Dana White promises to go head-to-head with Canelo Alvarez over UFC card dates until he retires

Dana White is still buzzing about the success of his latest fight card.

The recently promoted UFC CEO wasn’t in town to watch Alexa Grasso defend her flyweight title against former champion Valentina Shevchenko at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday night.

Noche UFC is the most successful 'Fight Night' card of all time — Noche UFC is the most successful ‘Fight Night’ card of all timeCredit: Getty

However, he did pay attention to what was going on and was delighted with how successful the event, which took place on Mexican Independence Day, was.

So much so that he now plans to hold a show in Las Vegas on the same date every year, even though it is usually earmarked for Mexican boxing legend Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.

The undisputed super-middleweight champion opted to move his fight with Jermell Charlo to September 30 rather than clash with the UFC – but it seems unlikely he will do the same thing next year.

Either way, White promises he will be in Las Vegas with his MMA league.

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“I will go that date every time,” he told assembled media members after watching the latest Contender Series episode on Tuesday evening.

“I don’t care if somebody here in town gets the date at the arena. I’ll go into an opposing arena and go head-to-head with them next year.

“I’m doing this for the rest of my reign here. So, they can go on the same night. We can go head-to-head. I’m going. This thing was a massive success for us.

“This was something that I’ve been thinking about since the day we bought this company. So, we’re finally in the position. All my chips are in on Mexico. We’re opening the PI [Performance Instiute], which we’ve spent millions and millions of dollars on.

White revealed 1.1 million people turned in for Grasso vs Shevchenko 2Credit: Getty

Canelo will have a yearly compeition for his favourite fight dateCredit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom

“I was in here talking to you guys. We were talking about, ‘Why aren’t you doing it?’ I said, ‘You know what, you’re absolutely right, why am I not doing that?’

“We did it, it was huge, and we’ll do it again every year, regardless of whether boxing goes or doesn’t go. I will go head-to-head with them every year.”

The only thing White was disappointed with was the judges at Noche UFC who scored the main event between Grasso and Shevchenko a majority draw.

Mike Bell has come under scrutiny after strangely scoring the final round 10-8 in favour of the champion, prompting White to call for him to be investigated for the ‘craziest’ card he has ever seen.