Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane's coaches engage in war of words ahead of title unifier at UFC 270
Francis Ngannou is scheduled to face Ciryl Gane in a highly anticipated title unifier at the Honda Center in Anaheim on January 22. Both camps have traded several jabs at each other ahead of the UFC 270 main event.
Both coaches have also gone back and forth over leaked footage of Ngannou and Gane sparring at Paris' MMA Factory gym. Ngannou's current coach Eric Nicksick slammed Gane's coach Fernand Lopez for releasing the footage, which he believes is a violation of gym ethics. Nicksick told The AllStar's John Hyon Ko:
"For me, I have nothing against Fernand and those guys. I think he is a phenomenal coach and he's putting together such a great roster of fighters over there. But when you leak sparring footage, it's kind of a code. Like, I have all these video on here of guys getting knocked out left and right. How many times have you seen me post anything with our sparring sessions? There's just kind of a code to that. So when you own the narrative, when you own the video, you can post whatever you want. There are guys in here that have been knocked out cold but I can make them look good and eliminate the knockout."
Catch Eric Nicksick's interview with The AllStar below:
Ngannou recently released videos of him sparring with UFC heavyweight Blagoy Ivanov and Muay Thai heavyweight fighter Santino Zurita, who recently transitioned to MMA.
Fernand Lopez wasted no time in taking a jab at Eric Nicksick over the sparring footage. In a tweet, the MMA Factory head coach wrote:
"What happened to the << MMA GYM CODE >> @Eric_XCMMA I [guess] #BlagoyIvanov & the young amateur #SantinoZurita do not mind getting a*s whooped with million of viewers."
What happened to the « MMA GYM CODE » 🧐 @Eric_XCMMA
I guest #BlagoyIvanov & the young amateur #SantinoZurita do not mind getting ass whooped with millions of viewers 🤣 https://t.co/RKsJjPhnhK
Francis Ngannou's coach refuses to take the blame
According to Eric Nicksick, he is not to be blamed for footage released on Francis Ngannou's YouTube channel. Replying to Fernand Lopez, Nicksick wrote in a tweet of his own:
"Wait, you’re referring from content from Francis YouTube channel and making the comparison of a coach releasing the footage? Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to Francis’ YouTube channel."
@fernandlopez Wait, you’re referring from content from Francis YouTube channel and making the comparison of a coach releasing the footage? Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to Francis’ YouTube channel. 😂💯
Watch Ngannou's spar with Blagoy Ivanov and Santino Zurita below:
Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane were once training partners at the MMA Factory in Paris. Ngannou shifted to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas after a major falling out with head coach Fernand Lopez.
The two gyms will go to battle at UFC 270 when Ngannou and Gane collide in a blockbuster unification clash to open the UFC's pay-per-view account for 2022.