UFC Quick Quote: Ed Soares manages Bentleys, not Toyotas

by MMAmania.com on Oct 29, 2009 7:12 AM EDT

Anderson Silva Big Nog

"We don’t have a tremendous amount of guys in comparison to some who are out there. I’ve seen some management companies with 60, 70 guys that they’re representing. I kind of look at it as a car dealership. When you look at the car dealership, well, thank God there are Toyota dealers. There’s nothing wrong with Toyotas. They’re great cars, reliable cars, but there are 3,000 of them on the lot. Walk into a Bentley dealership, though, and there are only 12, 15 cars in the place. There are two things about that: The guy’s walking in to buy the car, and you know they’re not going to be negotiating price when they’re buying a Bentley. And that’s how I feel about our fighters. You want one of our fighters, you’re going to get a high-performance fighter. I like to keep it that way.... We have what I consider our ‘Three Kings.’ Anderson Silva is the pound-for-pound king. Lyoto is the king of karate, and we have Nogueira, who is the king of heart because he has so much heart. Those are our three big cards. In a card game, if I were playing poker and I had three kings, I’d think I had a pretty good hand."

-- Ed Soares talks to Yahoo!Sports.com about his path to becoming a manager and spokesperson for several of the top mixed martial artists on the planet. The Portuguese-speaking 37-year-old prefers quality over quantity when it comes to fighters who he represents. And with his "Three Kings" from Brazil it's clear that he and his partner have a recipe for success. Of course, his job is not all sunshine and roses. He often finds himself caught up in the middle of various difficult situations -- look no further than Anderson Silva's win over Thales Leites and Lyoto Machida's decision over Shogun Rua for proof of that. Nonetheless, his fighters win more than they lose, making Soares one of the more successful and high profile managers in the sport today. Will that success continue in early 2010 when Silva is supposed to take on Vitor Belfort or will he keep him parked in the garage until something better rolls around?

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Tough Media Inc goes alright.

by Nick on Oct 29, 2009 7:57 AM EDT reply actions

I like Soares’ ideas- Definitely high performance fighters for sure. Not slingin trash out here like pavia or cox. I’d say Him, Crazy cook and Shu hirata are probly the best mgmt around in MMA.

by NameNotRequired on Oct 29, 2009 8:12 AM EDT up reply actions

I used to spend time on Junkie before this site and Ken Pav is always (or used to) writing articles about his fighters…he’s a pompus assh*le imo

by McArthur on Oct 29, 2009 8:17 AM EDT up reply actions

He just needs to add GSP and BJ to have the greatest stable of all time. Must be sick just to watch a Black House training session.

by Cole on Oct 29, 2009 10:18 AM EDT up reply actions

Ed Soares is THE worse shark manager out there with Pav who steal $ from his fighters.

by Alpha Male on Oct 29, 2009 10:25 AM EDT up reply actions

Dude just got lucky and happened to speak both languages and was in the right place at the right time

by tylerS on Oct 29, 2009 10:39 AM EDT up reply actions

dont get it twisted. Soars knows what he is doing! I have a lot of respect for that guy!

by john G on Oct 29, 2009 1:52 PM EDT up reply actions

“He often finds himself caught up in the middle of various difficult situations — look no further than Anderson Silva’s win over Thales Leites and Lyoto Machida’s decision over Shogun Rua for proof of that.”

A win is a win, buddy. You are reaching, Mania.

by OJR on Oct 29, 2009 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Thank you so much OJR! That’s the 1st thing that jumped out @ me as well. Man its like there has only been 1 thread since saturday about Shogun/machida!

Soares mentioned nothing about Shogun or the fight for that matter, but nice to kno mania’s writers still have to slip there bias point in, & hope another thread is controlled by a senseless argument over a fight that was 50/50 & went the way of the champ.

by Daniel worby on Oct 29, 2009 10:13 AM EDT up reply actions

True that.

