"I can tell when he's scared" - Fernand Lopez dismisses Francis Ngannou's "bulls**t" claim

UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (left) and his former head coach Fernand Lopez (right) [Image credits: @lopez_fernand on Instagram]

Francis Ngannou recently said that Ciryl Gane will not have an advantage against him in their upcoming fight despite being trained by his former coach Fernand Lopez. The two heavyweights will square off inside the octagon at UFC 270 on January 22 in Anaheim.

Ngannou was with Lopez at the MMA Factory gym in Paris from 2013 to 2018. Following his title fight loss to Stipe Miocic at UFC 220, 'The Predator' left France for the United States due to differences with his fellow Cameroonian Lopez.

The heavyweight champion's unification clash with interim titleholder Gane is being portrayed as a big grudge match by several MMA fans and pundits.

Ahead of UFC 270, Giryl Gane's head coach spoke to MMA Fighting about the main event. Lopez refuted Ngannou's claim that he does not know anything about the reigning champion. Furthermore, he hinted that there are weaknesses his current charge could exploit:

"Francis Ngannou is trying to say that I don't know anything about him. That is bulls**t. He knows we spent so much time [together] and I can tell when he's scared. I know him very well. I've been helping him mentally when he was down. So, I know what brings him down. But when we get there on January 22, I will not be inside the cage. There's two people there... So talking is useless at this point."

Watch Fernand Lopez in conversation with MMA journalist Damon Martin below:

Francis Ngannou currently trains at the Xtreme Couture gym under coach Eric Nicksick in Las Vegas

Francis Ngannou's current head coach, Xtreme Couture's Eric Nicksick has focused on his wrestling and ground game to make 'The Predator' an even more formidable proposition. His striking coach is the experienced Dewey Cooper.

The 35-year-old superstar knocked out Stipe Miocic in their rematch at UFC 260 in March last year to claim the belt. Several people from the MMA world credited both Nicksick and Cooper for his success. The fighter himself praised his team and gave a shoutout to Nicksick's son in the post-fight interview.

Watch Eric Nicksick's son Knox react to Francis Ngannou mentioning his name:

After winning the biggest fight of his life, @francis_ngannou shouted out “Knoxy boy” during his post-fight interview.

This is the moment Knox, son of Ngannou’s coach Eric Nicksick, heard the message 🤗 (via @Eric_XCMMA) https://t.co/Xhv0FNp3vI

Ngannou holds a 16-3 record in his professional mixed martial arts career so far, while Ciryl Gane is unbeaten in 10 fights.