Islam Makhachev was trouble as the lightweight champion.
Now, he’s double trouble at welterweight.
Makhachev leaned heavily on his takedown and grappling advantages to usurp Jack Della Maddalena on Saturday night in the UFC 322 headliner for the 170-pound championship, winning a no-brainer decision on the scorecards and becoming the 10th man in the promotion’s history to claim gold in two weight classes.
The former lightweight champion, who vacated the 155-pound division title earlier this year while riding a 15-fight win streak, took down the larger Della Maddalena in each round but engaged him on the feet at the beginning of several frames.
Della Maddalena, of Australia, vaunted for his striking prowess, nonetheless never found a groove in that facet of the fight.
The Aussie, who was making the first defense of the title he had won in May, battled to escape the Russian’s advantageous positions, but that energy never yielded sustained offense.
Avoiding a handful of Makhachev’s submission attempts was merely a moral victory.
The victory tied Makhachev with Hall of Famer Anderson Silva for the longest winning streak in UFC history (16).
Makhachev’s only pro loss came in his UFC debut 10 years ago.
