LONDON — Dana White has said he “doesn’t get” Eddie Hearn’s move to sign UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to the newly formed Matchroom Talent Agency, adding that he has seen “less than nothing” from boxing promoters since getting involved in the sport.
Aspinall signed with Matchroom promoter Hearn earlier this month in a move that will see him continue to fight in the UFC while Hearn and Matchroom will look after his business and commercial interests.
The move came after White and his promotion Zuffa Boxing signed one of Matchroom’s biggest talents Conor Benn to a lucrative one-fight deal, news that Hearn said was “devastating.”
Amid the back-and-forth between the two, White has now questioned Hearn’s move to get into the world of MMA.
“I don’t know what the thought process was [behind the move],” White told reporters after UFC London on Saturday.
“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.”
Pushed on how negotiations between the UFC and Hearn, White was confident that it will have no affect on the company’s ability to book Aspinall’s next bout.
He was also characteristically blunt on the potential challenges that the likes of Frank Warren and other promoters will pose to Zuffa boxing, admitting he has been “disappointed” so far as well as making a scathing assessment of the state of the sport today.
“We’ve dealt with some f—ing beauties over the last 25 years. I can promise you that,” White said.
“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.”
Since Hearn and Aspinall reached an agreement, the British promoter has been outspoken regarding the ongoing UFC fighter pay issues, and speaking after a Matchroom card at the weekend, Hearn weighed in on one of the biggest stories in MMA.
“[Jon Jones and Aspinall] are under contract. If they weren’t under contract, I could do Aspinall against Jon Jones, and I’ll pay them double what the UFC offered them, probably,” he said.
His comments came after Jon Jones said that he was “ready, willing and physically able to step in” to fight on the UFC’s Freedom 250 White House card in June, but wasn’t offered a financial package he felt was worth it.
White responded to those comments himself in London when asked by ESPN, but again reiterated how in his view, Jones was never going to be on the biggest card in the company’s history, despite admitting that negotiations did take place.
“Jon Jones was never fighting on the White House card. How many f—ing times I got to say this? He was never fighting on the White House card,” White said.
“I literally did two press conferences talking about this. These guys [matchmakers] went out, found everything that they thought was available and possible. And then I picked the fights.
“There’s no way in hell I was putting him on the card. No matter what the money was. Jon Jones was never going to fight on the White House card.”