Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn wants to address the long-standing issue of low fighter pay in the UFC and is game to stand in Dana White’s way in the next few months, and “it’s going to be really interesting.”
After Conor Benn signed with Zuffa Boxing and is reportedly to be paid $15 million for one bout, many on the UFC’s payroll have questioned the pay disparity. At this burning hour, Hearn now aims to push for better compensation for athletes.
On the other hand, Dana Whiterecently defendedConor Benn’s pay by saying that, at the end of the day, more money flowing into the sport is a good thing. The 56-year-old added that fighter pay in the UFC will continue to increase, especially following the new Paramount deal.
Yesterday, Dana White defended Conor Benn’s pay and said it’s 'never a bad thing when guys make more money — you should be happy about it.'Was Dana happy when Francis Ngannou left and signed that massive deal? Of course not.Is Dana going to be happy when Conor and Jon say,…pic.twitter.com/Njr7tHrYKM
However, Eddie Hearn does not believe a wordDana Whitesaid this past weekend at the presser. The Brit says Benn’s signing has raised serious questions and could prompt athletes to start demanding similar paydays and better contracts. During a recent sit-down withAriel Helwani, Hearn shared his plans to help fighters seek better compensation. The 46-year-old believes a major “revolution” is coming in the next few months, and he will play a major part in it. Hearn told Helwani:
“There is so much contradiction going on. Especially people who are on the payroll of the UFC. Even Dana White. Dana White sits there at a press conference last night and says ‘Conor Benn making all this money is great for UFC fighters.’ I am like, how? Basically, every UFC fighter is just looking at that guy, and it just doesn’t make sense.”
He added:Probably for the first time in my career, and this was very much the case with theTom Aspinallstuff. I’m going to work in some silence because I need to get it right, and it’s going to be very, very interesting what’s about to unfold in the next couple of months… Right now, I’m looking at the landscape and thinking, this is crazy. It’s almost like a revolution, and it’s going to be really interesting.”
Check out Eddie Hearn’s comments below:
Eddie Hearn sees a potential "revolution" amongst MMA fighters:“There’s so much contradiction going on… Dana White sits there at a press conference last night and says Conor Benn making all this money is great for UFC fighters. How?I’m enjoying sitting back, watching all the…pic.twitter.com/tDciLq5X9X
Tom Aspinallrecently signed a deal with Eddie Hearn’s newly launched Matchroom Talent Agency, and now they will be looking after Aspinall’s business and commercial interests. Hearn and Matchroom will act as Aspinall’s commercial advisers and make sure he is never lowballed.During the same sitdown with Ariel Helwani, Eddie Hearn spoke candidly about how the UFC and Dana White handled Tom Aspinall after he suffered a double eye poke atUFC 321and was unable to continue fighting.
Source: LowKickMMA.com
