UFC boss Dana White watched Canelo Alvarez's fight with Caleb Plant on a screen even though he was sitting ringside at his own promotion's event on Saturday night – and he admitted afterwards that he had gone big on the result.
While White's fighters were slugging it out on a thrilling night of MMA action at New York's Madison Square Garden, the promotion president was more interested in the drama taking place more than 2,500 miles away.
In Las Vegas, a simultaneous showdown saw Canelo clash with Plant in a successful defense of his four titles and contest for the IBF super middleweight title.
There would have been nervy moments for White as he followed the boxing bout from afar – and not only because he is a fan of all-time great Canelo.
The 52-year-old businessman revealed that he had placed a whopping $100,000 on Canelo to secure the 39th knockout of his staggering career.
Despite dominating game Plant, Canelo was on course to be taken the distance for the first time in three fights as his opponent bravely held on under the Mexican's hallmark intense pressure.
To White's relief, though, Canelo closed the show in the 11th round with a brutal knockout to end Plant's hopes in style.
"I like Canelo," confirmed White after UFC 268 had finished, lest anyone doubted his admiration of the super-middleweight superstar.
"I watched the fight. I bet on Canelo – that's why I watched the fight. I bet 100,000 on him to win by knockout."
Commercially-savvy White has frequently vented his wrath at those who watch pay-per-view UFC events without coughing up, and a reporter cheekily asked him whether he had paid to watch Canelo's fight.
"Yes," White replied somewhat coyly after a brief pause, with a smile running across his face.
White shared a photo of his betting slip with his millions of followers on Instagram after seeing Canelo claim victory.
The multiple-weight champion was a heavy favorite, and his win landed White a profit of $41,666.
It is unlikely White would have been hit too hard in the pocket had Plant persisted to take the fight to the scorecards.
The head of the multi-billion dollar enterprise is thought to be worth around $500 million, making his wager a relatively small investment against his vast wealth.
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