Dana White couldn’t sit idly by after Eddie Hearn hit him where it hurt the most. Tom Aspinall recently traveled to Monaco and signed a management deal with Hearn’s new Matchroom Talent Agency, officially making the Matchroom Boxing head his agent. This comes after White stole Conor Benn from Hearn by paying the ‘Destroyer’ $15 million for a fight against Regis Prograis in April. Now, the UFC CEO has shared his reaction to the new partnership as well as an update on Aspinall’s future with the promotion.

“I do,” White told Piers Morgan when asked whether Aspinall will fight again in the UFC. “He’s still dealing with whatever’s going on with his eyes. Obviously, over the last 30 years of being in this business, I’ve seen injuries that I questioned, whether guys would come back from them, and they always have, including eye-pokes, but who knows? But if you ask me, sitting right here right now, do I think Tom Aspinall will compete again? I would say yes.”

If that wasn’t enough, just hours ago, during the UFC 326 pre-fight press conference, White was once again asked about the UFC heavyweight champion’s new deal with the veteran boxing promoter. He answered promptly.

“We don’t have any issues with Eddie,” the UFC CEO replied. “They can get whoever they want to represent them. Tito Ortiz used to represent people and we got it done.”

Aspinall last appeared in the Octagon in October last year when he fought Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in Abu Dhabi. ‘The Honey Badger’ suffered a double eye-poke injury in the first round, which ended the fight with a no-contest. Many questioned the seriousness of the injury, but it was only made worse when Dana White inadvertently downplayed it, suggesting he would be okay.

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Tom Aspinall later claimed he was disappointed with White’s dismissal of his injury and revealed that White hadn’t had a conversation with him. The UFC CEO, of course, clarified that he didn’t mean to disrespect or disregard Aspinall’s injury—a condition which had caused the Brit to undergo surgery twice since the fight. Despite White’s update, it’s unclear when the Englishman would actually return.

Prior to signing the commercial and advisory deal with Hearn, ‘The Honey Badger’ was entirely represented by his father, Andy Aspinall. Despite signing with Matchroom Boxing, Aspinall isn’t planning a move to boxing, at least not yet. Regardless, the move from the UFC heavyweight champion escalates the ongoing fued between Hearn and White, which has been on full display across interviews and press conferences.

As for Aspinall, he has shared his side of the story.

Tom Aspinall shares the reason behind his deal with Eddie Hearn

After the deal was inked, the veteran boxing promoter hopped on Instagram to announce the news proudly. 

“Welcome to the team UFC heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall,” Hearn wrote. “Time to get what’s yours.”

In the aftermath, Aspinall took to his YouTube channel to reflect on the massive move. 

“We’ve done most of my career with the really small team that I’ve got,” Aspinall said. “So, I wanted to add to my value. Eddie’s someone that I’ve known for a fair bit. I trust Eddie, and I want to make as much money and grow commercially as much as possible while I’m fighting.

As for when he might return to the cage, Aspinall said his goal is to return as soon as possible. 

“Obviously, we’re still recovering, but I’m looking to get back in there as soon as possible. I just want to maximize the time that I’ve got in the sport, [and] grow more commercially. And … [want to do it as] I expand my team a little bit, make it as big and powerful as possible.”

It’s also worth noting that Aspinall is the first athlete signed to Eddie Hearn’s new Matchroom Talent Agency. What’s even more interesting, though, is that more names from the MMA community are expected to follow Aspinall’s example, per MMA journalist Ariel Helwani. Eddie Hearn himself confirmed that more names will be joining in due time, but refused to comment on who they were. 

That being said, it appears Dana White has been given a taste of his own medicine. This move creates a new challenge for White, forcing him to contend with a rival promoter directly poaching talent from his roster.