Eddie Hearn has launched Matchroom Talent Agency, with UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall serving as its inaugural client.
The announcement comes just two weeks after Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing signed boxer Conor Benn from Hearn in a $15 million one-fight deal. Hearn’s move to sign the UFC’s reigning heavyweight champ for commercial and advisory representation is being viewed as a counter measure to White signing Benn. Aspinall, 32, remains under contract with the UFC for his competitive bouts, but his business affairs outside the Octagon will now be steered by Matchroom.
“I started my professional career in Athlete management and over the past 30 years, I have built a wealth of experience in building global superstars. We believe in partnership and transparency with our clients but, most importantly, always delivering exceptional and innovative work. Grounded in honesty and fierce commitment, Matchroom Talent Agency is about transforming careers through relentless ambition and telling it straight. At the heart of everything we’ve done as a business over the last 40 years is identifying ordinary people who have extraordinary talent. UFC World Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall is the perfect embodiment of that and he is the ideal, inaugural member of our team,” Hearn said
“I’m really excited to welcome Eddie and the Matchroom Sport group in a commercial and advisory role, and to become the first athlete to join the new Matchroom Talent Agency,” Aspinall said