Tag: Fernand Lopez

Francis Ngannou’s former coach Fernand Lopez has suggested he’d rather train Ciryl Gane for free than reunite with “The Predator” for $100,000.

Ngannou began his career in MMA under the tutelage of Lopez at the renowned MMA Factory gym in Paris, France. After a spell in jail and a period living on the streets following his release, the Cameroonian was taken in by Lopez , who allowed the powerhouse to train and sleep in his gym for no cost.

After going 5-1 across the Pacific, Ngannou was signed by the UFC in 2015, and secured his first title shot on MMA’s biggest stage following six straight finishes. After falling short of gold against Stipe Miocic, and suffering a second consecutive loss at the hands of Derrick Lewis seven months later, Ngannou had an unceremonious split from MMA Factory.

Now under the guidance of Eric Nicksick at Xtreme Couture, Ngannou has scaled the heavyweight mountaintop. But while “The Predator” has fought his way to the title, a new product out of MMA Factory has been stalking him from below.

In just three years in the sport, Gane has developed a unique heavyweight style, made it to the UFC, defeated the likes of Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Alexander Volkov, and capitalized on Ngannou’s inability to defend the belt in August this year to become the interim champ.

With his victory over Lewis at UFC 265, “Bon Gamin” set up a blockbuster unification bout with his former teammate, which is set to headline UFC 270 next January.

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Lopez Has No Desire To Train Ngannou Again

Given the history between the heavyweight king and MMA Factory, the clash between Ngannou and Gane was always going to bring up some of the disagreements and tension between the two camps in the build-up. However, not many would have expected that to hit the metaphorical front pages so soon.

It started at Madison Square Garden at UFC 268. Gane and Lopez, who were in attendance to corner middleweight prospect Nassourdine Imavov, can be seen standing backstage in a clip that went viral towards the end of the November 5 pay-per-view. In the video, Ngannou walks past his former coach and teammates without even acknowledging them. A confused Gane questioned the snub at the time and in a later interview with MMA Junkie.

After the interim champ responded, Lopez also gave his take during an appearance on The MMA Hour. After making multiple revelations about Ngannou’s time at his gym, including the heavyweight’s refusal to pay a membership fee once he started earning money and his attempt to prevent the UFC from signing Gane, the 43-year-old responded to those who think he is simply jealous of Ngannou’s success at his new gym.

After insisting that the real issue is the misconception about his attitude towards the animosity, Lopez suggested he’d rather train Gane for free than coach Ngannou again for $100,000.

“Okay, let me put it simple. If I have to sit tomorrow with Francis, talk with him (and) work with him, about something else, not training, I can’t train with him, but I can do a bunch of things with him; it’s not a problem for me. Yeah, I will appreciate this to be the past because I don’t keep that in my mind.

“What is frustrating is the misunderstanding of what’s going on. It’s not the problem that we have or the issue that we have, the frustrating point is people do not know what’s going on and they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s jealous.’ Why should I be jealous? I would prefer, if they give me right now $100,000 to go train him (Ngannou) for 10 minutes or train Ciryl for free, I will train him (Gane) for free.”

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Lopez went on to claim that similar to how Ngannou is happier at Xtreme Couture, he’s content with the crop of talented and loving fighters he has at MMA Factory. With that in mind, the renowned coach reiterated that he expects nothing from Ngannou anymore.

“I’m happy for him (Ngannou). This is the thing, having a gym is not about good coach or bad coach, it’s about where you feel good. Francis do feel good with Xtreme Couture; perfect, for him. I’m very glad for him… In my way, I find my way. Which is, I have tons of guys, very nice, bringing me so much love… When you ask me that will bring me back to the situation that people do not understand… no. I do not expect anything from him. He’s a nice guy in some parts, in other parts he’s not that nice.”

While the upcoming clash between Gane and Ngannou was already an exciting one, the backstage snub, coupled with the interim champ and Lopez’s responses, has made for an even more intriguing storyline heading into UFC 270.

Who do you think will leave Anaheim with the unified heavyweight title in January, Ciryl Gane or Francis Ngannou?

Continue Reading Lopez Would Rather Train Gane For Free Than Ngannou for $100,000 at MMA News.

