"Brings up all sorts of ethical discussions" - Joe Rogan talks about the UFC making an interim heavyweight title just 5 months after Francis Ngannou was crowned champion

Joe Rogan (left) and Francis Ngannou (right) [Image credits: @francisngannou on Instagram]

Francis Ngannou had only beaten Stipe Miocic to be crowned the new heavyweight king five months before an interim title was created. Joe Rogan has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the UFC's decision to introduce interim gold.

Speaking on his podcast The Joe Rogan Experience, the UFC color commentator stated that the promotion's decision to book an interim title fight so soon raised a lot of "ethical discussions."

"He's [Ciryl Gane] the interim heavyweight champion now, which is weird because like, Ngannou just won the title. He's not injured. It's like the UFC and Ngannou are at some sort of a weird impasse, so they decided to make an interim title, which brings up all sorts of, you know, ethical discussions about what is an interim title. If the organization can just decide, 'Oh, the negotiations aren't going so well, we're just gonna have an interim title'... that's kind of crazy. Like, how much time do you give a guy before, you know, he defends his title?"

Catch Joe Rogan's thoughts on the heavyweight title scene in the video below:

Francis Ngannou will fight Ciryl Gane to unify the heavyweight title

A heavyweight showdown between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane is expected to take place at UFC 270 in January 2022. The winner of the contest will leave the octagon as the new undisputed heavyweight king of the UFC.

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One interesting thing to note in this matchup is that the two heavyweights previously trained together at MMA Factory in France. After his first loss to Miocic at UFC 220, Francis Ngannou parted ways with coach Fernand Lopez and the gym.

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Ciryl Gane defeated Derrick Lewis at UFC 265 to become the new interim heavyweight champion. He is currently undefeated in his professional MMA career and has a record of 10-0. The Frenchman has won all seven of his fights in the UFC.

During his incredible run in the promotion, 'Bon Gamin' has defeated high-level fighters like Jairzinho Rozenstruik, Junior dos Santos and Alexander Volkov.