"I was feeding him. I give everything" - Francis Ngannou's ex-coach unloads on 'The Predator' for not giving enough credit to him and MMA Factory
![Fernand Lopez (left) and Francis Ngannou (right) [Left photo via @lopez_fernand on IG]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2021/11/fdb5a-16366960394253-1920.jpg?w=500)
Francis Ngannou's former coach Fernand Lopez slammed the UFC heavyweight champion for his lack of gratitude towards his gym, MMA Factory.
Lopez, who split with Ngannou in 2018, criticized his former pupil for being ungrateful. According to Lopez, there was only one instance when Ngannou thanked him and the MMA factory. On top of that, Lopez claimed Ngannou had to be reminded to give his coaches credit.
Appearing on the latest episode of the MMA Hour, Lopez shared details about his split with Ngannou. He said:
"Do you know how sad this is? Do you know that if you find fighter in UFC and you want to check video of him saying thank you to his gym, you will have 10 thousand videos of each fighter. Do you know that? The thing that fighters say most in their lives is, 'Thank you to my coach. Thank you to my gym.'? This is as a reflex. This is like, boom, right away this is what they're doing. There's a guy (Francis Ngannou) out there, he's proud of the fact that people found a video – a clip, a video – of him saying to me thank you because Jerome Le Banner, that I brought to his corner, said to him, 'Please say thank you, you always forget to say thank you to Lopez.' Go check the video."
Under the tutelage of Lopez in Paris, Ngannou was able to transition from poverty to becoming one of the biggest stars in the UFC. However, Lopez is hurt that Ngannou didn't repay his kindness with gratitude. Lopez continued:
"This guy wasn't even legal. (He) was in all kinds of legal trouble. I was feeding him. I give him everything. How come that you have pride to say that based on a video where you are saying thank you. Wow! This is what I'm talking about."
Watch Fernand Lopez talk about his split with Francis Ngannou:
Francis Ngannou snubs Cyril Gane and Fernand Lopez
Fernand Lopez is now working with interim UFC heavyweight champion Cyril Gane – the clear-cut challenger to Francis Ngannou's undisputed title.
Footage of Ngannou snubbing his former coach and teammate backstage at UFC 268 went viral on social media. The heavyweight champ was filmed walking past Gane and Lopez without acknowledging them.
Check out the awkward moment below:
According to Lopez, Gane was frustrated by Ngannou's perceived lack of respect. The former teammates are expected to clash in a title unification sometime in 2022.