Dana White responds to Eddie Hearn's 'pretty stupid' Tom Aspinall release request

Moreover, Hearn said Aspinall (15-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC) is extremely unhappy with his situation, and would prefer the Brit be released from the organization, promising to find paydays that would at least triple his current contracted UFC payout.

UFC CEO White was asked about the comments for the first time Saturday at the Zuffa Boxing 07 post-fight press conference.

“He said he wanted (Aspinall) released right? You release Bam Rodriguez, then,” White sarcastically told reporters. “Sounds pretty stupid, doesn’t it? Congratulations, Eddie. You sound stupid again.

“Eddie, who apparently, (Conor) Benn was his best fiend, he’s been crying – literally crying for weeks, ‘Oh, he was my best friend.’ He didn’t even want to pay him, but he wants to pay my guy. He could’ve paid his best friend and they could’ve remained best friends. Eddie’s full of a lot of sh*t. You know it. I know it. You know it. We all know it.”

If Hearn and Aspinall dig their feet in on the issue of fighting Pereira (13-3 MMA, 10-2 UFC) or Gane (13-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) after their June 14 showdown at the White House (Paramount+), then White said he will address that at the time. He said the UFC won’t force Aspinall to compete, but that doesn’t mean he will entertain a release or renegotiation.

“Let’s see who wins. Let’s see how the fight plays out (at the White House),” White said. “Let’s see how it all happens. I mean, if Eddie’s not going to let his fighter fight, what are you going to do? You can’t make anybody fight. You can’t force anybody to fight. You have to want to fight, so we’ll see how it plays out.”

This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Dana White: Eddie Hearn ‘pretty stupid’ for Tom Aspinall release request