, get experience, you need to start to hone in to that more boxing, boxing type of style.

Former UFC bantamweight champion Aljamain Sterling argued that MMA training camps must transition from the traditional team model to a boxing-style approach where training is built around individual fighters. Sterling criticized gyms with 40-50 fighters on the mat, saying coaches can't properly service everyone. He pointed to examples like Sean O'Malley, Henry Cejudo, and Demetrious Johnson as fighters who've successfully adopted individualized training focused on their specific needs rather than generic team practices. Sterling emphasized that practices should be structured with fighters in different stations working on matchup-specific skills rather than going through one-size-fits-all team drills.

Read this moment → Check original at 3:41:48 ↗

Combat & UFC

Merab Dvalishvili Involved in Physical Altercation at RAF Press Conference

at 3:49:20 · Attributed speaker claim

You know what, man that's a deep rooted thing. And, um, Umar is a great dude, but it gets to a point where he's got to, like, kind of control his people and tell his people to have respect. They always preach respect, show it back. They've had their share. Uh, share of words, right? The fights over whether it was Umar or not on social media, doing the talking, it came from his account.

UFC bantamweight champion Merab Dvalishvili was involved in a physical confrontation with an Umar Nurmagomedov supporter following a press conference in Tbilisi, Georgia for a RAF (Real Action Fighting) event. The incident occurred after Dvalishvili stated at the press conference that he would fight anyone except "this spoiled guy" Umar. According to reports, security and fellow fighter Arman Tsarukyan had to intervene. Aljamain Sterling defended Dvalishvili's actions, stating that Umar needs to control his supporters and that the respect card can't be played after trash talk on social media.

Read this moment → Check original at 3:49:20 ↗