Khabib and now Usman and Islam. That Dagestani wrestling/Sambo style seems to be incredibly effective in MMA. In that first round of Islam vs Oliveira, Charles invites him into the ground and didn’t have much success while Islam mauled him with that top pressure. Islam did a hip throw and managed to have his way with Oliveira in the grappling and Charles is incredibly dangerous on the ground.

Volk managed to do much better, his low centre of gravity definitely helped. Confirmed, Australian rugby best base for MMA. What makes that style so dominant? It’s not like they are entirely hugging their way to decisions, they are getting finishes; both TKOs and submissions.