Dana White's latest revelation, that a proposed Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor fight will probably happen, besides being a quick about-face from what he was saying just days earlier, speaks more to modern technology's ability to drive so much revenue on a singular night than anything else.
It's been roughly 11 years since the UFC was able to hang with boxing, and eventually surpass boxing (except for rare superfights) as a consistent pay-per-view draw. From that point, the idea of a true top drawing boxer vs. top drawing UFC fighter would have always been a big one-night money grab.