By CagePotato Guest Contributor Ben Fowlkes

Ed Soares never stops. For the MMA manager and owner of Sinister Brand clothing, there’s really no such thing as spare time.

It’s the day before Easter when we finally catch up with him. He’s driving down to San Diego to sign an endorsement deal with Bad Boy clothing for Lyoto Machida, one of many in his stable of high-profile Brazilian fighters. With a client list that includes Anderson Silva, both Nogueira brothers, and WEC champ Paulo Filho, it’s easy to see why Soares might not be getting much rest these days.

In this exclusive interview, Soares talks to us about riding the highs and lows along with his fighters, the many jobs a manager does, and what it means to be the go-to guy for Brazilian mixed martial artists in the U.S. and abroad.

CagePotato: Ed, tell us a little about all the different things you do. How are you spending your time these days?
Ed Soares: The responsibility that consumes ninety percent of my time is my fighter management business. We manage some of the best athletes in the world — Anderson Silva, Antonio Rodrigo (and) Rogerio Nogueira, Rafael Feijao, Lyoto Machida, Paulo Filho. We’ve got a lot of up-and-coming talents, too. Most of my time is spent handling their business, from endorsement deals to scheduling media events. I’ve had to hire an assistant to help me, and it still takes up most of my time. I also own Sinister Brand Clothing, but about eight months ago I hired a president to run my company, so I don’t handle too much of the day-to-day stuff. My two partners take care of that. And I have a partner in my management company who lives in Brazil. He takes care of everything in Brazil and I take care of everything up here in Los Angeles.

It seems like you’ve created a niche for yourself, managing so many of the top Brazilian fighters. How did you get started doing this?
Well, I’m Brazilian. Both my mom and my dad are Brazilian, and I’m actually the only one in my family who was born here in California. Before I started managing MMA fighters I started out as a nightclub promoter, and I also worked with and managed hip-hop groups. There’s actually a lot of similarities between managing a music group and a fighter, because at the end of the day they’re both entertainment. You want to create a following for your band or your fighter and you have to fill seats and sell pay-per-views.

I’ve always been interested in pro fighting and MMA, but the way I actually got into it was by producing a TV show called Passing The Guard with Jorge Guinarias, who’s a TV celebrity in Brazil — kind of like what Larry Merchant is to boxing here, he is to MMA in Brazil. When we started that in April 2004 it was basically the only MMA-related show on free television, even before The Ultimate Fighter. We did the show through December 31st of ’06, and through that we started building a good rapport with the fight organizations, simply because we were giving them exposure for free. And of course, we’ve always had a good relationship with the fighters, because that’s who we were interviewing. With my background in management, it was just a natural evolution for us to start representing fighters.

So this thing might actually happen. Seriously. That is if NBCSports can be believed. Then again, some writers over there have been trying to sell me on buying some lunar property — which I would if the plumbing wasn’t so shitty. Anyway, back to what I was saying. We promised we’d keep tabs on this and now NBCSports is reporting that boxing great Roy Jones, Jr. and Anderson Silva’s people are “actively engaging in talks” for the two fighters to duke it out in the boxing ring. the PR director for Don King Productions, Alan Hopper, confirmed the negotiations.

Check it:

“Roy likes the idea and is up for it,” Hopper said. “It’s being discussed. Roy will only agree if the match takes place under the rules of boxing, and UFC would have to clear Silva’s participation.”

Ah, that little “UFC clearing Silva’s participation” thing will almost certainly derail this. If Anderson Silva gets pissed enough when the UFC refuses to let him do it, maybe he’ll go the way of Tito and Randy Couture. I hate to mention such a thing, but if history serves as a guide…

I’m not sure how I feel about this. Boxing’s yawn-inducing stretch in the last decade and MMA’s many dimensions is why I haven’t dropped a dime on boxing pay-per-view events since before Monica “did not have sexual relations” with Bill. And let’s face it, Anderson Silva will likely lose. It’d be a big money-maker for both fighters and I’d probably still watch it, but I also don’t want this sort of thing setting a precedent. Next think you know, Tank Abbott will be challenging Big Sven, the German beer drinking champion, to a beer-off. Actually, Tank would probably win that one.

