Key differences in Islam Makhachev and Khabib Nurmagomedov's wrestling styles dissected by former teammate 

Islam Makachev is seen as the heir apparent to Khabib Nurmagomedov's dominance in the UFC after Khabib's retirement. While Makhachev has established himself as the dominant force in the lightweight division, his fighting style is notably different from Khabib's although they come from the same training background.

MMA veteran and analyst Josh Thomson, a teammate of the duo, recently highlighted the difference in Makhachev and Khabib's grappling styles. Speaking in the recent episode of the Weighing In podcast, Thomson said:

"There's MMA wrestling and there's wrestling, and there's a big difference, especially when a punch is being thrown at your head when you're in the clinch. And there's that Sambo wrestling, which is more of Judo, which is what Islam uses."

He added:

"Khabib used more of the double leg, single leg... And he was real good at turning the corner. Islam is more of, 'I'll shoot the single, but then I'll try to work my way up to the body. When I work my way up to the body, I'll try and lift, scoop, take your back over your leg, whatever it is. It's more of a Sambo / Judo style, where there is less effort, but a little bit more explosiveness and using your momentum and your push to take you off base."

Check out Josh Thomson's comments below (27:29):

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Josh Thomson raises questions about Islam Makhachev's transition to welterweight

Islam Makhachev recently vacated the lightweight title to pursue a second belt at welterweight. The Dagestani fighter will likely challenge newly crowned welterweight champion Jack Della Maddalena in his next fight.

Although Makhachev is a sizeable betting favorite, Josh Thomson pointed out that Maddalena shutting down Belal Muhammad's offensive wrestling in the title-winning performance at UFC 315 significantly changes the dynamic.

In the aforementioned episode of the Weighing In podcast, Thomson raised questions about whether Makhachev will be able to implement his grappling against Maddalena, citing the massive weight jump as one of the key reasons:

"I was actually hoping for the odds to be a little bit closer, only based on the fact that the 15-pound jump is a lot. It's not like jumping from 25 to 35 to 45 to 55, you're jumping a full 15 pounds. So how does Islam handle the weight when you're talking about world-class fighters like JDM...? So there's a lot of questions to be answered there for me as well. At 155, with Islam and Khabib, I had all the answers. But now it's coming into unchartered territory." [25:50]

Although UFC CEO Dana White confirmed that Makhachev will face Jack Della Maddalena next, the date and venue are not yet announced.