"I look at it as the best submission guy from America fighting the best submission guy from Brazil. I think it's going to be interesting. I think standing, Nogueira is betterÂ…training with Anderson Silva and all of the guys that he's training with. I don't think Mir is a pushover. He was the UFC heavyweight champion and he's not to be taken lightly. I have faith that Nogueira, the type of fighter that he is, the heart of a lion that he has, he will come on well-prepared," stated Ed Soares as he talked about UFC heavyweight champion Antonio Nogueira and his upcoming clash with Frank Mir. Check out what else he had to say as he discussed his stable of fighters, including Anderson Silva's fight with Patrick Cote, Lyoto Machida's fight with Thiago Silva, Paulo Filho's fight with Chael Sonnen and much more.
PC: How was the X-Games event I caught you at the other night?
ES: It was cool man. We watched the Motocross Step Up and Rick Carmichael won that and then we watched the Big Air Bikes and Dave Mirra got second and this other cat got first, but it was pretty cool.
PC: Anderson looked very impressive against Irvin. Do you still get in awe of some of the things he can do inside of the cage or have you grown accustomed to it?
ES: I'm always in awe man. At the end of the day, I'm still a fan and a fan of Anderson Silva for a long time. It's just nice to be able to see a guy that you've watched for such a long time start to benefit from all of the talent that he has. I feel like he's a modern day Muhammad Ali.
PC: Was he disappointed with not being able to fight Okami or did he just take it in stride?
ES: Anderson has a great attitude on life and on his profession. He gets bummed out here and there, but he doesn't let too much affect him. He stays focused on what his job is and he works through it man. He would have liked to fight Okami, sure. He just wants to fight big fights and that's what he wants to do.
PC: Most of your fighters live in Brazil. What's your travel schedule like Ed?
ES: I have a partner in my business that really brought me into the business in a way. I've known him for a long time; since I was a kid. My mother introduced him to me when I was 16 years old and he's been involved in the mixed martial arts business for a long time and he really helps me out. He's there in Brazil and I'm here, but he's starting to spend a lot more time here now because most of our fighters are fighting here and between him and I, we just make it happen. We have an assistant also.
PC: Is one of your goals to have all of your fighters move over here eventually?
ES: I think here is where it's happening right now. I think the more time that they do spend here is time that they can get used to the American culture; also time for them to learn to speak English and for them to market themselves. It would be beneficial for them to move here, but I think, when the time is right for each one of them in their careers, then they will take that step.
PC: Filho has a fight coming up, Silva just had a fight, and Machida and Nogueira have fights coming up as well. Is that the best way for these guys to conduct camp when they're all preparing for fights?
ES: All of our guys are very disciplined and right now, we have great training facilities in Brazil and a great group for sparring. We just started managing a guy by the name of Andre Galvao, who hasn't fought in MMA yet, but he's a 7-time World Champion in Jiu Jitsu. I have high expectations for him. He's training with Paulo Filho right now and we have a lot of new talent coming up. We just put together some really good training camps that are a little bit more individually-based for each guy. Instead of having a big training camp, we adapt to each fight as far as the training and sparring that comes in.
PC: It all seems to come so easy for Anderson in his fights. Do you think the best is still to come?
ES: I think you've seen a great Anderson Silva, but nothing he does seems to surprise us. He's an incredible fighter and I'm excited to watch him every time out.
PC: It seems like the UFC really wants to match Machida against guys that come right at him. In your opinion, does that play into Machida's hands?
ES: I think it's great. I think the general public can't really appreciate the type of fighter that Machida is, but I think the hardcore fans realize that he's a very technical fighter. I think he's trying to be more aggressive and finish fights. If the first round would have been a few more seconds, he could have possibly finished Tito in the first, but that's the way a fight goes. Tito could have finished him with that triangle because that thing was in tight. I jut about threw up when I saw that. Tito surprised the world with that. It shows that Tito is a well-rounded fighter and people will start thinking twice about taking Tito lightly on his back. Tito is not bad on the ground, but it surprised me. I personally have never seen him go for a submission on his back, but it was exciting. Even though Tito lost that fight, I don't think there could have been a better way for Tito to look after a loss. He showed a lot of heart. He was down 2-0 and he was still trying to finish the fight and go for it. He almost had Lyoto in the third round so at least you know, as a promoter and a fan, that he's going to give his heart for 15 or 25 minutes.
