Eddie Hearn is once again drawing a line in the sand and asking Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to pay UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall what he deserves.
As of March, Aspinall is the newest member of Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency, which is one of the most successful management teams in combat sports. While Hearn may have pulled the trigger on a partnership with Aspinall following Dana White’s controversial boxing deal with Conor Benn it still leaves Aspinall in a position to earn more money that he ever has.
Of course, that’s if UFC is willing to pay it.
Hearn, who asked for Aspinall’s UFC release last week, is now putting a temporary pause to Aspinall’s long-awaited Octagon return. The long-time boxing promoter will want to review Aspinall’s current UFC contract with UFC officials and get his fighter more money before a return is even discussed. According to Hearn, Aspinall’s current contract and pay scale as the promotion’s heavyweight champion is downright “outrageous.”
Keep in mind, Aspinall is expected to fight the winner of Alex Pereira vs. Ciryl Gane which will go down at the upcoming UFC White House card later this month.
Check out Hearn’s remarks below and let us know how you think this entire situation plays out!
“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 he’s on,” said Hearn during a recent interview with Bloody Elbow (shown above). “To be involved in a fight against [Alex] Pereira or [Ciryl] Gane for literally one fiftieth of the revenue for that show?
“F— that, I won’t let him do it. And it’s time those UFC fighters stop being mugs and start to understand that these people are taking advantage of them. They don’t mind paying these boxers all this money but they don’t want to pay the UFC fighters.
“I’m saying my advice to Tom Aspinall is ‘don’t you dare take that fight for the money that’s in your contract’. He’s one of the biggest stars in the UFC and that fight against Pereira or Gane is one of the biggest fights the UFC can make.
“I will tell you the number if we get to that and UFC fans will be sick to their stomach about the money Tom Aspinall is supposed to get for that fight. It’s not fair. We’re not trying to be unreasonable but my advice to him is ‘mate, you don’t need that, you nearly lost your eyesight’.
“He’s had four operations on his eyes and he wants to go back and fight for virtually nothing 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. I will do everything I can to not allow it.”
