Fernand Lopez

Fernand Lopez Owonyebe (born 12 November 1978) is a French former mixed martial artist (MMA) and current MMA coach. He is best known for having co-founded MMA Factory, the biggest MMA gym in France, as well as being the former trainer of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou and current trainer of former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane. Since 2019, he has been director of the ARES Fighting Championship.

Background
Lopez was born in 1978 in a small village in Lekié and grew up in Yaoundé. His father was a college professor and his mother was a high school teacher.

In his youth his father signed him up for lessons in combat sports such as Taekwondo, Boxing, Judo and Wrestling to defend himself from bullies.

In 1997, Lopez immigrated to France where he worked as an Electrical Engineer. On the side he would attend sports science classes at INSEP while playing rugby in the Pro D2 league. However a neck injury sidelined him in rugby and he had to have surgery to treat it, rendering him unable to move his neck for three years. During this period, Lopez discover to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) leading him to gain an interest in mixed martial arts.

After retiring as a professional fighter, Lopez became an MMA coach at Free Fight Academy for a few years before deciding to establish his own gym. In 2013 Lopez and his business partner, a police officer, opened a gym called 'Cross Fight' which was later renamed 'MMA Factory'.

Mixed martial arts career
Lopez joined Mathieu Nicourt's Free Fight Academy where he initially trained in BJJ. Once his neck recovered, he resumed training in other combat sports like Wrestling and Boxing.

On 11 March 2006, Lopez made his professional MMA debut after a year of training. The bout took place at Xtreme Gladiators 2 where he submitted Cedric Deschamps via choke in the first round.

Lopez's professional MMA career lasted for four years from 2006 to 2010. He fought in various promotions such as M1 Global and Shooto, where his final record was ten wins and seven losses.

Coaching career
He is Sports Director, and manages the MMA Factory with Benjamin Sarfati as President. Together they create an ecosystem that allows them to push their fighters to the most prestigious organizations including the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Initially this academy had two students, but grew very fast to become the biggest gym in France with over 600 students. MMA Factory was one of only three gyms to receive sponsorship from Reebok, with the other two being AKA and SBG.

His most notable student was Francis Ngannou, who became the UFC Heavyweight Champion in 2021 after defeating Stipe Miocic in a rematch at UFC 260 where Fernand  trained Ngannou with no cost and allowed him sleep at the gym at no cost when Ngannou started training in Lopez's gym. The relationship between Lopez and Ngannou has deteriorated after that, with Lopez stating that Ngannou has ego problems and had refused to pay gym membership fees after he had achieved success. Ngannou moved to the United States to train at Xtreme Couture.

Notable fighters trained

 * Francis Ngannou - former UFC Heavyweight Champion
 * Ciryl Gane - former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion
 * Ion Cuțelaba
 * Taylor Lapilus
 * Christian M'Pumbu
 * Nassourdine Imavov
 * Jérôme Le Banner
 * Cédric Doumbé

Personal life
Fernand Lopez has been married to Charlotte Dipanda since April 15, 2023.

The book Training Camp: “MMA, in the secrets of the battle of the titans Gane VS Nganou”, published in March 2023, is co-written by Lopez and Geoffrey Le Guilcher. This work relates the journey and the clash of Lopez's two champions: Gane and Ngannou for the title of world heavyweight champion at UFC 270 in 2022. Lopez also addresses the technical details of the training camps.

Fernand Lopez obtained a degree in electrical engineering but very quickly became interested in sport. He graduated from the National Institute of Sport in sports performance and physical preparation and State Diplomas in four combat disciplines where he is one of the external speakers as part of training at INSEP.

Fernand Lopez the “Management Factory”, an athlete career management agency, Fight Management College, a training school specializing in the supervision of combat sports.

Controversies
Cédric Doumbé leveled accusations of domestic violence against Fernand Lopez following his victory at PFL Europe 3. He claimed to have witnessed an incident while on the phone with Lopez's ex-partner. Several statements and revelations were made by the key individuals on social media during this period. Fernand Lopez acknowledged engaging in violent behavior towards his ex-girlfriend, offering apologies.