Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn started a new branch in his company, a talent agency, and announced the division’s first signing, the UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, just weeks after losing British slugger Conor Benn to Zuffa Boxing.
There is a considerable shake-up across combat sports currently, largely because of the addition of Zuffa as a rising promotional force, financially backed by Turki Alalshikh, and overseen by a boxing mind in Nick Khan.
A war of words ensued long before Khan’s fellow TKO exec Dana White and Hearn saw them jaw at one another but it reached a new high point in February when a self-confessed “mistake” from the British promoter saw Benn leave Matchroom for Zuffa in a one-fight, $15 million deal that will eventually see the welterweight fighter join Zuffa’s league, according to TV and media guru Mark Shapiro.
Though Hearn spoke to media about the loss, which White seemed to describe as a “p****” move, the 46-year-old made moves in the background to develop Matchroom’s business portfolio, begin a talent division, and announced Thursday its debut signing — Aspinall, who is arguably already Britain’s best-ever MMA fighter considering his exploits already displayed in the UFC Octagon.
“I’m really excited to welcome Eddie and the Matchroom Sport group in a commercial and advisory role, and to become the first athlete to join the new Matchroom Talent Agency,” Aspinall said in a statement sent to Boxing Social.
“Eddie 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.”
Also in a statement sent to Boxing Social, Hearn spoke of his experience “building global superstars”, adding: “At the heart of everything we’ve 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 heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall is the perfect embodiment of that – and he is the ideal, inaugural member of our team.”
A 6-foot-5 fighter renowned for his striking prowess, but whom remains extraordinarily athletic while possessing considerable ground game, Aspinall made his name in regional fight firms like BAMMA and Cage Warriors before signing with UFC in 2020 and clubbing the likes of Andrei Arlovski, Alexander Arlovski, Alexander Volkov, Sergei Pavlovich, and Curtis Blaydes in style.
Aspinall’s exploits were so strong the all-time great MMA fighter Jon Jones seemingly preferred retirement than defending his heavyweight title to Aspinall, and so Tom was elevated to full champ and put the belt on the line late, last year, in a fight against Ciryl Gane. Though Gane started the fight in strong standing, a double eye poke from the Frenchman compromised Aspinall’s vision and the fight was declared a No Contest. Aspinall has been recovering ever since.
“I’m really looking forward to working together and exploring some exciting opportunities as I continue my journey back into the cage,” Aspinall finished.
Aspinall’s Signing One of Many From MMA
According to prominent combat sports reporter and presenter Ariel Helwani, Matchroom’s acquisition of Aspinall to its talent agency is one of many from the sport of mixed martial arts.
“What? Holy s***,” Helwani said, reacting to the Instagram post of Hearn with Aspinall. “I text Tom, ‘How are you?’ He text back saying, ‘Sorry, mate, you have to go through Eddie now.”
On the Boys in the Back podcast, which is part of Helwani’s network of Uncrowned media at Yahoo Sports, he added: “Tom Aspinall has signed with Eddie Hearn to be his new advisor and will handle his new business dealings in and out of the Octagon. The advisory deals with the Matchroom talent agency, they have one client at the moment. Tom Aspinall.
“He flew to Monaco yesterday to meet with Eddie, and that’s when they essentially struck this deal. Eddie told me, ‘When speaking to Tom I found a guy who was removed from his mojo. I told him to get his head up. You are the heavyweight champ, and one of the biggest stars in combat sport. Let’s go and get what’s f****** yours.’
“Tomorrow there’s a press conference they’ve teased that Tom is present at. I asked him if there’s any other MMA fighters signing to this talent agency, and Eddie said, ‘Yes,’ but didn’t tell me of any other names.”
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