Former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor is now set to face undefeated UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in the main event of UFC 226. The live pay-per-view event will take place Oct. 6 in Las Vegas, Nev.
Speaking to MMA Junkie, UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture has now come forward with his thoughts on the fight.
“Certainly, coming off the pay-per-view from the (Floyd Mayweather vs. McGregor boxing match) and all the boxing people who saw that, a lot of those folks will turn around and tune in to watch this MMA competition. That’s certainly going to help.
“It’s not like either one of these guys are WWE guys, so those tend to be the biggest pay-per-views, when they find a way to bring these WWE guys in. The CM Punk (and) Brock Lesnar type fights, that whole WWE crowd tunes in and those tend to be bigger pay-per-views. But it’s all speculation.”
Speaking on Khabib Nurmagomedov, Randy Couture revealed that he thinks “The Eagle” may spell trouble for the Ireland native.
“Not only does he not run his mouth and all the extracurricular stuff, but he’s got that grinding style that was kind of my forte. So, I like the way he fights. Some people don’t like the way he fights – I think he’s brilliant.
“I think he’s exactly the type of fighter that’s going to give Conor McGregor trouble. We’ve seen that a little bit with Chad Mendes. We saw it a little bit with Nate Diaz – that style that forces him to fight on the ground off his back potentially is a style that’s going to give him trouble.”
“(McGregor’s) fighting style and his ability to back it up in the cage speaks for itself,” he said. “He does some very dynamic things. Some of the things he does using his range and accuracy is impressive. He does a good job. I’m just not a fan of all that other crap.”
