Eddie Hearn's roster of UFC fighters appears to have a new addition in the form of Paulo Costa. The former middleweight ***** le challenger is set to join Matchroom Talent Agency alongside reigning heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall and Ian Machado Garry.
The Brazilian recently revealed that he has parted ways with longtime manager Tiki Ghosn and is now ready to start a new chapter. During a recent interview with Ariel Helwani, Costa revealed that he is set to begin a new managerial partnership with Hearn.
Costa revealed that Hearn sent him the contract a few days before his UFC 332 controversy erupted. He also confirmed that Hearn will handle both his sponsorships and managerial duties moving forward.
He said, "Yes, both! The whole thing. I have too much respect for what he's doing. He's a great guy, a great professional. I think we're going to do great things together."
Costa added, "He's a super important person in the fight business. Not only in MMA, but not only in boxing, but he's coming to MMA right now. I think this is a great acquisition for the MMA community."

#revealed #think #matchroom

Matchroom Boxing's CEO has highlighted a problem in the ongoing talks between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, with their super-fight at risk of collapsing.
This year, British heavyweights Joshua and Fury signed to fight each other at long last, five years after they previously signed a deal that fell through. Once again, however, a problem has arisen.
Joshua's contract is for a clash in the UK, while Fury's contract is flexible on location. Fury and certain key figures are pushing for a 20 November showdown in New York City, while "AJ" is digging in his heels in hopes of boxing at Wembley Stadium.
Anthony Joshua (left) with Kristian Prenga after beating the Albanian (Getty)
And Matchroom's Frank Smith has pointed to an issue with the "narrative" around the negotiations, while speaking to Playbook Boxing – powered by Betway.

#fury #boxing #contract #matchroom

As promoter Eddie Hearn tries to quantify the impact Katie Taylor has made throughout her career, there is a smile and shake of the head as he says, "the whole story, you couldn't make it up."
On Saturday night, Taylor will make her final walk to the ring when she takes on Flora Pili at Croke Park, with the chance to become undisputed light-welterweight champion once again.
While Taylor entered professional boxing in 2016 with an Olympic gold medal, five world and seven European amateur ****** les to her name, there were no guarantees that star power could flourish in the paid code where women's boxing remained firmly in the shadows.
After agreeing to meet Taylor, her mother Bridget and manager Brian Peters, Hearn's interest was more than piqued.
"I went into that meeting, I would say 90% in my mind I wasn't going to do anything," said the Matchroom chairman.

#taylor #croke

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has expressed regret over not bringing Katie Taylor to GAA headquarters earlier, following extraordinary ticket demand for the Irish fighter's farewell contest at Croke Park.
The 40-year-old will fulfil a lifelong dream when she takes to the ring in Dublin on Saturday night, seeking to become a three-time undisputed world champion against the undefeated Flora Pili.
A sell-out crowd of 80,000 is set to gather for the pioneering athlete's final bout prior to retirement, though Hearn remains confident that vast numbers of additional tickets could easily have been sold.
Previous concerns regarding financial viability, substantial security expenses, and complex logistics had dissuaded the promoter from organising a Croke Park show headlined by Taylor—a hesitation he now reflects on with disappointment.
Hearn said: "If Croker would have originally gone 'Yes, this is going to be massive', I would have gone 'Wow' and we would have done it.

#park #promoter #irish

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11: Tyson Fury exchanges words with Anthony Joshua after his fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Mark Robinson/Getty Images)
Where and when are Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua going to fight? It seems the fight is destined to be next for both men, but no one is publicly saying where or when the fight will take place. Recent news suggested the fight was headed for Madison Square Garden in New York, but that's not sitting well with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. We may have a long way to go with this one. Let's talk boxing.
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#london #anthony

