Belal Muhammad doesn’t believe Kamaru Usman should receive an immediate rematch with Leon Edwards.

In the main event of UFC 278, Edwards became the new welterweight champion with a fifth-round head kick KO over Usman. It was a fight he was losing but in the final minute, he landed the head kick beautifully, and right after the scrap, all sides agreed to run it back right away, likely in the UK.

However, Belal Muhammad doesn’t think an immediate rematch should happen due to the fact it doesn’t happen in other sports. He also thinks Usman should have to get a win before fighting for the belt, so with that, he believes he is the perfect candidate to face Edwards next.

“We’re talking numbers, we’re talking rankings…you want to make this a real sport,” said Muhammad on a recent Instagram live chat (via MMAFighting). “If you want to make this a real sport, there’s no rematches once you lose the Super Bowl. You lose the Super Bowl, you lost the Super Bowl, that’s it, you’re going to have to wait until next year. You don’t get a, ‘Ahh, man. That was a lucky pass.’ Nah, you lost, you don’t get the rematch right away. You’ve got to go through a whole other season to try and get back there again. So, Usman, sit down a little bit, relax, heal up, [and] let me fight Leon Edwards.”

Of course, Belal Muhammad and Leon Edwards fought back in March 2021 with the fight being a No Contest due to an accident eye poke from the Brit. Since then, Muhammad has been vocal in wanting the rematch with Edwards and now that he is the champ he believes the fight makes perfect sense.

Yet, as it stands right now, all signs point to Usman getting the immediate rematch with Edwards next. If that happens, it’s uncertain if Muhammad would take another fight or hold out for the title shot.

What do you make of Belal Muhammad saying Kamaru Usman shouldn’t get an immediate rematch with Leon Edwards?