Francis Ngannou and Joe Rogan discuss UFC's failure to sign PFL's Cedric Doumbe due to "bad contract" offer
Joe Rogan is convinced the UFC dropped the ball by not Cedric Doumbe and Francis Ngannou believes that it was an unappealing contract offer that prevented the move.
With a record of 6-1, Doumbe is among the best French mixed martial artists. While 'The Beast' currently plies his trade in the Professional Fighters League (PFL), Dana White and Co. was also in the running to sing him.
Rogan for one, was rooting for the UFC to sign Doumbe. He believes the Frenchman is good enough to give some of the best middleweights in the world a run for their money.
As per Ngannou, it was monetary reasons that prompted 'The Beast' to decide against signing with the world's premier MMA promotion. During the #160th MMA episode of the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) podcast when 'The Predator' said:
"He said he wanted to go to the UFC and then they gave him some sort of contract and [he] was like no bro."
Responding to Ngannou, Rogan labeled the UFC missing out on Doumbe as "unfortunate" and hyped up the 31-year-old as a potential superstar:
"They gave him a bad contract? That's unfortunate. Well that's crazy that guy can be a superstar... In France, he is a superstar and that could translate 100 percent to the United States and to the rest of the world. He is that good. He is one of the best in the world and the fact that he is over there is just like, well, great for the PFL."
Catch Joe Rogan and Francis Ngannou's comments below (41:30):
Joe Rogan on the possibility of Francis Ngannou vs. Jon Jones: "Dana is not opposed"
Jon Jones vs . Francis Ngannou is one of the most intriguing matchups in MMA right now. But, with 'Bones' in the UFC and Ngannou in the PFL, such a matchup seems highly improbable.
However, Joe Rogan believes there might yet be a way for the heavyweight titans to lock horns in the octagon. Talking to Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson during the #159th MMA Show of JRE, the 56-year-old said something, which can currently only be seen as wishful thinking:
"There was an article I ready this morning. With the Saudis, you know the UFC is now doing shows in Saudi Arabia, that Dana [White] is not opposed to the possibility of a joint promotion with Jon Jones vs. Francis. [That would be] Huge."
Catch Joe Rogan's comments below (9:41):