Dana White and Eddie Hearn continue to be at odds with one another.
For much of 2026, White and Hearn have been engaged in a public feud, with the two even briefly discussing boxing each other. The primary friction between the two stems from White's move into boxing promotion with Zuffa Boxing — taking some of Hearn's fighters — and Hearn's move to take on a few high-profile MMA fighters to manage. But lately, their biggest issue has been the planned heavyweight superfight between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Fury and Joshua are supposed to fight in their long-awaited matchup before the end of the year, and earlier this year, White claimed to be the promoter of the fight. Hearn disputes this claim, and when rumors began circulating on Tuesday that an announcement was imminent for the fight to take place in November at Madison Square Garden, Hearn shot that down.
"Actually, I should be suing Dana White, because what he's doing is, he's actually purporting to have the ability to stage the fight there, and he's using my client to do a venue deal that he has no rights to," Hearn told About Boxing. …
"The reality is, now, TKO are coming on, asking me if they can be involved. So Dana White's gone from being the promoter of the event to asking if he can be involved. And rather than going, 'Fuck off!' I'm saying, why? Why should I let you be involved in this event? Break it down for me. Tell me how it benefits Anthony Joshua. Tell me how it benefits Matchroom. Tell me how it benefits my fighters. What do you want to do? Do you want to do Matchroom vs. Zuffa 5 v. 5 on the undercard? OK, if it gives my fighters an opportunity.

#fighters #joshua #fight #tell

Joe Rogan believes RicoVerhoeven will financially benefit more from boxing than fromjoining the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Verhoeven recently asked for Rogan's suggestion about competinginside the Octagon during an appearance on the UFC commentator'spodcast.
The former Glory Kickboxing champion noted that ConorMcGregor had reportedly earned a massive payday for his returnfight last month, which lasted 69 seconds. However, Rogan advisedthe 37-year-old against signing with the UFC at this point in hiscareer.

Rogan believes Verhoeven can earn more money in boxing. He alsoclaimed that Verhoeven's friend and training partner TomAspinall could have a career in boxing in the future and thatthe Brit will benefit from working with Eddie Hearn.

"For you, boxing makes the most sense, especially at this point inyour life, financially," Rogan told Verhoeven. "For Tom, he has apotential career in boxing as well. And now that Eddie Hearn ismanaging him, which is very exciting because Matchroom being behindhim is gonna have a gigantic hype machine, gigantic promotion. Theyare at odds with the UFC. For me, I care about the fighters makingthe most money possible, and that's how [Tom] is gonna make themost money possible."

Verhoeven vacated his Glory heavyweight **** le last year afterdefending it against ArtemVakhitov, the last man to beat AlexPereira in kickboxing. The Dutchman then challenged formerchamp Oleksandr Usyk this past May. While Verhoeven was a massiveunderdog, he led the dance for the most part before slowing down inthe later rounds.

Seemingly en route to a potentially monumental upset win, he wasknocked down late in the 11th round. While Verhoeven returned tohis feet, Usyk followed up and the referee bizarrely stopped thefight with a second left in the stanza.

#boxing #last #glory #kickboxing

With the IBF world light-middleweight ******* le in his possession, Josh Kelly feels "it's a different version of me" since he dethroned Bakhram Murtazaliev as he promised to "put on a show" in his maiden defence against Caoimhin Agyarko on Saturday.
Kelly had to bide his time for his opportunity, but the silky 32-year-old from Sunderland grabbed it with both hands with a majority points decision verdict against the Russian in January, improving to 18 wins with one defeat and one draw.
In some ways, 29-year-old Belfast challenger Agyarko has followed a similar path, enjoying big promotional backing in spells under the Queensberry and Matchroom banners, but was cut adrift by the latter following what was then a career-best win over Troy Williamson in 2023.
Both men will walk to the ring in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on the undercard of Anthony Joshua's heavyweight return against Kristian Prenga fully aware of how tough it has been to get to this stage.
Kelly, who had to rebuild from a 2021 defeat by David Avanesyan, has rattled off eight successful wins, culminating in his ******* le victory over Murtazaliev in Newcastle, dropping the champion in the fourth before coming through a late storm and surviving his own 11th-round trip to the canvas.

#year #wins #defeat #caoimhin

Conor Benn will fight Ryan Garcia on 12 September, it has been announced, as the British star seemingly challenges the American for the WBC welterweight ******* le.
The two stars have been linked for some time, but they will officially square off at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Mexican Independence Weekend.
The bout was announced on Wednesday by Zuffa Boxing chief Dana White, best known as the president and CEO of mixed-martial-arts behemoth the UFC.
Britain's Benn split from his longtime promoter Eddie Hearn to join White and Zuffa in February, in one of the most-shocking developments in boxing's recent history.
Hearn and his company Matchroom had promoted the welterweight for his entire career, and had stuck by him during a two-year saga that began when Benn failed two drug tests. Benn in fact signed with Zuffa just days after another verbal attack on Hearn, 47, by White, 56.