PC: As a manager, you have a successful clothing line, Sinister Brand, and you're starting to become a noticeable figure within the sport. I'm starting to see a lot of fans take pictures with you at these events. You also have 2 of the 5 champions in the UFC and Machida possibly being 3. How do you take all of this in?
ES: It's a little bit surreal to me. I've always had the aspiration to make all of this happen and it just feels great. Most of all, I really enjoy what I do. I work with people that I enjoy being with and I think that's the bigger story. There are pros and cons to everything. There are times where I wish I could spend more time with my family, but you know what? I have a very supportive wife and two beautiful daughters that totally support what I do. I have a great partner and I'm just stoked off of all of the stuff that is happening. I work hard and I wake up every day motivated to try and make something happen. We're just trying to do the best job that we can, but it's surreal. A successful guy told me last year, "If you do something you love, you will never work another day in your life." Sometimes I feel like that.
PC: Is there any fighter out there that you would like to work with, but haven't yet?
ES: Man, I've been fortunate in different areas to work with a lot of them. I've worked with a lot of fighters out there one way or another. I just like to work with good people. I've worked with guys like Chuck Liddell, who I have known for so long. We're the ones that came up with the icicles on "The Iceman" shorts. Yeah, Sinister is the ones that came up with the icicles on the shorts. I can remember thinking, "if Tito has flames on his shorts, then Chuck, you're the Iceman; you should have Icicles on your shorts." Guys like Chuck Liddell, and what a fighter he is, he created history in the UFC. I could tell you, from my relationship working with him and having him as a friend, that it couldn't have happened to a greater guy. He's a standup guy and he's one of the greatest guys that I have been fortunate to meet.
PC: Do you ever roll with or spar with some of these guys?
ES: You know what dude? I've trained a little bit of Jiu Jitsu. I trained for a long time. I hit the mitts every once in awhile. I like doing it, but I don't feel like I always have the time to do it. If we're at a UFC or something for a workout, if one of the coaches are there, I'll hit mitts or something like that. I kind of stick to what I'm doing. I love it and I'm a big fan of it, but those guys are just on another level. Once in a while, when Anderson is doing seminars, I'll jump in and help him train. I've learned some little things that help you out here and there when you train with people. Anderson will teach me a lot of little things to do and they all do.
PC: Both Nogueira and Mir obviously have great submissions. What do you think will separate the two when they meet up?
ES: I think it's got all of the ingredients to make a good fight. If it goes to the ground, Nogueira is very good on the ground, but so is Mir. I look at it as the best submission guy from America fighting the best submission guy from Brazil. I think it's going to be interesting. I think standing, Nogueira is betterÂ…training with Anderson Silva and all of the guys that he's training with. I don't think Mir is a pushover. He was the UFC heavyweight champion and he's not to be taken lightly. I have faith that Nogueira, the type of fighter that he is, the heart of a lion that he has, he will come on well-prepared. He's an animal and I know that it's going to be a war. I believe Nogueira's arm will be raised at the end of the night.
PC: I appreciate you taking time to talk with me. I know you're a busy man. I would like to give you this time to give us an update so to speak on upcoming events with your fighters.
ES: Busy times for us right now. We have Fabricio Camoes fighting for Pro Elite on August 15th; Paulo Filho will be fighting in the WEC against Chael Sonnen on September 10th; we have Lyoto Machida fighting on October 18th against Thiago Silva as well as Anderson Silva fighting a week later against Patrick Cote in Chicago and of course, Minotauro Nogueira fighting Frank Mir later this year for the heavyweight title. We also just signed a heavyweight and I will have more info on him for you very shortly.
PC: You have a great stable of fighters Ed. I wish you guys continued success. Is there anything you want to say in closing?
ES: I just want to say thanks. Tell everyone to keep an eye out for our guys. I really feel like with Anderson, Lyoto and Nogueira, they have some great fights to come this year. They have some great upcoming fights in the UFC and all of these organizations. It's a great time to be an MMA fan. There are a lot of great things happening.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]