Frederico Lapenda is an award winning movie producer and fight promoter who is one of the founders of the sport of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Lapenda is widely credited, along with Ultimate Fighting Championship UFC co-creator Art Davie, as being responsible for the globalization of MMA. Mr Lapenda is also president of the Beverly Hills Film Festival Grand Jury, has produced many films, numerous MMA events, video games, music concerts, and documentaries, one of them, Kidnapping, was eligible for an Oscar nominations. Lapenda received a national honor for his lifelong accomplishments, when he was appointed a Tourism Ambassador by the President of Brazil, alongside such luminaries as Ronaldinho, Vitor Belfort, Renzo Gracie and Romero Britto. One of his most significant accomplishments was the creation of "Allies of the Amazon", a children's book about four super-powered talking animals who protect the Amazon rainforest, with comic book legend Stan Lee.