Not a giant parade-style announcement, but the reported date for the EliteXC’s first event on CBS is May 31st. Ads are supposed to begin during tomorrow’s coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament (go Big Blue, by the way).

And now for some more news from the afternoon:

— Anderson Silva recently stated he wanted a new challenge — specifically to box mega-star Roy Jones, Jr. Jones has now addressed Silva’s goal to take him on outside the MMA world. The former boxing champ was interviewed about his next fight and “Spider” Silva’s name came up. From MMAFightline:

“The trip was great. The fans over there seemed highly interested in having me go over there to showcase my talents and put on a show with him. They know if I’m there it’s guaranteed to be a good show. Right now I’m also hearing that this guy Silva is really talking about fighting me in a boxing match and I think that’s bigger than Beyer. If he comes up again, I mean he got on his website that he wants Roy Jones Jr, if he’s serious that might mean more to me than going to Germany and fighting Beyer. In Germany I know I’m going to knock Beyer out because that’s the way I have to win over there. But with Silva, I know I can outbox him and be good. It would be smarter for me to fight I don’t know his first name, but Silva first and then Beyer or the winner of Bernard and Calzaghe.”

We’ll monitor this one closely and keep ya’ posted if it looks like this thing might actually happen.

— Although he sometimes sounds like a moron, Bill Goldberg’s latest “Toe-to-Toe” is below for your viewing pleasure. This enstallment features Frank Shamrock and Cung Le training for their March 29th fight. We learn that Cung Le employs some kind of witchcraft smoke remedy to help his muscles recover, and am I crazy or does Frank Shamrock occasionally exhibit the same kind of manic energy as this dude? Check it out:

(That doesn’t look too pleasant.)

Having cleared out the UFC’s middleweight division in scorched-earth fashion, Anderson Silva is looking ahead to new challenges — specifically, taking on Roy Jones Jr. in a boxing match. As Silva’s manager Ed Soares told MMAWeekly:

“It’s not just talk, we really would like to put that fight together…We respect Jones’ boxing ability and think he’s one of the best. but we’re tired of different boxers saying that MMA fighters aren’t technical. Anderson would love to fight Roy Jones in a boxing match under boxing rules to prove that MMA fighters are technical, too.”

Once considered the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world, Jones (now 39 years old) has won championship belts as a middleweight, super middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight, and once held seven different light heavyweight (169-175 pounds) titles at the same time. Besides a disqualification loss to Montell Griffin in 1997, Jones went undefeated in his first 50 fights before losing three straight in 2004-2005. His last fight was a unanimous decision victory over Felix Trinidad in January.

If Anderson Silva is actually considering a temporary switch to boxing, he should probably aim a little lower for his first opponent, lest he go out like Brock Lesnar. And taking some time off from MMA feels a little premature anyway — it’s not like there are literally no challenges left for Silva in the UFC. For one thing, there’s Yushin Okami, the impossible-to-finish contender who previously “beat” Silva through an illegal upkick DQ in January 2006; it would be nice to settle that score. I also think Silva should have to take on Michael Bisping, Patrick Cote, and Demian Maia in the same night. What, you wouldn’t pay $44.95 to see that?

(Props: Victory Belt via MMA.tv via BloodyElbow)

Based on a true story…

(“Dude, could you at least pretend to be surprised?”)

(The Crippler was rewarded handsomely for his blood-loss.)

The UFC paid out a chunky $932,000 in official salaries and bonuses on Saturday night, with Anderson Silva unsurprisingly coming out the big winner. The amounts are below; these figures don’t include any undisclosed “locker room bonuses” that are often given out to headliners and other fighters who put on noteworthy performances.

