Eddie Hearn is not Arman Tsarukyan’s new promoter. The Matchroom Boxing chairman shot down speculation that the two had entered into a business arrangement, explaining on Instagram that the photo of them together came from a chance run-in at a hotel.
“Everyone went crazy for this,” Hearn wrote. “We were just staying in the same hotel randomly and arranged to have some breakfast together.”
MMA Mania reported the denial on Friday, Nov. 6, about a week after the picture started making the rounds. According to MMA Mania, Tsarukyan posted the photo showing what looked like a sit-down with Hearn, and the betting app account @PlayBracco circulated it on X on Oct. 30 with the caption “Arman Tsarukyan caught up with Eddie Hearn 👀”. Hearn put it on his own socials too, which is part of why the rumor mill started spinning so fast.
Why people jumped to conclusions
Hearn already has a growing stable of UFC fighters who let him handle some of their promotional work. Tom Aspinall, Ian Machado Garry and Paulo Costa are all in that group. MMA Mania notes that Hearn has made a point of helping those fighters land more media attention and better sponsorship money, filling a gap left by a UFC that does surprisingly little promoting of its own talent. Hearn has also accused Dana White of being checked out, so every new photo op with a UFC name carries a little extra needle.
The Garry situation made fans extra suspicious. Hearn and Garry kept their deal quiet until the UFC announced Garry vs. Makhachev. This time Hearn put the breakfast on blast for everybody to see, which you could read either way if you’re the type who owns a corkboard and red string.
The timing added fuel. White had just said he wouldn’t necessarily object to featherweight champion Alexander Volkanovski skipping the lightweight line to fight Justin Gaethje. Not long after that, the Hearn and Tsarukyan photo surfaced. Tsarukyan has spent a long stretch as the No. 1 contender at lightweight, and a Volkanovski vs. Gaethje booking would push him further back in a line he already thought he was at the front of.
Hearn, meanwhile, has plenty on his own plate. Matchroom is involved in Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua, set to stream on Netflix on Dec. 11.
Sal’s take
I’ve lost money on worse evidence than a breakfast photo, so I won’t make fun of anyone who bought the rumor. But the logic of the original theory was thin. Hearn’s UFC clients have deals they kept quiet, and this one was posted by both men for the whole internet. People hiding a contract don’t usually announce the eggs. The part worth watching is the title picture. If White actually green-lights Volkanovski vs. Gaethje, the longtime No. 1 contender gets skipped again, and a guy who keeps getting jumped in line has every reason to start taking more meetings with promoters who’ll return his calls. For now, the only thing Tsarukyan and Hearn closed on was the check.
