UFC champion Tom Aspinall has ignited a promotional war by signing with Eddie Hearn’s talent agency for his future projects, instead of having his father represent him. Since then, this move has intensified the rivalry between Hearn and Dana White. While Aspinall recently explained the reason behind his move, the move comes just weeks after a multi-million dollar deal by White that took away Hearn’s top fighters from his promotion.

The rivalry between UFC CEO Dana White and Eddie Hearn has intensified in recent weeks. Earlier this month, UFC signed British rising prospect Conor Benn to Zuffa Boxing for $15 million for just one fight. Benn had previously fought under Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, which, as a result, left Hearn “personally, pretty devastating.”

However, the silver lining for the British boxing promoter is that he now represents Tom Aspinall, which many see as payback. But the Brit confirmed that he made the decision himself.

“We were saying, hopefully this will be the start where other MMA fighters can look at this and be like,” said Tom Aspinall at a media press conference in Monaco. “S–t, look what he’s doing, look at the money that he’s getting, look at the opportunity that he’s getting with Matchroom and Eddie and stuff like that. I want to be a bit of a trailblazer for MMA fighters who can make a lot of money and be successful outside the Octagon as well as inside, whether it be publicly or privately.”

“A lot of MMA fighters, UFC fighters, UFC champions—they like to complain about the money that we’re getting paid. But that’s a contract that we all signed. We’re not going to get more than that. I’ve accepted that, and I want to make as much money outside of the Octagon as I possibly can.”

Just like Eddie Hearn, Tom Aspinall has also had a strained relationship with UFC CEO Dana White for a couple of years. The tension surfaced publicly during Aspinall’s first title fight at UFC 321, when a double eye poke forced him to stop the fight. In the post-fight press conference, Dana White expressed insensitivity toward Aspinall’s injury, which, in turn, only fueled the friction between them.

Even after Tom Aspinall underwent eye surgery twice, the situation did not improve, which partly explains why he aligned with Hearn. Meanwhile, Dana White showed no surprise at the new partnership and remained unfazed by Aspinall and Hearn’s collaboration.

Still, the fact that Conor Benn earned $15 million for just one fight reportedly bothered Tom Aspinall.

Tom Aspinall reacts to “big difference” in Dana White & Co. pay

“I want 15 million for one fight too,” UFC middleweight legend Israel Adesanya recently said, reacting to Dana White & Co. signing Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom rising boxing star Conor Benn for $15 million for just one fight against Regis Prograis on April 11.

Naturally, many UFC stars, including Sean O’Malley and Max Holloway, also reacted. Adesanya, who has spent years sweating and bleeding to help UFC expand its business in New Zealand and Australia, and O’Malley in America, still do not earn anywhere near what Conor Benn makes, which highlights the UFC’s big discrepancy in pay.

Meanwhile, Tom Aspinall, under the same venture with TKO, recently chimed in during the Matchroom Boxing press conference when a reporter asked how it “bothered” him.

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“I mean, I think it’s bothered everybody,” said Tom Aspinall, “If one guy’s getting paid $15 million and the other guy’s getting $15,000, I think that’s a big difference, mate. Which is part of the reason that I want to explore other options. I know me personally, every time I go in there, I’m risking my health.”

Tom Aspinall also made it clear that he wants to be “compensated” as much as possible while staying an active fighter. At the same time, he plans to enter boxing once he completes his UFC contract, a move his father already indicated last year.

Now, everyone is watching how Eddie Hearn can turn Aspinall’s career around, especially since he spent years waiting for a fight with Jon Jones. Stay tuned.