Cedric Doumbe accused former coach Fernand Lopez of domestic violence, leading to a messy public situation with contrasting stories.
On September 30, Doumbe made headlines in the MMA community by securing a nine-second knockout win in his PFL debut. Shortly after getting his hand raised, the 31-year-old welterweight called out Lopez, the founder and head coach of MMA Factory in Paris, for allegedly physically attacking his ex-wife.
Doumbe had this to say in the cage on Saturday night, which was translated from French by MMA Fighting:
“In France, I’m a big part of associations fighting against domestic violence… I didn’t want to talk about this story because I wanted to protect that woman. That woman is my nutritionist, so I didn’t want to expose her….[Fernand Lopez] got arrested for that. This type of thing makes me almost want to cry, because I really don’t like this type of stuff. That’s why I left his gym because even in the gym, everybody knew that story, but no one moves.” – Quotes provided by MMA Fighting
Cedric Doumbe was referencing Fernand Lopez’s ex-wife, Cecile Giornelli, who is also Doumbe’s nutritionist. It turns out the comments made by ‘Le Meilleur’ at PFL Europe would only be the start of public statements involving Lopez and Giornelli.
Watch Cedric Doumbe’s entire PFL debut fight and post-fight interview below:
Fernand Lopez responds to Cedric Doumbe’s accusations
Following Cedric Doumbe’s accusations, Fernand Lopez did an interview with Le Parisien, a French media outlet, to open up about the situation. According to Lopez, he was sentenced to four months in prison in 2018 for domestic violence toward Cecile Giornelli.
Lopez accused Giornelli of being violent toward him and his granddaughter, leading to what he described as a “slap.” The MMA Factory head coach also claimed his actions are inexcusable, and he’s changed to become a better person.
Meanwhile, Lopez’s ex-wife, Giornelli, told a different story.
Check out Fernand Lopez’s entire statement below:
After being accused of domestic violence by Cédric Doumbé last night, UFC coach Fernand Lopez addressed the accusations (via @le_Parisien). 1/2 pic.twitter.com/kSnwE8KqFl
— Al Zullino (@phre) October 1, 2023
Fernand Lopez’s ex-wife releases a statement involving Cedric Doumbe
Cecile Giornelli provided her point of view on the situation after hearing Fernand Lopez’s accusations During her detailed statement, Giornelli claimed Lopez lied about the severity of the domestic violence situation and her alleged violent behavior. She started her official response by saying:
“All of this is a tsunami for me, I never wanted to talk about it or let anything from my private life show. However, despite remaining silent and calm for all these years, it’s clear that I’m still being smeared, and a new life is being invented for me. So yesterday, it was impossible not to react to so many lies in the article I read. It was this article (rag?) from Le Parisien that made me react.”
Cedric Doumbe’s unfixable relationship with Fernand Lopez led to him leaving MMA Factory. The former Glory Kickboxing world champion now looks to take over the PFL welterweight division and reach his MMA superstar expectations.
Check out Cecile Giornelli’s entire statement below:
UPDATE: Fernand Lopez's ex wife addresses the situation herself. https://t.co/z0kNMKvX9D pic.twitter.com/FOQf3fnIuP
— Al Zullino (@phre) October 3, 2023
