Francis Ngannou To Finish Camp At MMA Factory Paris Ahead Of UFC 220 Title Shot

Francis Ngannou has almost become a permanent feature of UFC Performance Institute since it opened earlier this year, but the No. 1 contender for the UFC heavyweight title won’t be finishing his camp there ahead of UFC 220.

MMANytt.com spoke earlier today to Ngannou’s head coach, Fernand Lopez and The MMA Factory Paris head coach explained exactly why Ngannou would be leaving Las Vegas later this week to head back to France.

“Much of Francis’ training has been done already and he’s been training for a very long time,” Lopez said. “Remember, he was meant to fight Dos Santos before Overeem and the fight got cancelled. Then he had the fight with Overeem and it was an easy fight for him, so he kept training, keeping his power, his stamina, his strength in Las Vegas. He’s been training with Bo Sandoval who’s been keeping him in good condition and with the pad man Dewey Cooper, who’s been doing striking.

“I’ve been talking a lot with Bo and making sure we’re all on the same page. After the Overeem fight, it was all about just maintaining the physical ability that he had and not pushing himself too much. We want to avoid injury. You see some gyms around the world who train like they are in the stone age. Now is not that time to train like that. We’re three or four weeks before the fight so it’s time to train smart. More work will not make us win the fight.

Lopez then went on to explain what Ngannou’s camp is focusing on now. Unsurprisingly, much of his training is focused on preparing to go the championship rounds if need be.

“Francis has natural knockout power, he was born with it,” Lopez said. “Francis is working hard on the stamina and conditioning so that he can go five-five minute rounds. We’re are just focused on how we can beat one of the best fighters in the world. Miocic is not coming there to strike with Francis and then try and take him down occasionally. No. He will come to play MMA. He’s incredibly well-rounded and he’s an incredible mixed martial artist. He’s a NCAA wrestler, a golden glove boxer. He can level change between his boxing and wresting incredibly well, from one to the other effortlessly. It’s this level change that we have known about and been training for a long time.

“The hard work is done. It’s about the software now. There’s hardware and software. That’s how I see this. This time it will be about how we can get Francis’ timing spot on and how we can work the range. We need to get the right range to win the fight. We know that if we connect one time, just one good time it will be done. We will be ready for five rounds though.”

With just over three weeks until fight, Ngannou will make his way from Las Vegas to Paris later this week. Lopez also pointed out the example of another UFC champion who spends the majority of their camp in Europe.

“The MMA Factory Paris will be the best place for Francis to work on this before the fight,” Lopez said. “If we solve those two problems, the range and the level change, we win the fight. He needed to come back home. He represents MMA Factory Paris and all his wins have come while representing MMA Factory Paris. Before the UFC PI, Francis trained his whole camp here.

“Look at Conor McGregor, he spends most of his training in Ireland. In life you have to make the best of the resources you have. In Las Vegas there are many good things, but in Paris there are also many things.”

Learn more about the MMA Factory Paris in our exclusive interview with Lopez HERE