- Joe Rogan believes Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou was fixed to set up the undisputed match with Oleksandr Usyk
- The UFC commentator thinks “The Predator” is the only way the PFL could attract audiences
Joe Rogan still suspects Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou was rigged and also weighed in on how the PFL could break barriers as an MMA promotion.
Joe isn’t convinced
Speaking on a recent episode of his JRE podcast with MMA legend Rampage Jackson, Rogan revisited the Fury vs. Ngannou boxing match. According to the longtime UFC commentator, the fight was fixed as the people behind it was already setting up the undisputed title fight between “The Gypsy King” and Oleksandr Usyk.
That said, they already knew that they will give the decision to Fury if “The Predator” fails to stop him and that’s exactly what happened.
“I thought he [Ngannou] won that fight. But, you know, they were setting up that Usyk fight… it just seemed like the fix was in a little bit. It was close enough that they could pull it off and you go, ‘Okay maybe, maybe you can see [Fury] winning that,’ but I don’t think so, I thought Francis won it, a lot of people thought Francis won it,” Rogan said.
“I’m happy that he went and got paid, I’m happy that he got that money for the Tyson Fury fight because everyone was dismissing it, Dana [White] was dismissing it and then he drops Tyson Fury and in a lot of people’s eyes, won the fight,” he added.
Ngannou is PFL’s bread and butter
Rogan also shared his thoughts on Ngannou and his future with the PFL. For Rogan, he doesn’t see the PFL getting any closer to the UFC in terms of success and at this point, the “only way” they could possibly gain traction is through Ngannou.
“If the UFC went away, the PFL would probably take up the slack,” Rogan said. “If something happened, the UFC decided, ‘You know what, we’ve found Jesus. No more fights. Good luck. Take care. We’re gonna close shop’ for some crazy reason. Those guys would go somewhere.”
“Right now… PFL signed Francis. That’s probably the only way that PFL’s gonna get people to pay attention. You have to have someone like Francis,” he pointed out.
After losing to Fury, Ngannou took on Anthony Joshua and got knocked out in less than two rounds. As it stands, “The Predator” is set to make his MMA return this year. As per PFL founder Donn Davis, Ngannou is making his debut no later than September.
Watch Rogan’s full podcast episode below:
