Conor McGregor was great, but UFC can't make a habit of it - Michael Bisping on Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou chasing crossover bouts

Reigning UFC champions Kamaru Usman and Francis Ngannou are campaigning for crossover bouts against world-class boxers, just as Conor McGregor did years ago. According to Michael Bisping, the precedence created by the Irishman cannot become a habit for the UFC.

During the latest episode of his Believe You Me podcast, 'The Count' said that the promotion most likely won't let its high-profile fighters go after crossover bouts regularly:

“Francis is trying to do it with Tyson. That might happen… From what I hear Francis is out of any contract obligations in December… He said he wants to fight in the UFC. But anyway, so there’s that one there. What else is it? We’ve had Conor McGregor do it. Usman wanting to do it… Yeah, it’s great for headlines. It’s great for fans as well. But the UFC isn’t gonna let a lot of their big names go up cross over.”

An Englishman’s opinion is that the UFC can’t make it a habit of it, despite Conor McGregor’s success with his crossover bout.

“Yeat, it was great with Conor, but they can’t make a habit of doing that… I don’t think any of those are going to happen.”

Watch Michael Bisping talk about the subject at 25:00 of the video below:

Conor McGregor fought Floyd Mayweather Jr. in a bout billed as “The Money Fight” back in 2017. The joint venture between Showtime Boxing and UFC was the second highest pay-per-view buy in history, bested only by Mayweather’s bout against Manny Pacquiao. The financial success of the pay-per-view was mirrored by both fighters' purses, as Mayweather reportedly earned nearly $300 million and McGregor earned over $100 million.

This success has led many other fighters to chase a similar path, with Francis Ngannou targeting a hybrid rules match against Tyson Fury and Kamaru Usman calling out Canelo Alvarez.

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Conor McGregor counts down to his comeback

McGregor has been training hard as he prepares for his long-awaited return to the octagon.

In a recent social media post, ‘Notorious’ looked in great shape. He can be seen drilling a heavy bag at the Crumlin Boxing Gym. The accompanying caption reads:

"Right hook tastiness, catch you soon the count down is on."

McGregor has been out of competition since breaking his left tibia and fibula last July during his third bout against former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier. The Irishman is in the final stages of recovery and has been targeting a return fight against current UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman.