UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall sat down with iFL TV for an interview, and the conversation quickly turned to the ongoing back-and-forth involving his promoter, Eddie Hearn, and UFC president Dana White.
Recently, Hearn went viral after publicly calling for Aspinall to be released from his UFC contract, prompting questions about the promoter’s role in the heavyweight star’s career.
When asked about Hearn’s comments, Aspinall explained that bringing Matchroom into his team was a deliberate move designed to strengthen his position.
“Eddie is doing his job,” Aspinall said. “Obviously I brought Matchroom on to extend part of my team. I feel like I needed help and I feel like, you know, me and my dad and the rest of my team have been working together for a long time.”
He continued by explaining why he felt outside support was necessary.
“We needed a little bit of a push and Eddie always has, in my opinion, the athlete’s best interest at heart,” he said. “And yeah, Eddie’s doing his job, making as much noise as possible and trying to get me as much money as possible, which is pretty good for me in my opinion.”
Asked whether he agreed with Hearn’s stance, Aspinall steered the discussion toward the realities of a fig hter’s career and earning potential.
“Eddie’s doing what he thinks is right,” Aspinall said. “And what is right is to get me as much money as possible.”
He then pointed out that discussions about athlete pay are surprisingly uncommon in MMA compared to boxing.
“That’s a bit of a niche thing to talk about in MMA,” he said. “It’s a lot more niche to talk about than it is in boxing for some reason. I don’t know why.”
Aspinall emphasized that athletes have a limited window to maximize their earnings.
“But yeah, your career as a figh ter is pretty short,” he explained. “Maximum probably 15 or 20 years. In that 15 or 20 years, you want to make as much money as possible.”
He added that the risks involved in combat sports make that goal even more important.
“Every time you step in there, you are quite literally risking your life,” Aspinall said. “So I want to maximize it as much as possible and Eddie’s helping us with that.”
As for the drama involving Dana White and the boxing world, Aspinall admitted he doesn’t pay much attention to it.
“I’ve been watching bits, but to be honest, when it comes to boxing politics, I don’t really understand it,” he said. “There’s a lot there. I just kind of like fast forward.”
While he occasionally catches clips online, his focus remains firmly on MMA.
“I see clips here and there, but obviously MMA’s my sport and I know what goes on in the MMA politics,” Aspinall said. “But as far as boxing, I don’t really get most of it to be honest.”
The heavyweight contender admitted that many aspects of boxing’s business side simply don’t interest him.
“I don’t understand about, you know, mandatories and this clause and that,” he said. “I literally don’t understand it, so I don’t watch it.”
