Belal Muhammad ‘only thing that makes sense’ for Edwards

Add Kamaru Usman to the list of fighters that think Belal Muhammad deserves the next title shot.

Muhammad, who’s on a 10-fight unbeaten streak, has been heavily campaigning for a shot at UFC welterweight champion Leon Edwards, but a fight is yet to materialize for him. The only asterisk in his run is a no contest against Edwards in March 2021.

Former champion Usman agrees with Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC), and sees him as the most logical option next for Edwards (22-3 MMA, 14-2 UFC).

“The only thing that makes sense right now is Belal Muhammad – because Belal has been there for a while, has been in that top 10, that top five,” Usman said on UFC Live. “Who else makes sense? I think it’s going to take time to be able to build someone to challenge the champion.”

After falling short in his middleweight debut against Khamzat Chimaev this past October at UFC 294, Usman (20-4 MMA, 15-3 UFC) finds himself in a quandary.

“I never thought I’d be in this position,” Usman said. “I never thought I would just have a body of work to the point where I can sit back a little bit and let things kind of unfold. For a long time, I was like, ‘I need to get there and be that guy. I need to be champion.’ Now I’m in a position where I don’t have to.

“I definitely want to, but I’m taking time to just kind of see how things unfold because right now the welterweight division is kind of clouded and the middleweight division as well. … I’m just taking some time, letting some things heal and plotting my next move.”