Dana White Laughs Off Fighters Signing With Eddie Hearn, Mokaev Fires Back
Dana White mocked UFC fighters working with Eddie Hearn and former flyweight Muhammad Mokaev had a pointed response.
Dana White is not losing sleep over UFC fighters seeking representation from boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. In fact, he finds it hilarious.
At the UFC 331 post-fight press conference, White addressed the growing trend of MMA fighters working with Hearn's Matchroom operation. Per LowKick MMA, White said: "We f---ing crack up laughing. It's hilarious." He questioned what tangible value Hearn provides to MMA athletes while noting he has no personal issue with Tom Aspinall specifically.
Aspinall, the former UFC heavyweight champion, recently entered an advisory agreement with Matchroom, making him the highest-profile UFC fighter to formalize a relationship with the boxing promotion.
Former UFC flyweight Muhammad Mokaev wasted no time responding. He tweeted: "Deal with the fighters directly then." The short reply carried weight, highlighting the underlying tension that drives fighters toward outside representation in the first place: the perceived power imbalance in UFC contract negotiations.
The back-and-forth arrives at an interesting moment in the cross-sport landscape. Conor Benn recently departed Matchroom to join White's Zuffa Boxing project, a move Hearn characterized as a betrayal. Meanwhile Hearn has been expanding his advisory footprint in MMA, positioning Matchroom as an alternative voice for fighters who feel they lack leverage with the UFC.
White's dismissal and Mokaev's rebuttal neatly capture the central tension: the UFC sees outside management as unnecessary theater, while fighters see it as the only way to even the negotiating table.
Dana laughing at fighters talking to Eddie Hearn is exactly what you would expect, and Mokaev's five-word reply landed harder than anything Dana said. Deal with the fighters directly then. That is the whole argument in one sentence.
Here is the thing. Whether Hearn actually delivers anything for MMA fighters is a fair question, and I am not convinced he does beyond leverage and headlines. But the fact that a guy like Aspinall feels he needs an outside voice at all tells you what fighters think of their negotiating position with the UFC. You do not go looking for an advisor when you feel heard.
The irony is thick, too. Dana is mocking Hearn while running a boxing promotion that just took Conor Benn off Hearn's roster. These two are going to keep poaching and trolling each other for years, and the fighters are going to keep using both sides to squeeze out a better number. Good. That is how it should work.
