British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has said that the UFC could be on the verge of a fighter revolt.
Hearn captivated the MMA headlines a fortnight ago by effectively announcing himself as the advisor to UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall. Hearn signed his fellow Englishman to the newly formed Matchroom Talent Agency, having no previous experience in the MMA market.
Hearn’s pivot into a new discipline came shortly after UFC president Dana White made a long-awaited move into the boxing world with Zuffa Boxing. No love has been lost between the pair, with Conor Benn leaving Hearn to sign a reported $15 million one-fight deal with Zuffa.
White has got his project firmly underway over the last two months, staging four Zuffa Boxing events at the UFC Apex in Los Angeles, and has also signed IBF world cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia to its ever-growing stable. White has been bullish in many of the Zuffa press conferences by referring to his promotional competition as “beating up babies” and calling Hearn “just a manager.”
However, Hearn has hit back and said that it is an example of White feeling the pressure due to a fighter revolt unfolding in the UFC.
“I didn’t expect to see Dana White implode so early,” Hearn told The Stomping Ground. “What’s it been? Two months since he has been in boxing… He’s under a huge amount of pressure at the moment. The UFC are on the verge of a fighter revolt, I believe. Possibly, I don’t know, is there going to be a strike?”
There appears to be other fresh blood moving into White’s domain, with Jake Paul showing some early ambition. The social media personality turned boxer recently announced a promotion headlined by Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, which is joined by Francis Ngannou taking on Philipe Lins and broadcast on Netflix.
Paul has announced another mega fight on the undercard with the return of Nate Diaz. The former UFC star takes on Mike Perry, having not entered the cage since September 2022.
“The lawsuits are coming out left, right, and center,” Hearn added, in reference to the UFC. “When you treat people correctly, they will look for other opportunities. In my opinion, the UFC fighters are so grossly underpaid that other promotional outfits are prepared to pay three, four, five, or ten times more to these athletes… Obviously, our alignment with Tom Aspinall gives me a chance to look at the contracts and understand the business.
“I’m not ruling out us doing something in that space, but look at what Jake Paul has done, where he and Nakisa [Bidarian] have gone into UFC and basically created—and will create from top to bottom—that will be the MMA card of the year.”
