Boxing’s civil war spilt over into the wider world of combat sports when Eddie Hearn announced the signing of Tom Aspinall to his new Matchroom Talent Agency.
Aspinall is the UFC heavyweight champion and his move to align with Hearn comes after UFC president Dana White’s recent moves into boxing, with the backing of Saudi supremo Turki Alalshikh.
White has cast himself as the antidote to boxing’s established elite promotional companies, foremost among which is Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing.
This surprise move from the British-based promoter onto UFC turf marks another intriguing twist in a saga that is set to dominate and define fight sports away from the bright lights for the foreseeable future.
MORE: All you need to know about Tom Aspinall’s last UFC fight
Why has Tom Aspinall signed with Eddie Hearn?
“I look at you and I think you are one of the biggest stars in global fight sports,” Hearn told Aspinall in a behind-the-scenes video released on the fighter’s social channels to announce the signing. In a press release, Hearn called Aspinall “the ideal inaugural member of our team”.
👊 @EddieHearn pic.twitter.com/dQDwDK9zWr
— Tom Aspinall (@AspinallMMA) March 5, 2026
The 32-year-old Englishman’s professional achievements mean he lives up to such labels, although it is impossible to imagine events unfolding as they have without White’s shock signing of prized Matchroom star Conor Benn to his Zuffa Boxing vehicle on February 20.
We’ll unpack Hearn’s motivations a little further below, and more will be revealed at his press conference on Friday, March 6, where he will present Aspinall as a Matchroom signing officially.
From Aspinall’s point of view, he has typically operated with a tight inner circle throughout his career, with his father Andy serving as his coach and manager. However, the desire to bring in greater commercial expertise has likely been sparked by the fallout from Aspinall’s maiden defence of the full UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane last October.
The bout was stopped and declared a no-contest after Aspinall suffered repeated eye pokes. He told the doctor that he couldn’t see and has since undergone double eye surgery.
Fans booed the previously popular Aspinall after the fight and White’s take afterwards did not come across as supportive of the champion. “Gane had Tom bloodied up and Tom didn’t want to continue in the fight,” he said.
After Benn’s move to Zuffa, Hearn openly discussed the fallout from the Aspinall-Gane bout as a cautionary tale for the British boxer. “Look at what they did to Tom Aspinall. Tom Aspinall literally had his eye gouged out in a fight and Dana White basically called him a crybaby and cast him aside, humiliated him in front of everybody, while the guy is having operations to save his eyesight,” Hearn told BBC Radio 5 Live.
The pay disparity between what the top UFC fighters like Aspinall earn and the reported $15 million Benn will get for a single fight with Zuffa boxing has also been repeatedly highlighted by Hearn.
Is Tom Aspinall a boxer now?
Matchroom will represent Aspinall in a managerial and commercial capacity. He remains contracted to the UFC and will still fight in MMA. A boxing crossover is not on the cards.
“Eddie has built one of the biggest brands in Sport and understands how to take athletes to the next level, both inside and outside of competition,” Aspinall said. “I’mm really looking forward to working together and exploring some exciting opportunities as I continue my journey back into the cage.”
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What is the Matchroom Talent Agency?
Aspinall is the maiden signing to the Matchroom Talent Agency. It will provide services and expertise to clients across commercial, publishing, broadcast, digital and legal matters.
“I started my professional career in athlete management, and over the past 30 years, I have built a wealth of experience in building global superstars,” Hearn said. “We believe in partnership and transparency with our clients but, most importantly, always delivering exceptional and innovative work. Grounded in honesty and fierce commitment, Matchroom Talent Agency is about transforming careers through relentless ambition and telling it straight.”
Matchroom Sport was founded by Barry Hearn, Eddie’s father, in 1982. Initially with a focus on snooker, it has since expanded into multiple sports, with boxing the most significant.
Eddie Hearn and Dana White feud, explained
In their roles working primarily in separate combat sports, Hearn and White had previously spoken warmly of one another. However, White’s move into boxing with Zuffa last year put a strain on that relationship.
Zuffa Boxing is joint-owned by Sela, the events company of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), and White’s TKO. Sela’s moves into boxing, fronted by the outspoken Alalshikh, had previously featured tie-ins with established promoters such as Hearn’s Matchroom and Frank Warren’s Queensberry. Indeed, Saudi Arabia’s entry into boxing in late 2023 ended an entrenched promotional standoff between Matchroom and Queensberry.
Zuffa entered the space with its promotion of the Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford superfight in September 2025, backed by Alalshikh. White has spoken of his desire to upend boxing’s established structure of having four main sanctioning bodies recognising world champions in each weight division, by introducing his own Zuffa belt. Among other changes that White wishes to bring about are a reduction in weight divisions and an overhaul of the Ali Act, which was enacted in May 2000 to help protect the rights and welfare of boxers.
Hearn has been an outspoken critic of such moves and accepts White has now become an adversary.
“It’s going to be a long, hard battle,” he said. “But I’m also privileged and honoured that it seems to be a battle between me and him. And I’m well up for it. I think it’s a blessing to be in those kinds of battles.”
The terms of that battle looked to have been decisively set by Benn electing to leave Matchroom in favour of the man with whom his promoter was in open conflict. Hearn helped to guide Benn, the son of former two-weight world champion Nigel Benn, from being a raw novice to his two superfights with Chris Eubank Jr. last year.
Matchroom Boxing
The initial Eubank fight was delayed by over two years after Benn failed two drug tests in the build-up to their slated October 2022 showdown. In the face of widespread criticism, Hearn stood by Benn and offered financial support to the fighter during a costly legal process.
“I forgot it was boxing,” Hearn told iFL TV after the out-of-contract Benn joined Zuffa. “I felt that the loyalty that we’ve shown would never ever put us in this position, and I just felt that I never really needed to push Conor Benn to sign a new contract previously, and I probably could have got him to sign a new contract previously.”
Does Tom Aspinall have beef with Dana White?
Aspinall has largely kept his counsel since the Gane fight, although a strain in his relationship with White is understandably assumed. Although he did not name White, in a February 2026 interview with talkSPORT, Aspinall expressed distaste for how the “business” of mixed martial arts treats its fighters.
“I love martial arts, I absolutely love it. I’ll never stop loving it, but I just hate the business,” he said. “I think that fighters are just completely replaceable and the business will make you feel like that any chance it gets. Even if you get hit with an illegal move, which could affect the rest of your life, they don’t really give a s—, and no one else does, either.”
Speaking after Aspinall signed to the Matchroom Talent Agency, White told Piers Morgan Uncensored: “He is my heavyweight champion. The company has talked to him. I haven’t talked to him. Tom and I obviously need to talk.
“Tom came out recently, his dad too, they felt like I had s— on them in the way that I spoke about his eye injury, which was absolutely, positively not the case.
“Tom Aspinall is a guy that I respect. He’s great to work with. Never once did I question his injury or speak negatively about him.”
Eddie Hearn net worth
Eddie Hearn is the son of Hall of Fame boxing promoter Barry Hearn, who established Matchroom Sport. He has an estimated net worth of $50m.
Dana White net worth
In a Forbes Magazine article from February 2026, White’s net worth was estimated to be in excess of $600m.
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