MMA Factory is a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

gym based in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. It is considered the largest MMA gym in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and is notable for producing

UFC Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Francis Ngannou Francis Zavier Ngannou (born 5 September 1986) is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Heavyweight Champion. A ...

and former UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion,

Ciryl Gane Ciryl Jacky Gane (born 12 April 1990) is a French professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion. A professi ...

Overview

In 2013, Fernand Lopez and his business partner, a police officer, opened CrossFight in the

12th arrondissement of Paris The 12th arrondissement of Paris (''XIIe arrondissement'') is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. In spoken French, it is referred to as ''le douzième'' ("the twelfth"). Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is ...

. Soon after, he renamed the gym ‘MMA Factory.’ The gym started with only two fighters but rapidly expanded to have over 600 students and 18 staff members as of 2018. MMA Factory was sponsored by Reebok France. The most notable fighter produced by MMA Factory is

who would become

UFC Heavyweight champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

in 2021. When Ngannou was 26, he moved from

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

to France in order pursue his dream of becoming a

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

Francis Carmont Francis Carmont (born October 10, 1981) is a French professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, Carmont has competed for Bellator MMA, the UFC, and KSW. Mixed mart ...

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 for no cost thus starting his MMA career. However the relationship between Lopez and Ngannou has deteriorated in recent years with Lopez citing that Ngannou has ego problems and had refused to pay gym membership fees after he had achieved success. As a result, Ngannou moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

to train at

Xtreme Couture Xtreme Couture Mixed Martial Arts is an American mixed martial arts training organization headed by former UFC Champion and former co-founder of Team Quest, Randy Couture. Xtreme Couture was founded with the flagship gym in Las Vegas. Since the ...

. MMA factory has also produced

. Gane won the Interim UFC Heavyweight Championship after defeating

Derrick Lewis Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts ...

on August 7, 2021, at

UFC 265 ''UFC 265: Lewis vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on August 7, 2021, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, United States. Background An interim UFC Heavyweight Championshi ...

. Gane faced

for the

UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

on January 22, 2022, at

UFC 270 ''UFC 270: Ngannou vs. Gane'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship that took place on January 22, 2022 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. Background A UFC Heavyweight Championship title unificati ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Notable people

Mixed martial artists

UFC

(UFC Heavyweight Champion) *

(UFC Interim Heavyweight Champion) *

Ion Cuțelaba Ion Nicolae Cuțelaba (born 14 December 1993) is a Moldovan professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Born and raised in Chișinău, Cuțelaba began traini ...

Veronica Macedo Verónica Macedo (born October 30, 1995) is a Venezuelan mixed martial artist (MMA) who competes in the women’s Flyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Mixed martial arts career Early career Macedo amassed a record of 5 ...

Taylor Lapilus Taylor Lapilus (born 8 April 1992) is a French mixed martial artist and boxer who currently competes in Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the former TKO Major League MMA Bantamweight Championship. Backgrou ...

Nassourdine Imavov Nasourdin Abdoulazimovitch Imavov (born March 1, 1995) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. As of April 11, 2023, he is #12 in the UFC middleweight rankings. Backgro ...

Alan Baudot Alan Dimitri Baudot (born February 1, 1988) is a French mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. He has previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Alan Baudot was born on the slopes of the Croix-Ro ...

Others

Jérôme Le Banner Jérôme Philippe Le Banner (; born December 26, 1972) is a French kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler. Le Banner fought for most of his career in K-1 and became known for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power. ...

Sokoudjou Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Nkamhoua (; born April 18, 1984), mostly billed simply as Sokoudjou, is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, Sokoudjou is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion, and h ...

Christian M'Pumbu Christian M'Pumbu (born June 2, 1977) is a French-Congolese professional mixed martial artist. He was the inaugural Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion. Background M'Pumbu was born in Kinshasa, Zaire (now known as the Democratic Republic of the ...

* Rizlen Zouak * Abdoul Abdouraguimov

References

External links

Official Website
{{MMA Team List Mixed martial arts training facilities