"PFL doesn't really have the big stars" - Joe Rogan tells Francis Ngannou he was 'made happy' in first round of negotiations after quitting UFC
Joe Rogan and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou recently addressed the latter's departure from the UFC organization. In January 2023, Ngannou chose not to re-sign with the UFC. He was resultantly stripped of his heavyweight title and released from the UFC.
After leaving the UFC, Ngannou ended up signing a deal with the PFL MMA organization. He claimed to have secured a lucrative contract, which allowed him to compete in boxing as well.
In a recent edition of UFC commentator Joe Rogan's JRE podcast, Ngannou insinuated that he was "relieved" to leave the UFC after the high-pressure contract disputes he had with the organization.
The 37-year-old recalled that after his UFC exit, PFL CEO Peter Murray was the first to approach him. Lauding Murray and the PFL for trying to impress him in the first round of their negotiations, Ngannou stated:
"The first person that reached out was Peter Murray from PFL. And then, I was just like, 'Yes, let's hear him out.' And he came out. We speak. He asked what I'm looking for. We speak, and we're like, 'Looks good.' Couple days after, he made a proposal. I mean, I didn't even ask for anything."
"But when he make a proposal, I look at the structure of that proposal, I'm like, 'This is good.' Everything was being taken [into] consideration. Obviously, there's always going to be a way to negotiate in a contract. But the way that they structured it, I was already happy. I'm like, 'I think this guy is trying to make me happy.'"
Joe Rogan appeared to agree with Francis Ngannou's assessment that the PFL was trying to make him happy in their first round of negotiations. The longtime UFC personality further emphasized that the PFL lacks big-name stars such as Ngannou, which is why they'd surely need someone like him. Rogan said:
"Yeah, well, they need someone like you. The PFL doesn't really have the big stars."
Francis Ngannou replied by simply asserting, "Yeah." However, he seemingly refrained from expounding upon Rogan's opinion of PFL lacking big-name stars.
Watch Rogan and Ngannou discuss the topic in the JRE video below [00:35]:
Francis Ngannou talks to Joe Rogan about choosing PFL over ONE Championship
Presently, Francis Ngannou is scheduled to make his boxing debut against legendary pugilist Tyson Fury on Oct. 28, 2023. During his conversation with Joe Rogan on the JRE podcast, Ngannou spoke about the Fury matchup, besides also expounding upon choosing the PFL over other organizations. He recalled being approached by ONE Championship CEO Chatri Sityodtong earlier this year.
Francis Ngannou pointed out that ONE and Sityodtong presented him with their offer after the PFL. Addressing the difference between the offers that came his way from PFL and ONE, Ngannou implied that the PFL offer was significantly better. 'The Predator' said:
"When I was putting that [ONE] contract next to the PFL one, it was day and night." [Check out Ngannou's comments at the 1:51-minute mark of the JRE video]