Video of C. Gane being ignored by F. Ngannou went viral on the networks (Photo: Twitter/UFC)
A video captured behind the scenes of the UFC 268 detected a “climate” between Francis Ngannou e Cyryl Gane and went viral on social media. The footage shows Ngannou walking past Gane without greeting him, leaving the interim champion visibly embarrassed and confused.
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In a recent interview with the former champion Daniel Cormier, Francis Ngannou explained the situation. According to the Cameroonian, the reason for not greeting his rival was the presence of his former coach, Fernand Lopez, with whom he had problems in the past that still have repercussions today.
“It bothered me a little because of Gane, and he was right. I would be confused too. As his coach said, he is naive. If I passed Gane and he was alone, I would talk to him. I want to be nice, but when I saw him in that position, I had some thoughts. Should I say hi? I don't know. I could come closer, say hi, and somehow someone would understand that I said something that wasn't true. Getting close to him (Fernand Lopez) would be giving him an opportunity. In addition to the fact that I'm sure he doesn't insist on my greeting, I would be giving him the opportunity to put words in my mouth again. I preferred to stay away. It's not like we're friends. He attacks me all the time. I can’t ignore that”, explained Ngannou.
The linear heavyweight champion denied that he had any personal problems with Cyryl Gane, his former training partner and rival in the fight to unify the UFC heavyweight belts or with Nassourdine Imavov, middleweight athlete (up to 83,9 kg), also trained by Fernand Lopez at Factory MMA, who was in action at the UFC 268 and was also together with Gane at the time of the video.
“I have no problem with Imavov, nor with Ciryl, but I know the guy next to them and it would be weird. If I greeted them without greeting Fernand, it would also cause problems. It was a very confusing situation. What could I do?” asked Ngannou.
Lastly, Francis Ngannou stated that the entire situation captured in the video was planned by the UFC.
“It was exactly what the UFC was hoping for. When you watch the video, they were waiting for me on the corner. They created the scene. What happened was a lady was taking me and my manager to our seats and someone called her on the radio. Suddenly she said she took a wrong turn, turned around and they were there. How can this be a coincidence? When you watch the video, when I appeared the guy already had the camera ready. He was filming me from the moment I showed up. As if it were a movie. He was waiting and knew I was coming,” said the champion.
Francis Ngannou e Cyryl Gane face each other in the main fight of the UFC 270, on January 22nd, in California (United States), for the unification of the heavyweight belts.
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