Adrian Yanez has a knack for bringing his opponents down with his right fist. Out of the 17 wins in his professional MMA career, he has amassed 11 via KO/TKO. No doubt, it’s a feat that only the strongest of fighters have accomplished. And the entirety of its credits goes to the Yanez’s former coach, Saul Soliz.

Soliz is a man who made quite an impact in the Texan MMA community. However, he couldn’t win the battle against COVID-19 in 2021. Today, let’s pay our tributes to the legendary coach and take a look at how he impacted Yanez’s life. 

Adrian Yanez coach: Saul Soliz 

Saul Soliz was the man who pioneered mixed martial arts in Texas. Well, as per the Houston Chronicle, Soliz was the very first person to have ever applied for a license to promote MMA there and put live shows in Houston. He also had a major role in developing the MMA rules in Texas. On top of that, he had amassed 26 years of experience training fighters like Todd Moore and Adrian Yanez. 

However, in August 2021, the beloved Texan coach contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized. He passed away at the age of 55, leaving Yanez in a state of grief. Talking to Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour, following his split decision victory over Davey Grant, the bantamweight fighter said, “It really, really sucked. It’s been a really long training camp. It was a roller-coaster of a training camp just due to the fact that I’m so used to seeing my coach there. I’m so used to just walking into the gym and just seeing Saul. Even the little quirky jokes that he would make, or just the little advice that he would give, and just everything. I miss it. And this one was hard because he wasn’t there.”

Talking to Ariel Helwani following his loss, Yanez revealed that he had lost his father back in 2016. And in 2021, he had to endure losing his father figure. Yanez continued, “It really brought me down, and that’s another reason why I’m trying to take some time off right now after this fight, so to make sure I get my mental health and everything else, and kind of just deal with everything. Because honestly, I still haven’t dealt with it.”

Soliz’s sad passing left the entire state to mourn the loss. Even Chris Cyborg, Michael Bisping, and other professionals bowed down to pay their respects to the Texan MMA pioneer. Metro Fight Club was left without a head coach. Needless to say, it brought a hard time for Yanez and his teammates. Despite the emotional toll, the 31-year-old mixed martial artist had to take control and strive to make his coach proud.

Adrian Yanez gym and team

Yanez trains at the Metro Fight Club, situated in Houston Texas. He trains together with Carlo ‘Neo’ Prater, Pete ‘Secret Weapon’ Spratt, Tim ‘The Terminator’ Snyder, Jacob ‘Lil Animal’ Silva, Jason ‘The Slim Reaper’ Langellier, and many others. Most of his teammates, along with ‘Lil Animal’ Silva compete under the banner of Fury FC. 

Yanez did succeed in making Soliz proud. Following the former coach’s inactivity, the 31-year-old stepped up to coach some of the other members of the team. He even cornered his teammates at a Fury FC show. When he had the last conversation with ‘The Godfather of Texas MMA’, he found out loud and clear that he had made Soliz proud. He said, “I was just super happy to be able to tell him if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be where I’m at. I’ve always tried to express that to him at every turn, every corner. Because you just never know.”

Now, Yanez is looking up to fight Daniel Marcos at UFC on ESPN 63. Fighting at UFC Tampa will present the Texan bantamweight fighter with an opportunity to extend his 1-fight win streak and make his stance known in the world of mixed martial arts. But the outcome of the fight? We’d have to wait and watch the show on 14th December. 

Do you think Yanez can rise higher without the guidance of Saul Soliz? No doubt, it would have been gut-wrenching for the bantamweight fighter to continue training and missing Soliz at his corner. After all, it’s always the coach who builds the fighter.