Dana White might continue his war of words with Eddie Hearn, but he scored the first real knockout in the rivalry by signing Conor Benn to Zuffa Boxing after he was previously part of the Matchroom Boxing roster.
The marquee deal announced on Friday brings Benn to Zuffa Boxing after he counted Hearn as his promoter for most of his career. Reacting to the news, Hearn said he was “devastated” and added that he thought he deserved a call from Benn to discuss what was happening but his request was denied.
Following UFC Houston on Saturday, White took a victory lap about the signing and stated that Hearn had the chance to keep Benn on his roster but didn’t make it happen.
“I think you saw this week I really am beating up babies,” White said at the post-fight press conference. “Is there a bigger p*ssy than Eddie Hearn?
“This guy’s supposed to be your friend, you’re f*cking crying? He made more money. He’s going to make more money, and he had the right to match it. He could have matched it.”
As far as Hearn allegedly receiving a message from Benn’s lawyer notifying him about the deal with Zuffa Boxing and then getting rebuffed when he tried to reach out to the boxer, White isn’t buying it.
“What a crock of shit,” White said about Hearn. “Yeah, we’re literally beating up babies.”
White had previously said that he was surprised at how easily he was operating in the sport since launching Zuffa Boxing in January while old school promoters like Hearn were offering him almost no real opposition.
Obviously, White already had an idea that the Benn deal was in the works and he was very happy to celebrate that signing while taking away one of Hearn’s top clients.
That only adds fuel to the fire after White promised a very big debut year for Zuffa Boxing and the latest signing is apparently just the next of many moves coming from the fledgling promotion.
“Like I said at the last press conference there, judge us at the end of the year by the work that we do this year,” White said. “At the end of the year, you judge what you think we’ve accomplished in one year in the sport of boxing.”
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