UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has inked a stunning deal with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom.
The Atherton assassin has penned a deal with Matchroom’s Talent Agency, a little over two weeks after UFC supremo Dana White lured Conor Benn to Zuffa Boxing.
Aspinall’s signing with Hearn comes four months after his ill-fated defence of the UFC heavyweight title in Abu Dhabi.
That fight ended in a no-contest due to Aspinall being on the receiving end of a double horror poke from opponent Ciryl Gane, which required him to undergo double eye surgery last month.
White’s response to the unfortunate ending of the fight, which he claimed Aspinall “didn’t want to continue”, appeared to fragment the pair’s relationship.
And Matchroom bigwig Hearn has capitalised on the schism between Aspinall and MMA’s top promotion by snapping the speedy heavyweight.
Aspinall, 32, vented his frustration with the UFC brass in an interview with Uncrowned earlier this month, saying: “I love martial arts.”
“I absolutely love it. I’ll never stop loving it, but I just hate the business.
“I think that fighters are just completely replaceable and the business will make you feel like that any chance it gets.
“Even if you get hit with an illegal move, which could affect the rest of your life, they don’t really give a s***, and no one else does either.”
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