Joe Rogan Confronts Francis Ngannou Over PFL’s Sad State of Affairs With Surprising Jon Jones Proposition

The life of Francis Ngannou has been nothing short of an adventure. His determination and dream of becoming a boxer were fulfilled when he took on two of the biggest heavyweight boxers, although in a losing effort. But in the wake of Ngannou shifting his focus to MMA, Joe Rogan appears to doubt ‘The Predator’s MMA career in the PFL.

It must have been like finding gold for the PFL when they acquired a big-name fighter like Francis Ngannou in 2023. However, things may not be the same for the former UFC champion. Longtime commentator Joe Rogan addressed the reality of the PFLs’ heavyweight division to ‘The Predator’, who’s scheduled to compete in his first-ever PFL fight by the end of this year.

Renan Ferreira, who defeated Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader, will be Francis Ngannou’s first opponent under the PFL banner. The Brazilian fighter is on a fiery streak of 4 wins and Joe Rogan believes it’s an exciting challenge for ‘The Predator’. However, the 56-year-old is worried about the lack of credible opponents after Ferreira, unless there’s an effort from the promotion to sign more big names.

“Let’s assume you get past that [Renan Ferreira], will you then decide whether or not you’re going to fight MMA next or boxing next? Because one of the things about the PFL is there’s not a lot of challenge,” Joe Rogan told Francis Ngannou during a recent ‘JRE MMA Show’. “There’s not a lot of very compelling challenges for you there, unfortunately, at least now. They could sign some more top-flight heavyweights,” the UFC commentator added.

While Ngannou has yet to decide on his future following his first PFL fight, Joe Rogan devised how the fighter could find great opponents, including Jon Jones.

Joe Rogan claims Francis Ngannou lacks challenges in the PFL unless Jon Jones joins the promotion

The question here is, what does Francis Ngannou do without credible opponents? Well, Joe Rogan claims that nobody’s place or path in MMA is predictable. Wherever the money comes from, most fighters tend to choose that option. Any fighter can land in any promotion, and if Jon Jones could find his way into the PFL, given that the UFC champion is already talking about retiring from the UFC, Ngannou may get the fight that the whole MMA community is waiting for.

“Who knows what happens with Jon Jones? I mean, I don’t know what happens to any of these guys. He could wind up going to the PFL… if they come up with some big money you could get a lot of people that will be willing to go over there,” Rogan added.

Besides, we don’t know if it was because of his boxing endeavors or not, Francis Ngannou was initially signed by the PFL to make him fight inside the Smart Cage under a year of him signing the contract. However, it hasn’t happened, and the date for the clash against Renan Ferreira is also under discussion for now. However, ‘The Predator’ has confidently assured that his sole focus is on MMA right now and the fans could get to see his first PFL fight this year.

What do you think about the current state of the PFL’s heavyweight division? There’s a chance that Francis Ngannou could fight some Bellator fighters down the line. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.