Johnny Fisher has become the latest fighter to join Zuffa Boxing, splitting from Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom to sign with the rival promotion.
Fisher has a cult following in London and Essex, and he had become one of Hearn’s biggest stars over the last three years, helped in part by the reach of his father “Big John”, a social-media sensation.
Fisher’s popularity has come in spit of his patchy recent form, however. The 27-year-old won a controversial decision over Dave Allen in late 2024, before suffering a fifth-round stoppage in their rematch last May, and even his comeback win – a fourth-round TKO of Ivan Balaz in December – saw Fisher hurt in the first round.
Perhaps Zuffa is trying to capitalise on Fisher’s popularity, in any case, or maybe this signing is another attempt to get one up on Matchroom.
After Zuffa launched in January, it signed Matchroom’s longtime fighter Conor Benn in February, with the British welterweight leaving Hearn despite the promoter’s support over a two-year saga that stemmed from Benn failing two drug tests.

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Premier Boxing Champions officially became part of DAZN's roster of promotional partners on Thursday, and while the Teofimo Lopez-Rolly Romero welterweight ***** le fight will carry the marquee value on August 22, the more consequential story to come out of the press conference at the Avalon in Hollywood may be everything the deal unlocks below it.
DAZN's head of boxing in North America, Britton Hardin, called PBC the last major promoter needed to bring nearly the entire sport under one roof, joining Matchroom, Queensberry, Top Rank, Golden Boy, Boxxer and Salita Promotions. TGB Promotions' Tom Brown noted the platform actually opens July 25 with Errol Spence Jr. facing Tim Tszyu in Australia, with Lopez-Romero following as the first ***** le fight of the new relationship. Both men framed the deal as removing the biggest obstacle boxing has dealt with for years: division. Hardin put it bluntly, saying the goal is to stop keeping fighters siloed on separate networks and start building the matchups fans actually want.
Ryan Hafey - PBC
Chris Mannix hosts Thursday's press conference announcing PBC and DAZN's new partnership deal
Nobody made that case better than Sebastian Fundora. The WBC super welterweight ***** leholder, whose younger sister Gabriela has fought on DAZN for years, said the partnership finally puts every top name at 154 pounds in one place, including WBA and WBO champion Jaron 'Boots' Ennis, IBF ***** leholder Josh Kelly and Virgil Ortiz Jr. Fundora still has to get through his mandatory defense against Ermal Hadribeaj first, but he made clear where his focus is beyond that fight, naming Ennis as the matchup he wants at the start of 2027. He also weighed in on Ennis' win over Xander Zayas last week, saying he studied the fight closely and noticed a few things in the third round that stood out, adding that the stoppage still gave fans what they wanted.

Former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr has joined forces with Matchroom Boxing in his latest effort to reignite his start-and-stop career.
"I'm so happy and thankful for signing with Matchroom and taking other step forward to continue my mission and to become a two-time champion of the world for Mexico," said Ruiz Jr. "I believe everything happens for a season and I'm so grateful God is giving me a second opportunity to do everything right. Sometime God breaks you to make you a better person and a better fighter.
"I made history with Matchroom and the DAZN and best believe we are going to do it again in God almighty's name, amen baby, let's go!
"Thank you to all my coaches for still believing in me, we are going to make a big statement in the Heavyweight division."
Ruiz (35-2-1, 22 KO) has fought just three times since falling to Anthony Joshua in their 2019 rematch, going unbeaten but struggling to recapture his earlier form. He hit the deck early against a faded Chris Arreola, settled for a tight decision over Luis Ortiz despite three knockdowns, then fought Jarrell Miller to a majority draw two years ago. Though he's back with Manny Robles for this one, he's also 36 and notoriously volatile, so there's no telling whether he'll be a factor in the post-Usyk heavyweight world.

