Islam Makhachev beat Jack Della Maddalena even more dominantly than Makhachev's supporters expected at UFC 322 . For Belal Muhammad, much of Makhachev's success came from things you can't easily see.

Though Makahchev was a significant betting favorite at UFC 322, many saw potential in Della Maddalena's evolved grappling defense. Della Maddalena fended off six takedowns and minimized Belal Muhammad's ground control time to win the welterweight title in May. Against Makhachev, Della Maddalena managed to do little more than survive -- failing to stop a single takedown and spending more than 19 of the fight's 25 minutes on bottom.

"He was taking him down in the open and wouldn't let him get out of half guard. Islam on top is very hard to get up from," Muhammad, a training partner of

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