What a turn of events.
After Henry Cejudo pulled out of the fourth fight of his career yesterday citing "medical reasons," Renan Barao received a similar fate being forced off the main event against T.J. Dillashaw at UFC 177, which takes place tonight (Aug. 30, 2014) from inside Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, California.
Instead, mixed martial arts (MMA) observers will watch Joe Soto, a former Bellator featherweight champion and Tachi Palace bantamweight champion, step up to the plate and take on the Team Alpha Male standout on just over 24 hours notice.
The card itself was nothing to write home about, and certainly not worth the price tag. The second meeting between Dillashaw vs. Barao becomes the third championship fight scratched off this card, if you count Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson besides the flyweight tussle set for UFC 178 between Demetrious Johnson vs. Chris Cariaso.
UFC also announced Barao would not be getting a title fight upon his return, which puts a rematch between the two in doubt.
Several sites will recite how "One Bad Mofo" will have a puncher's chance or finds himself in a Rocky situation in this bout, but we should at least give it a try if we're summoned to get down to the nitty-gritty.
Besides, UFC will still promote Soto tonight as this dangerous force we never knew about, anyway.
T.J. Dillashaw (10-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) vs. Joe Soto (15-2 MMA, 0-0 UFC)
Regardless of Dillashaw's opponent, nothing really changes for him.
He didn't train for anyone other than the Brazilian, yet he's sound enough to know how to get down to business, considering he's a world champion. Dillashaw shouldn't take Soto lightly, and with the people behind him at Team Alpha Male camp (Urijah Faber, Justin Buchholz, and former coach, Duane Ludwig), only he will be to blame if he thinks he's in for an easy Saturday night.
Despite his remarks about Barao at the weigh-ins, Dillashaw still seems like a fighter who won't take anyone lightly. Now that it becomes a question of skill, the Californian will still use his speedy footwork to set up his slick and detailed combinations, which are set to fly from all angles. His kicking game is on point, and he's a solid wrestler, too, not having suffered a takedown in UFC yet.
What we know about Joe Soto is that he was a former Bellator featherweight champion who was involved in a war for the ages against Joe Warren at Bellator 27 in one of the organization's better title fights.
That was four years ago.
Still, he was Bellator's first ever champion, and he actually spent a bit of time training with Team Alpha Male in the past. He's been doing most of his damage in Tachi Palace Fights, where he captured the bantamweight strap and defeated four fighters via finish after suffering a promotional loss to Eddie Yagin in his 2011 debut.
From what we saw in the Warren fight, "One Bad Mofo" can pack a punch, and he's got a tendency to become ferocious fast. With that said, he may be too eager at times to engage in a brawl, and a lack of focus is usually to blame for his downfalls.
Whether it's grinding his foes down and utilizing ground-and-pound, or setting them up for a submission, Soto likes to bring the action to the mat, but that's going to be incredibly difficult against the champion. He has really good wrestling, though it would be a shock if he were to be the first one to take down the champ.
But it seems as if Soto is going to be aiming at his foe's chin, and vice versa. Soto is violent on the feet, so at least the fight is intriguing for what it's worth. Being cocky won't benefit him in this battle, since he should leave the theatrics at home (unlike he did against Warren, where he opted to pull several moves out of the Diaz brothers repertoire). In all honesty, he's more of a one-punch hitter, even though stringing together a good combination works for him, too.
At the end of the day, whatever predictions may be, this fight comes down to either Dillashaw dominating and routing the unexpected title hopeful, or Soto shocking the world by being the better fighter than Dillashaw on the given night. Even though Soto has a good chunk of experience under his belt, he's not really comparable in terms of where they are in their respective careers.
Soto's a complete wildcard, and that's the reason why he's presumably going to go for completely broke once the referee steps out of the way. He doesn't have to be reckless, however, making it a dogfight right from the get-go would be the only viable option.
Let's hope this one turns out to be something remotely close to special, given the circumstances.
For more on UFC 177: "Dillashaw vs. Soto" including the revamped fight card and line up click here.