Eddie Hearn emphasizes that this venture isn’t driven by a desire for revenge. However, when sitting opposite the Matchroom chairman and UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, the broader implications are hard to overlook.

For over 40 years, Matchroom has been at the forefront of developing sports empires, excelling in arenas such as boxing, darts, and snooker. Now, the company is branching out into uncharted territory.

The new initiative encompasses a comprehensive suite of services: commercial partnerships, media engagements, publishing endeavors, digital strategy, broadcast initiatives, legal assistance, and negotiation of fight purses—essentially, the entire infrastructure required to support a modern-day sports superstar.

Leading this new chapter is Tom Aspinall, the UFC heavyweight champion hailing from Salford. He becomes the inaugural member of Matchroom’s Talent Agency, having signed a two-year contract.

“This is a two-year representation deal covering every aspect of Tom’s career,” Hearn explains to Daily Mail Sport. “Our focus will be on amplifying his commercial presence, introducing him to new brands, and enhancing his profile through PR, media, social, and digital channels. Additionally, we will provide support on the combat side as well.”

‘It’s a two-year deal, a representation agreement that covers every aspect of what Tom does,’ Hearn tells Daily Mail Sport. ‘On the commercial side, we’ll be building his profile, bringing new brands to the table across PR, media, social and digital. But we’ll also support the fight side of things.

‘This isn’t about us stepping in and saying, “Right Tom, we’ll go talk to Dana about your career.” Andy Aspinall has handled that throughout Tom’s career and he’ll continue to do so, with our guidance and support. We’ll handle the contractual side, our lawyers will review the deals, look at what’s next, which fights are on the table, what the purses look like, and make sure everything stacks up.

‘If Andy is the one having those conversations and we all agree that’s the right approach. I’m perfectly happy with that. I don’t necessarily need to sit in a room with Dana and negotiate Tom’s next fight. But if Tom wants me there, and everyone feels I’m the right person to do it, then of course I’ll be there, dealing with Hunter or whoever it needs to be.

‘What we’re not doing is coming in and saying we’re going to break contracts or start arguments with the UFC. Not at all. We’re a professional company. We respect what they do and we respect the contract. We’ll just have sensible conversations about the value of what is, in my opinion, one of the biggest stars in the sport and more importantly, the flagship division of combat sports: the heavyweight championship.’

Asked whether the new partnership should lead to Aspinall earning significantly more money going forward, Hearn leaves little doubt about his expectations.

‘Substantially more. And we’ll show every MMA fighter how we can drive value. I always talk about value. I have looked at some of the contracts he has received to be main event, you’d make three times that for a British title fight. 

‘Maybe I’m in the wrong business. And by the way, congratulations to them – they’ve made an absolute fortune. But now I’m on the other side, and I represent our guys fiercely to make sure they get what they deserve. When you look at what Tom Aspinall brings to an event and the amount of money that event generates, I don’t think it’s fair. So I have to give him my honest advice from that perspective.’

The venture sits alongside Matchroom’s established sporting pillars: Matchroom Boxing, the Professional Darts Corporation, the World Snooker Tour and Matchroom MultiSport.

Collectively, those properties have delivered some of the most recognisable sporting moments of the past 40 years while turning niche competitions into global entertainment products.

Hearn believes the same thinking can now be applied to individual athletes. Especially Aspinall.

‘We’ve been accused by Dana and those guys of lacking vision. I actually think this is a great example of vision. It’s a wonderful move. It’s great for our business, it’s great for Tom Aspinall and, by the way, it’s great for the UFC as well.

‘What we’re doing is helping drive the value of one of their fighters. When Tom Aspinall fights again, he’ll be a bigger star than he’s ever been before, which ultimately benefits the UFC. But first we have to make sure he’s getting the respect he deserves from the UFC.

‘But not only that. This is a 360-degree management business. We’re not just talking about contracts. We’re talking sponsorships, brand deals, PR, endorsements, lifestyle, logistics, long-term career strategy.’    

It is an ambitious pitch, but one built on Matchroom’s long-standing experience of elevating athletes and sports to new commercial heights.

Under the Hearns, darts transformed from smoky pub competitions into sold-out arena spectacles broadcast in primetime television slots. The Professional Darts Corporation distributed more than £19million in prize money in 2024 alone.

Snooker has undergone a similar transformation, expanding aggressively across Asia and the Middle East since Barry Hearn began reshaping the tour calendar into a sponsor-friendly global circuit.

‘This isn’t new to us,’ Hearn says. ‘We’ve been representing athletes for 40 years in different ways. We know how to build profiles, we know how to deliver commercial strategies and guide careers properly. This is just the next step.’

For Aspinall, it wasn’t as straightforward.

‘Eddie doesn’t actually know this, so this is exclusive, but I went into that meeting in Monaco thinking, I’m not going to do it. Eddie was paying for as a PJ and everything. And I was like I actually feel bad. 

‘But, I just really liked what Eddie and Matchroom were all about. And I really felt it was right from me, felt right from my dad, felt right for the other team members, and we just all agreed that this is the right move.’

