Chael Sonnen questions Eddie Hearn’s influence on Tom Aspinall

Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images Chael Sonnen has raised concerns about the partnership between Eddie Hearn and the UFC heavyweight champion. Tom Aspinall is still working his way back to full fitness after suffering a significant injury in his first defense of the undisputed heavyweight title last October. During the main event of UFC 321, Aspinall took eye pokes from Ciryl Gane that led to a no-contest and forced him to have surgery on both eyes.

The champ plans to return once his vision is fully healed, but a recent development in his career could influence how he approaches that comeback. Chael Sonnen questions the timing of Eddie Hearn’s involvement with Tom Aspinall Photo by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC Tom Aspinall’s decision to sign with Eddie Hearn earlier this year raised more than a few eyebrows in the fight world. By joining Hearn’s management agency, Matchroom Boxing, Aspinall put his business affairs – both in and out of the Octagon – under the control of a team with strong ties to one of Dana White’s biggest rivals.

The switch came around the same time Hearn began speaking publicly about Aspinall’s situation, including comments on what he sees as unfair compensation for the UFC heavyweight champion. Sonnen believes that message may have started to influence how Aspinall thinks about his own career, and he wonders if it could complicate things when it’s time for him to return from injury. “If I took quotes from one year ago Tom — I mean, Tom was saying things like, ‘I am the active champion.

I don’t care about Jon Jones, I just care about the belt… take the belt off of him, give it to me,’” Sonnen said during an interview on Helen Yee’s YouTube channel. “We all supported that because Tom was completely correct. Now one year later, Tom is the one who appears to be holding out.