Eddie Hearn will do everything he can to make things difficult for Dana White and the UFC. Having signed on to manage UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall earlier this year, the Matchroom Boxing head has issued a warning to the ‘Honey Badger’ regarding his potential fight against the winner of Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane at the UFC White House. 

“It’s really interesting what’s happening in the UFC right now,” Hearn told Bloody Elbow. “There is a monumental change for the swing of the business. They’ve got to be careful, because at the end of the day, I’m not going to let Tom Aspinall fight for the kind of money that’s in his contract, to be involved in a fight against [Alex] Pereira or [Ciryl] Gane for literally one-fiftieth of the revenue for that show. F—k that! I won’t let him do it.

“It’s time those UFC fighters stop being mugs and start to understand that these people are taking advantage of them. They deserve better. They don’t mind paying these [boxers] all this money, but they won’t do it for the UFC fighters.”

Eddie Hearn’s point about fighter pay carries significant weight. Dana White, who now heads Zuffa Boxing following its entry into the sport, reportedly agreed to pay Conor Benn $15 million for a fight against Regis Prograis. But many of the UFC’s biggest stars rarely earn that kind of money for a single bout. The gap in compensation between the two sports remains enormous.

Thanks to the absence of a dominant promotional monopoly and protections such as the Ali Act, which Zuffa has long pushed to see amended, elite boxers typically receive the largest share of the revenue generated by their fights. In contrast, UFC fighters receive only around 18 percent of the company’s revenue, a figure that has been a frequent source of criticism. 

Interestingly, criticism of UFC fighter pay hasn’t come solely from outsiders. Several of the promotion’s own stars, including Francis Ngannou and Sean O’Malley, have publicly voiced concerns about fighter compensation over the years. Now, with Hearn involved in MMA, he argues that Tom Aspinall deserves a significantly larger payday than what most UFC champions currently receive.

“I’m saying my advice to Tom Aspinall will be, ‘Don’t you dare take that fight for the money that’s in your contract,” Hearn added. “You are one of the biggest stars in UFC. That fight against Pereira or Gane is one of the biggest fights the UFC can make. 

“We’re not trying to be unreasonable, but my advice to him is, ‘Mate, you don’t need them. You nearly lost your eyesight. You had four operations on your eyes, and you want to go back and fight for virtually nothing in this fight, in a rematch?’ He knows no better; he’s a fighter. Trust me when I say I know what I’m talking about, and it’s outrageous. And I will do everything I can to not allow it.”

Hearn’s warning came after what he described as a major sign of disrespect from the UFC toward Tom Aspinall.

“They haven’t invited him to the White House. He’s supposed to be fighting the winner.”

Whether Hearn allows it or not, spurred by disrespect, the UFC can keep Aspinall on the sidelines for as long as it chooses due to the terms of its fighter contracts. Aspinall cannot simply take a fight elsewhere, leaving him with little choice but to face whoever the promotion decides to put in front of him. Hearn’s criticism of the UFC, however, extends beyond fighter pay. 

Since Dana White entered boxing with Zuffa Boxing, the two promoters have engaged in a heated war of words, with public jabs becoming a regular occurrence in interviews. Aspinall has also had his own disagreements with White. The UFC interim heavyweight champion took issue with comments White made about the double eye-poke injury he suffered against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 last October.

In any case, Aspinall hasn’t been cleared to fight as of the time of writing. Still, he has confirmed that his next opponent will be the winner of Pereira vs. Gane. In the meantime, Aspinall himself has spoken about the disrespect UFC has shown toward him. 

Tom Aspinall would love to attend UFC Freedom 250

Considering Aspinall’s future opponent will be decided during the June 14 event at the White House South Lawn, it’s surprising that he didn’t receive an invitation to the event. In such cases, a face-off, especially on the White House Lawn, could have made Aspinall’s return even bigger. Despite the disrespect, though, Aspinall doesn’t see it as disrespect. 

“No, they’ve not asked me [to come]. No one’s asked me yet,” Aspinall told Fight Your Corner recently. “To be honest… No, I don’t feel disrespected. [UFC] should come to me, I feel… If they asked me, I would definitely go.”

When asked whether he wants to attend the event, he claimed he would love to. 

“I would. I definitely would, yeah,” Aspinall added. “There’s no excuses, I would. I have nothing to say otherwise, I would like to. I’m gonna watch it from home anyway, so if you’re there, it’s gonna be even better, isn’t it?”

And as for who he would like to face next, the Brit seemed open to both fights. 

“I’ve got a lot of unfinished business,” Aspinall explained. “Like, me and Gane have got to get this rematch going, and then if I can get a massive fight like a Pereira fight as well, that’s ideal.”

Regardless of who he ends up fighting, Aspinall may have a tough time either way. Last year, in his fight against Ciryl Gane, the Brit was clearly struggling before the fight was stopped. Unless he has made massive changes in his game, that won’t change in the rematch. 

Alex Pereira, on the other hand, is a tough opponent in any weight class. Now that he has moved to heavyweight, if he can survive against Gane, there’s no doubt he can create a nightmare scenario for Aspinall. 

For now, though, all anyone can do is wait for the biggest event in UFC history later this month. Who do you think the Brit will end up fighting?