Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn can appreciate the sporting aspect of mixed martial arts. The business aspect? He’s head over heels in love with it.
The wheeling-and-dealing head of Matchroom Boxing has long expressed his admiration for the UFC, the largest and most successful MMA promotional group headed by Dana White. In a recent interview with BeIN Sports, Hearn went into more detail about his infatuation with White’s business.
“I’m that casual fan of MMA, I don’t know a lot about it,” Hearn said. “I could probably name you half a dozen fighters. I will watch the bigger fights, but I’m that casual fan who tunes in for the big ones.
“But I love what [the UFC has] done as a brand, I love their expansion into territories. I’m jealous because they control the sport and fighters in a way where the fighters are basically told who they’re going to fight.”
The UFC, of course, has an outsize influence over MMA in the U.S. While there are other promotional groups, such as Bellator and Asia-based One Championship, many experts believe the UFC controls as much as 80% of the U.S. market for MMA. That gives the organization, which signed a $1.5 billion broadcasting deal with ESPN in 2018, considerable leverage over its fighters and the ability to dictate matchmaking. So much so that it is the subject of an ongoing antitrust lawsuit over fighter pay.
Hearn envies that model.
“In boxing it’s exactly the opposite,” Hearn said. “[Fighters] tell us [who they are going to fight]. From that perspective, Dana White has always talked about going into boxing but it’s going to be really frustrating because you don’t just phone up Canelo [Alvarez] and say, ‘Right, you’re fighting [Gennadiy Golovkin] in September. I’ll see you there.’
“[In boxing] you have to negotiate with managers, advisors, networks, it’s frustrating. So, I’m an MMA fan – the sport and also the business.”
For the past two years, Hearn has seen up close how difficult it is to put together deals with some of the elite boxers in the U.S. despite DAZN’s sizable bankroll. Promotional rivalries, such as Premier Boxing Champions vs. Top Rank, have not made his job any easier.
Asked if he might consider a play at MMA some day, Hearn responded in the affirmative.
“I think so, yeah,” he said. “A lot of people are asking me to do it. Whether it’s broadcasters or other organizations that would like to grow and [are] trying to rival the UFC.”
But baby steps first, Hearn added.
“It’s very difficult to rival the UFC, and if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it with all guns blazing,” he said. “I don’t want to go in and be No. 2. Being No. 1 in that space is very, very difficult, you know.
“Let me crack boxing first, and then we’ll see abut MMA.”
Follow Sean Nam on Twitter @seanpasbon