by ShaiZ on Oct 29, 2009 3:03 PM EDT up reply actions

3 Aces beats 3 kings…

by McArthur on Oct 29, 2009 8:06 AM EDT reply actions

So long as one of the aces ain’t rich franklin….lol

by eagzy on Oct 29, 2009 8:12 AM EDT up reply actions

touche…lol

by McArthur on Oct 29, 2009 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions

actually scratch that…Ace Franklin would’ve beat Silva..if there were 3 of him

by McArthur on Oct 29, 2009 8:15 AM EDT up reply actions

Lol am not so sure

by eagzy on Oct 29, 2009 9:46 AM EDT up reply actions

very clever eagzy :-)

by Bill Maher on Oct 29, 2009 9:33 AM EDT up reply actions

Lexus is a Toyota as well Mr Soares. Nothing says you can’t do both =)

by Namk on Oct 29, 2009 8:41 AM EDT reply actions

ed is holto lol wtf mane

by king criminales on Oct 29, 2009 8:44 AM EDT reply actions

Can anyone say COCKY as Shit!!! Although he has the right to be, I hope someone knocks Anderson Silva out. I do think Silva is the best, but I think in his last few fights he has sounded way to cocky for my liking.

by BrotherWolf12 on Oct 29, 2009 9:43 AM EDT reply actions

ed soares is the new d*uchbag of mma now that $kala is gone. this guy talks way too much. dana must hate him with a passion

by bobby o'shea on Oct 29, 2009 9:57 AM EDT reply actions

Who cares if Dana hates him? Soares has every right to say what he says. The fact their so confident in each other helps them.
And having 2 undefeated UFC champs Is not too shabby, add that to the top 2 in successful strikes, and defensive avoiding strikes, top it off with a fighter with the heart of a lion, ya he’s got something to be proud of.

And again, who cares what Dana thinks of him? Fuck Dana! Spider is gone in 3 fights anyways, & lyoto is still champ, & Nog will never die.

by Daniel worby on Oct 29, 2009 10:17 AM EDT up reply actions

I personally don’t believe Silva when he says he leaving…retiring? I doubt it. Leaving to another org? laughable…he’s getting a little big for his britches imo…someone else said it best describing him as holier than though…god I can’t wait till he loses. Thats why Hendo needs to stay. I’d pick Silva to win any 1 fight but the odds of him beating Hendo, Vitor, and Nate in a row are much slimmer

by McArthur on Oct 29, 2009 10:55 AM EDT up reply actions

Exactly bro! its just him and his shady manager angling for more money.Simple as that.

by JT on Oct 29, 2009 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions

Since when do fighters fight for free?

by OJR on Oct 29, 2009 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions

Spider deserves whatever amount under 1.5 per fight he asks. If Dana doesn’t want to provide let him leave. Why not retire after 3 more wins? Best record in UFC history and a laundry list of accomplishments, and go down as best middleweight of all time. Not bad to me. That or go box rjj somewhere. You’d be ludacris to think that wouldn’t be his top grossing fight if he gets ppv portion.

Its not only the money with spider or half these other guys. Its the TOTAL and UTTER disrespect from Dana. And some of these guys are man enough and finally in the position to knock Dana down if only momentarily before he tells us how awesome TUF is this year

by Daniel worby on Oct 29, 2009 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions

Good post,agreed completely

by JT on Oct 29, 2009 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions

You kidding? Dana loves him. Dana white said that he never has a confrontation with him in person and all his fighers are the most humble people he knows.

Soares is a beast, stop being jealous…

by Zepp on Oct 29, 2009 2:24 PM EDT up reply actions

Last time I checked it was Hendo who was unable to come to terms with the UFC because of pay not Silva. I think it was unprofessional of Dana to publically discuss negotiations but he’s not had a problem with Silva’s contract. I’m expecting Andy to retire in MMA and fight RJJ before relaxing after accomplishing everything possible in MMA and fighting his hero in a huge boxing match, having made a lot of money and been recognised as the greatest of all time.

As for Soares I don’t have anything bad to say about him as long as Shogun and Machida rematch and Andy faces Vitor, because those are 2 fights I want to see. Otherwise I just see a guy who has given 3 of the best fighters in the world the best opportunities to have high profile fights and make as much money as possible during their legendary MMA careers. Nothing wrong with protecting a fighters interest, that is his job. He’s not robbing any of them blind and has helped them make a lot of money, which talented fighters like them deserve. I’d much rather see quality mixed martial artists like Andy, Big Nog and Lyoto make millions from the sport than a talentless loser like Kimbo.

by David W-S on Oct 29, 2009 9:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Fighters and there managers should be allowed to determine who they fight next! Oh vitor dont deserve a title shot, hendo and marquart should fight a #1 contenders match. screw that. you’re paid to fight who they want you fight, you don’t get to call all your own shots!! If you want to control everything then go start your own promotion and do whatever you want!! What if gsp, bj, brock and all other guys who draw money all try to get there way as much as possible.

by bobby o'shea on Oct 29, 2009 11:38 AM EDT up reply actions