John McCarthy has slammed Fernand Lopez for threatening to release sparring footage between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane.

Later this month at UFC 270, Francis Ngannou will defend his UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane in one of the most highly-anticipated heavyweight bouts in years. The two men were formerly teammates under the guidance of Fernand Lopez, until Ngannou left the gym in search of pastures new.

There’s been some bad blood that’s come to the surface since then with Lopez recently claiming that he has sparring footage of Gane dropping Ngannou in training. After he threatened to release it, John McCarthy gave his thoughts on the ethical side of Lopez’s remarks.

“It’s not written, it’s code. You don’t talk about what happens in the training room, because it’s just training, and a lot of things happen. I’ve seen world champions destroyed by people that are nothing outside of the gym. I’ve seen guys that are top flight UFC fighters get absolutely worked on the mat by people. It’s not the fight, it doesn’t matter. It’s training. There’s gonna be moments when you’re the best person in the gym that day, and there’s gonna be moments where you’re probably the worst person in the gym that day.”

“For Fernand Lopez, the coach, shame on you, dude. You don’t get into this crap.”

Lopez has certainly been at the forefront of the conversation in the build-up to this fight and whether you like it or hate it, we’re going to see it play an important role during fight week.

Do you agree with John McCarthy when it comes to Fernand Lopez’s actions? Do you expect Francis Ngannou to successfully defend his UFC heavyweight title at UFC 270? If so, how will he get the job done? Let us know your thoughts down in the comments, BJPENN Nation!