Anderson Silva — $260,000 ($70,000 to show, $70,000 to win, plus $120,000 in bonuses)
Dan Henderson — $160,000 ($100,000 to show, $60,000 for Fight of the Night bonus)
Andrei Arlovski — $170,000 ($105,000 to show, $65,000 to win)
Heath Herring — $140,000 ($70,000 to show, $70,000 to win)
Chris Leben — $110,000 ($25,000 to show, $25,000 to win, $60,000 for Knockout of the Night bonus)
Jon Fitch — $60,000 ($30,000 to show, $30,000 to win)
Diego Sanchez — $60,000 ($30,000 to show, $30,000 to win)
Cheick Kongo — $30,000
Yushin Okami — $28,000 ($14,000 to show, $14,000 to win)
Evan Tanner — $25,000
Josh Koscheck — $20,000 ($10,000 to show, $10,000 to win)
Alessio Sakara — $17,000
Luigi Fioravanti — $16,000 ($8,000 to show, $8,000 to win)
Luke Cummo — $16,000
Jorge Gurgel — $14,000 ($7,000 to show, $7,000 to win)
Dustin Hazelett — $12,000
Chris Wilson — $12,000
Jake O’Brien — $11,000
David Bielkheden — $8,000
John Halverson — $3,000

Underpaid: Josh Koscheck, who is still finishing out the indentured servitude of his Ultimate Fighter contract.
Overpaid: Luke Cummo, who didn’t do much that resembled work during his 15 minute grabass with Luigi Fioravanti.

(Props: MMA Mania)

Anderson Silva left the Nationwide Arena on Saturday night with the bank account of a champion, pulling in $120,000 in bonuses on top of his usual salary and win bonus (which were $60,000 each for his previous title defense at UFC 77). As announced in a press conference following the event, the UFC distributed its customary end-of-night bonuses like this:

Fight of the Night: $60,000 each for Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson.

Submission of the Night: $60,000 for Anderson Silva. It was the night’s only submission, unless you count the tapout-by-strikes that Diego Sanchez scored at the expense of David Bielkheden.

Knockout of the Night: $60,000 for Chris Leben.

So, another 1-for-3 performance on our bonus predictions, though we did call Arlovski for a KO/TKO in the second round. And Diego did technically win by submission. You know, I think we’ll just start predicting the outcomes from now on; we’d sound a lot smarter that way.

Take a look before it’s pulled…

Guest Liveblogger Ben Fowlkes of The Fighting Life here, all set and ready to go for UFC 82. I’m looking forward to a good night of fights, which I’m warming up for by watching Dana White swear through the countdown show. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Click the “MORE” link and refresh the page every few minutes for round-by-round updates.

(Rampage, Randy, Hendo, and Trigg at the day job.)

— On the BetUS Radio show, Damon and I debated which news story was bigger: Kimbo Slice on CBS or Spuds McKenzie on the center of the Octagon.

— Bob Sapp defended his crown as the worst pound-for-pound fighter in MMA history.

— Joe Riggs busted his back and played a piss-prank on a paraplegic.

— A simple, innocent video list on illegal knockouts turned into a total fucking fiasco. In retrospect, we should have replaced Huerta/Halvorsen with Herring/Nakao/”I’m not gay.” Commenter Matt Tatt sincerely hoped we die for publishing such an inaccurate feature. Sounds like my last editor!

— Taking a last-minute fight against Jon Fitch at a reduced pay rate? Chris Wilson is crazy like a fox.

— During our UFC 82 preview coverage, we explained why Anderson Silva is still going to be the champion on Sunday morning, wondered if Josh Koscheck’s Octagon days are numbered, and took wild guesses at who’ll be walking around with a little more spending money.

— We saluted MMA’s style pioneers.

— Bill Goldberg currently leads Mike Goldberg 62% to 38% in our current poll on which Goldberg should never be allowed near a microphone again.

Don’t forget to watch the IFL’s season opener tonight, and come back here tomorrow night at 10 p.m. for our rip-roarin’ UFC 82 liveblog. Our prediction? PAIN.

(Andrei Arlovski could be one paid motherfucker tomorrow.)

