In what was dubbed by Joe Rogan as the “cursed” fight card, UFC 177 was plagued by problems. It was supposed to be an action-packed event with the much anticipated rematch between T.J. Dillashaw and Renan Barao, but as we all know that isn’t how it turned out. Complications during weight cuts by Henry Cejudo, and most famously by Renan Barao, left Scott Jorgensen without an opponent and UFC 177 with no main event; that is until Joe Soto stepped up.
In an unprecedented move by the UFC, matchmakers Joe Silva and Sean Shelby asked Soto to change fights on less than a day’s notice and fight for the Bantamweight title.
Joe and I sat down and had a talk about his shocking opponent change.
Aaron Robbins: Joe, thanks so much for talking with me. How are you recovering from the fight?
Joe Soto: “I’m feeling great; I have a couple of scrapes and cuts, but other than that I’m just fine.”
AR: That’s good to hear. Now, let’s talk UFC 177. Joe, it is well known that you were asked to step up against T.J. Dillashaw due to Renan Barao’s unsuccessful weight cut. When were you made aware that Barao would be unable to fight?
JS: “I was still cutting weight for my original fight when one of the UFC matchmakers called me and said they had to talk to me about something important. So I ran down to the hotel lobby to talk with Joe Silva and Sean Shelby, and they had me sit down. At this point I thought they were going to ask me to fight Scott Jorgensen because his opponent hadn’t made weight and had to pull out of their fight. I said to them so I’m guessing you want me to fight on the main card, and they said ‘yeah, something like that.’ Joe and Shelby told me that I had to keep the news to myself, but Barao had to be taken to the hospital after his weight cut. Then they asked me if I would be l willing to fight Dillashaw. I immediately said yes, I would love to fight him. So they told me not to say anything, at this point Dillashaw didn’t even know (laughs).”
AR: Tell the fans what was going through your mind when you got the news.
JS: “The first thing I did was jump up from the table and run out of the lobby doors to my teammates. I told them I needed all my weight-cutting gear. I was at 136 pounds and had just told the UFC that I could fight for the title. I had about one hour to lose that pound, and so I just focused on that. It would’ve been disastrous if I couldn’t have lost the pound, so that was my main concern. After I cut the weight I just tried to come to terms with what was happening. It was surreal having my first fight with the UFC to be for a title. It took a while for it to sink in.”
AR: That must have been a huge shock! I know this is speculation, but had you said “no”, what do you think would’ve happened to UFC 177? Would it still have had a Main Event?
JS: “I’m not really sure; I guess they could’ve asked my original opponent, Anthony Birchak, other than that I don’t know what they could’ve done. There really wasn’t anybody else that could’ve stepped up to take the fight.”
AR: I agree with that, although Birchak could’ve taken the fight in theory, he really doesn’t have the same credentials that you do. I think it was well known that you are the current Tachi Palace Bantamweight champ, but I think fewer people were aware that you are also a former Bellator champ. Is that correct?
JS: “Yeah I got the Bellator belt in the summer of 2009; I had just started training MMA full time a few months before that. I had won four fights back-to-back in pretty short order and I got a contract from Bellator. I ended up taking the Featherweight title from Yahir Reyes by Rear Naked Choke. Yeah I thought it was funny that the UFC mentioned I was a former title holder in another organization, but didn’t mention which one.” (Laughs)
AR: There was some buzz on social media calling for Scott Jorgensen to get the fight. Do you have any comments?
JS: “Well Jorgensen was ready to fight against Henry Cejudo at 125, but Cejudo had to pull out because of a bad weight cut. Jorgensen looked really lean and I think he just would’ve been too light to fight in a heavier division. That’s just my opinion, I really can’t speculate on why they didn’t ask him.”
AR: Let’s quickly touch on the recent trend of dangerous weight cuts. Why do you think fighters put themselves in the position where they are cutting so much it jeopardizes their health?
JS: “Well as a fighter you are always looking to have an advantage. I think if it’s done the right way, and you can fully hydrate after the cut it can be a plus. I think all of these fighters missing weight is because they are going about it the wrong way. It could be that it’s just that they are too big to continue in their current weight class.”
AR: Well put. Now let’s talk about the fact that you trained for three rounds but got put in the position to have to fight five rounds. Was that a source of concern for you?
JS: “Of course, I always train hard and show up in shape, but I knew I wasn’t going to be able to push the pace like I normally would. I had to be smart about the way I was going to fight to make sure I had something left for the fourth and fifth rounds. Where normally I would obviously go 100% I knew I would have to fight at about 80% and slow my output. I wanted to conserve my energy so I wouldn’t get picked apart after the third.”
AR: Yeah, that is a tough position to be put in. Once you got in the cage, did Dillashaw surprise you with his performance?
JS: “Not really, I already knew his style coming into the fight. He has a high volume striking and throws a lot of combos. He was pretty quick at times, but other times he was predictable. I knew that he would be going at me with his kicks, so I had to look out for that. I knew he was going to be tough; I’ve trained with him before. We had a 30 minute wrestling session and a five minute MMA session. I’ve trained with guys from the UFC before, and never really had any trouble with them. T.J. was one of the first guys where I said “wow, this guy is really good”. I knew we cancelled out each-others wrestling so I expected a stand up war. I was curious how I was going to perform because that’s not my strong point. I prefer to fight on the ground.”
AR: Despite the stoppage, it was a great fight and showed that you belong in the UFC. If you get the chance, title shot or not, would you like to fight Dillashaw again?
JS: “Absolutely. I think I could pressure him a lot harder if I had the proper time to train for him. Like I said before, I had to pace myself because it was a five-round fight. I would like to see how it would turn out if I had a full training camp training to fight T.J.”
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