Eddie Hearn asks UFC to release Tom Aspinall

Tom Aspinall has spent months trying to get back to the cage. Eddie Hearn has now made sure the heavyweight champion’s next headline is not only about recovery or a future opponent. It is also about money, control and the contract holding one of Britain’s biggest UFC names inside the promotion.

Hearn, who represents Aspinall through the newly launched Matchroom Talent Agency, has publicly challenged Dana White to release the UFC heavyweight champion. His offer was not framed as a vague promise for later. Hearn said he would put a guarantee in writing, beginning at three times the money Aspinall currently makes under his UFC deal.

Aspinall has not announced that he wants to leave the UFC. No release has been granted, and no outside fight has been booked. But Hearn’s words arrive at a sensitive time. The champion has been out since his first undisputed title defence against Ciryl Gane ended in a no contest after an accidental eye poke left him unable to continue. Instead of building momentum with the belt, Aspinall has been recovering while the heavyweight division keeps moving around him.

Hearn puts Aspinall’s deal on the table

Matchroom signed Aspinall in March as the first client of its talent agency. The arrangement was about commercial work and career support away from the octagon, not a UFC exit. Hearn has now turned that partnership into a direct public challenge to White.

The promoter’s position is clear: a British heavyweight champion with Aspinall’s speed, finishing record and market value should have access to much larger earnings. Hearn did not merely criticise the UFC pay structure. He attached a figure to the argument and invited White to let Aspinall test his value elsewhere.

At this point, four details are confirmed:

• Aspinall remains the UFC heavyweight champion and is still under contract with the promotion.
• Hearn represents him through Matchroom Talent Agency in a business and commercial capacity.
• Hearn says he is ready to guarantee Aspinall a deal worth at least triple his present UFC pay if he is released.
• Neither Aspinall nor the UFC has announced a departure or a new contract elsewhere.

The champion has already lost time

This argument lands harder because Aspinall’s championship run has not had a clean launch. He spent a long stretch waiting for the heavyweight title picture to clear, then finally entered his first defence as the undisputed champion against Gane in October 2025. The fight barely had time to develop before the eye poke stopped it and sent Aspinall into a recovery period.

Heavyweights rarely get to pause the clock. The belt brings status, but the biggest money usually follows actual fights: main events, title defences, rivalries and packed arenas. Aspinall has the title beside his name, yet his recent months have been shaped by medical updates rather than the kind of run that turns a champion into a bigger draw.

Aspinall is worth more inside the cage

The difficult part for the UFC is that Hearn has picked the right fighter for this argument. Aspinall is not approaching the end of a long title reign or searching for a novelty payday. He is a fast, dangerous heavyweight champion whose fights rarely need much selling once he is healthy and booked.

The difficult part for Hearn is just as obvious. A public offer does not free a champion from an active UFC contract. White can ignore the challenge, keep Aspinall in the heavyweight plans and wait for the next title fight to return the focus to sport rather than salary.

For Aspinall, there is little reason to turn this into a public fight of his own unless something changes behind the scenes. His strongest position comes from returning, defending the belt and reminding everyone what his value looks like when he is finishing heavyweights rather than discussing contracts.

Hearn has still managed to open a question that will follow the champion into his next booking. If Aspinall is healthy, active and holding the most important belt in his division, how much should that really be worth? Until the UFC announces his return, the heavyweight title is not the only thing around him drawing attention.