After being publicly mocked for losing a fighter, promoter Eddie Hearn retaliated by signing Tom Aspinall to his talent agency. And the 32-year-old Englishman is not the only addition, as the Matchroom boss makes a startling revelation about more UFC fighters.

While Aspinall became the first fighter to join Hearn’s newly launched Matchroom Talent Agency, in the current scenario, there are many more potential fighters that Hearn’s team could sign, including a former heavyweight champion, whom the Matchroom boss sees as a great potential signing.

Eddie Hearn on Ngannou and UFC fighters

“We’ll probably reach out to Francis,” said Eddie Hearn during an interview with iFL TV. “I mean, I’ve had I wouldn’t say a dozen, but I’ve had over half a dozen quite big-named 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.”

Aspinall’s joining provided Hearn the authority to negotiate deals on the Brit’s behalf, much like Ali Abdelaziz’s Dominance MMA team does for Khabib Nurmagomedov‘s team. Although Hearn hasn’t revealed the names of the UFC fighters, he has confirmed connecting with some of them. And these developments are happening after Conor Benn’s Zuffa Boxing deal, making it more interesting.

Benn was one of Matchroom Boxing’s top talents and Hearn’s favorite fighters. But just for a $15 million one-bout appearance, the 29-year-old signed with Dana White-led Zuffa Boxing. Thus, igniting a feud between the UFC promoter and the Matchroom boss.

However, nobody expected Hearn to clap back by signing the UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. But in that regard, the Matchroom boss seems to be convinced about the signing of one more big UFC star following the latest developments.

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) recently parted ways with Francis Ngannou, leaving the former UFC heavyweight champion as a free agent. Surely, this plays as a perfect moment for Hearn to get in talks with Ngannou on the pretext of roping him in better deals.

However, the Matchroom boss is yet to make any moves towards that goal. Whether ‘The Predator’ will be interested in that remains to be seen. Surely, Hearn did convince Aspinall. But what could have been the reason behind such a bold move from the UFC heavyweight champion to sign with White’s rival?

Tom Aspinall explains joining Matchroom Talent Agency

Like Eddie Hearn, Tom Aspinall also seemingly had a strained relationship with Dana White, especially after the UFC 321 controversy. While Aspinall was dealing with pain following the double eye injury, White seemingly expressed insensitive thoughts on it. And the Brit called that out. So, it may seem like Aspinall has joined Hearn’s talent agency due to this. But that is not the case.

“We were saying, hopefully this will be the start where other MMA fighters can look at this and be like,” Tom Aspinall said at a media press conference in Monaco. “S–t, look what he’s doing, look at the money that he’s getting, look at the opportunity that he’s getting with Matchroom and Eddie and stuff like that. I want to be a bit of a trailblazer for MMA fighters who can make a lot of money and be successful outside the Octagon as well as inside, whether it be publicly or privately.

A lot of MMA fighters, UFC fighters, UFC champions—they like to complain about the money that we’re getting paid. But that’s a contract that we all signed. We’re not going to get more than that. I’ve accepted that, and I want to make as much money outside of the Octagon as I possibly can.”

As it seems, the deal with Matchroom Talent Agency will mainly revolve around deals outside the UFC circuit. To that end, Hearn would potentially be more responsible for bringing in more brand endorsements or sponsorships for Aspinall.

Now, it will be interesting to see if this has affected White and Aspinall’s already-strained relationship. On that note, how do you think their first conversation after this deal will unfold? Let us know in the comments below!