Kamaru Usman: Belal Muhammad not a 'high-enough level of a wrestler' to beat Leon Edwards at UFC 304

Kamaru Usman picks Leon Edwards to beat Belal Muhammad at UFC 304.

Edwards (21-3 MMA, 13-2 UFC) defends his welterweight title in a rematch against Muhammad (23-3 MMA, 14-3 UFC) in the July 27 main event at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.

Usman has lost to Edwards twice in championship fights, but both contests were competitive. The former welterweight champion just doesn’t see Muhammad having the ability to control Edwards on the ground.

“I would say I like Belal, but I think Leon (will win),” Usman said on his “Pound 4 Pound” podcast with Henry Cejudo. “Wrestling is not enough. The sport has changed so much to where guys are learning how to use the cage to get up. It’s not even really wrestling anymore, because if you take a guy down up close to the cage, they’re going to use the cage and they’re going to get back to the feet.

“Guys are getting really, really good at that. … And Belal Muhammad, I don’t feel, is a high enough level of a wrestler to take him down to the center of the cage and keep him down there and win the fight there. Belal, his level is definitely up there now to where he can switch stance. He can fight out of both stances. He mixes it up, and he knows how to control his pace. That’s the biggest thing. You saw it in the Burns fight: He knows how to control his pace.”

Edwards was able to fend off Colby Covington’s wrestling for the most part to notch his second title defense at UFC 296. Although Usman thinks Muhammad manages his pace better than Edwards, he doesn’t think it’ll be enough.

“This is a very intriguing fight,” Usman said. “But Leon just being the champion, and being confident in being the champion, I think he’s going to be sharp.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.