Our monthly roundup in which we express fight predictions via the UFC’s customary “Of the Night” payouts. Last time didn’t go so hot, but we have a good feeling about UFC 82. Again, here’s the lineup:

MAIN CARD
Anderson Silva vs. Dan Henderson
Heath Herring vs. Cheick Kongo
Chris Leben vs. Alessio Sakara
Yushin Okami vs. Evan Tanner
Jon Fitch vs. Chris Wilson

PRELIMINARY CARD
Andrei Arlovski vs. Jake O’Brien
Luke Cummo vs. Luigi Fioravanti
Josh Koscheck vs. Dustin Hazelett
Diego Sanchez vs. David Bielkheden
Jorge Gurgel vs. John Halverson

Fight of the Night: How could it not be Silva vs. Henderson? It’s rare that the Octagon hosts this much combined talent. We see this one going into the championship rounds, with both men pounding the hell out of each other along the way. As you know, we’re leaning toward Silva.

Knockout of the Night: Andrei Arlovski. Other MMA pundits have said that the undefeated O’Brien will grind his way to a lay-and-pray victory, but Arlovski is coming into this fight with the combined rage of 10,000 insulted Soviets, and he’ll be looking to prove that undercards are beneath him. There’s a chance this could be his last fight for the UFC, so putting an exclamation point at the end of his Octagon career would be a priority; we’ll say KO/TKO, round 2. Dark horse: Jon Fitch. His fight against Chris Wilson may look like a mismatch, but Wilson’s ground skills are underrated. Still, we see Fitch putting Wilson out on his feet early.

Submission of the Night: Josh Koscheck. Speaking of mismatches…Koscheck’s recent performances haven’t been awe-inspiring, and he knows he needs a dramatic win against the gift-wrapped Dustin Hazelett, who’s never faced an opponent as skilled as Kos; it’s looking like a first-round armbar. Dark horse: Sanchez over Bielkheden. Same deal as with Koscheck — Bielkheden is being brought in for his UFC debut to build Sanchez’s confidence, and on paper, Sanchez’s ground game scores much higher. But if Ali Sonoma is still fucking with his concentration, we’ll stop short of saying this is a guaranteed win for Nightmare…

See it differently? Let us know in the comments…

MMA Betting Blog has the odds for Saturday’s UFC 82, and breaks down a few of the match-ups here. Their current numbers for the main card (favorites followed by underdogs) are:

Anderson Silva (-150) vs. Dan Henderson (+120)
Cheick Kongo (-175) vs. Heath Herring (+145)
Chris Leben (-165) vs. Alessio Sakara (+135)
Yushin Okami (-220) vs. Evan Tanner (+170)
Jon Fitch (-550) vs. Chris Wilson (+350)

I’ve flip-flopped on my prediction for the main event, which is one of the most evenly matched and toughest-to-call in UFC history. At first, I bought into the oft-repeated line of “Silva’s never faced as good of a wrestler as Henderson.” Which is absolutely true, but now I don’t think that will be the deciding factor in the fight. For me, it comes down to this: Which will each man’s strategy be, and how likely is the success of that strategy?

We’re starting to feel the UFC 82 adrenaline building and it’ll certainly be hitting on all cylinders by this Saturday. Check out these vids from ESPN of the two headliners dishing about their battle.

Anderson Silva doesn’t believe Dan Henderson is his toughest challenge.

Dan Henderson talking the style match-up and why he believes he will beat Anderson Silva.

(Perfectly legal, mind you.)

Ah, the good old days — when men were men, women were women, and ballsacks could be repeatedly pummeled inside the Octagon without Big John McCarthy doing a damn thing about it. Above, of course, is the fateful UFC 4 fight between Keith “By Any Means Necessary” Hackney, and Joe Son (who later appeared as Random Task in the first Austin Powers movie). By the late ’90s, rule changes had made mixed martial arts look somewhat civilized, and dozens of attacks/holds/gouges were deemed verboten. But regrettably, accidents still happen. And now, our favorite “accidents” ever…

7. Anderson Silva upkicks Yushin Okami

Before The Spider was the deadliest dude in the UFC, he was just a guy trying to get Yushin Okami the fuck off of him at Rumble on the Rock 8. His knockout kick was a crowd pleaser, but unfortunately he was DQ’d on a technicality — Okami’s knees were down.

