Dana White’s fingerprints will be all over the biggest fight of 2025.

When Turki Alalshikh announced that Canelo Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford will go down on September 12 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, he also dropped the bomb that UFC president Dana White is part of the team promoting it. Not consulting. Not just giving advice. Fully promoting it.

“When they say we’re promoting it, I’m doing the promotion, we’re doing the production, the event ops, PR, I mean everything to do with the fight just like a UFC fight,” White told Carlos Contreras Legaspi of ESPN Deportes.. He’s treating this like one of his own — and to top it off, he’s also promoting UFC Noche that same weekend.

A full-scale combat sports circus? That’s the plan. “It will all be the same weekend. It’s a bad ass weekend of fights.”

White Treats It Like UFC, Not Boxing — And That’s the Point

White called it “an absolute honor” to work with Canelo and Crawford, and said both have been “great” in collaborating. “I look forward to working with these guys from now till September. So it’s gonna be fun.”

Whether you’re stuck on your couch or in the arena, White says it’s about making people leave saying it was worth every penny. “What I care about every Saturday, whether you stayed home and watched it on TV or you came to the venue, is that everybody walks away going, ‘God, I’m glad I came to the fights,’ or ‘This was worth coming to.’”

Forget boxing’s usual circus. This ain’t some overstuffed fight week full of recycled pressers and copy-paste promos. White doesn’t care about the venue or the backstage power plays — he’s locked in on delivering a real experience, no bullshit.

Sure, he’s been loud about disliking stadiums — he’s said it repeatedly. But he’s also clear this isn’t about personal taste. “I look for incredible experiences, unique experiences, and things that have never been done before,” White said. This fight qualifies.

No stale scripts. No overcooked hype. Just the biggest names in boxing and one of the most powerful figures in fight promotion throwing everything into a supercard in Las Vegas. If White runs this like a UFC event, the sport might actually look modern for a change.

You don’t have to like Dana White. But if you want this fight to actually feel like the moment it’s supposed to be — fast, tight, sharp — you’ll want him running the show. September 12 won’t be boxing as usual. And that’s the point.

White Used to Hate Stadiums — Now He’s Running One

Yes, the guy who said he hates stadium shows is now front and center promoting one. Just months ago, White made it clear: stadiums aren’t his thing. He said, “Yeah, I hate it” after WrestleMania 41, which also took place at Allegiant. That didn’t stop him from jumping on board the biggest boxing card in years.

White added that he wants to give fans “a great experience every time,” which apparently includes the very setup he’s avoided for years. In the past, he swore up and down that he preferred arenas, not stadiums. “Nothing will change my mind about a stadium show,” he said at the UFC Kansas City presser. “I like arenas.”

But now that it’s a Canelo vs. Crawford mega card backed by Riyadh Season? Suddenly, Allegiant’s fine. Even fun. “I look for incredible experiences, unique experiences, and things that have never been done before,” White said, conveniently forgetting that stadium fights are literally nothing new. But who’s counting?

To be fair, White’s been consistent — right up until the money got involved. Back in September 2024, he was still saying, “I don’t want to take the experience away from people.” He admitted that while UFC had done stadiums before, “it’s just not my favorite thing.”

Fast forward to now, and he’s calling Allegiant part of a “bad ass weekend of fights.” He even says he’s going to “figure out how to make it an incredible experience,” despite openly admitting he’s never liked the vibe of stadium shows.

So, what changed? Easy: it’s Canelo, it’s Crawford, and it’s Saudi money.

Let’s be real — Dana White loves control, spotlight, and spectacle. He’ll say whatever it takes if the deal is big enough. And Canelo vs. Crawford is the biggest ticket in town.

Stadiums? He’ll might learn to love ’em. Especially when the check clears.