Dana White intensified his ongoing war of words with Eddie Hearn on Saturday night, dismissing the Matchroom promoter as “not a visionary” following the latest Zuffa Boxing event in Las Vegas.
The UFC president spoke to media at the Meta Apex after Efe Ajagba stopped former world champion Charles Martin in a heavyweight bout, as attention again turned to his dispute with Hearn over the launch of Zuffa Boxing and its new championship structure. Hearn had recently labelled the decision to stage Jai Opetaia vs Brandon Glanton for the Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title outside traditional sanctioning bodies as “cringe”.
“I saw Eddie Hearn saying that the belt is cringey and all that stuff,” White told the media last weekend in Las Vegas. “I don’t think anybody looks at Eddie Hearn and says ‘oh this guy is a visionary’… The guy’s been in boxing forever.
“I look at him like most politicians; you’ve done nothing in the sport except stay in the lane, play by all the rules and ride right along… You ended up becoming part of the problem, is what happened.”
White also referenced Hearn’s background as the son of veteran promoter Barry Hearn, adding: “And I don’t want to sit here and smash Eddie Hearn but Eddie Hearn works for his dad, you know what I mean? He works for dad and I don’t think he’s come in and ever had any type of vision, where as we do.
“We are going to change the entire sport and I understand the people who are the status quo in boxing don’t like it. But it doesn’t mean they can’t still do their thing. If your thing is as good as you think it is, and you are as good as you think you are then do your thing.
“Good luck to you, I’m going to do my thing and they’re going to do theirs.”
The comments mark the latest escalation in a public back-and-forth between the two promoters as Zuffa Boxing seeks to establish itself within the sport’s traditional landscape.
White’s latest event featured six stoppages and a headline heavyweight clash, as he continues efforts to position his new venture as a disruptor within boxing’s existing promotional and sanctioning model.
