UFC CEO Dana White was determined to make the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford showdown nothing short of spectacular. After all, this was his first boxing event ahead of the official launch of his Zuffa Boxing league next year. According to a report obtained by Ariel Helwani, TKO Group—the parent company of UFC and WWE—shelled out an eye-popping $1.75 million to the UNLV Rebels football team for one simple reason.

White wanted the Rebels to move their scheduled Saturday night game, clearing the way for the fight to take place that evening. Even though White doesn’t like Stadium fights, Allegiant Stadium was the ideal venue for Canelo-Crawford. But as White revealed in an interview with BSalSportsGuy, the push for that specific venue came from Turki Alalshikh. To make it happen, White cut the massive check. In doing so, he even managed to break one of his own records.

What record did White break with Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford?

After Terence Crawford dominated Canelo Alvarez to become a three-division undisputed champion, the night also produced another historic milestone. As reported by Jed I. Goodman, the Canelo-Crawford clash drew a staggering announced attendance of 70,482 fans inside Allegiant Stadium. “Announced Attendance: 70,482,” Goodman wrote on X. The figure marked the largest crowd ever for an event promoted by Dana White.

In doing so, it shattered the UFC’s previous attendance record of 57,127, set at UFC 243. “Largest Announced Attendance for a #UFC event: UFC 243: 57,127,” Goodman added. That card featured a headlining fight between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya on October 5, 2019, at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia. It was the UFC’s fourth event in Melbourne and its second at that venue, following UFC 193 in 2015.

Get the EssentiallySports Daily Newsletter. Stay ahead of the game with daily updates, exclusive stories, expert takes, and the biggest moments from the world's most popular sports.

This is, of course, good for White’s boxing venture. However, most of the credit should be given to Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. If it wasn’t the rivalry between these fighters, no amount of promotion could have helped White break his own prior record. With the attendance it has gathered, White’s $1.75 million splash is obviously minuscule, not to mention the number of people that may have watched the fight from home, even if PPV wasn’t involved. 

However, the Canelo-Crawford fight isn’t the only big event White has been planning. However, the other event just missed out on the chance of beating the Canelo-Crawford record. 

Dana White reveals UFC White House may only have 5,000 spectators

Since President Donald Trump announced he wants to host a UFC event on the White House lawn, the excitement for the event, expected for July next year, has grown tremendously. Fighters like Jon Jones and Conor McGregor, who no one thought would fight again, came out of the woodwork to express their desire to headline the event. 

Safe to say, this event had the possibility of overtaking Canelo-Crawford’s 74K plus attendance, but Dana White told Alex Pattle of the London INDEPENDENT, “fewer than 5,000 people” will be on the South Lawn for the event at the White House. “I don’t know how it’s gonna work out as far as having people there live, on the lawn of the White House. It’ll be under 5,000, though,” White said.

It looks like the new attendance record set at the Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight will stand for the foreseeable future. With the UFC White House venue ruled out for security reasons, the chances of topping that number seem slim. But the question remains: could Zuffa Boxing — or even a future UFC card — ever draw an even bigger crowd?