What Is the Beef Between Ex-Teammates Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane?

The world has changed a lot since Ciryl Gane fought Francis Ngannou for the heavyweight crown back in January 2022. While the French fighter failed to clinch UFC gold, he again found himself in the title picture when he fought Jon Jones earlier this year for the title. In between his two title fights, his rival and former heavyweight champion, Ngannou, left the promotion. However, the rivalry between the two never subsided and still continues to make rounds. What happened between the two former teammates, or were they just two fighters who sparred sparingly?

Ciryl Gane and Francis Ngannou’s different views on the teammate status

The tensions between them reached a zenith when both appeared at the UFC 270 presser and locked horns over whether they were teammates. One journalist asked ‘The Predator’ how he would do against his former teammate. In response, he clarified that ‘Good Kid’ was not his former teammate.

Flabbergasted by the response, Gane asked him, “Just sorry. Sorry, my man. I was not your former teammate?” Ngannou hit back with a scathing question: “How long we train together, Ciryl?” Gane replied, “Okay, all right. We don’t talk about the longer but we spar together. Because we’re from exactly the same team.”

Despite the answer, Ngannou kept on questioning the duration of their training together. He further pointed out he was already based in the United States. Following this, the former kickboxer declared, “No, we were not a friend. That’s true. But I was a former teammate… You did maybe two camps, about three maybe.”

Shared training background of Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane

MMA Factory in Paris is the gym that helped the former UFC champion break into the UFC in 2015. The same gym stumbled upon another gem when Gane came under its fold in early 2017. While Ngannou was about to receive his first title shot against Stipe Miocic, Gane was still transitioning to MMA from Muay Thai.

Both were under the tutelage of coach Fernand Lopez, but Ngannou started to fall out of favor. He failed to pay the training and gym fees. The rift only grew with time. On the other hand, Lopez saw a future UFC star in Gane when he joined in.

Duration of shared training between the two

“For me, it was a really great experience to spar with one of the best in the world at this time when I just started MMA,” Gane recalled of the time when he trained with Ngannou. Despite this, in the presser, Ngannou denied recognizing him as a teammate and also disputed his claim of fighting camps.

“Two camps? [I] remember very well. January 2019, when you have to fight in Canada and I was coming from Cameroon, going to Phoenix to fight Ken Velazquez. We trained about three months. We have about six sessions of training, and I wasn’t in the gym anymore. I was here in Vegas. I was just coming there. Am I right or am I wrong?” Ngannou asked.

Defining “Teammate”

Gane appeared unpleased by the reply that the former UFC champion gave. Gane put forth his definition of a teammate. For him, training at the same gym would amount to teammate status. But Ngannou again differed from him, thus challenging the conventional definition of a teammate.

Read More: “He’s Gonna Hit the Canvas”- After Training With Mike Tyson, Francis Ngannou Slams Tyson Fury With a Cold Response to His “Bruce Lee or Muhammad Ali” Jibe

He jokingly announced, “Okay, so we have to redefine the meaning of teammate.” Further, he untangled the timeline of his shift of base from MMA Factory France to Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas in 2019.

Francis Ngannou’s training background

Ngannou set the timeline straight as he expressed, “Yes, that was back in 2019 when we trained together and you can ask him. I move in Vegas back in 2017. April 2017, I’m officially moved to Vegas. So I just went back in France, stopping by for a month, then we trained together. But I still come back. I came back to Vegas.”

Notably, after leaving the MMA Factory, he was devoid of any coaching, and he then joined Xtreme Couture, which reshaped his career. Not only did he defeat Stipe Miocic, but he also won the coveted heavyweight title. Meanwhile, Gane is still with the MMA Factory and is preparing intensively for his upcoming fight.

Who is Ciryl Gane fighting next?

Gane is scheduled to face Sergey Spivak on September 2 at UFC Fight Night 226. The exciting matchup will decide who will face another surging contender, Tom Aspinall, in a title eliminator. If he wins his next two fights, he will surely receive another crack at the heavyweight title.

What do you make of this rivalry between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane? Let us know in the comments below.

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