At UFC 322, Islam Makhachev became the 11th fighter in UFC history to claim a belt in two weight classes. 

He took on welterweight king Jack Della Maddalena in the main event.

After a dominant run at 155 pounds, Makhachev finally made the decision to compete for the welterweight title. 

It took Makhachev nearly half a year to compete with an extra 15 pounds on his frame, but he looked like a lifetime welterweight in the octagon with the Aussie. 

Every round passed in similar fashion: Makhachev would take Della Maddalena down, transition occasionally to hunt a submission, and maintain top position until the bell. 

The reigning champ simply had no answers for the size and vaunted wrestling of Makhachev, looking visibly defeated as the championship rounds dragged on. 

The fight ended with just 48 significant strikes combined, with Makhachev totaling almost 20 minutes of control time. 

It mirrored Khamzat Chimaev’s title-winning performance against Dricus du Plessis at UFC 319, where du Plessis was dominated on the ground — though there was hardly ever a threat of a finish. 

Makhachev did better than Chimaev in terms of looking for submissions. He sought to secure a kimura or his signature D’arce choke a few times throughout the course of the fight, but Della Maddalena’s determination to combat the attempts resulted in a similarly uneventful bout. 

But, boring does not undermine impressive. Makhachev tossed around Della Maddalena with ease, and it takes a superhuman level of strength to do what he did. However, it wasn’t a remotely exciting affair, especially compared to the two violent finishes in the welterweight bouts that had preceded it. 

Dillon Danis probably suffered more strikes to the head that night than either fighter in the main event did.

The media focus has been more on the excitement level of the fight than the history that was made, but Madison Square Garden has seen some of the most electrifying double-champ fights in the sport’s history, and fans were disappointed when they weren’t treated to another.

Unfortunately, there’s no way — or reason — to stop these performances from happening.

You can’t remove wrestling from mixed martial arts entirely — that’s antithetical to the sport’s nature. Plus, there’s a rather simple solution to the problem: Don’t get taken down. 

And, as Joe Rogan asserted, every round starts on the feet, a massive advantage for strikers like Della Maddalena. 

He had a chance at the beginning of each round to keep the fight standing and find the knockout blow, but failed to deliver. 

The last saving grace of the striker is the referee, who has the ability to stand the fighters up when the fight isn’t progressing on the ground. 

Yet, most fighters have long since discovered how to ensure the ref doesn’t step in.

A few well-timed taps to the head of the opponent and some fiddling of the arms around their neck is usually enough to keep the referee at bay. 

The men in black have been under a microscope lately. While we’re at it, I wouldn’t mind them being more eager to separate fighters in the future.

Still, Makhachev’s performance did not warrant any referee intervention. Assessing “intent” is always difficult, but it’s hard to envision a fighter like him trying to stall to a decision — it’s fair to let the ref assume he’s hunting the finish at all times.

It may not always be the most entertaining form of mixed martial arts, but it sure is effective. 

The rest of the UFC has few answers for Eastern European wrestlers, who have now ascended to the title in three different weight classes.

If Chimaev, who has yet to lose in his career, looks as dominant as he did against du Plessis, it’s hard to see anyone beating him at 185 lbs. 

The same goes for Makhachev at welterweight. He’s currently one win away from breaking Anderson Silva’s longstanding consecutive win streak record of 16.

Merab Dvalishvili of Georgia has run circles around the bantamweight division in his uber-active 14 months as champ. He rides a 14-fight win streak into UFC 323, where he seeks a record fourth title defense in a calendar year.

None of the three fight under the same flag, but fighters from the region have risen to an unbelievable prominence in the UFC this decade, building on the success of Khabib Nurmagomedov’s run at lightweight in the late 2010s.

At this point, the question isn’t if someone can beat one of the three — it’s if one can even get close.