‘Aspinall IS My Heavyweight!’ Dana White On Fighting Eddie Hearn, UFC White House Boxers & More

Dana White, the UFC president who has spent decades building a multi-billion-dollar combat sports empire, is now storming into professional boxing with the same aggressive playbook. In a wide-ranging conversation with Piers Morgan, White explains his strategy, his feud with promoter Eddie Hearn, and why he believes the ceiling for combat sports is eight billion people.

The Eddie Hearn Feud and the Rules of the Fight Business

The immediate trigger for the conversation is White's public feud with British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn. White called Hearn a "pussy" after Hearn complained about losing fighter Conor Benn to White's new boxing venture, Zuffa Boxing. White's defense is blunt: Benn was a free agent, and Hearn had the right to match the offer. "He could have kept him if he wanted to," White says. "He has the money." White dismisses the idea of a gentleman's code beyond the basic rule that you don't poach a fighter under contract. Once a contract expires, it's a free market. "If there's a guy under contract, you don't mess with him," White explains. "When contracts are up and somebody has the right to negotiate, you can go after them." He contrasts his approach with that of rival promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who he says is "suing his fighters to try to make them stay with him." White's verdict: "You're running a bad business when you're suing your people to stay with yo