6. Andrei Arlovski rabbit-punches Marcio Cruz
After back-to-back losses at the hands of Tim Sylvia, Arlovski was dying for a win, and he wasn’t above fighting dirty to get it. When the opportunity presented itself at UFC 66, the Pitbull started whaling on the back of Marcio Cruz’s head. Herb Dean gave him a warning. Arlovski kept doing it. Herb Dean warned him again. Arlovski kept doing it. Herb Dean stopped the fight and gave Andrei the win. Love that Herb Dean.

With “Pride of a Champion” only five days away, it’s time to get in that Octagon mood again. To that end…

Dangerous Dan Henderson talks about his upcoming matchup with Anderson Silva and what he learned from his loss to Quentin Jackson:

(Parts 2-4 to this interview can be found here.)

Our platonic girl-buddy Joanne from the MMA Girls gives her rundown of 82′s fights. She’s calling it for Dan Henderson in a decision over Anderson Silva (partially on the basis of his clothing company’s name), Alessio Sakara over Chris Leben (based on women’s intuition), and Evan Tanner over Yushin Okami, but advises you not to bet money on her predictions.

— A new MMA rankings site called MMA Hitlist breaks down Pride of a Champion based on something called “Fighter Value.” According to their calculations, Anderson Silva will destroy Dan Henderson, while Koscheck and Arlovski will just barely come away with victories.

— “UFC 82 Countdown: Silva vs. Henderson” debuts tonight at 11 p.m. on SpikeTV, with replays next Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Or, you could just spring for DVR service like a civilized person.

— I’ll be flying out to Columbus on Saturday to attend the show. If you’ll be there too and you know of any afterparties with free booze, be a doll and let us know.

— UFC Daily is reporting that UFC middie Chris Leben has inked a new deal with the organization that kicks his dough up to $25k to appear and $25k to win. That’s an increase of $15k per category. No word on how long the deal is for. The next fight for Leben is a mere week away – March 1st at UFC 82 versus Alessio Sakara. The colorful-haired fighter has been in the UFC since April ’05 and is 7-3 in the organization. He’s 17-4 overall.

— Dan Henderson spoke to the Orange County Register about seeing Anderson Silva in PRIDE and why he thinks he’ll win next Saturday at UFC 82:

“I think he is a tough guy and very skilled but I wouldn’t consider him the top pound-for-pound fighter, just because I’ve seen more of his past than what the U.S. crowd has in the UFC. The guys he’s fought in the UFC really complement his style. I expected him to walk through most of those guys. He’s very skilled on his feet. The guys he’s fought aren’t very good wrestlers.”

This is a valid point and we know Henderson is one of the best. This is a war we’re jonsein’ for and it’s destined to be a classic. And who does Henderson think is the best pound-for-pounder?

(Would he also dominate at light heavyweight?)

—MMA News posted some quotes from Ed Suarez, the handler of superstar middleweight Anderson Silva and the UFC’s Interim Heavyweight Champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The statements were made on “The Lights Out Show”, broadcast by TAGG Radio. Suarez had this to say about Anderson Silva:

“We would consider going up in weight…I don’t think there’s a middleweight in the world that could beat him…You’d have a hard time having a light heavyweight in the world that could beat him.”

And about his heavyweight, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueria, possibly fighting Fedor again:

“He (Fedor) hasn’t fought any top opponents over the past couple years…we would love to fight Fedor.”

[Note to Suarez: See Randy Couture's attempts to fight Fedor while contracted by the UFC.]

—Even more quotes were dropped recently, and if Renato “Babalu” Sobral is to be believed Tito Ortiz and Lyoto Machida won’t be battling afterall. The controversial fighter had this to say to Punch Drunk Gamer:

“I heard that Tito is not going to fight him anymore, so they are going to have to find another opponent for Machida. I got the news a couple of days ago that he was fighting someone else. I don’t know about Tito man……he is a celebrity. He makes a lot of money outside of fighting so I don’t know if he really wants to fight.”

—Chuck Liddell has confirmed he is officially signed to fight Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on June 7th. Although the event details have not been officially announced by Dana & Co., the Iceman has pinpointed the date. The fight is expected to be the main event.

