Metro Fight Club head coach Saul Soliz dead at 55; tributes pour in for ‘Godfather of Texas MMA’
Prominent mixed martial arts head coach Saul Soliz has died.
A former coach of Hall of Famer Tito Ortiz, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, Cris Cyborg, and numerous other UFC fighters, Soliz died Tuesday, multiple people with knowledge of his death informed MMA Junkie. He was 55.
Tribute posts from fighters, friends, and business partners poured in on social media for Soliz, who at the time of his death headed rising Houston-based gym Metro Fight Club. Soliz was an MMA trainer and competitor for 14 years, according to the gym’s website, though his muay Thai experience stretched 26 years. Formerly of Team Punishment, Soliz served as a coach for Team Ortiz on Seasons 3 and 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”
Other fighters coached by Soliz include former UFC heavyweight champion Ricco Rodriguez, former UFC heavyweight champion Mark Coleman, former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman, Mark Kerr, Matt Hamill, Wes Sims, Yves Edwards, Pete Spratt, Melvin Guillard, Carlo Prater, Jonathan Brookins, Aaron Rosa, and Tim Credeur.
More recently, Soliz was the head coach of rising UFC bantamweights Adrian Yanez and Mana Martinez, as well as a crop of rising young talent that frequently populated Texas-based promotion Fury FC cards
Shortly after Soliz’s death, the tributes poured in with multiple people calling him “The Godfather of Texas MMA.”
Check out the legacy Soliz leaves behind through the impact felt from those who knew him best in the posts below.
Adrian Yanez
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSrue-YpBia/
Tim Credeur
https://www.facebook.com/tim.credeur/posts/4845921058769434
Friend John Gomez
https://www.facebook.com/jgomez0077/posts/10218837903321933
Mike "The Truth" Jackson
https://twitter.com/TheTruthJackson/status/1427690701660299269?s=20
Fury FC's Richard Burmaster
https://www.facebook.com/burmaster/posts/10223454276643516
Mike Bronzoulis
https://www.facebook.com/mike.bronzoulis/posts/4508980982465783
Referee Rob Alexander
https://www.facebook.com/rgalexan/posts/10227598889864179
Coach Jeremy Mahon
https://www.facebook.com/ivoz.fightclub/posts/4333788440002305
More friends and associates
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=4381072878581981&id=100000379365001 https://www.facebook.com/JohnThunderdimplesVillarreal/posts/10160115487520961 https://www.facebook.com/jayson.pilosi/posts/4542655582414127
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