Eddie Hearn told reporters this week he has stopped Tom Aspinall from accepting his next UFC assignment until the promotion rewrites contract language he called "outrageous." Aspinall holds the interim heavyweight belt but has not fought since November. Hearn, who runs Matchroom Sport and typically promotes boxers, took on the Brit as a client late last year.
The sticking point is disclosed pay. UFC contracts split purses into a "show" amount paid at weigh-in and a "win" bonus paid after victory. Hearn objects to the structure itself—not just the dollar figures—saying no athlete he represents will step into a cage with half his fee conditional on the outcome. He declined to name Aspinall's current guarantee but said the total was "not reflective" of a champion defending against contenders who draw 300,000 pay-per-view buys domestically. Aspinall's last fight, a first-round finish of Sergei Pavlovich at UFC 295, aired to 675,000 buys in the U.K. alone, per industry estimates.
The dispute matters because Hearn brings boxing economics to a sport that has resisted them. UFC fighters do not negotiate as free agents; the promotion holds exclusive rights and matching clauses that extend deals automatically when a champion defends. Hearn is testing whether a marquee client can force structural change before signing the bout agreement. If Aspinall sits, the UFC either promotes an interim-versus-interim unification—awkward optics—or strips him and moves on. If Hearn wins, other managers will cite the precedent. The promotion has never guaranteed a flat purse to a male champion outside of Conor McGregor.
Aspinall is 30 years old, unbeaten in his last 7 UFC appearances, and the betting favorite over Jon Jones in a hypothetical unification. Jones has not defended the undisputed heavyweight title since June 2023 and is expected to face Stipe Miocic in a legacy bout this summer, leaving Aspinall in limbo. Hearn's move suggests he believes Aspinall's value peaks in the next 18 months and that waiting costs less than signing under current terms. The fighter himself has stayed silent on social media since Hearn's comments.
Matchroom has no MMA promotion arm, so Hearn cannot deliver an alternative event. His leverage is Aspinall's willingness to sit and the UFC's need to keep the heavyweight division legible to broadcasters. ESPN holds U.S. rights through 2025 with an option for 2026; domestic PPV buys have trended down 11% year-over-year through March. A popular British heavyweight helps the international bundle.
Watch whether UFC president Dana White comments in the next 10 days. White typically dismisses agent complaints in public, but the promotion has quietly restructured deals for champions before—most recently for welterweight Belal Muhammad, who negotiated a new agreement after winning the title in July. If Aspinall appears at a Matchroom boxing event in the next 30 days, Hearn is playing the long game. If he takes a fight by June, the UFC gave ground but kept it private.
Aspinall's team has not filed for release from his contract, which would trigger arbitration under UFC's standard agreement. That door stays closed as long as both sides are talking.