Count Joe Rogan among the long list of people who believe Francis Ngannou deserved to get a win over heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury this past Saturday night.
On the latest episode of his podcast, the UFC color commentator praised Ngannou’s performance, which ended in a razor-close split decision loss after he scored a knockdown over Fury in the third round. Two judges were split with 95-94 scorecards, one for Fury and one for Ngannou. But the third official, Juan Carlos Pelayo, had the fight 96-93 for Fury.
Despite Ngannou scoring a 10-8 round after he knocked down Fury, Pelayo, who’s worked over 260 fights in his career, only gave two other rounds to the Cameroon native, which resulted in the lopsided result.
“Francis Ngannou had never had a boxing match his entire life,” Rogan told X owner Elon Musk. “Had zero boxing matches, but he was the UFC heavyweight champion. Knocked down Tyson Fury in the third round. Beat him up in the eighth round.
“Most people, including me, thought he should have won the decision, including most boxers, most boxing pundits, and he lost by one point on one judge’s scorecard. He won on one judge’s scorecard, and the other judge, who should go to jail, had it 96-93 for Tyson Fury, which is f****** outrageous.”
Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou official judges’ scorecards… pic.twitter.com/AmZNiNycxw
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) October 29, 2023
Rogan believes the fight’s turning point likely came when Ngannou scored that knockdown — the only one during the 10-round bout — because he saw Fury’s reaction afterward.
“When he dropped Tyson Fury in the third round, you see Tyson’s on his back going, ‘What the f***?’ And then he realizes, [he’s in trouble],” Rogan said.
“Because I think he thought he was going to run him over, because he’s the boxing heavyweight champion. He’s like, ‘There’s no way this guy can box with me.’ He even said at the beginning of the fight, ‘It’s time to go to school,’ and then Francis said at the end of the fight, ‘You are a s***** professor.’”
Despite the controversial result, Ngannou has been celebrated for his performance, especially considering the stacked odds against him.
While Ngannou has called for a rematch, Fury appears to be moving on with a heavyweight title unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk, which is expected to take place in February. Regardless, Ngannou quickly has become the most talked-about name in boxing, with a long list of heavyweight contenders vying for the chance to face him next.
