There has been plenty of outside-the-cage drama ahead of the UFC 270 main event, and coach Fernand Lopez has felt the sting of it.
Lopez will be in the corner of Ciryl Gane for the interim heavyweight champion’s clash with undisputed champion Francis Ngannou on Saturday, giving him the best seat in the house to watch two fighters that he brought to the UFC. The main storyline going into this bout revolves around how Lopez and Ngannou’s past relationship has deteriorated, to the point where they are now sniping at one another publicly. This is something Lopez doesn’t like.
“What I regret the most is the falling out with Francis,” Lopez said during a media scrum in Anaheim, Calif. “Because when you spend that amount of time with someone, sharing the rooms, sharing the flights, sharing the training, you certainly get attached to him. And when you get a fallout, it’s disappointing. That’s it.
“What happened next is fine for me, I’m good for that. My family is in the sport, but I also have my new family .”
. I am fine with this.
While Ngannou has gone on to train primarily with coach Eric Nicksick at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas, Lopez has continued to find success with Gane. In August, UFC 265, Gane beat Derrick Lewis in the third round by TKO. This gave him an interim title. It also improved his professional record to 10-0.
Lopez doubts that he and Ngannou will ever work together again, but from a personal standpoint, he doesn’t see why there can’t be reconciliation.
” Although I don’t believe we can collaborate anymore, Lopez stated that he believes we can still be kind and gentle with each other and share drinks or talks. “I’m fine with that. Eric Nicksick is one of my favorite coaches. I met him this morning. I really like what he’s doing.
“I think that he did an amazing job bringing Francis to that belt and bringing him to be calm, to be collected. We had very good words together. He’s a genuinely nice person and we were saying to each other how we should be happy for this even happening and there aren’t any bad words there.”
Watch Lopez’s full media day scrum above, in which he also addresses Ngannou’s claim that he knocked Gane out when they sparred together.
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