UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has scoffed at his former coach's attempt to put their rivalry to rest before UFC 270.
Ngannou makes the first defence of his heavyweight title this weekend against interim titleholder Ciryl Gane in the promotion's first pay-per-view of the year.
The two heavyweights briefly trained together at the MMA Factory in Paris under Lopez, but Ngannou fell out with the coach and left the gym in 2018.
Lopez and Ngannou have since traded comments as their friendship continued to sour, but the coach recently attempted to end their rivalry and make peace with his former fighter.
Whilst talking with Submission Radio, Lopez compared Ngannou and Gane to his "two sons" and said he didn't want to continue bickering about Ngannou.
But Ngannou was baffled by Lopez's comments and accused his former coach of playing a game.
"What the f*** is that? Father to who? Screw him. I don't play that game. I know exactly what he's planning, he's not a son of s***. He's nothing," Ngannou told Mirror Fighting.
"After all what he's been doing out there he can answer 'oh it's my son', stop being a hypocrite. You don't like somebody, speak clear about your mind?"
Ngannou claimed that after suffering his second consecutive defeat in 2018, a psychiatrist told him Lopez would be a problem to watch for.
'The Predator' relocated to Las Vegas shortly after that and has gone undefeated in five fights, winning all of them by knockout.
The Cameroonian laughed at sparring footage of him and Gane that was released by Lopez, stating it was " manipulated " to favour the interim titleholder.
Lopez admitted to being "sick" of his feud with Ngannou and the pair should be able to speak on civil terms.
Who wins at UFC 270, Ngannou or Gane? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below
“I’m really open to shaking his hand any time or talk with him any time, but I can’t work with him anymore,” he said.
“It’s like you were working in a very complicated job, and you discovered how to work in a comfort zone, in the best comfort zone that you can have.
"So, yeah, I will not go back to work with Francis ever. But, I think as a gentleman, we should be able to say hello, how are you doing? That’s it, and be polite."
Watch Francis Ngannou look to defend his UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane on Saturday January 22. Early Prelims start on UFC FIGHT PASS at 11pm and the main card begins at 3.00am on BT Sport 2.
