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If Eddie Hearn is serious about fighting Dana White, then the UFC boss is more than willing to be Hearn's huckleberry.
White doubled down on the bizarre back-and-forth between the two promoters Saturday night, telling reporters at UFC 326's post-fight press conference that if Hearn does indeed want to accept White's challenge for a boxing match, then the Matchroom headman can fly to the UFC's Meta Apex facility in Las Vegas and the two can step into the ring.
In doing so, White also acknowledged the absurdity of two lifelong fight promoters — one 56 years old and one 46 years old — entertaining this type of narrative.
"It's serious and it's a joke," White said of his challenge to Hearn. "I'm f***ing 56 years old, I shouldn't be f***ing boxing anything. The last time I even tried to get ready to box was for Tito [Ortiz] — I was 38 and that was a f***ing nightmare, OK? And Eddie Hearn's a p****, he don't want to f***ing box anybody. Come on. F***ing Eddie Hearn boxing. Listen, if that's what [he wants], then f***ing fly out here, we'll go over to the Apex and we can box.
"Last night [Zuffa boxer] Callum Walsh was telling me, we were at Power Slap and he was like, 'This thing would be [huge]. You should do it! You should do it! I'll fight on the undercard.' I said, 'You'll fight on the undercard?' If two f***ing bums like us were going to do that, we'd be the first prelim of the night. It would be disrespectful to every guy who's a real fighter on that card to be [fighting] under us. We'd be the first prelim of the night, and that would be f***ing embarrassing."
Once friends, White and Hearn's relationship has warped into much more of a rivalry in recent months as TKO's Zuffa Boxing — helmed by UFC CEO White, WWE President Nick Khan and Saudi Arabian fight financier Turki Alalshikh — seeks to remake the sport of boxing in its image.
Tensions escalated in February when Zuffa shockingly signed away one of Hearn's biggest and most tenured stars — Conor Benn — with a one-fight deal reportedly worth at least $15 million. Shortly thereafter, Hearn signed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to his Matchroom Talent Agency.
This past Thursday, White seemingly challenged Hearn to a boxing match on Piers Morgan's "Uncensored" show, declaring, "Listen, if Eddie wants to box, we can box. We can box if Eddie wants to box. I don’t think Eddie wants to box."
Yet Hearn eagerly accepted the challenge one day later, proclaiming to iFL TV:
In all likelihood, the bout never comes to fruition — though considering the state of the fight game in 2026, stranger things have certainly happened.
Continue reading...
White doubled down on the bizarre back-and-forth between the two promoters Saturday night, telling reporters at UFC 326's post-fight press conference that if Hearn does indeed want to accept White's challenge for a boxing match, then the Matchroom headman can fly to the UFC's Meta Apex facility in Las Vegas and the two can step into the ring.
In doing so, White also acknowledged the absurdity of two lifelong fight promoters — one 56 years old and one 46 years old — entertaining this type of narrative.
"It's serious and it's a joke," White said of his challenge to Hearn. "I'm f***ing 56 years old, I shouldn't be f***ing boxing anything. The last time I even tried to get ready to box was for Tito [Ortiz] — I was 38 and that was a f***ing nightmare, OK? And Eddie Hearn's a p****, he don't want to f***ing box anybody. Come on. F***ing Eddie Hearn boxing. Listen, if that's what [he wants], then f***ing fly out here, we'll go over to the Apex and we can box.
"Last night [Zuffa boxer] Callum Walsh was telling me, we were at Power Slap and he was like, 'This thing would be [huge]. You should do it! You should do it! I'll fight on the undercard.' I said, 'You'll fight on the undercard?' If two f***ing bums like us were going to do that, we'd be the first prelim of the night. It would be disrespectful to every guy who's a real fighter on that card to be [fighting] under us. We'd be the first prelim of the night, and that would be f***ing embarrassing."
Once friends, White and Hearn's relationship has warped into much more of a rivalry in recent months as TKO's Zuffa Boxing — helmed by UFC CEO White, WWE President Nick Khan and Saudi Arabian fight financier Turki Alalshikh — seeks to remake the sport of boxing in its image.
Tensions escalated in February when Zuffa shockingly signed away one of Hearn's biggest and most tenured stars — Conor Benn — with a one-fight deal reportedly worth at least $15 million. Shortly thereafter, Hearn signed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to his Matchroom Talent Agency.
This past Thursday, White seemingly challenged Hearn to a boxing match on Piers Morgan's "Uncensored" show, declaring, "Listen, if Eddie wants to box, we can box. We can box if Eddie wants to box. I don’t think Eddie wants to box."
Yet Hearn eagerly accepted the challenge one day later, proclaiming to iFL TV:
In all likelihood, the bout never comes to fruition — though considering the state of the fight game in 2026, stranger things have certainly happened.
Continue reading...
