Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou made his highly anticipated boxing debut against Tyson Fury last October, but after a controversial decision, UFC commentator Joe Rogan is convinced the fight was “fixed.”
It's been nine months since Francis Ngannou made his boxing debut against Tyson Fury, a fight so controversial at the time that the result is still talked about to this day.
Although “The Predator” lost by split decision, many in the martial arts community believe he was the true winner, especially after scoring a devastating knockdown in the third round.
Joe Rogan speculates that his controversial debut was 'fixed'
As this was Ngannou's boxing debut, he was unranked at the time, but “The Gypsy King” was scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk just four months later.
UFC commentator Joe Rogan believes the result may have been skewed to save face and keep the fight intact.
“I thought he (Francis Ngannou) was going to win that fight, but they were setting up the (Oleksandr) Usyk fight. They weren't going to let that happen. Yeah, it seemed like a little bit of match fixing started,” Rogan speculated on The Joe Rogan Experience.
“There was a good chance they could have won and you might think, 'OK, maybe (Fury) will win' but I don't think so. I thought Francis was going to win and a lot of people thought Francis was going to win,” the UFC commentator continued.
Despite losing the bout, the 37-year-old's performance saw him climb the rankings and set up a second boxing bout against Anthony Joshua.
Unfortunately, that bout ended without any controversy as “AJ” knocked out Ngannou in the second round.
“I’m happy he went out there and got paid, I’m happy he got that money for the Tyson Fury fight because everyone was downplaying it, Dana (White) was downplaying it and yet he beat Tyson Fury and looked to have won the fight in a lot of people’s eyes.
“Then he made a lot of money fighting Joshua. I'm happy he made the money, but I wish he'd made that money with UFC,” Rogan said.
Joe Rogan thinks Francis Ngannou is the only way to get the PFL's attention
Ngannou signed with the PFL last year but is yet to make his smart cage debut, with PFL president Don Davis hoping that will happen this year.
PFL heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira earned the opportunity to be the first fighter to welcome Ngannou to the promotion after defeating Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader in a PFL vs. Bellator bout earlier this year.
Despite this, the fight has yet to be scheduled, and Joe Rogan believes the only way the PFL can succeed is if it attracts attention with a fight against Ngannou.
“If the UFC goes away, the PFL will fill the void. If something happens, the UFC decides, 'Look, we've got Jesus. No more fights. Good luck. Take care. We're closing up shop.' For some crazy reason. Those guys are going to go somewhere else. They all have names.
“Right now, the only way the organization can make money is because PFL signed Francis. That's probably the only way PFL can get people's attention. They need someone like Francis.”
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