Longtime former mixed martial arts (MMA) referee John McCarthy doesn’t think Kamaru Usman should fight until April after suffering a knockout loss to Leon Edwards.
John McCarthy Wants Usman To Sit Several Months
In the main event of UFC 278 on pay-per-view (PPV) over the past weekend, Kamaru Usman lost his welterweight title to Leon Edwards in stunning fashion.
After dominating the majority of the fight, Usman got caught with a high-kick with just over a minute left in the fifth and final round, allowing Edwards to take the title.
Usman was knocked out in brutal fashion, leading former MMA referee John McCarthy to suggest that “The Nigerian Nightmare” take several months off before going for a rematch with Edwards.
Taking to his “Weighing In” podcast, McCarthy explained Usman should take three months off from contact training, before jumping into a full-on three month training camp – meaning he shouldn’t fight until March or April at the earliest.
“He does need to take some time,” McCarthy said. “It should not happen here until the summer of 2023. If you’re thinking about it, he should be taking at least three months off.
“Now you can do little things but no real f*cking sparring or anything like that, not getting knocked out the way he did.
“You’re talking September, October, November, December close to – start your training. Now going to January, February, March, okay – April. March or April I’m good with.”
Usman has already expressed his interest in rematching Edwards immediately, and “Rocky” did note before the fight he’d give Usman an immediate rematch upon his potential victory.
Usman was only moments away from tying Anderson Silva’s 16-fight winning streak before Edwards stunned the world with a head kick. In all likelihood, it will be remembered as one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.
It will be interesting to see if the UFC does, in fact, give Usman the proper recovery time before booking the trilogy bout between Usman and Edwards.
