UFC, betting it didn't need Conor McGregor to make UFC 200 the showcase and spectacle befitting its moniker, got burned, embarrassed and exposed. President Dana White will not be making that same mistake at UFC 205.

On Thursday, UFC announced that its first-ever fight card in New York City will be headlined by McGregor fighting lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez for the 155-pound title. The fight offers McGregor a shot at becoming the sport's first simultaneous duel-weight champion, provides the blockbuster bout UFC 205 needed, and gives White an important reset button to correct a mistake he made months ago.

Wipe the slate clean. Because while White's stubbornness -- and McGregor's own bullheaded approach -- turned UFC 200 from a celebration of the sport to a night best not remembered, this makes up for it.

The fact is that UFC 200 wasn't just another event. It was a touchstone to the sport's growth, a crossover moment that moved beyond its MMA-loyalist base as an easy narrative to sell to the mainstream. It needed a sure thing, at least in buzz and salesmanship, and without McGregor it fell short.

UFC 205 in the Big Apple is the last shot for the sport to be presented with the same circumstances -- well, at least until UFC 250. There was no getting this one wrong, which means bowing to McGregor's whims, letting him keep his belt at 145 pounds, and grinning and bearing it is very, very good business.

The best organizations learn from their mistakes.

The ascending sports franchises, leagues and companies get to the top of the mountain by evolving.

And the best leaders learn when to take a step back and cede, for the moment, to whatever star can take everyone to the next level.

That, today, is McGregor. He's a star, one created by UFC but big enough to buck it -- for the time being. That's a testament to the organization as much as it's an irritant. Success, in this world, means creating monsters you can't always control.

The fact McGregor will fight Alvarez isn't just a thrilling fight that will draw eyeballs, propel the sport forward, earn an enormous profit and allow the UFC's big moment in New York to live up to all the hype and effort. It's also White putting the sport ahead of his ego.

That's easier said than done. White turned UFC into a multi-billion-dollar empire, literally, by ruling with an iron fist. His will was the way forward, period, and that way turned out to be paved in gold. But that changed when the sport did, and McGregor became the first star capable of saying: To hell with you, now it's about me.

And it was. I wrote in August that it was time for White to simply back off. After UFC 202, McGregor wanted Diaz for a trilogy fight. Diaz wanted McGregor. And White was unequivocal: "We're definitely not doing this a third time right now," he told TMZ shortly afterward. "Conor's either gonna go defend his title or give his title up. Then we'll figure out where we go from there."

McGregor, at the post-fight press conference, told White and UFC, nicely, that the idea of losing his belt if he didn't defend it in his next fight was dumb. He wouldn't play ball.

This is a compromise of sorts, but it's one that gives McGregor just what he wants. He retains his belt. He fights at 155 pounds. He gets to be the center of attention while chasing a second belt, and he gets to hold the 145 division hostage. Ego, challenge and -- for now -- power. A headliner getting a win over his boss. That's the stuff stars are made of, and White was smart enough to recognize it and let it happen.

There's also the fact this is going to be a ridiculously tantalizing showdown. UFC has fought for respectability, relevance and wealth in its long journey to near the top of the mainstream sports world. Conquering New York was one of the final peaks to climb, and now the card will live up to that moment, that city and that opportunity.

McGregor-Alvarez is astounding. And it's buttressed by Donald Cerrone vs. Kelvin Gastelum, Frankie Edgar vs. Jeremy Stephens, and a handful of other real good fights. When Nov. 12 rolls around, Madison Square Garden -- and a view of these fights and a main event that could be every bit as tantalizing as McGregor-Diaz -- will one of the most coveted sports tickets out there.

How'd we get here?

White built an empire only to realize that he needed to let McGregor act like a king, even if just for a day.