ANAHEIM, Calif. – It might not be a stretch to say that MMA Factory head coach Fernand Lopez once figured the first time he’d corner someone to fight for the UFC heavyweight championship, it would be Francis Ngannou.
And yet, Lopez will be coaching against Ngannou (16-3 MMA, 11-2 UFC) on Saturday when Lopez’s prized pupil, Ciryl Gane, takes on Ngannou to unify the title in the UFC 270 headliner at Honda Center.
The road to this title fight has, at times, felt distasteful, considering the effect of Ngannou and Lopez’s falling out and all that’s been said and done these past few months in the buildup. Despite the drama, Lopez can’t help but still feel something for Ngannou, which he knows will lead to an emotional night Saturday.
“Absolutely, 100 percent (it will be emotional),” Lopez told reporters, including MMA Junkie, during Wednesday’s UFC 270 media dai. “I don’t know … I cannot exactly tell which kind of emotion I’ll be having on Saturday, but certainly I will have (emotions). If you take random fights, whenever you coach someone, you’re kind of emotional because you coached him, you’re attached to him. This one is even worse.
“I know the guy on the other side of the cage. We shared things together. And I have some thoughts that I think he was wrong on many things. If on Saturday I make him lose that fight, that might be a victory on the mindset that I had. If he makes Ciryl lose that fight, well that might be his victory, saying ‘I was right. You can’t be as successful livin in Paris. You can’t be a champion in Europe.’ My vision is that that’s wrong.”
Lopez had much more to say about his relationship with Ngannou and what he regrets most about the entire situation leading up to UFC 270.
Check out Lopez’s complete UFC 270 media day session in the video above.
Loading…
Francis Ngannou vs. Ciryl Gane ‘absolutely, 100 percent’ will be emotional for Fernand Lopez
