Francis Ngannou didn’t give enough credit to MMA Factory for his career success, says former coach

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou didn’t give enough credit to MMA Factory for his career success, says former coach Fernand Lopez.

Lopez is the head trainer and founder of MMA Factory in Paris, France. The gym is home to new UFC interim heavyweight champion Ciryl Gane, not to mention several other UFC fighters including middleweight Nassourdine Imavov and lightweight Fares Ziam. Of course, Ngannou used to train there before he made the decision to come to the United States and train in Las Vegas. Although Ngannou first came to the UFC as a member of Lopez’s stable, according to his former coach, he has rarely given MMA Factory any credit in interviews, even though Lopez says that he is the one who got him in the UFC in the first place.

“Before going out with this, I went there to speak with Francis. Like Francis, is this normal? I was wondering is there any problem? We spent five years together in my gym. You never pay anything, everything is free for you. I took you under my wing, took care of you, everything. What’s so bad for you? What is so hard for you to say that, ‘Fernand Lopez brought me the UFC contract.’ Why would you say to a journalist, they ask you how you got to to the UFC and you’re like ‘I was just fighting, I was winning fights and I got the call from the UFC,'” Fernand Lopez said of Ngannou (via MMAFighting.com).

“Is there something wrong cause do you remember the story? Do you remember me fighting to get you in the UFC when you was 3-1? Then Joe Silva said no. When you was 4-1, when you were 5-1 and I eventually called a friend of mine and [work] with him in order to get you into the UFC. Do you remember that? I called to you and said ‘hey Francis, happy birthday’ and I said I have a present for you and (Ngannou) ask me ‘oh you bought me the computer coach’ and I said no, I have [something] even better than a computer. He said ‘what is that?’ I said I have your UFC contract.”

According to Lopez, he has nothing against Ngannou personally, but he is just confused why “The Predator” hasn’t given him the credit he believes he has earned for the work he put in with him before he became a UFC champion. Regardless, Lopez will get the chance to get one-up on Ngannou when he coaches Gane against him sometime next year.