Among the elites of the UFC, there are a few who have wanted to cross over to boxing and fewer who have done so. CEO Dana White was on board for the historic Mayweather-McGregor fight but since then, he has had cold feet about sending his fighters over to the squared circle. Did such a decision cost former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou dearly? Joe Rogan seems to think so!

After Dana White dismissed his chances of ever making it to the boxing scene, he narrowly failed to handle one of the biggest upsets ever in boxing history against Tyson Fury. Given how capable he’s proved himself inside the squared circle, Joe Rogan believes ‘The Predator’ arrived a bit too late into the game to make a bigger impact.

“If Francis had gotten into boxing when he got into the UFC, he’d be the heavyweight champion of the world,” Joe Rogan said during a recent edition of the ‘JRE Fight Companion.’ UFC is known for its strict contracts, which limit its roster in pursuing other ventures. The 56-year-old commentator believes he should have just gone straight ahead and ventured into boxing years back.

“The thing is, no one had seen Francis fight as a boxer and no one knew what to expect. But then, Anthony Joshua got to study the style and see the holes in his game, and he exploited that like a f***ing professional,” the 56-year-old added.

Brendan Schaub responded that MMA fighters should take note of the hurdles in Ngannou’s boxing venture before they decide to follow suit. “The MMA guys are like, ‘Man, Francis is doing it. Maybe I’ll jump into boxing’. Yes, and no. Because when he fought Anthony, that’s really how it should work. That’s how the world should work, unfortunately,” Brendan Schaub stated. However, Joe Rogan claimed that he had seen enough to believe that Francis Ngannou could have been a real force to reckon with if he had stuck to his boxing dreams away from the UFC.

Since he was 10 years old, Francis Ngannou would tell everybody in his village of Batie, Cameroon, that he always envisioned a career in boxing similar to the icon, Mike Tyson. However, his fate brought him to MMA, which Joe Rogan claimed altered the course of the Cameroonian-French star’s career.

Francis Ngannou is arguably one of the scariest combat sports athletes ever, who packs some serious steam in his punches. He tried to replicate that from MMA to boxing, and he did put on a great show against Tyson Fury. But what happened when he faced Anthony Joshua? ‘AJ’ turned Ngannou’s light out clean. However, he made some serious money from the two fights, which he never would have done fighting the best at UFC – a fact the Fight Companion participants unanimously agreed on.

via Imago

Ngannou hasn’t spoken about his next boxing match since losing to Anthony Joshua but has assured his fans that he’s still going to keep competing inside the squared circle. But when will ‘The Predator’ return? His longtime head coach, Eric Nicksick, has hinted at a possible timeline for it.

Ngannou’s hopefully returning this year, claims Eric Nicksick

Currently, Francis Ngannou has resumed training at Xtreme Couture but has remained tight-lipped about his boxing future. Even Eric Nicksick isn’t particularly sure when the former UFC champion will make a comeback, but he did mention that though Ngannou is currently in recovery mode, he is in great spirits. “He’s healing. You’re seeing the smile back on his face. You’re seeing the banter. He’s back in the gym talking trash to [Sean] Strickland and everybody around the room. That’s the most important thing,” Nicksick stated on ‘The MMA Hour’.

In terms of details about Ngannou’s return, Eric Nicksick’s situation is similar to most people. He, too, has no idea when Francis Ngannou will compete again, but there’s no pressure on ‘The Predator’. Nevertheless, his head coach believes that a return could be possible before 2024 comes to an end. “I hope so [in 2024]. I hope so because I think keeping him busy has been the best thing for him. It’s helped him a lot,” Nicksick added.

What do you think? Is Francis Ngannou returning soon? He hasn’t been very active on social media and that makes it hard to estimate how long it could take for him to get back into action. But is he too late to make his mark in boxing, as Joe Rogan claimed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.