Eddie Hearn has raised the intensity in his ongoing dispute with Dana White.
There was a time when White and Hearn got along reasonably well, but that changed once they found themselves competing in the same arena.
White returned to boxing in 2026, launching Zuffa Boxing. He promised big changes to the sport, but Hearn has remained sceptical, particularly about how the new promotion is handling its championship structure.
After Zuffa Boxing 3 last Saturday, the UFC boss fired back, making it personal by bringing up his fellow promoter’s father.
“I don’t want to sit here and smash Eddie Hearn but Eddie Hearn works for his dad, you know what I mean? He works for dad and I don’t think he’s come in and ever had any type of vision, whereas we do,” White stated.
The 46-year-old Englishman did not agree with that assessment. In fact, he saw some contradictions in it.
Eddie Hearn responds to Dana White’s latest jibe by saying Turki Alalshikh is his ‘daddy’
During a chat with The Stomping Ground, Hearn did not hold back, bringing up both the Fertitta brothers and Turki Alalshikh in his response.
White’s boxing venture was co-founded by Alalshikh and is financially supported by Saudi Arabia, which gave the Briton an angle to call him “daddy” of the new promotion.
“Yes, I do work for my dad, but guess what? Dana White has worked for his daddy for a long time,” Hearn began by saying.
“The Fertitta brothers, that’s who he worked for. And right now Dana White’s got a new daddy and his name is Turki Alalshikh.”
He also dismissed the third Zuffa Boxing event, saying he felt no threat from what he had seen.
“What’s their vision? … Putting Charles Martin on a headline show on a Sunday night in front of 126 people in your garage?
“At the moment, when you compare Matchroom shows to Zuffa, quite frankly, Zuffa shows are absolute complete dogs—,” the Briton concluded.
UFC fighter Joaquin Buckley was not happy with Dana White’s boxing comments
It was not just Hearn who took issue with some of the things White has said recently.
UFC fighter Joaquin Buckley also fired back after hearing the Zuffa Boxing 3 press conference.
The UFC boss had laughed off Buckley’s suggestion that he could take out Shakur Stevenson and Terence Crawford in a street fight, and ‘New Mansa’ did not appreciate the dismissal.
“Damn, Dana. You done forgot who I was, huh?” Buckley said in an Instagram video.
“You forgot the dude that got Knockout of the Year in 2020, one of the most viral knockouts known in the UFC? You forgot one of the guys you said, ‘Hey man, this is the dude to watch out for in 2021,’ with Khamzat (Chimaev) and Kevin Holland?
“Look, Dana, this isn’t personal, bro… But if you don’t think MMA fighters have a place in Zuffa Boxing, I believe you’re mistaken.
“Giving us the opportunity to go out there and put it on some of these boxers…utilize us as a tool. Get your boy Callum Walsh in the Apex with me…and I’ll show you how I get down in the boxing ring.”
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