UFC President Dana White didn’t hold back when he unleashed a verbal assault on boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, calling him a “fruit loop” in a fiery exchange that’s heating up the combat sports world.
The tension between these two titans has been brewing for months, especially since White dipped his toes into boxing promotion with Zuffa Boxing. While UFC 328 and the upcoming Freedom 250 event are stealing headlines, the real drama is unfolding in the war of words between White and Hearn.
Last month, Conor Benn made waves by signing a long-term deal with Zuffa, ditching Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing. Now, White is claiming he’ll be promoting the highly anticipated showdown between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua, who is firmly in Hearn’s camp.
On a recent livestream, White boasted about his busy schedule, saying, “This is the busiest year of my career. I’m going to be traveling everywhere.” He added, “I’m focused on Zuffa Boxing hardcore this year, signing all these guys and putting on great fights.”
White’s confidence soared as he declared, “We did a deal with Sky in the U.K. There will be great fights on Sky. I’m doing the Tyson Fury — AJ fight, too. I’m going to be promoting that.”
Hearn wasted no time firing back on Instagram, dismissing White’s claims as mere clout chasing. “Such a clout chaser, not a chance. Contractually impossible. Let me know when you find your balls,” he shot back.
But White wasn’t done. At the UFC 328 post-fight press conference, he took another jab at Hearn, saying, “This fruit loop came out and said he’s the f------ biggest fight in boxing while he has [Jesse] ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Anthony Joshua and all the other guys that are out there.”
“He’s the biggest fight in boxing? Those are his words. You know what a f------ fruit loop you’ve got to be to say that?” White continued, clearly unimpressed. “Nobody knew who this guy was four months ago and now he’s the biggest fight in boxing? I hope I answered your question.”
When pressed about whether he would actually promote Joshua versus Fury, White played coy: “Let’s see what happens. Do I ever say s--- that really isn’t true that doesn’t happen?”
As for Joshua, he’s set to face Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Riyadh, with fans eagerly anticipating a potential clash against Fury afterward.
