Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev both used their ground game to win gold in 2025.
A number of UFC titles changed hands in the second half of last year, including the middleweight and welterweight championships.
Chimaev dominated Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319 in Chicago, racking up over 21 minutes of control time to take the South African’s 185-pound belt.
A few months later, Makhachev outpointed Jack Della Maddalena in large part down to his 19 minutes of control time to become the new 170-pound king at UFC 322 in New York City.
Both stars have consistently been able to completely shut down their opponents’ offense, and Gable Steveson does not think his nation’s wrestlers have been able to do the same.
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Is Gable Steveson destined for greatness in MMA, like Jon Jones is predicting?
Main: Gable Steveson yells at the NCAA Division I Men’s Wrestling Championship. Inset: Jon Jones is interviewed by Joe Rogan at UFC 309. Credit: Jay LaPrete/NCAA Photos & Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
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Gable Steveson breaks down Islam Makhachev and Khamzat Chimaev’s superiority over American wrestlers
Steveson is an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling who is early into his career as a professional mixed martial artist.
He recently appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience to preview a year in which he hopes to find himself under the UFC banner.
The 25-year-old is being…
2026-01-05 00:00:00
