Joseph Angel Soto (born March 22, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).
At the time Soto was born, the fourth son, his parents were struggling financially, with his father working as a garbage man and his mother as a house cleaner.
Soto started wrestling in junior high 8th grade and also played pop warner football.
There Soto wrestled with Jon Jones and fellow Mexican American Cain Velasquez plus Colby Covington.
In Soto's semi-final fight, which took place May 8 at Bellator 6, he dominated Wilson Reis from the opening bell with impeccable takedown defense and superior striking.
Despite being a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and the only EliteXC Featherweight Champion, Reis could never get the fight to the ground.
While the doctor was inspecting Soto, his camp made sure to crack jokes and distract the specialist from noticing the cut over his eye.
[8] Soto won the fight after cage side doctors said Saraiva was unable to continue because of a cut on his forehead.
[16] Soto faced Michinori Tanaka on January 2, 2016, at UFC 195, filling in for an injured Russell Doane.
[20] Soto was tabbed as a short notice replacement to face Marco Beltrán in a catchweight bout on November 5, 2016, at The Ultimate Fighter Latin America 3 Finale.
Soto then progressed to the finals, where he faced leg lock specialist and favourite of the competition Eddie Cummings.
Soto defended many of Cummings' leg lock attempts for several minutes until finally succumbing to a heel hook.