Eddie Hearn has turned things up a notch on this growing feud between promoters.
Dana White’s relationship with Hearn was once removed from hostile, but the identical can’t be said because the pair became rivals in the identical sport.
The UFC president returned to the boxing world in 2026 with Zuffa Boxing. While he’s vowed to vary the game’s landscape, Matchroom’s Hearn has been unconvinced and has criticized facets resembling the brand new promotion’s championships.
That got a response from White after Zuffa Boxing 3 last Saturday, and the UFC boss got personal by referencing his fellow promoter’s father.
“I don’t want to take a seat here and smash Eddie Hearn but Eddie Hearn works for his dad, you recognize what I mean?” White said. “He works for dad and I don’t think he’s are available and ever had any variety of vision, whereas we do.”
Hearn sees some hypocrisy in those remarks.
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Eddie Hearn responds to Dana White’s latest jibe by saying Turki Alalshikh is his ‘daddy’
Hearn hit back at White during a recent interview with The Stomping Ground. The English promoter turned the tables, first by referencing the Fertitta brothers’ UFC involvement after which Turki Alalshikh’s ties to Zuffa Boxing.
White’s boxing brand was co-founded by Alalshikh and is backed by Saudi Arabia. With that in mind, Hearn called the chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Entertainment Authority White’s “daddy.”
“Yes, I do work for my dad, but guess what? Dana White has worked for his daddy for a very long time,” Hearn said.
“The Fertitta brothers, that’s who he worked for. And at once Dana White’s got a brand new daddy and his name is Turki Alalshikh.”
He also took aim on the third Zuffa Boxing event, dismissing any suggestion that he feels threatened by what he’s seen to date.
“What’s their vision? … Putting Charles Martin on a headline show on a Sunday night in front of 126 people in your garage?
“In the mean time, whenever you compare Matchroom shows to Zuffa, quite frankly, Zuffa shows are absolute complete dogs—,” Hearn added.
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Dana White also upset a UFC fighter together with his boxing talk
Hearn shouldn’t be the just one on the offensive following some comments from the UFC president.
In the course of the Zuffa Boxing 3 press conference, White reacted to Joaquin Buckley targeting Terence Crawford on social media.
The UFC president laughed off the welterweight contender’s claim that he could ‘kill’ the likes of Shakur Stevenson and ‘Bud’ in a street fight, and Buckley didn’t take too kindly to his boss’ remarks.
“Rattling, Dana. You done forgot who I used to be, huh?” Buckley responded in a video on Instagram.
“You forgot the dude that got Knockout of the 12 months in 2020, probably the most viral knockouts known within the UFC? You forgot one in all the blokes you said, ‘Hey man, that is the dude to look at out for in 2021,’ with Khamzat (Chimaev) and Kevin Holland?
“Look, Dana, this isn’t personal, bro… But for those who don’t think MMA fighters have a spot in Zuffa Boxing, I imagine you’re mistaken,” he added.
“Giving us the chance to go on the market and put it on a few of these boxers…utilize us as a tool. Get your boy Callum Walsh within the Apex with me…and I’ll show you ways I get down within the boxing ring.”