Before he was the scariest man in the UFC, Anderson Silva had to make a name for himself at a lowly Ultimate Fight Night against Chris “Bed Pisser” Leben. Leben had put together five straight UFC wins by the time he stepped into the Octagon against the Spider at UFN 5 (6/28/06), but he was woefully outgunned by Silva’s laser-guided striking, and the match was called in less than a minute. Silva got a title shot against Rich Franklin for his very next fight.

Announcement! Please check out our Power Rankings page, which now features insightful commentary on some of the fighters’ rankings. You can also leave comments for each individual weight class now, so fire away…

It’s being reported that UFC 82 — which goes down March 2 in Columbus, and will be headlined by a middleweight championship bout between Anderson Silva and Dan Henderson — will also feature the Octagon return of actor/fighter Rich Franklin, who will face off against Ultimate Fighter 4 winner Travis Lutter. Both men are coming off of losses to Anderson Silva, but unlike Franklin, Lutter actually came close to beating him, creaming the champ with unanswered punches from the mount in the first round of their match at UFC 67 before Silva slipped out and locked in a triangle choke in the second. (Franklin, of course, wasn’t able to make it to the second round in either of his fights against the current champ.) A skilled submission artist, Lutter could potentially find a way to beat Ace, who isn’t looking like the most confident fighter in the world lately, and whose budding movie career may be diverting his focus. The fight would be the first in Franklin’s new six-fight contract with the UFC.

MMA Mania is also reporting that UFC veteran Evan Tanner will also fight at UFC 82 against a yet-unnamed opponent. Tanner briefly held the UFC’s middleweight belt before losing it to Rich Franklin at UFC 53; his last fight was a submission victory over Justin Levens in April 2006. Since then, Tanner has struggled with alcoholism, attempted to create a charity training center for troubled fighters that failed, worked to restore a sailboat that eventually sank, and had some possessions stolen from his Land Cruiser. Here’s hoping his future endeavors run a bit more smoothly…

According to TradingMarkets.com, filming began today for a Canadian action film called Weapon, which stars former UFC Middleweight champ Rich Franklin opposite Bruce Greenwood and Tiffani Thiessen. The plot, you ask?

In “Weapon,” a lonely U.S. border patrol agent (Thiessen) apprehends a genetically engineered super-soldier (Franklin) and experiences the ride of her life when the soldier’s creator (Greenwood) relentlessly hunts them down.

The movie will also feature a lanky Brazilian cyborg named “SilvaBot3001″ that keeps kicking the shit out of the genetically engineered super-soldier despite everyone’s best efforts. The DVD will be be available exclusively at Canadian garage sales.

In an announcement that almost makes up for how weak “Validation” was, former PRIDE champ / current UFC contender Dan Henderson has decided to drop down a weight division and face Anderson Silva for the UFC’s middleweight title; the long-rumored fight will be the main event of UFC 82, which goes down March 1st at Columbus, Ohio’s Nationwide Arena.

Henderson’s last fight (and first UFC fight in nine years) was a unanimous decision loss to light-heavyweight champ Quinton Jackson. According to Henderson, “Dana wanted me to drop down to 185 pounds, so I’ll have a few fights in that division but I think I’ll eventually get back up to 205.”

The UFC held a media conference call yesterday to pump up UFC 78, and since I wasn’t around to liveblog it — I know, disappointing, right? — you’ll have to settle for this recap. Dana White, Michael Bisping, Rashad Evans, and Houston Alexander were in attendance, and the audio from the call can be heard here.

Among the revelations…

— Dana White has officially offered Randy Couture a title defense against Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira. The match would fulfill the last fight on Couture’s UFC contract; he isn’t technically in violation of that contract unless he turns the fight down. Couture texted White on Sunday and they are planning to discuss it next week. Nogueira is a former PRIDE heavyweight champion who won his first UFC fight in July via unanimous decision against Heath Herring. Never, ever do a Google Image Search for “Nogueira.”

Other than a disqualification in January ’06 for an illegal kick against Yushin Okami, the last time Anderson Silva lost a fight was on New Year’s Eve 2004 at a PRIDE bout against Ryo Chonan. How that loss came about must be seen to be believed:

Note to UFC middleweights: Start working on your scissorlock-takedown heelhook-submissions immediately.