Francis Ngannou’s former coach Fernand Lopez has accused the UFC Heavyweight Champion of downplaying Ciryl Gane’s abilities to the UFC while the pair were teammates.

After transitioning from poverty to superstardom under the tutelage of Lopez at France’s famed MMA Factory gym, Ngannou moved to the United States and rose to the top of the heavyweight mountain with Xtreme Couture’s Eric Nicksick behind the wheel. Since losing back-to-back fights to Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis in 2018, “The Predator” has been on a brutal tear in the division, leaving the bodies of Cain Velasquez, Curtis Blaydes, Junior dos Santos, Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and Miocic in his wake.

While Ngannou surged to the top of the food chain, Lopez and MMA Factory have developed a new star from across the Pacific. In less than four years, Gane has made the transition to MMA from Muay Thai, signed for the UFC, and won interim gold. By defeating Lewis at UFC 265, “Bon Gamin” set up a unification fight with Ngannou, which is set to go down at UFC 270 in January 2022.

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Lopez Questions Ngannou’s Intentions

While the anticipation for the clash has been high ever since it was on the table, and the history surrounding Ngannou’s departure from France’s biggest gym is well-known, the rivalry and storyline has been enhanced over the last week. It began with an awkward backstage encounter at UFC 268.

While Ngannou was in attendance to support his fellow African champion Kamaru Usman, Lopez and Gane cornered Nassourdine Imavov for his fight against Edmen Shahbazyan. A video was released towards the end of the event that showed the heavyweight champ walking past the MMA Factory team without acknowledging them.

After Gane expressed his disappointment at his peer’s attitude, Fernand Lopez has also addressed the incident and his history with Ngannou. During an appearance on Ariel Helwani’s The MMA Hour, the 42-year-old discussed the backstage snub, as well as claiming he kicked the Cameroonian out of his gym for refusing to pay the membership fee.

In another revelation, Lopez told Helwani that before Gane was signed by the UFC, matchmaker Mick Maynard asked Ngannou about the Frenchman, who was his teammate at the time. According to the coach, Ngannou told Maynard “Bon Gamin” wasn’t good enough for the UFC.

“At the time (the start of Ngannou’s career), what I was doing was that every time they (MMA Factory fighters in the UFC) had an interview, I will ask them to drop the name of Francis Ngannou; name-drop him. So every time that they will get caught in an interview, they will say, ‘Oh, we have so much good talent, you will know, soon enough you will know Francis Ngannou.’ That’s how I was trying to build his name… That’s how I used to push guys.

“As a matter of fact, I did do the same for Ciryl Gane… I tried to sign him with Mick Maynard. And you know what, Francis went back to Vegas and he said to me, ‘Hey, I had Mick and he asked me if young guy in my gym name Ciryl Gane is good.’ And I said, ‘Oh yeah, he did? He said, ‘Yes, but you know what, because that people in the matchmaking, because they expect me to be very, very dithyrambic on the name of the guy, I didn’t say that, I said he’s a little bit good, but he’s not good yet to go to the UFC.’ That’s coming from Francis Ngannou’s mouth. For him, that’s a strategy to do not have Mick Maynard get suspicious of me and him being on the same page, which is not true.”

Quoting actor Denzel Washington, Lopez questioned Ngannou’s decision not to make the most of an opportunity to bring one of his teammates into the UFC with him. Among other things, Lopez said the champ’s decision not to promote Gane was one of the factors behind his deteriorating relationship with Ngannou.

“The only thing we can say about that is that you had the opportunity to drag a new guy, coming from your gym, in(to) the UFC, and you felt the liberty to say to the matchmaking that the guy could become a good guy, but for now, he’s not good enough. That’s why I’m finding. It’s not about him in or out of my gym, I’m so proud of him to go to Erick Nicksick… But what I’m finding here is that at some point in the life, Denzel Washington was saying… ‘When I got to the heaven, God would ask me, which motherfucker did you pull from your community?’ Who did you drag with you? Who did Francis drag with him? No one.”

What do you make of Fernand Lopez’s claims that Ngannou rejected the opportunity to encourage the UFC to sign his teammate?

Continue Reading Coach Claims Francis Ngannou Advised The UFC Not To Sign Ciryl Gane at MMA News.