{"id":459515,"date":"2026-03-05T21:09:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/459515\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T21:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T21:09:18","slug":"ufc-champion-tom-aspinall-joins-eddie-hearns-matchroom-in-stunning-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/459515\/","title":{"rendered":"UFC champion Tom Aspinall joins Eddie Hearn\u2019s Matchroom in stunning move"},"content":{"rendered":"

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UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall<\/a> has joined Eddie Hearn<\/a>\u2019s Matchroom <\/a>and a new talent agency in a stunning move.<\/p>\n

Just weeks after Hearn lost star fighter Conor Benn to UFC chief Dana White\u2019s Zuffa Boxing,<\/a> Matchroom has struck back by signing the Briton in a new venture for the organisation.<\/p>\n

A return date for Aspinall has not been set, with no clarification yet over whether he will continue to only fight in MMA or cross over to boxing.<\/p>\n

But he will now be represented by Hearn’s new outfit in a significant blow to White and his public feud with the British promoter set to be involved in his commercial interests while operating in an advisory role.<\/p>\n

Hearn said in a statement: \u201cWelcome to the team UFC heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall. Time to get what\u2019s yours. I look at you, you’re one of the biggest stars in global fight sports. Time to build that profile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to get him back, not back to the top, because guess what, he is at the top, you’re the UFC heavyweight champion, it doesn’t get any bigger than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aspinall added: \u201cI\u2019m really excited to welcome Eddie [Hearn] and the Matchroom Sport group in a commercial and advisory role, and to become the first athlete to join the new Matchroom Talent Agency.<\/p>\n

\"Aspinall<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Aspinall suffers the effects of an eye poke against Gane (AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

\u201cEddie has built one of the biggest brands in sport and understands how to take athletes to the next level, both inside and outside of competition.\u201cI\u2019m really looking forward to working together and exploring some exciting opportunities as I continue my journey back into the cage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aspinall has returned to training four months after he suffered a severe eye injury<\/a> in the UFC cage, a no-contest in round one against Ciryl Gane. <\/p>\n

\"DAZN<\/p>\n

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\"DAZN<\/p>\n

Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing<\/p>\n

Never miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.<\/p>\n

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\"Tom<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Tom Aspinall will be represented by Eddie Hearn (AP)<\/p>\n

The Briton was quickly taken to hospital in Abu Dhabi, where the bout played out, and he is still suffering the effects of the injury. Aspinall underwent a second operation to try to improve his vision, having undergone initial surgery over the Christmas period and now enters a new chapter in his career alongside Hearn.<\/p>\n

While Hearn added that Aspinall has taken him back to his roots, stating: \u201cI started my professional career in athlete management and over the past 30 years, I have built a wealth of experience in building global superstars. We believe in partnership and transparency with our clients but, most importantly, always delivering exceptional and innovative work. Grounded in honesty and fierce commitment, Matchroom Talent Agency is about transforming careers through relentless ambition and telling it straight.<\/p>\n

\"Conor<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

Conor Benn announced a shock split from promotor Eddie Hearn (Action Images via Reuters)<\/p>\n

“At the heart of everything we\u2019ve done as a business over the last 40 years is identifying ordinary people, who have extraordinary talent. It has become a guiding principle to seek out people who are humble but heroic in equal measure. Their journey is our journey. Their triumph, our purpose. UFC world heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is the perfect embodiment of that \u2013 and he is the ideal, inaugural member of our team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe in creating opportunities where others see obstacles in turning potential into greatness. So, the message is loud and clear to all: Join us on this journey. We are officially open for business.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":459516,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-459515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}