Joe Rogan wants to see Francis Ngannou back in the octagon to face the winner of Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane.
The UFC commentator hopes for Ngannou’s return, but doesn’t blame him for wanting to seek a bigger payday in boxing lately.
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Ngannou has been absent from the UFC
Ngannou’s financial demands on the UFC led him to relinquish his UFC light-heavyweight title to seek time in boxing.
Jones was campaigning to fight Ngannou, but the latter’s financial demands meant the fight never happened.
Now, Rogan is hoping for Ngannou’s return in the near future, speaking on the JRE MMA podcast: “The perfect world is, [Ngannou] pass, got a lot of money, heavyweight boxing fight, Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane fight, Jon wins, Ciryl wins, whoever wins is the UFC champion, then Francis comes back.
“He can definitely come back – Francis, if you’re listening, sir, please don’t sign an exclusive contract.”
Rogan isn’t sure where Ngannou is going next, but he thinks if he fights Tyson Fury next, his chances don’t look too good.
“Who knows if someone comes along and offers him a ton of money,” Rogan said. “Look, I mean, if somebody says, ‘Hey, I’m going to give you $100 million,’ whatever you say. OK, what do I do to fight, Jake Paul, what do I do? If they’re going to offer him a lot of money…but I think they’re trying to make a fight against Tyson Fury.
A fight between Ngannou and Fury has been mentioned
“Francis Ngannou could knock out any human being on earth if he could hit him cleanly in the chin,” added Rogan. “But good luck hitting Tyson Fury cleanly on the chin.”
Matchroom Boxing manager Eddie Hearn has revealed he has pitched a fight between Ngannou and Anthony Joshua but nothing has come of it yet.