Eddie Hearn has signed Ian Machado Garry to the Matchroom Talent Agency, as a second UFC fighter joins the boxing promoter’s new venture.
Earlier this year, the mixed-martial-arts world was gripped by news that Hearn had signed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall, and in Machado Garry, Matchroom has acquired the UFC’s No 1 welterweight contender.
Machado Garry, 28, also joins England rugby-union player Henry Pollock in signing with Hearn, who is not signing these athletes to the Matchroom boxing promotion, of course, but rather a new talent agency.
Still, Aspinall’s signing proved controversial given Hearn’s bitter feud with UFC president and CEO Dana White, who kickstarted Zuffa Boxing earlier this year and even acquired Conor Benn, whom Hearn had supported through his entire boxing career – including a two-year saga in which the British fighter failed two drug tests.
Aspinall has had his own frustrations with the UFC in recent months, too, taking exception to comments made by White after Aspinall fought Ciryl Gane to a no-contest in October; the Manchester heavyweight could not continue after suffering several eye pokes, and White suggested that Aspinall had opted not to keep fighting, although the injuries eventually led to double eye surgery.

Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Talent Agency have added Ian Machado Garry to their roster. The next UFC welterweight **** le challenger joins heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall as only the second UFC fighter to work with the agency.
After signing Aspinall in March, Matchroom’s Hearn knew it was a matter of time before more UFC stars came knocking at his door. However, with Garry, Hearn was the one to pursue Ireland's latest superstar contender, he said. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that they put pen to paper, preceding Wednesday’s official announcement. Speaking in-studio on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Hearn explained how the deal came to be.
"We've taken our time, to be honest with you," Hearn told Uncrowned. "Because what we've done with Tom has been quite incredible, and we'll come back to that. Through that signing, we had over a dozen UFC or MMA guys come to us and say, 'How do we be a part of this? Can we get representation with you guys?'
"We're a sports agency. We're looking to represent high-profile global stars across sport and entertainment, not MMA. But of all the approaches we had, I don't even think Ian was an approach. I think I actually reached out to him because I know his team and everybody around him.
"I looked at this guy for a long time, and I love his spirit. I love his personality. He's a good, tall, good-looking guy who speaks incredibly well. I've long felt this is a guy I actually think has the attributes to be a superstar. As I learn more about the sport, how good he is, we met, we had a lot of deep conversations, talked a lot of strategy. Then of course, he finally secured the big fight, and particularly with our work in Ireland and understanding the country, the audience, how passionate they are for their own, I just felt like this was the guy we wanted to bring to the team, and I couldn't be happier."

As Lewis Crocker realised a lifetime dream by winning the IBF welterweight ***** le at Windsor Park in his native Belfast last September, predictably, the questions as to what is next quickly followed.
Marquee names such as Conor Benn and Devin Haney were rumoured for a lucrative first defence, while a domestic rematch with Conah Walker was also touted, but instead of home comforts, the 29-year-old finds himself in Brisbane, Australia to face mandatory contender and local favourite Liam Paro on Wednesday.
With Paddy Donovan - whom Crocker had edged in their rematch to claim the ***** le last year to improve to 22 wins from as many contests - withdrawing from a final eliminator against Paro [27-1] in January, the former IBF light-welterweight champion was elevated to mandatory challenger.
Australian promoter No Limit would win the purse bid, edging out Crocker's promoter Matchroom by $27,000 (£20,000), handing Paro the opportunity to win a world ***** le in his native Queensland.
Roles are somewhat reversed this time, as Paro won his first world ***** le in the 10st division by upsetting the odds in June 2024 against Puerto Rico's Subriel Matias in enemy territory, before returning to the island to be out-pointed by USA's Richardson Hitchens six months later.

With a big super welterweight clash on the schedule for later this month when Xander Zayas defends his world ***** les against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis on June 27, Matchroom Boxing takes fans behind the scenes of Zayas in training camp as he physically and mentally prepares himself for the impending battle.
“Same focus, same hunger, same dedication, same everything,” Zayas said of training camp. “Nothing changes. It’s another fight, most important fight of my career. But every fight is important. Nothing different. I got to keep being who I am, being true to myself, know what works for me, exploit it.
“That’s what it comes down to. I know who I am, I know what I put myself through every camp and I know put the shifts when I need to put the shifts, so whatever he says won’t affect me because I’ve been here before. I’ve been here since I was 16 years old.”
Zayas hasn’t for one second expressed any doubts that he’s not going to come through against Boots, but he says he’s still taking him extremely seriously as he know he’s a serious contender in this fight.
“He’s the hardest opponent in my career,” Zayas says. “Every fight was a step into that direction and obviously facing somebody like Boots, former world champion coming up to a new weight class and wanting to be the king of the weight class is obviously challenging because you know he’s coming with his best. But you got to expect the best out of me and I promise it’s going to bring the best version out of Xander Zayas.”