Outside Source
Makhachev is scheduled to challenge Maddalena for the welterweight title in the main event at UFC 322 on Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Muhammad believes his friend can finish Maddalena on the ground. Muhammad cited Dricus Du Plessis’ lopsided middleweight title loss to Khamzat Chimaev. Muhammad believes Maddalena will wilt under similar wrestling from Makhachev due to his lack of experience in dealing with the Dagestani style of grappling. Muhammad also claims to have noticed flaws in Maddalena’s ground game during his title loss to the Australian at UFC 315 this past May.
Advertisement
Muhammad: Makhachev Has Different Type of Grappling
“I think Islam can finish [JDM] on the ground,” Muhammad said on the “No Scripts” podcast. “We saw with DDP, if you’ve never felt one of those Dagestani style wrestlers, you don’t want it to be your first time in the cage feeling it. And Islam and them, they have a different type of grappling. So for JDM, even in our fight, he makes lots of mistakes on the ground.”
Muhammad shares a close relationship with Makhachev and his Dagestani teammates. While Makhachev had long been contemplating a move to welterweight, he did not want to challenge Muhammad for the title. However, Muhammad lost his title to Maddalena, who put on an elite display of anti-wrestling.
Meanwhile, Muhammad is scheduled to fight Ian Garry (16-1) at UFC Qatar on Nov. 22 at the ABHA Arena in Doha.
Belal Muhammad believes Islam can finish JDM on the ground and expose his mistakes 🥊🔥
“I think Islam can finish JDM on the ground. We saw with DDP, if you’ve never felt one of those Dagestani wrestlers, you don’t want it to be your first time in the cage feeling it. Islam and… pic.twitter.com/jrEDidiVLI
— Red Corner MMA (@RedCorner_MMA) October 19, 2025
This article first appeared at Recent News on Sherdog.com
Help support MMACrazies.com when you shop Amazon by starting your online Amazon shopping at MMACrazies.com/recommends/amazon. You are not charged extra, but we receive a small and very helpful commission on everything you purchase. Thanks for thinking of us every time you shop at Amazon.
