Dana White blasts Eddie Hearn’s UFC influence during Tom Aspinall dispute
Dana White has once again slammed Eddie Hearn’s venture into managing MMA fighters after the Matchroom boss signed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to his talent agency.
White and Hearn became embroiled in a war of words after Conor Benn signed with Zuffa last month, bringing his decade-long association with Matchroom Boxing to an end.
Reacting to the news, Hearn explained how he was informed through a lawyer’s letter before being denied the opportunity to speak to the British fighter on the phone.
Benn will make his Zuffa debut against Regis Prograis on 11 April on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s comeback bout against Russia’s Arslanbek Makhmudov, with Hearn set to be in attendance at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Aside from the verbal back and forth between the two most powerful promoters in combat sports, Hearn recently signed Aspinall to his new talent agency.
The deal is said to be “commercial and advisory”, while the fighter remains under contract with the UFC as he recovers from an eye injury sustained against Ciryl Gane in October.
And White has responded to the deal by saying that he “doesn’t get” the reasons behind the move.
“I don’t know what the thought process was [behind the move],” he told the media gathering at UFC London on Saturday (21 March).
“Eddie was coming out saying, ‘Ah, I look forward to competing with them [Zuffa Boxing].
“And there’s things that they don’t know about boxing that they’re going to learn.’ And then two weeks later, he’s an MMA manager. I don’t get the move.”
White was then pressed on how he’ll handle negotiating with Hearn when Aspinall returns to the octagon, with the Matchroom boss earlier slamming the heavyweight’s current UFC earnings, branding his contract a “f****** disgrace”.
“We’ve dealt with some f****** beauties over the last 25 years. I can promise you that,” White responded.
“Eddie Hearn will be no different. It doesn’t matter who the managers are. It doesn’t matter at all. We will get deals done with guys.
“Whoever is out there that wants to compete. I love to compete. I haven’t seen anything from anybody yet in the boxing business, to be honest with you.
“I’ve seen less than nothing from these guys. And the last press conference I did have after the last boxing match, it’s been pretty disappointing, to be honest with you.
“I expected a lot more. But then when you look at the state of the sport of boxing, I guess it’s not that much of a surprise.”
The UFC returns on 29 March with Israel Adesanya and Joe Pyfer set to headline in Seattle.
Topics: Dana White, Eddie Hearn, Tom Aspinall, UFC, MMA, Boxing
Luke Davies