The fight for Tom Aspinall’s future is no longer in the octagon, and his new manager is already threatening a path that leads straight out of the UFC. For years, the Brit’s camp has argued that the UFC has not compensated him fairly. Tensions came to a head last year at UFC 321 when Aspinall’s title defense ended in a no-contest after his opponent unintentionally poked him in the eye. The incident, followed by Dana White‘s offhand remarks, severely strained his relationship with the promotion, and his camp has since hinted that a parting of ways may not be far off.

Earlier this month, Tom Aspinall moved to reshape his career infrastructure by bringing on Matchroom Boxing boss and Dana White’s rival Eddie Hearn as his manager. Hearn has not taken the role quietly. During a recent appearance, he offered a pointed assessment of what he found when he looked at his new client’s UFC contract.

Manager exposes flaws in Tom Aspinall’s UFC contract

“I represent the UFC world heavyweight champion,” Eddie Hearn told Pro Boxing Fans. “I’m gonna bite my tongue a little bit for now. But what I will tell you is his contract is a f–king disgrace, a disgrace. And I cannot believe the money that he is on when you look at the commercial revenue that his fight would generate against a Pereira or against Gane in a rematch. Honestly, if I’m Tom Aspinall, looking at that contract, I go, ‘I don’t even think you should f–king bother me.'”

Hearn also confirmed that Aspinall’s preferred next opponent is the winner of the interim heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane, scheduled as the co-main event of UFC Freedom 250 on June 14th. But beyond the matchmaking, it was the financial picture that clearly frustrated him most.

“He wants the rematch with Gane. He wants to fight Pereira. He wants to defend his world heavyweight title,” Hearn continued. “(By) the time you’ve paid your tax and paid your team, there’s no fucking point in even fighting—especially when you’ve had four operations after your eyes got gouged out.”

Furthermore, Eddie Hearn highlighted a wider problem in the UFC. Even one of its wealthiest fighters, Arman Tsarukyan, admitted the financial struggles fighters face, noting that after paying gyms, managers, and taxes, there’s almost nothing left.

Eddie Hearn’s focus now will be on efforts to renegotiate a better contract, which again could depend on the outcome of the upcoming fight on the UFC White House card, where Ciryl Gane will take on Alex Pereira in the co-main event.

Given that he has two more fights left on his current UFC contract, it seems unlikely he would want to continue with the promotion after that. Instead, he may turn to boxing, which explains why he partnered with Eddie Hearn.

Aspinall recalls Hearn “giggling” after seeing his UFC contract

The frustration runs in both directions. Tom Aspinall himself confirmed the reaction of Eddie Hearn when they first reviewed his deal, describing it to Ariel Helwani in terms that were almost comedic.

“When they were looking through my contract, they were just giggling,” Aspinall said. “It’s like I told them a joke or something. But like I said, that’s what we signed up for. That’s exactly what we signed up for as UFC fighters. I ain’t complaining about it. I just want to make as much money as I can while I’m here. That’s why I’m doing this whole thing.”

The backdrop to all of this is a career that has had more than its share of institutional frustration. The UFC never booked Aspinall to face then-champion Jon Jones during the 530-plus days he held the interim belt, and Jones eventually retired without ever defending against him, leaving the UFC to promote Aspinall to undisputed champion by default.

His father, Andy, was openly unhappy with the way the UFC handled his son’s career. Aspinall Sr. has since made clear he will not allow his son to sign an extended UFC contract, and has pointed to boxing as a significantly more lucrative option.

With two more fights remaining on his current deal and Hearn now in his corner, Aspinall’s long-term future in the UFC looks increasingly uncertain. For now, he continues to recover from the surgeries that followed the UFC 321 no-contest, with the Pereira-Gane fight set to determine who he returns to face, assuming he does return at all.