How Ed Soares Built the Pipeline to the UFC | Coffeez

**Ed Soares** (0:00)
The LFA is the number one developmental organization in the world.
That's like, that's not even me saying it. That's a fact. It's a fact. I mean, Google it. You know what I mean? You can Google it. You could ask ChatGPT. You can ask Gemini. They'll tell you we're the number one developmental organization.

**Joseph Shalaby** (0:16)
Welcome to another episode of Coffeez. Today, you guys are in for a very special guest. I'm sitting down with the founder and CEO of Legacy Fighting Alliance, an ally of the UFC, and a breeding ground for 27% of all of the current UFC champions. They are breeding the best of the best of the best, and their fight teams are incredible. Please welcome the founder and CEO of Legacy Fighting Alliance, Ed Soares. Thanks, Ed, for jumping on the show.

**Ed Soares** (0:50)
Oh, man. My pleasure. Thanks for having me.

**Joseph Shalaby** (0:52)
Coming in hot from Redondo Beach, I appreciate you coming in. It's an absolute pleasure. I myself am a big fighting fan, fan of yours, fan of what you're doing, and a fan of what you're doing to really elevate the fight game. So, you know, God bless.
I like to start every show off the same way I start with all my guests. And what's your morning routine, Ed?

**Ed Soares** (1:15)
You know, I wake up, it depends on the day. I don't have like a set routine every day.
I just wake up, grab a coffee at the downstairs, and then I kind of see what I have to do for the day. So I don't really have a set routine. If there's, if I have time and there's waves, I'll go surf. If not, I'll just go right to the office.

**Joseph Shalaby** (1:40)
Nice. Okay. Nothing crazy like these fighters that you're breeding.

**Ed Soares** (1:43)
No, nothing like that.

**Joseph Shalaby** (1:45)
Nice. So I'm going to jump right into it.
What was your journey like when you started in the MMA game? What was the vision to start LFA? How did that start? What year did it start? What was the concept that you had that really made it different than what existed at the time, which is the old school UFC?

**Ed Soares** (2:04)
Well, the reality of it is, I started back working in the business back in 2004 When I got into the business, I got into the business producing a TV show called Passing the Guard.
It was a program, it was a TV show, like a magazine show from Brazil. It was called Passing the Guard in Brazil, which translates to Passing the Guard. And we started broadcasting that in 2004 And then eventually it led into me, my partner and I starting our management company, which is called Tough Media.
And then I managed athletes. So we were bringing, our niche was kind of, we were bringing athletes from Brazil. I'm Brazilian. I was born and raised here in California, but my mom and dad are Brazilian. And so I spoke fluent Portuguese. And my business partner is from Brazil. I actually met him when I was like 15 years old. He actually was my next door neighbor in Redondo. And that's when we first met. And he's a legend in the sport. His name is Jorge Guimarães. And everyone knows him as Joinha is kind of his nickname. But he's just been a legend and he's been a pioneer in this sport. As a matter of fact, when Hory and Gracie moved here from Brazil in the late 70s, George came with them to spread the word of Jiu Jitsu.

**Joseph Shalaby** (3:35)
Wow.
I mean, you guys have been pioneering BJJ since its onset here in the US. I asked you about the Gracie family. You've known them since they were children. And you guys never moved, you're all in the same area, the South Bay.

**Ed Soares** (3:50)
Yeah, yeah.
I've known Hory and I actually became really good friends with Hoys. And he actually got me into training Jiu Jitsu with Hoys.

**Joseph Shalaby** (4:03)
And he's the founder of UFC.

**Ed Soares** (4:06)
No, Hory is the founder of UFC. But Hoys was the was the Gracie who Hory put in there to prove the efficiency of Jiu Jitsu. You know, the UFC was never started to become a sport.
Hory created the UFC to prove to the world that Gracie Jiu Jitsu is the most efficient martial art in the world. And he proved that, you know, and there was other guys that, in theory, they say, oh, you know, Hickson was better this, but they wanted to use Hoys because he was the best example of how you didn't have to have size or muscle or anything like that to make Jiu Jitsu work. It was all technique. And, you know, Hoys was six foot, six foot one, 170 pounds. And he, he created the Ultimate Fighting Championship to, to show the efficiency of Gracie Jiu Jitsu. And obviously he proved that. And then, you know, the sport kind of, or then, and then the UFC kind of took on a life of its own and developed to what we see today.