Dana White and Eddie Hearn keep bickering.
For most of 2026, one of the premier stories in combat sports has been the feud between UFC CEO Dana White and Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn, with the two even talking about fighting one another in a boxing match (though White quickly ended that talk). But the latest beef between Hearn and White has centered around UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, who Hearn represents.
Last week, that feud reached a peak when Hearn dared White to release Aspinall
from his UFC contract. Speaking with media after the Zuffa Boxing event on Saturday, White responded.
“He said that he wanted him released, right?” White said. “You release Bam Rodriguez then. Sounds pretty stupid, doesn’t it? Congratulations again, Eddy. You sound stupid again.”
White also addressed Hearn’s recent comments that he would not allow Aspinall to fight under his current UFC contract, suggesting that the promotion is not paying Aspinall anything close to a fair deal. White had a simple answer to that, too, referencing the genesis of their entire feud, White signing longtime Matchroom fighter Conor Benn.
“If Eddie’s not going to let his fighter fight, what are you going to do?” White said. “You can’t make anybody fight. You can’t force anybody to fight. You have to want to fight. So, we’ll see how it plays out.
“Eddie—who apparently, Benn was his best friend—He’s been crying, literally crying, for weeks. ‘Oh, you’re my best friend!’ He didn’t even want to pay him, but he wants to pay my guy. Could’ve paid his best friend, and they could’ve remained best friends.
“Eddie’s full of a lot of shit. You know. I know it, you know it, we all know it.”
Aspinall is currently still sitting out while recovering from an eye injury that has required multiple surgeries. In his absence, the UFC will crown an interim heavyweight champion at UFC White House, when Alex Pereira fights Ciryl Gane in the co-main event, with Aspinall ostensibly taking on the winner sometime later this year.
