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Joe Rogan is not happy with Francis Ngannou leaving UFC as he thinks that fight fans won't be able to see some of the best heavyweight matches.
After leaving the UFC, Ngannou had his heavyweight title taken away. Jon Jones and Ciryl Gane will now face off for the vacant title at UFC 285.
The shock of Ngannou's UFC departure still reverberates throughout the sport. Jones is among those who can relate to Ngannou's decision to take a strong stand against the UFC in an effort to land better contracts.
The Ngannou vs. Jones battle was anticipated to be the biggest heavyweight title fight ever, as well as the biggest in UFC history. But now that Ngannou and the UFC have formally broken off their relationship, the fight exists only in the realm of promotional speculation.
In a recent episode of his podcast, Rogan stated why he is upset over Ngannou's departure from the UFC.
“I’m so bummed out by this whole thing. I don’t like when a champion leaves,” Rogan said. “I do not like the best guy in the world not being the champion. If Francis wanted to resign, ‘Okay, congratulations sir, you had a great career’… I suspect some of it involved wanting to do boxing as well.
“That’s why I’m mad, I’m mad because I feel like we were deprived of one of the great fights in MMA. One of the most compelling fights in MMA,” Rogan continued. “Doesn’t mean I’m not interested in Ciryl Gane vs. Jon Jones, I’m very interested in that fight."
Soon after Ngannou won the title at UFC 260, talk of a battle between Jones and Ngannou began in 2021. However, the fight was cancelled, and Ngannou went on to fight Gane at UFC 270 instead.