Joe Rogan endorses Cédric Doumbé’s superstar potential in PFL: “Big loss for the UFC!”

Joe Rogan feels the UFC made a significant error in not sealing the deal on securing Cédric Doumbé’s MMA career.

Doumbé bounced back from his first professional MMA loss by knocking out Jaleel Willis at Bellator Paris in May. He got back in the win column following a controversial loss to Baissangour Chamsoudinov in March.

Doumbé, before making his PFL debut last year, was signed to the UFC and targeted for his promotional debut in Sept. 2022. But, the scheduled bout with Darian Weeks fell through due to the French MMA Federation refusing to sanction the bout, and he was later released from his contract.

Rogan, one of the longest-tenured voices of the UFC, feels the promotion messed up in not retaining Doumbé.

Joe Rogan scolds UFC for not signing Cédric Doumbé

In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, Rogan lauded Doumbé’s MMA potential.

“He’s gonna fuck up a lot of people, man. I was bummed out that he went to the PFL, I wanted that guy in the UFC,” Rogan said of Doumbé. “He’s got a lot of years [left], too. They gave him a bad contract? That’s unfortunate…that guy could be a superstar. He’s so fun…in France, he’s a superstar, and that could translate 100 percent to the United States and to the rest of the world, he’s that good…

“He’s one of the best in the world, and the fact that he’s [in the PFL]. Great for the PFL, but for the UFC, that’s a big loss. Anytime you can get an elite kickboxer…and the guy has serious discipline and work ethic.”

Doumbé agreed to a fight with former UFC champion Anthony Pettis in the PFL SmartCage immediately after his last fight. As of this writing, an announcement for the targeted Doumbé vs. Pettis fight is still pending.

Doumbé will be a key part of the PFL’s future. While Rogan is keeping a close eye on his career, he feels bittersweet about Doumbé’s PFL stardom.