Soares says delaying fight was never an option

Never one to refrain from speaking his mind when asked to give his opinion, MMA manger Ed Soares has been frequently criticized as of late for trying to manipulate the UFC's matchmaking process or hand-select opponents for his clients, such as UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva.

Soares once again became a focal point of attention this past week when he suggested middleweight contender Chael Sonnen needed to avenge his February 2009 loss to Demian Maia before being considered for a title shot.

When Silva's UFC 112 opponent, Vitor Belfort, was forced to withdraw from the contest. Maia was named as the replacement. Several observers cried, "Foul," but Soares insists he had nothing to do with the replacement choice.

Soares said the process began on Thursday while he was in Brazil. A phone call from UFC co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta got the ball rolling.

"I got a phone call when I was in Brazil from Lorenzo telling me that Vitor was injured," Soares told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Lorenzo said they were going to work very diligently to try and replace Vitor with somebody else, but they didn't know who they were going to put in there. Anderson said, 'No problem.'

"When they told us, we were all sitting around. At least three or four times a week in Brazil, Anderson has all his guys that he trains with over to his house for lunch after they train. We were all sitting around the table eating lunch and watching Vitor Belfort fights. That's when I got the phone call. I walked out in the living room and I said, 'Man, we don't need to be watching these videos anymore.' They go, 'Why?' I said, 'Vitor is out with a shoulder injury.'"

After assuring Silva that he wasn't trying to play a prank, Soares asked the champ how he wanted to proceed. Silva said he didn't care; he just wanted to fight.

In fact, Soares said Silva offered to fight at light heavyweight if it made securing a replacement foe any easier for UFC brass.

"Anderson asked who was going to replace Vitor, and I said I didn't know," Soares said. "He said, 'Dude, I want to fight. I want to fight in April. I don't care if it's for the title or it's at 205 (pounds). Call him back and tell them I want to fight.'

"I called Lorenzo, and I said, 'Hey, I just spoke with Anderson, and Anderson said he just wants to fight. If you need to book the fight at 205, that can give you another option.' Lorenzo said, 'Great. We want to keep Anderson on the card. I'll get back to you with another option.'"

At that point, Soares and Silva were left in the dark as to who the UFC would select. Soares was already booked to fly back to the U.S. that evening, so it was Friday morning before the word came in from the UFC that Maia was their choice.

"I took off Thursday night from Brazil, and when I got to Houston Friday morning, I had a message from Lorenzo and from (UFC matchmaker) Joe Silva," Soares said. "I called them both back, and actually I got hold of Joe Silva first. Joe told me that Demian Maia stepped up and was willing to take the fight. I said, 'Great.'

"I finally got hold of Anderson and I called them back immediately and said, 'Hey. Anderson said it's no problem.'"

Soares' detractors have pointed toward his previous vocal disdain for the UFC's decision to grant Belfort a middleweight title fight without competing in at least one contest in the 185-pound division first. But Soares insisted that his personal feelings have never factored into whether or not his clients would accept a fight.

Instead, Soares said he simply speaks honestly when he's asked his opinion by a member of the media. But the widely recognized manager insists he's never tried to influence UFC brass into altering their decision on a potential matchup.

"Any time that the UFC has ever mentioned a fight, I've expressed, 'Oh, I like this fight,' or I've questioned the fight," Soares said. "But we've never turned it down. Even when they put Vitor Belfort up and I didn't think he deserved a title shot, I never said we weren't going to take the fight. We took the fight; I just didn't understand why it was for a title shot.

"But hey, it is what it is. It doesn't really matter if we like a fight or not. We never have turned down a fight, and we never will."

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