As the war of words between Eddie Hearn and Dana White continues to escalate, UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has now landed in the middle of it.
In an interview released Friday with iFL TV, Hearn responded to the latest comments made by the UFC CEO by publicly requesting the “arrogant and deluded” White release Aspinall from his UFC contract. Hearn, the headman at Matchroom Sport and one of the top promoters in boxing, signed Aspinall to his agency in March and has spoken openly of potentially inking more UFC fighters to represent as his feud with White intensifies.
Hearn’s signing of Aspinall arrived shortly after White’s Zuffa Boxing scored a major coup by stealing away one of Hearn’s longtime fighters, UK boxing star Conor Benn.
Aspinall and White’s relationship has been on the rocks since the heavyweight champion’s late-2025 title defense against Ciryl Gane ended unceremoniously due to eye-pokes from Gane that have left Aspinall still stuck in recovery seven months later. Aspinall has said he did not feel supported by White in the aftermath of the incident.
Hearn’s latest response to White on Friday:
“He’s the guy calling me out, talking s*** about me, lying about me non-stop. So whilst that goes on, I will continually put manners on this guy and show him for what he is, which is actually — I’ll not say a liar, but what he does is he just makes up complete fabricated bulls***, and anyone can see through that. And one thing that’s actually stuck out with me from his comments is, when Conor Benn signed with Zuffa, he said, ‘Eddie should want fighters to earn as much money as possible.’ Right? Do you remember that? It was like, ‘He should be happy for Conor Benn that he’s making more money.’ So I’ve been thinking about that line, and I think that I’ve got an idea.
“I would like Dana White to release Tom Aspinall from his UFC contract. And I will guarantee Dana White, in writing, that I will pay Tom Aspinall a minimum — it’s probably five times more, but a minimum of three times more what Dana White is paying him. And I think for a hard-working, working-class man, that deserves every penny he can get because of what he puts his body through — and we’ve seen that recently — that Dana White should be happy for Tom Aspinall to receive that deal. So I would like to propose that. I would like to propose that Dana White should be happy for Tom Aspinall, who is extremely unhappy, and he should release him of his obligations with the UFC and allow him to go out and make considerably more for himself and his family. Because that’s what Dana White is all about, isn’t it? He’d be happy for Tom, so that’s what I’d like.”
Hearn noted that he’s serious about the request and even offered to settle his ongoing legal despute with White over the Benn situation if the UFC boss cuts Aspinall loose.
Following MVP and Netflix’s record-breaking entry into MMA, and the revelation of veteran promoter Scott Coker’s impending return to the sport with a new $60 million war chest, Aspinall could find himself with options aplenty on the open market.
Said Hearn:
“It’s not even a boxing banner [I’d do for Aspinall]. Listen, the situation with Tom is — and he is under contract with the UFC, but unfortunately for him, he has signed a contract which is one of the worst, most grossly underpaid athletes I have ever seen in a commercial world sport. OK? So I think it’s only fair, because Dana likes to see fighters get their opportunity and make as much money as possible, like he said, that he should actually allow Tom to do so. Because it’s just unacceptable. And I’ve been quite quiet on that whole thing, and there will be a lot more coming from me on that type of stuff. But I’ll be honest with you, I’m looking at this kid Tom Aspinall, I’m looking at what combat sports athletes are making around the world, and I’ll be honest with you, it’s absolutely disgusting what they’re paying him and things need to change.”
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