‘The UFC Is a Star in Itself’- Joe Rogan Explains Why Boxing Is So Different From UFC

Veteran UFC commentator and analyst, Joe Rogan, details how boxing differs from UFC. The man who has seen UFC from close quarters knows how the promotion functions and how its fighters look from the eyes of fight fans present around the world.

“The boxers have more control over what happens cause it’s just basically, just boxing,” he told. “The UFC is a star in itself. Like, the organization is the star, and to be the UFC heavyweight champion is a huge thing. But ultimately you are champion in the UFC which is huge.”

Unlike UFC, where fighters have to agree with whatever they are told to do, boxing is a different ball game altogether. Most of the premier boxers have their own individuality and can choose whom they want to fight and when they want to fight. But fighters in UFC depend on the promotion’s name for their popularity.

Taking the example of an elite boxer like Terence Crawford, Rogan explains how different the champ’s life is to that of an elite fighter of UFC.

“Like Terence Crawford is a great example. He is a world champion boxer. People wanna see Terence Crawford fight. They don’t care if he is fighting for Bob Arum or he is fighting for Golden Boys,” he added.

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To back his words, the ace commentator used the example of Ngannou’s case. The Cameroonian is fit and fine and won the title nearly 4 and a half months ago. But he witnessed an interim title fight taking place right in front of his eyes. This shows how UFC controls everything related to the fighter.

Joe Rogan heaps praise on Ciryl Gane

Gane has fast-tracked himself into an elite category fighter. It’s just been two years since his debut and he has already captured the interim title. He isn’t just a normal heavyweight striker; the Frenchman inherits a technical game which is so rare to witness in a heavyweight fighter.

Rogan too is all praise for the 6’4″ Frenchman. “Ciryl Gane beat the sh*t out of him,” Rogan said on his show. “He shut him out. He shut him out. It was a shutout for, I think he stopped him in the third. Ciryl Gane, who is 6’5”, 247 pounds, moves like a 170-pounder.” (via MMA Fighting)

“It’s crazy. He’s bouncing like ‘Wonderboy’ (Stephen Thompson) the entire fight, bouncing, throwing feints. He completely changed the standard of heavyweight striking and I’m not exaggerating,” he further added. It will be interesting to see how Gane matches up against his former training partner, Ngannou.

What did you make of Rogan’s comparison of UFC and boxing? Let us know.

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