Dana White in crude outburst at Eddie Hearn in escalating feud over Conor Benn

Dana White crudely called Eddie Hearn a ‘p****’ as their feud escalates over Conor Benn.

Benn left Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing to join Zuffa Boxing, which is run by rival White, on a one-fight deal.

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This sparked a war of words between Matchroom chief Hearn and the UFC’s top man.

White suggested that coming into the sport was like ‘beating up babies’ at the press conference for Efe Ajagba’s victory over Charles Martin.

Hearn then hit back insisting that White has already been rattled by his comments.

The feud is continuing to escalate as White held his first press conference following the news after UFC Houston.

What did Dana White say?

“I think you saw this week that I am really beating up babies. Is there a bigger p**** than Eddie Hearn?

“Is there a bigger p**** than Eddie Hearn? This guy’s supposed to be your friend and you’re f****** crying? He made more money, he’s going to make more money and he had the right to match it. He couldn’t match it.”

Conor Benn speaks out

The man at the centre of all this is British boxer Benn, who had been with Hearn for more than a decade.

The Matchroom chief stuck by Benn during the doping scandal that threatened to derail his career.

Hearn has also said that he helped him out financially too, reported to be in the region of £500,000.

The one fight deal with Zuffa Boxing is said to be worth in the region of £10m.

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Benn told Boxing King Media: “I’m doing this for my family it’s an offer you’d be mentally ill to turn down, so for me, I’m blessed to be in the position I’m in.

“I’m happy to be in the position I’m in. My career’s taken yet another turn in a direction that I didn’t think it would turn into.

“But I wanna maintain my relationship with Matchroom, especially Eddie Hearn, Frank Smith.

“So when it comes down to a decision that I need to make, whether it’s easy or not or whether it’s comfortable or not, it’s a decision that I had to make for me and my family.

“In 10 years’ time, in 15 years’ time when I’m done and retired, will anybody care about me then? No, nobody will. Right now I’m hot property, right now I’m this, right now I’m that.

“In 10-15 years’ time, when my kids are 20, when it’s just me and my family sitting down somewhere quiet, is it gonna matter? Is anyone gonna care? No.

Conor Benn - Instagram

“Will another Conor Benn come along? Yes. So ultimately, I have to make the right decision for my family and everything they’ve done for me. I will forever be grateful.”

He added: “You can see my loyalty with my team as it is. I’ve been with my whole team from day dot. Every single one of my team.

“I don’t switch teams, I don’t switch trainers, everyone’s eating, everyone’s happy, that’s my team over the past 10 years. So that speaks volumes in itself.

“Ultimately it was an extremely hard decision to make without a doubt. I mean, I’ve been with my career and my team and my stable for 10 years.

“Change is never comfortable, but ultimately I’m hoping Eddie is still in my corner, still with me till the wheels fall off, because I believe I’ve got a strong friendship with Eddie.

“But ultimately this is a decision that in 10 to 15 years’ time, if I didn’t take, I’d regret it and any man out there that says otherwise, wouldn’t be doing the right decision by him and his family.”

Responding to Hearn

Hearn also claimed that he was denied the chance to talk over the phone to Benn.

But Benn said: But Benn said: “I didn’t choose not to speak to him, I didn’t want to go into the details of it.

“And I think things were very heated with the teams and knowing how I am as an individual. Would the call have been beneficial?

“Would the call have been great for us? I personally don’t think it would have.

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“But once the dust had settled and it had calmed down, I messaged Eddie saying, ‘I love you mate and this ain’t the end of the road.’

“The journey does continue. But when things are heated, I’ve said things in the moment from previous experiences where you know you regret saying them.

“Why speak in the midst of hurt, ego, pride, anger. Nothing good comes from it. So I think we both could have dealt with it better privately.”