Fernand Lopez

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. When Ngannou was 26, he moved from Cameroon to France in order pursue his dream of becoming a professional boxer. Didier Carmont met Ngannou and then introduced him to Lopez and the MMA factory. Lopez saw the potential of Ngannou and convinced him to try MMA even though Ngannou originally wanted to do boxing. Lopez gave Ngannou some MMA gear and allowed him to train and sleep at the gym at no cost. Lopez and Ngannou worked very well together, with Ngannou having a successful winning streak in the UFC and eventually getting his first title shot. However Lopez was criticized after Ngannou lost to Stipe Miocic in a title bout at UFC 220. Since then the relationship between Lopez and Ngannou has deteriorated, 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.

Lopez has trained Ciryl Gane who won the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship after defeating Derrick Lewis on August 7, 2021 at UFC 265.

In 2013 Lopez and his business partner, a police officer, opened a gym called 'Cross Fight' which was later renamed 'MMA Factory'.

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.

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.

Fernand Lopez Owonyebe (born November 12, 1978) is a Cameroonian-French former mixed martial artist (MMA) and current MMA coach. He is best known for establishing MMA Factory, the biggest MMA gym in France, as well as being the former trainer of UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou and current trainer of former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion Ciryl Gane.

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.