"JDM makes a lot of mistakes" - Belal Muhammad predicts Islam Makhachev will expose Jack Della Maddalena

Belal Muhammad believes Jack Della Maddalena is in for a rude awakening about his grappling deficiencies when he faces Islam Makhachev in their upcoming UFC 322 title bout.

While 'Remember the Name' is a proficient wrestler in his own right, he found it difficult to impose a grappling-heavy game on Maddalena at UFC 315, resulting in Muhammad losing the welterweight championship to the Australian in his very first title defense attempt.

Be that as it may, the Miami native seems convinced Makhachev can finish Maddalena on the ground. As the 37-year-old sees it, the Dagestani style of grappling is a whole other beast:

During an appearance on the No Scripts podcast, Muhammad said:

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"I think Islam can finish JDM on the ground. We saw with DDP [Dricus du Plessis, against Khamzat Chimaev], 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. Islam and they have a different feel, they have a different type of grappling. So, for JDM, even in our fights, he makes mistakes on the ground."

Check out Belal Muhammad's comments on Islam Makhachev vs. Belal Muhammad below:

In the lead-up to UFC 322, many have suggested Makhachev would struggle to impose his grappling game on a natural welterweight like Maddalena. Khabib Nurmagomedov has even labeled the champion the biggest threat of his protege's career.

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UFC Hall of Famer explains why Jack Della Maddalena could struggle against Islam Makhachev

While Jack Della Maddalena was successful in handling the wrestling threat Belal Muhammad presented at UFC 315, Daniel Cormier feels it could be a very different story against Islam Makhachev.

For one, 'DC' believes Makahchev would take notes from Muhammad's mistakes and employ a grappling-heavy approach from the get-go.

Furthermore, he seems convinced that the former pound-for-pound king's wrestling is unlike anything Maddalena is used to. During a recent appearance on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Cormier said

"He'll get takedown attempts coming at him very early this time. The last fight, he didn't have to deal with that when he was fresh... He might struggle. I don't know if he has felt anything like he's going to feel, because it is not going to be double legs and single legs with Islam. It's going to be him playing with his feet. Tripping him, moving him around on the octagon side, doing things he doesn't recognize as freely."

Edited by Ujwal Jain