Tag: Ciryl Gane

Francis Ngannou’s former coach Fernand Lopez has branded the UFC Heavyweight Champion a “fucking liar” for denying that he attempted to sabotage Ciryl Gane’s UFC signing.

The build-up to the upcoming UFC 270 main event, which will see a blockbuster unification bout between the promotion’s elite at heavyweight, has been littered with narratives.

To go along with the intriguing clash of styles, which will see the world’s biggest power-puncher look to shut the lights out on the leader of a new breed of technical heavyweights, is the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Ngannou’s future. A defeat on January 22 could well see him leave the promotion, a scenario that is mind-boggling considering the Cameroonian’s status as one of the top UFC titleholders.

But behind that lies a bitter story of a former pupil-coach relationship turned sour, which will now see two former teammates collide in the Octagon, one flying the MMA Factory flag.

Lopez Thinks Ngannou Has A “Victim Mentality”

Having brought Ngannou off the streets of Paris and into his MMA Factory gym, it’s perhaps surprising to see the state of Fernand Lopez’s relationship with “The Predator” in 2022.

After the heavyweight behemoth sought a permanent move to the United Status, the Xtreme Couture gym became his new stomping ground following his 2018 loss to Stipe Miocic. In the period since, both Ngannou and his former mentor have traded jabs in interviews, something that increased tremendously last year following an awkward backstage snub at UFC 268.

Following that, Lopez explained why the relationship deteriorated. Amongst other things, the French coach accused Ngannou of refusing to pay a gym membership, crediting him or the gym for his success, and of attempting to sabotage teammate Gane’s rise by advising matchmaker Mick Maynard not to sign him to the UFC.

Denying the accusation of sabotage, Ngannou recently described his ex-coach as “evil” for attempting to destroy his reputation. As the game of tennis continues, Lopez has now responded. During an interview with LowKick MMA, the 43-year-old slammed his former student, suggesting he is “full of shit” and has a “victim mentality.”

“If Francis denied that he didn’t try to prevent the UFC from Ciryl, he’s a fucking liar,” Lopez said. “Francis Ngannou told me, ‘Coach… I had a meeting with Mick. And he asked me, is it true that Ciryl is ready for the UFC? And I said to him, he’s a good young kid, he’ll be good one day. But I told him he’s not ready yet.’ If he says this isn’t true, then he’s a fucking liar.

“I’m not surprised that he said that, because I don’t think Francis Ngannou ever thought that Ciryl was the kind of guy to face him one day. He basically pretended that Ciryl was irrelevant, always talked him down. That’s who he is, I’m giving you guys the reality. I took him from the street, helped him stay in the gym without paying any fee, gave him money and sponsors, and a place to sleep. And I’m evil?” Lopez added. How I be evil when I’m the one who called Joe Silva when you were 4-1, and got you in the UFC? I told him he could become a champion. He’s full of shit. Francis Ngannou is full of shit and has a victim mentality.” (h/t LowKick MMA)

With so many stories at play as we race towards the opening pay-per-view of 2022, the headliner is certainly shaping up to be a thriller. It’s already been described as the “most compelling” heavyweight contest of all time by Chael Sonnen.

But when the cage door closes, rivalries beyond the Octagon and contractual disputes will be left on the outside, and bombs will be thrown on the inside. You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan not brimming with excitement ahead of this one.

Who do you think will leave the Octagon as the undisputed champion at UFC 270, Ciryl Gane or Francis Ngannou?

Continue Reading Coach: Ngannou Is A “F*cking Liar” For Denial Of Gane Sabotage at MMA News.

The beef between Francis Ngannou and former coach Fernand Lopez continues to grow.

The UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has a date set to defend his title against his old training partner Ciryl Gane. The matchup is arguably one of the most anticipated heavyweight title fights in a long time. Now, the growing animosity between Ngannou and Gane’s head coach Fernand Lopez is adding even more drama to this bout.

Recently, Lopez set forth some heavy claims that accused Ngannou of trying to keep Gane out of the UFC. Ngannou was also the target of some released footage that showed Ngannou and Gane training together.

The Cameroonian was unhappy with the clip that was released and called it misleading. According to Lopez, however, Ngannou could have been made to look much worse. And now, he is willing to release the entire length of training footage.

“That footage didn’t tell the whole story of what happened in training,” Lopez told Low Kick MMA. “There were so many opportunities where they got the better of each other in sparring, so we couldn’t have manipulated the footage. He didn’t want me to release the whole footage because, in that specific training, Francis Ngannou ate a knee shot to the liver and got dropped. Stopped the whole training. These are facts. Francis was on his backside. If he’s saying this isn’t true, I’ll release the whole footage. But, my content manager didn’t want to release it because we have privacy in the gym. When guys train in your gym, they expect things to stay in the gym.”

Ngannou and Gane trained together at MMA Factory in France before Ngannou left. Lopez, now the head coach of Gane, has expressed his problems with Nagnnou in a public capacity. In return, Ngannou publically ignored them while both were backstage at UFC 268 in New York.

Everything will soon enough be settled inside the Octagon. The real fight will be taking place on Jan. 22 at UFC 270. At that time, all sparring footage will become obsolete and the truly better man and fighter will be crowned as the UFC heavyweight champion.

Do you think Francis Ngannou has what it takes to defeat Ciryl Gane at UFC 270?

Continue Reading Lopez Threatens To Release Sparring Footage Of Gane Dropping Ngannou at MMA News.