UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture has been at the center of some big pay-per-views in the promotion’s history.

He’ll be watching when Khabib Nurmagomedov (26-0 MMA, 10-0 UFC) and Conor McGregor (21-3 MMA, 9-1 UFC) finally settle their score at UFC 229. But he’s unsure whether or not the pay-per-view event will top the list of all-time draws in UFC history, as the promotion already has predicted.

“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,” Couture today told MMAjunkie. “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.”

UFC President Dana White recently said the promotion expects the UFC 229 pay-per-view headliner to draw in the “ballpark” of 2 million buys, which would eclipse the record of 1,650,000 set by UFC 202 for McGregor’s rematch with Nate Diaz in 2016.

Couture’s 2008 fight with Brock Lesnar at UFC 91 was one of only three events prior to 2010 that eclipsed 1 million buys.

Couture, who retired in 2011, isn’t picking a winner in the upcoming blockbuster between Nurmagomedov and McGregor. But he clearly takes a shine to Nurmagomedov.

“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,” Couture said. “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 out-of-the cage behavior doesn’t influence Couture’s opinion of the former two-division champ’s abilities in the cage. But it does influence his personal opinion of the Irish star.

“(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.”

For more on UFC 229, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.