When Francis Ngannou switched to boxing, many believed he would dominate everyone he faced, given that his punches are equivalent to 96 horsepower.

However, that wasn’t the case. He faced tough losses, which deeply affected Joe Rogan. The UFC commentator was accustomed to seeing Ngannou dominate in the UFC.

Recall how the former MMA fighter faced Anthony Joshua in March? Unfortunately, Joshua knocked him out in the second round with a brutal blow, which was a first for Ngannou. This knockout was especially brutal because Ngannou had never been knocked out before.

On June 22, during a discussion with Bryan Callen, Brendan Schaub, and Brian Simpson on his podcast, Rogan shared his thoughts about Ngannou.

The discussion revolved around potential future prospects for UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones, and Ngannou’s name came up. Rogan said, “You know really, what I want is a time machine and I want to go back and keep Francis Ngannou there. I want to go back and keep Francis Ngannou there,” he stated on JRE Fight Companion.

Rogan further added, “I love that Francis made a ton of money. I loved that he dropped Tyson Fury. I do not love the Joshua fight. That was sad. Watching him get KO’ed like that against Anthony Joshua was really tough.”

Ngannou earned an astonishing $30 million from his fights against Fury and Joshua, something that wouldn’t have been possible in the UFC. For instance, he made only $640,000 for his UFC 270 fight against Ciryl Gane.

The 37-year-old was the UFC heavyweight champion when he left the promotion. His contract negotiations with the UFC fell through because they couldn’t reach a mutual agreement. Additionally, Ngannou wanted the UFC to allow him to box, similar to how Conor McGregor was allowed to fight Floyd Mayweather. However, Dana White and the UFC were not on board, leading to a split.

The PFL then signed Ngannou and allowed him to box. His first bout was against Tyson Fury, which ended in a razor-close split decision in Fury’s favor. Nonetheless, Ngannou earned a lot of respect because it was his debut, and he managed to drop Fury in round 3.

While Ngannou versus Jones is a match the combat world would like to see, it is highly unlikely. Ngannou is no longer in the UFC, and it seems Dana White has blacklisted him. “He’s absolutely impossible to deal with. He’s – no, he’ll never be in the UFC again. So, he made his decision – we worked hard, man,” the UFC CEO stated. This situation raises the question: what exactly transpired between Ngannou and Dana White that led to this split?

Francis Ngannou wanted more than just money. The fighter had several issues that he presented to Dana White and other UFC authorities. He demanded health insurance for all fighters and wanted athletes to be able to secure their sponsorship deals. These demands were turned down during the contract negotiations.

However, Ngannou revealed that it was more about freedom. The UFC contract didn’t allow him to box. Speaking about this last year, he said, “It doesn’t matter how much (money) is in that contract, I am not free. I have no power over to you guys (the UFC) and I don’t want that to happen.”