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Slim Trabelsi is arguably Tunisia's best hope of having a world champion in one of the world's premier MMA promotions. After a managerial dispute that saw him get released from the UFC before he ever even fought for the organization, the unbeaten heavyweight is now scheduled for an appearance at Bellator 300.
The event will feature his clash with Davion Franklin, with whom he will headline the preliminary card. But how does a 30-year-old prospect with an undefeated record of five wins and zero losses, in a division as shallow as heavyweight, no less, get released from the UFC before stepping inside the octagon?
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As it turns out, Slim Trabelsi's woes were due to the actions of controversial coach Fernand Lopez, who heads the MMA Factory, where Slim Trabelsi trains at. The unbeaten Tunisian is managed by Dominance MMA, which is run by Ali Abdelaziz, one of the most successful managers in the sport.
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Unfortunately, the heavyweight was still under contract with ARES FC, where Fernand Lopez is the promotion's sports director. This allowed the MMA Factory coach to bar Trabelsi's signing to the UFC, before offering to assign the Tunisian's contract to Dominance MMA for €90,000, which didn't go through.
Trabelsi later criticized Lopez for holding his career hostage. Many in the MMA community criticized Lopez for being both a manager and coach, which is widely regarded as a conflict of interest. This led to a bust-up between the two.
Now, he is set to debut for Bellator, but Lopez has claimed that Trabelsi is still under contract with ARES FC and that he'll be filing an injunction against Bellator.
Is Slim Trabelsi the only MMA fighter to have problems with Fernand Lopez?
Unfortunately, Slim Trabelsi isn't the only fighter from the MMA Factory who has had issues with Fernand Lopez. Former two-time Glory kickboxing champion and recent PFL debutant Cédric Doumbé has revealed his coach's abusive past, which was corroborated by Lopez's ex-wife.
Another fighter who had a falling out with Fernand Lopez is former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who famously left the MMA Factory after failing to dethrone Stipe Miocic in his initial title fight. When 'The Predator' later faced former teammate Ciryl Gane, Fernand Lopez launched a smear campaign.
