Former MMA referee, Big John McCarthy had some harsh words for UFC champion Francis Ngannou's ex-coach, Fernand Lopez. This comes after Lopez talked about Ngannou's sparring session with Ciryl Gane.
Fernand Lopez claims that Ciryl Gane dropped Francis Ngannou with a knee to the liver during their sparring session. The claim came ahead of their big title fight at UFC 270.
There is an unwritten rule in MMA that what happens in the gym behind closed doors stays there. UFC fighters go to great lengths not to leak what happens. Some fighters even spar with black trash bags around the cage so people can't see what happens.
John McCarthy had a big problem with Fernand Lopez leaking the sparring between the two UFC champions. He believes the coach should have kept things between them.
“It’s not written, it’s code,” the former UFC referee said on his podcast. “You don’t talk about what happens in the training room, because it’s just training, and a lot of things happen. I’ve seen world champions destroyed by people that are nothing outside of the gym. I’ve seen guys that are top flight UFC fighters get absolutely worked on the mat by people. It’s not the fight, it doesn’t matter. It’s training. There’s gonna be moments when you’re the best person in the gym that day, and there’s gonna be moments where you’re probably the worst person in the gym that day.”
The two men will be able to settle things publicly when they meet at UFC 270 later this month. The fight is expected to be a very exciting one.
