Eddie Hearn, the manager of UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, said his client won’t fight again for the UFC on his current contract.
Hearn recently asked the UFC to release Aspinall due to his being underpaid and “unhappy.” So far, we have not heard UFC president Dana White comment on Hearn’s request, nor does anyone realistically expect the UFC to let Aspinall go.
Eddie Hearn Makes Ultimatum to UFC About Tom Aspinall
Speaking to Bloody Elbow in a new interview, Hern once again blasted White and the UFC for Aspinall’s contract, suggesting he has no interest in letting his client attempt to unify the heavyweight belt against the winner of the UFC Freedom 250 co-main event between Ciryl Gane and Alex Pereira for the interim belt.
“They’ve got to be careful because at the end of the day I’m not going to let Tom Aspinall fight for the kind of money that he’s on. To be involved in a fight against Pereira or Gane for literally one-fiftieth of the revenue for that show? (Expletive) that, I won’t let him do it. And it’s time those UFC fighters stop being mugs and start to understand that these people are taking advantage of them. They don’t mind paying these boxers all this money but they don’t want to pay the UFC fighters,” Hearn said.
“I’m saying my advice to Tom Aspinall is, ‘Don’t you dare take that fight for the money that’s in your contract’. He’s one of the biggest stars in the UFC and that fight against Pereira or Gane is one of the biggest fights the UFC can make. I will tell you the number if we get to that and UFC fans will be sick to their stomach about the money Tom Aspinall is supposed to get for that fight.
“It’s not fair. We’re not trying to be unreasonable but my advice to him is, ‘Mate, you don’t need that, you nearly lost your eyesight’. He’s had four operations on his eyes and he wants to go back and fight for virtually nothing in a rematch? He knows no better, he’s a fighter. Trust me when I say I know what I’m talking about and it’s outrageous. I will do everything I can to not allow it.”
When Will Tom Aspinall Fight Again?
Aspinall has not competed since October 2025, when he suffered an eye injury in a No Contest against Gane at UFC 321.
It’s unfortunate that he is still on the sidelines after so many months since the eye injury, but that ailment, combined with his disdain for his current UFC contract, and it makes you wonder when and if Aspinall will ever step foot inside the Octagon again.
The hope is that the UFC and Hearn can come together on a new deal for Aspinall that makes him happy. But with the UFC already having him under contract, they are under no obligation to give him more money, so this saga has likely just started with no end in sight.
Eddie Hearn: Tom Aspinall Won’t Fight for UFC on Current Contract