UFC champ Tom Aspinall is finally ready to return, says Eddie Hearn — but on one condition
Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Talent Agency have added Ian Machado Garry to their roster. The next UFC welterweight title challenger joins heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall as only the second UFC fighter to work with the agency.
After signing Aspinall in March, Matchroom’s Hearn knew it was a matter of time before more UFC stars came knocking at his door. However, with Garry, Hearn was the one to pursue Ireland’s latest superstar contender, he said. It wasn’t until a few weeks ago that they put pen to paper, preceding Wednesday’s official announcement. Speaking in-studio on “The Ariel Helwani Show,” Hearn explained how the deal came to be.
“We’ve taken our time, to be honest with you,” Hearn told Uncrowned. “Because what we’ve done with Tom has been quite incredible, and we’ll come back to that. Through that signing, we had over a dozen UFC or MMA guys come to us and say, ‘How do we be a part of this? Can we get representation with you guys?’
“We’re a sports agency. We’re looking to represent high-profile global stars across sport and entertainment, not MMA. But of all the approaches we had, I don’t even think Ian was an approach. I think I actually reached out to him because I know his team and everybody around him.
“I looked at this guy for a long time, and I love his spirit. I love his personality. He’s a good, tall, good-looking guy who speaks incredibly well. I’ve long felt this is a guy I actually think has the attributes to be a superstar. As I learn more about the sport, how good he is, we met, we had a lot of deep conversations, talked a lot of strategy. Then of course, he finally secured the big fight, and particularly with our work in Ireland and understanding the country, the audience, how passionate they are for their own, I just felt like this was the guy we wanted to bring to the team, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Garry, 28, forms his alliance with Hearn at a unique time. While the welterweight recently landed his first title fight — a matchup against Islam Makhachev at UFC 330 on Aug. 15 — Hearn has been embroiled in a promoter feud with UFC CEO Dana White.
Hearn never planned to add a long list of UFC fighters to his agency roster, but Garry seemed too obvious from a brand perspective. Regarding actual fight negotiations, Hearn said he and Matchroom will be hands off, leaving that to Vayner Sports, who remain Garry’s management team.
“We won’t be having dealings with the UFC regarding Ian Garry,” Hearn said. “That contract is set; he’s got his fight coming up. It’s very different to the Tom Aspinall scenario.
“I didn’t feel this was a sort of confrontational signing. … I look at Ian Garry as a potential superstar of sport. And I’m building a representation agency of representing great athletes with high commercial power and demand. Ian sits within that mold.
“This isn’t about us having meetings with UFC. He’s got his own team of people that do that side.”
On the Aspinall side of Hearn’s work, the partnership is much more fluid overall.
The reigning UFC heavyweight champion has yet to fight since joining Matchroom. Aspinall has been sidelined for an extended period, stuck healing from eye injuries suffered against Ciryl Gane at UFC 321 in October. Accidental eye-pokes rendered the bout a no-contest toward the end of Round 1.
Aspinall is finally medically cleared to resume training and fight again, said Hearn. After Gane’s latest interim title win against Alex Pereira at UFC Freedom 250 at the White House, a return would presumably be for a Gane rematch.
“He doesn’t care [where],” Hearn said. “Honestly, this is a dangerous fight, and some people still refuse to acknowledge that he had four eye operations and was told quite clearly he could have lost his vision. You got to go back in there, do the same kind of thing — could happen again. This time it could be worse, or it could be a back-of-the-head blow. All these other fouls that you see, but you know it’s going to be that kind of fight. It’s not going to be easy. So, if you’re going to put yourself through that, if you’re going to risk not just your legacy, but your health and beyond — not to get too negative about things — you’ve got to be respected.”
“We’ve reached out to the UFC and we’ve told them — Andy Aspinall, who’s got that relationship with Hunter [Campbell] and those guys, ‘Tom’s ready,’” Hearn continued. “There’s going to be a conversation coming up about date and numbers. Look, we’re not coming in there to cause a big argument. What we’re coming in to say is that there’s a huge amount of money in the fight between Ciryl Gane and Tom Aspinall. Now, contractually — and the contract is a little bit out of date because it talks about pay-per-view and that obviously doesn’t exist anymore, but contractually — the numbers are, we’ll veer on the peace side, just completely unfair in terms of the value that Tom Aspinall brings into that fight. So what we’re asking for is just to be respected, and we’ll give it everything.
“Just respect the fighter — that’s it. And we’re not difficult to work with. Tom’s really not difficult to work with. But that has to be acknowledged, in my opinion.”
Despite Aspinall’s recent inactivity during his recovery, the Matchroom partnership has paid off big time. Literally.
According to Hearn, Aspinall has already made significantly more money outside of the Octagon than he would have in it. Obviously, Hearn and company’s plan is to change that going forward. But as time goes on, anticipation for Aspinall’s return continues to grow.
“He’s making more money now outside the Octagon than he’s making in it, commercially,” Hearn said. “He’s driven over seven figures already in terms of commercial value — DAZN deal, his Cloudbet deal, another one that’s literally about to be announced today, appearances, his podcast. This guy’s social and digital numbers across his podcast, they’re doing huge numbers.
“But right now, amongst all the commotion and all that noise, you’ve got a guy who’s one of the most talked about guys on the UFC roster in Tom Aspinall. Fact. So yeah, important that we drive, but also, what we’re doing internally, you have a fight in front of you with Ciryl Gane against Tom Aspinall that’s one of the biggest fights that can get made in the UFC. And Tom Aspinall right now sits as one of the biggest stars in the UFC.
“We’re actually driving a huge amount of value, not just for Tom, but for the UFC because they’ve got a monster fight on their hand with that, if it can get made.”
