Top MMA insider Ariel Helwani is a looming free agent

A rare sports media talent is coming to market soon.

Ariel Helwani, widely recognized as the top MMA insider and a personality who is also growing his presence around boxing and WWE, is set to become a free agent late this summer, The Post has learned.

Helwani currently hosts three total shows a week, two for Vox Media and one for The Ringer, and the current plan is for there to be four weekly shows at one outlet later this year.

riel Helwani speaks onstage at the press conference in promotion for the upcoming Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match at The Apollo Theater on May 13, 2024 in New York City. Getty Images for Netflix

Helwani declined to comment to The Post.

Last week, Helwani was the first to report that the cancellation of Conor McGregor vs. Michael Chandler at UFC 303 was “just a formality at this point,” prior to the official UFC announcement confirming the scoop.

His show has become the platform in combat sports where the stars and stakeholders go to make a big splash.

He landed CM Punk’s first media interview on his Vox show, “The MMA Hour,” after the wrestler made his stunning return to WWE following his controversial exit from AEW.

Journalist Ariel Helwani in attendance at the post fight press conference following the super welterweight boxing match between Floyd Mayweather Jr and Conor McGregor at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, USA. Sportsfile via Getty Images

Helwani also hosted His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, also on his Vox show, last month.

Alalshikh, who is the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, is one of the most powerful — if not the most powerful — people in combat sports.

Last month, Alalshikh finalized a deal to bring a major UFC event to Saudi Arabia in either late 2024 or early 2025, and he is currently rumored to be working on consolidating several boxing promotions to create a global super league.

Next month, Helwani will be headed to Paris to cover the 2024 Olympics for the CBC in his native Canada.

Helwani, who has worked with BetMGM, can be valuable either to a sportsbook directly or a media outlet that is sponsored by one, as MMA and boxing fights draw a lot of action to the gambling operators.