Despite his falling out with Francis Ngannou, Fernand Lopez can’t help but be proud to see two Frenchmen at the top of the division.
Lopez, the head coach of MMA Factory Paris, was instrumental in the rise of both UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and rising contender Ciryl Gane (9-0 MMA, 6-0 UFC).
With Gane set to face Derrick Lewis for the interim heavyweight title in the main event of UFC 265, a matchup between the former teammates could be imminent. Although that could put him in a tough spot, Lopez assures all personal feelings would be put aside.
“A couple months ago, a couple years ago, no months ago, that could have been personal. But it’s over,” Lopez told MMA Junkie. “It’s over in the sense that I grew up a little bit, and who made me grow up is Ciryl. Ciryl said to me, ‘Coach, you are telling me to not make this personal,’ because any time that he’s had an interview, I would make sure if they spoke to him about Francis, I would make sure to tell Ciryl not to make a mistake. If you take this problem on your head, you will fall. You need to be free in your head. Don’t get in that beef. Just get business. You need to be free on your mindset. I’m the one who had the beef with Francis. You don’t have anything to do with that.
“And he said to me, ‘Coach, OK, I will listen to your advice. But what about you? Really, what about you? You have an amazing family. You have people that love you. I f*cking love you. I mean, we will die for you. Let it go. It’s OK. It’s over. I mean, like, the guy wasn’t cool with you, but it’s OK. You don’t need him. You don’t need to. If they ever ask you again about Francis, don’t even explain to people because people – they cannot understand. People, they are fans. They love him and we cannot change their mind. You had an experience with him. Just, if you want me to to be free, I need you to be free. So let it go.’ And I’m learning everything with that kid.”
Things started to go sour between Lopez and Ngannou after Ngannou was dominated by Stipe Miocic in his first shot at UFC gold in 2018. Many criticized Ngannou’s approach of throwing haymakers, which caused him to gas out – though that’s not the strategy Lopez employed for him. Ngannou sought out different training, which resulted in a permanent move to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. The pair parted ways from that point on.
When Ngannou built his way back up to the top for another shot at Miocic, Lopez didn’t know how to feel. But seeing Ngannou finally reach his ultimate goal of becoming champion, it made him come to the realization he unfortunately didn’t get to be a part of that historic moment despite all they’ve been through together.
“I mean, it will not be personal,” Lopez said. “Will I be emotional? Yes, sure. I mean, to be honest with you, when Francis became (champion), I was very emotional. I knew I would be emotional. I didn’t know how much. I had three friends of mine asking me, ‘Can I come to your place so we can watch the fight together?’ And I said no to everyone because I felt like I don’t know how I will feel. I might just cry. I might just be angry. I didn’t know how I would feel. I felt very happy for Francis, first of all – very happy because I know the journey that he had to get there. I felt very happy for Cameroon – my country, his country. I felt really happy for Africa, and I felt very sad of the drama between me and him. I was seeing this thing, and I was like, damn.
“Actually, life is nothing. I mean, this guy – we spend so much time together to try to actually make this happen and this strategy that they’re talking about. When I’m seeing people saying how good it is because he threw a high kick – do you know how many high kicks I’ve been hit with in the gym? Do you know how many middle kicks that Francis kicked me with? It was killing me. Elbow, spinning elbows, spinning kicks – everything we did. But the mindset was not cool like it is now. Props to his team, Xtreme Couture. Props to (Eric) Nicksick, the coach who make it to bring him calm. Props to the ‘Nigerian Nightmare,’ Kamaru Usman, who was telling Francis to calm down – just calm down. This is what I was missing in 2018. I didn’t make him to bring him the calmness that was needed, and props to them. It’s over.”
If Gane beats Lewis and goes on to challenge Ngannou, Lopez admits moment will be surreal for him, considering he was the man who started it all for them.
“If they ever meet, I will be emotional because I saw them born as a fighter, as mixed martial artists,” Lopez said. “The very first day that Francis Ngannou had MMA training, that was with me. The very first day that Ciryl Gane had MMA training, that was with me. I had them from zero to the title. So I’m proud. I’m very proud of them. I mean, if everything stopped now and Ciryl doesn’t fight tomorrow, I will still be his best friend, and I will be his big brother, and I will still love him, and I will be proud of the journey that we had.
“So there’s no beef anymore. For me, it’s just pure business. They’re fighting to get the gold, and I’m a proud coach from a very small gym in Paris, France. We managed to have two champs there. So for me, I’m already happy for that. So I would be emotional because when you love someone and they go inside there and have a fight, your heart is beating. You know, it’s very hard for you. But I will not be in a personal business at all.”
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‘Proud’ Fernand Lopez says Francis Ngannou-Ciryl Gane fight would be emotional, not personal