The 31-year-old has become one of the UFC’s biggest names thanks to a string of explosive finishes and his laid-back Mancunian charisma. Yet he has not always felt he has received the recognition he deserves and, after facing criticism following his recent eye injury, Aspinall decided it was time to expand his team.

Still, linking up with Hearn was not a straightforward decision given the long-running feud between the boxing promoter and UFC president Dana White.

‘I didn’t want to be part of it, like a pawn in this fight between MMA and boxing, or between Dana and Eddie and all that stuff. I didn’t want to be dragged into that. But Eddie and Matchroom put an offer on the table that I really couldn’t refuse, so I took it.’

Asked whether the partnership with Matchroom could risk souring his relationship with White or affect his standing within the UFC, Aspinall is unequivocal.

‘You can choose whatever manager, whatever representation, whatever commercial advisor you want. It’s nothing to do with the UFC. This is my business. This is mine and my team’s business, and we wanted to expand the team.’

Aspinall goes on to add: ‘Fighting is obviously my main focus. That’s always number one. But there’s a lot that comes with being in this position – media, sponsorships, different opportunities outside the cage.’

Matchroom’s global network, he says, offers a platform that could amplify those possibilities.

‘You look at what they’ve done across different sports and how they’ve built stars,’ Aspinall says. ‘They understand how to grow a brand and take someone’s profile to another level.’

For Hearn, landing the UFC heavyweight champion as the agency’s first signing is a statement of intent.

‘Tom’s one of the biggest combat sports stars in the world,’ he says. ‘If you’re launching something like this, you want someone with that kind of profile and personality to lead the way.’

Still, it is difficult to discuss the move without touching on the simmering tension that has recently developed between Hearn and UFC president Dana White.

The feud ignited earlier this year when Conor Benn, a fighter Hearn had guided from his professional debut and defended fiercely during the drug-test scandal that threatened to derail his career, signed with White’s Zuffa venture.

Hearn admits the manner of the split caught him off guard.

‘I got the email from his lawyer,’ he says. ‘That was the first I heard of it. I asked for a call but never got one.’

The promoter had publicly backed Benn during the controversy that saw the collapse of his scheduled fight with Chris Eubank Jr in 2022 after two failed drug tests, a period that left the boxer sidelined and facing intense scrutiny.

‘That’s why it was disappointing,’ Hearn says. ‘Because we stood by him through everything.’

When asked whether he would work with Benn commercially with Matchroom’s new Talent Agency, Hearn paused.

‘I will always have the conversation, but right now I can’t see that happening. I never rule anything out though, because I’ve learned in the past that time can be a great healer.

‘Take Jarrell Miller as an example. At the time I said I would never, ever work with him again. And I know him, I quite like him as a person, but how I felt then and for a few years afterwards was that it was completely finished.

‘But as six or seven years pass, your feelings can change. I’ve learned you can never say never in this sport. I can tell you how I feel right now, and right now I don’t think it’s an option. Maybe one day there’s a conversation. Maybe you pick up the phone. You never know.’

White, never one to shy away from a verbal exchange, dismissed Hearn’s frustration in typically blunt terms, labelling him a ‘p****’ for complaining about the situation.

Hearn shrugs when the comment is mentioned now.

‘Dana says what he wants,’ he says with a grin. ‘In the space of a week he’s called me a p**** and said he would fight me.’

But there is a certain symmetry in what has happened next. While White moved into boxing by signing Benn, Hearn has aligned himself with the UFC’s heavyweight champion.

‘Look, this isn’t about getting one back,’ Hearn insists. ‘This is about building a serious talent agency. But Tom is an incredible athlete and someone we believe we can help grow massively.’

In truth, the commercial potential of athlete representation explains much of the motivation. Just take football – an avenue they are looking to break into. The global sports agency market is booming, driven by rising player salaries, escalating transfer fees and the explosion of digital sponsorship opportunities.

In football alone, agent fees surpassed £700million worldwide in 2023 while transfer spending climbed to around £5.67billion. Elite agencies typically take between five and ten per cent of athlete earnings and commercial deals – a lucrative slice of a rapidly expanding pie.

Hearn, though, says the ambition stretches beyond simple deal-making.

‘Most athletes have different people doing different things,’ he says. ‘One agent doing contracts, another agency doing brand deals, a lawyer somewhere else. What we’re offering is a single structure that handles everything.’

That structure, he believes, will become increasingly valuable as athletes evolve into global entertainment brands.

‘The biggest sports stars today aren’t just athletes,’ Hearn says. ‘They’re media personalities, entrepreneurs, ambassadors. You need a team that understands how to manage all of that.’

For now, Aspinall’s focus remains on defending the UFC heavyweight crown and cementing his place at the top of mixed martial arts.

But the broader picture matters too.

‘I want to be the best fighter in the world,’ he says. ‘But I also want to build something that lasts beyond fighting.’

Hearn finishes with a smile. Matchroom Talent Agency has only just begun its journey – but with the UFC heavyweight champion leading the roster, the promoter clearly believes he has landed the perfect first signing.