Eddie Hearn was “baffled” when he got to see Tom Aspinall’s contract and how the UFC was paying him way less than what he’s worth. Since then, the Matchroom Boxing head honcho has made it a mission to transform the Englishman into a superstar and make him more money. Well, it turns out Aspinall has already generated more income under Hearn’s management than what the UFC paid him in one of his last fights.

In a recent interview, the veteran boxing promoter revealed that he has successfully closed several commercial deals for Tom Aspinall, which are going to cash in more than one of his last four fights in Dana White’s promotion.

“We are closing in on a number of deals for Tom Aspinall,” Hearn told IFL TV. “Commercial deals where I would say UFC fighters have got to understand the job that we’ll be doing. Tom Aspinall, having been with Matchroom Talent Agency for what will be 10 days to two weeks, he will make more money in commercial deals than he did for one of his recent fights.

Within 10 days of working with Matchroom, one of his recent fights, in the last four fights. So they’re leaving a lot of money on the table,” he added.

For those who don’t know, Tom Aspinall has signed with Matchroom Talent Agency, which makes Eddie Hearn his manager. But his father, Andy Aspinall, remains the main man, and Hearn will help him get better commercial deals and step in for his UFC contract negotiations if necessary.

So, the 46-year-old is now partly responsible for the UFC heavyweight champ’s fight negotiations with Dana White and Co. However, as a manager, Hearn also looks after other commercial deals such as brand promotions and similar opportunities. 

The Matchroom chairman has already managed to line up one commercial obligation for the Manchester native. On April 18, Callum Smith will fight David Morrell in Liverpool in a highly anticipated boxing match, and Tom Aspinall will serve as one of the pundits during their broadcast on DAZN, which is expected to pay him a significant amount of money. 

Now, with such developments happening, Aspinall would be happy with his management creating money-making avenues for him while he recovers from the grueling eye injury. But as fans see the partnership growing, how did that alliance come together in the first place? The UFC heavyweight champion explained that as well.

Tom Aspinall explains how he sided with Eddie Hearn

Before the Matchroom Boxing chairman came into the picture, Tom Aspinall didn’t have an official manager. He was represented by his father, Andy Aspinall, for the majority of his deals. But after meeting many people in the MMA sphere, the UFC heavyweight champ felt a connection with Eddie Hearn and Frank Smith (CEO of Matchroom), and that’s when he decided to shake hands.

“We’ve probably met just about everyone in the MMA space at this point,” Aspinall told Ariel Helwani. “We’ve had meetings, had food, had a coffee, had a phone call, whatever. But I don’t know, man. Something about Eddie and something about Frank and the whole team, they’re just… sometimes when you look across from somebody and spend real time with them, you just get a good feeling from them. And those are definitely my kind of people.”

To be fair, Hearn might be new to MMA, but he’s definitely a big name in boxing and knows the business of combat sports. Because of that, many believe that his alliance with Aspinall could become a success. That’s why Hearn revealed that many UFC fighters have already contacted him to represent them in the company, and he also seems open to signing fighters who could become big stars one day.

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That said, what do you think about Tom Aspinall already seemingly earning more from commercial deals than his UFC fights? Was signing with Eddie Hearn a game-changing decision? Let us know in the comments section below.