UFC president Dana White has responded after heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall signed a commercial and advisory deal with boxing promoter Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Talent Agency while remaining under contract with the UFC.
The agreement, announced on Thursday, does not represent a switch to boxing for the British fighter but adds Matchroom as a representative partner in a business capacity. The move comes amid growing tensions between Hearn and White following the departure of boxer Conor Benn from Matchroom to join Zuffa Boxing, the new promotional venture backed by White and Saudi Arabian moneyman Turki Al-Sheikh.
White addressed the situation while speaking to media ahead of UFC 326 in Las Vegas, where Max Holloway and Charles Oliveira headline a rematch for the symbolic BMF title. “We don’t have any issues with Eddie,” White said. “They can get whoever they want to represent him [Aspinall]. Tito Ortiz used to represent people and we got it done.”
White also discussed Aspinall’s status during an appearance on Piers Morgan Uncensored, saying he still expects the heavyweight to compete again in the UFC. “The company has talked to him [since the injury], I haven’t talked to him,” White said, according to the programme. “Tom and I obviously need to talk.”
The UFC champion has been sidelined since suffering an eye injury during his first full title defence against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October, when repeated eye pokes left him unable to continue and the bout was ruled a no-contest. Aspinall has since undergone surgery on both eyes after being diagnosed with what was described as significant traumatic bilateral Brown’s syndrome.
White also addressed comments from Aspinall and his father regarding remarks about the injury. “He came out recently, or his dad too, saying that they felt like I was, I don’t know how they said it, that I had sort of s**t on them in the way that I had spoke about his eye injury. Which was absolutely, positively not the case,” White told Morgan. “Tom Aspinall is a guy that I respect, he’s been great to work with the whole time he’s been here in the UFC. Never once did I question his injury or speak negatively about it.”
“I like him very much and I respect him. I have never had a problem with Tom Aspinall,” White added.
Aspinall has previously indicated he wants an immediate rematch with Gane, although it remains unclear when he will be medically cleared to return to competition. The heavyweight’s new partnership with Matchroom is expected to focus on commercial representation while his fighting career continues in the UFC.
