We’re very saddened by the tragic news of
Saul Soliz’s passing. Saul will be remembered fondly as a
world-class coach, leader and, more importantly, a world-class man.
Sending our sincere condolences to those who had the privilege of
knowing Saul. pic.twitter.com/klzvKDGgJE— IridiumSportsAgency (@TeamIridiumISA)
August 17, 2021
Saul Soliz, the leader of Metro Fight Club in Houston and a
prominent coach in the MMA community for years, has died at age
55.
Soliz’s friend, John Gomez, revealed in a Facebook
post that the cause of death was COVID-19. Soliz’s passing has
since been confirmed by multiple outlets.
“He fought a long hard fight, anyone that knew JR knows he was a
UFC trainer, he loved training his fighters and showing them how to
become winners, not only in fighting but also how to live life —
he mentor so many , I’ll never know how many , I know it’s a long
list,” Gomez wrote. “He really loved training his fighters- they
all have great respect for him and they loved him also.”
Over the course of his tenure, Soliz has worked with the likes of
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.
Soliz was also previously a trainer with Team Punishment and served
as coach with Tito Ortiz’s
team on Season 3 and Season 11 of “The Ultimate Fighter.” In more
recent times, Soliz coached current UFC competitors Adrian
Yanez and Leomana
Martinez as well as younger fighters on the Texas regional
scene.