Reporter, staff removed from UFC 199 after Lesnar report

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – A reporter says his credentials were revoked from a UFC fight over his report that WWE star and former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was close to fighting again for the organization.

MMAfighting.com’s Ariel Helwani said Saturday night on Twitter that he, photographer Esther Lin and video director E. Casey Leydon were removed from the UFC 199.

Helwani posted that he only reported news, didn’t do anything unethical and then was “told we’re banned for life.”

The organization later announced that Lesnar would fight at UFC 200 in Las Vegas next month.

UFC spokesman Dave Sholler says professional standards dictate that journalists are to contact the UFC for comment before reporting a story.

Helwani was recently removed from his role as a UFC reporter for Fox.