Eddie Hearn accepts Dana White’s challenge to a boxing match.
For years, fans have had a running battle between MMA and boxing, but in 2026, that rivalry ratcheted up a notch as Dana White and the UFC finally moved into The Sweet Science with Zuffa Boxing. The advent of a new player in the space kicked up new rivalries, the most prominent of which is White and Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn. White drew first blood in the battle, signing Conor Benn away from Hearn, but yesterday, Hearn landed a blow
back of his own, signing UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to his talent agency.
This signing came right in the thick of the White-Hearn rivalry, which included a large amount of trash talk in the media, including White even offering to box Hearn, like he tried to do with Tito Ortiz many years ago, and if he really wants it, Hearn says he’s ready to accept.
“Of course I’d do it, because how could you say no?” Hearn told IFL TV. “Then you’d be a pussy, wouldn’t you? And by the way, Netflix would pay an absolute fortune, or live on DAZN, the global home of boxing. So, I’d probably make a fortune, and if I got chinned, I’ll get chinned. But I’ll probably spark him out, to be fair.”
Hearn is 10 years younger than White and six inches taller, for reference.
For Hearn, though, this entire thing is not about a personal vendetta or a feud with White. The Matchroom CEO says he signed Tom Aspinall because he views it as a good business opportunity.
“People say, ‘You just did this to spite Dana White, blah, blah, blah.’ No, I did this because I got the opportunity to sign one of the biggest stars in combat sports,” Hearn said. “But the timing meant that the volume and the power of that announcement would be absolutely catastrophic for people.
“So, basically, what happened was, now, in 24 hours, Tom Aspinall’s profile is, by far, bigger than it’s ever been in his entire career, and that is coming off being chastised by people who have spun a narrative of him which is not true.
“The agency stuff just makes perfect sense. We’ve been talking about it for years. Me and AJ are starting to move into football. And I look at it, and I think, I know sport inside out. I know how to deal with brands, I know how to drive profile, I know how to deal with broadcasters, I know how to spin narrative, I know how to deal with PR and media, I know how to drive sponsorship sales. I know what’s in the pot for every major event. So, really, we’re incredibly well placed in that space. So actually, that’s a natural progression.”
Hearn added that he knew the revelation of the signing would, of course, draw attention, given his feud with White, and offered to Aspinall to delay it to let the fervor die down, but ultimately Aspinall agreed to strike while the iron was hot.
But despite the headlines it drew, Hearn also insists that he has no intention of making this into an acrimonious relationship with the UFC.
“We’re both, them especially, huge organizations,” Hearn said. “I’m not an idiot. And we will do everything professionally. But we will do everything in the best interest of Tom Aspinall. It’s not like we’re going to come in and be a massive pain in the ass. We’re just going to drive this guy’s profile. It’s probably good for the UFC. Because already what’s happened, I’ve done a little bit of a job for them, because their fighter his profile is bigger than it’s ever been. And I did that in f*cking 16 hours. …
“This isn’t about busting out of a UFC contract. We know where we stand. I have the contracts. Our team will read them, and we will make sure we deal with them, but we have an obligation, and that’s not a problem at all. You want to have sensible conversations to make sure that what we’re doing with him and the value of Tom Aspinall is respected. Will he go into boxing one day? Maybe. But that’s not the focus at the moment.”
And Hearn isn’t stopping here. After making the announcement, Hearn says that several high-profile UFC fighters reached out to him to ask about representation. And, of course, Francis Ngannou just got released from his PFL contract and may be interested as well.
“I think we’ll probably reach out to Francis,” Hearn said. “I’ve had — I wouldn’t say a dozen, but I’ve had over half a dozen, quite big-name UFC fighters contact me in the last 12 hours. And I’m not going to sign all of them, but they’re fascinated by this, because they feel like they’re not getting what they deserve, and that will be the job of the agency to do that.”
