UFC's former 'babysitter to the stars' Burt Watson: McGregor vs. Mayweather is 'driven by money'

Burt Watson may have the left the UFC, but the former babysitter to the stars and backstage man is still clued up on the latest developments in the combat sports world.

In fact, Watson, who was renowned for his legendary 'We Rollin!" catchphrase, is the current director of fight relations at Alliance MMA, a gym that is home to top fighters such as Dominick Cruz, Alexander Gustafsson, and Michael Chandler.

Watson recently spoke to Abhinav Kini of IBTimes UK and gave his take on the potential boxing showdown between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr., a bout that has been in the works since 'The Notorious' beat Eddie Alvarez to win the lightweight title at UFC 205.

Although McGregor wants to prove his worth in the boxing ring against one of the greatest of all time, Watson state the obvious: mega money is the prime motivation for this fight being put together.

"I do think that a fight of this magnitude was definitely driven by money," Watson said. "Mayweather and McGregor are the biggest names in their sports and have the highest pay-per-view numbers. Twenty years ago, before I joined MMA, I did a boxing event in Atlantic City with Oleg Taktarov. We put boxing gloves on MMA fighters that no one had heard of and it never really made it out of A.C."

"Something like this could never survive without at least one major name. I don't think it will happen in the future if one of them isn't a big enough name. It's similar to when Muhammad Ali challenged a Japanese wrestling champion [Antonio Inoki]. He got thrown around the ring and that was the end of that.

Watson also cited the money crossover fight between three-time boxing world champion James Toney and Randy Couture at UFC 118, which turned out to be a disaster for Toney. 'Lights Out' was submitted by Randy Couture in the very first round.

"Same thing when I coordinated James Toney and Randy Couture [at UFC 118]. It didn't turn out too good for James Toney. I worked with James Toney in his glory days and knew him as an exceptional athlete. It was sad to see him last half a round, but that was all about the money."

Watson believes that McGregor vs. Mayweather should be a one-off, but top UFC light heavyweight contender Jimi Manuwa is reportedly angling for a boxing match against David Haye.

"Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather are the biggest names in their sports, but after this it shouldn't continue," he added. "Athletes should stay in their lanes and master one sport before digesting another."

The blockbuster fight between McGregor and Mayweather, which was targeted for September 14, has reportedly been pushed back to a later date due to the announcement of Canelo Alvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin.