The thing here is that there isn’t a single UFC fighter that doesn’t know that Dana has been having their eyes out for their whole career. Eddie could snatch the main players up and even get them to compete against each other in boxing, with one fight alone they would (based on hearsay amounts they earn, due to the lack of transparency in UFC fight revenues) surpass their career high paydays, it’s sad that there are YouTube and misfits earning more than the UFC champions earn. It could have been the dumbest thing for Dana to pay Connor Benn 15m for one fight, and I’ve seen a few UFC Fighters calling it out, Sean O’Malley has been vocal on this, but I like the move by Eddie because he’s chosen to go down the management route so that gets him access to the UFC Fight Nights and a route to have conversations with other fighters, he has charm and he has Dzn behind him, he will rock the boat for sure.
I bet Eddie has been sniffing around Paddy Pimblett. He's probably got the most 'star quality' and biggest profiles in the UFC
The problem is with the partial exception of the champions White can really get rid of anyone on his roster. If an excuse is needed to get rid of them he can steer them into fights that will produce one. If top fighters leave the UFC and go fight in PFL and the PFL becomes better then the UFC the fans aren't going to register that and stop watching the UFC events. They will treat the UFC as the top promotion regardless of the roster. If Dana cuts someone whose ranked 5th they just vanish from the rankings and no one gives them a second thought. Thats a problem here. Aspinalls the HW champ and getting rid of Aspinall would look awful Dana needs to keep him at least until hes defeated. Anything Hearn can do for Aspinall really can't be mass produced.
He had eye surgery 3 weeks back, and seemingly is recovering well. 2 fights left on his contract, I dont see him getting out of it this year. Dana is not in control of these things any more, but you are otherwise correct and this is how the company operates. They absolutely hate it when fighters try to fight out their contracts, as in get out of the UFC and compete elsewhere. They would rather keep them as inactive as possible, low ball them as much as possible, or sacrifice them to up and comers. There are rumors that the UFC wants to make McGregor vs Michael Morales. I am sorry, but that is insane matchmaking and its clear that the intent here is to kill McGregor´s momentum going into a new sport. Its no better than Chimaev vs Diaz. If McGregor ends his UFC run with a W, then a potential BKB fight will be huge. And by all accounts, it would likely be his second highest payday to date.
I heard rumors of a Prates matchup as well being turned down from him. McGregor was never a natural WW those are both terrible fights for him even without taking age, inactivity and wear and tear into account. I think McGregor if healthy and focused would probably still crack the top 10-15 at LW. WW has always been dumb for him. Hes slower, punches aren't as snappy and stamina is trash while competing there.
McGregor is NOT beating anyone with a pulse these days. Since 2016 he has one win against an old washed up Cerrone, thats it in nearly 10 yrs and in that time he's been an alcoholic drug addicted criminal. I seriously think he won't EVER fight again in the ufc as he simply will not beat anyone imo even an unranked 155/170 fighter. It's been clear to me for a long time now that he has been promising to comeback and stalling and stalling some more until his sunset clause ends his contract with the ufc. He will then fight outside the ufc and guess who he will fight ? He will hand pick a completely old washed up former "name" such as Diego Sanchez possibly in BKFC which he co-owns on ppv. He is pathetic. Bottom line he was awesome in his very short run at 145 but hasn't proven it above 145. Elite level fighters don't go 1-1 and life and death with the average not elite Nate Diaz.
And any time I've seen him he's not likeable. Just comes across as a dour character with a chip on his shoulder, even if he isn't really like that. I don't see how Eddie Hearn makes him any kind of crossover star to make money outside of UFC. If he was any kind of a draw Dana White would be all over him.
He'll be fed to AJ, get sparked and have his career completely stalled as a result. That's if Hearn has his way, anyway. Also not sure where this idea of Tom being overly popular globally or even here in the UK comes from. Eddie talking bollocks as per imo. I've never heard a casual or non sports fan speak of him here. There are a select few fighters known by the UK casuals, like AJ, Fury, Usyk, Benn, Eubank Jr and maybe Chisora. Pimblett is probably the only MMA fighter here casuals really know about outside the combat sports bubble.
I don't watch MMA often but went looking for an Aspinall thread. I hear most of what I hear on Aspinall from Hearn's regular tour of boxing social channels so it's definitely a bit one-sided. That being said - I don't get it. Aspinall is really unlikeable, comes across as a downbeat character and despite his explosive style (I've seen highlights that appear on socials when he fights) he doesn't come across as having much of a personality. And yet Hearn seems to have equalled his UFC fight earnings by appearing on endless podcasts (where he mostly moans about stuff). It doesn't seem like his media career will have much longevity vs (someone like) Pimblett who can actually talk a bit, or someone like Bellew who Matchroom still roll out (who can talk even if it's nonsense half the time). What happens for Aspinall then? Fight Ngannou on MVP for proper cash?