A Grudge Match Is Brewing Between Bellator's Joe Warren and Joe Soto
by Jonathan Snowden on Sep 2, 2010 2:18 PM EDT
in Bellator Event
Email
Print
Both men have more than a little in common. They've walked the same road, not hand in hand, but along the same path, surviving the grueling Bellator tournament. Joe Soto won the inaugural featherweight tourney in 2009 by choking out tough Mexican fighter Yahir Reyes. Joe Warren earned the right to face him with the title on the line by beating Patricio Freire in a razor thin decision this June in Louisville.
And as the two prepare to square off tonight on Fox Sports, what was once just another title fight is quietly becoming something else all together. Bellator may have their first grudge match tonight.
Warren, one of the world's best greco-roman wrestlers, is certainly not lacking in talent. But Soto thinks he is lacking in something else that usually defines the mixed martial artist - humility:
It would suck to lose to him; I never want to lose to a dirt bag like that...All he does better than me is talk s***. Talking is the only thing he does better. He keeps a good pace , but I don’t see anything in the cage he does better than me. He’s got weak punches when he’s on top, nothing I’m scared of."
Warren believes he's already bettter than Soto. And the scary part? The former Olympic favorite thinks his potential is basically unlimited:
As far as my potential, I’m about 20 percent of where I can be. I’ve got 80 more percent coming. Any competitor should be scared as hell. Just because I’m older doesn’t mean I’m not nasty."
Warren and Soto headline a card that also features three bantamweight quarterfinals. Quotes courtesy of Bellator.
28 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I usually don’t think that size is a big issue for outstanding wrestlers, but I agree. There’s no reason for him to stay at 145, where, other things equal, he’s not going to be as effective. If it was between 145 and 155 it obviously might be worth bumping up to fight in the UFC. Still, although obviously such a fight is a ways away, I’d love to see Aldo fight an elite wrestler like Warren to see how he handles it.
"If a dick don't get hard offa cocaine, what would you axe it?" O.D.B.
"To be is to be the value of a bound variable." W.V.O Quine
"I shoot. I score. He shoots. I score." Dan Gable.
i think Aldo will stuff all of Warren’s take down attempts. I know warren is leagues beyond Mike Brown in terms of wrestiling ability, but is one of the biggest FW’s in MMA and got stuffed easily. MB’s walk around weight is around 170+ lbs
Maybe, although my money would be on a healthy Warren taking down Aldo more or less at will. A world champion Greco Roman guy (who just won in 2007 and would have been favored to win gold in 2008) should have no trouble taking down anyone at 145, whether he’s giving up 10 lbs or not. Nevertheless he was sick in the Freire fight and, until he gassed, Freire was more than holding his own in the wrestling dept, so who knows? As you accurately note, Brown is far, far beneath Warren in terms of wrestling talent, but everyone, even I, have to admit that Aldo’s balance and hips looked impressive in his win over Brown, and this is MMA so you never know.
"If a dick don't get hard offa cocaine, what would you axe it?" O.D.B.
"To be is to be the value of a bound variable." W.V.O Quine
"I shoot. I score. He shoots. I score." Dan Gable.
Love Warren or hate him, he is dead right about his potential
He has been hanging with some of the best fighters in the world with nothing more than his Greco skills and toughness. If/when he rounds out his skills, he is going to be a monster.
But as long as he stays at Team Quest, we’ll probably mostly only see his wrestling skills.
"Girls are mean." Lisa Ward
so true. why can’t more of these wrestlers be like Ben Askren and Phil Davis and actually work on submitting guys once they get it to the floor?
a life: it's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come -Lester Freamon
by eastcoastatlas on Sep 2, 2010 3:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Uggh.
You can’t just start calling yourself the baddest man on the planet, you have to EARN that shit. Joe Warren has earned nothing yet. He’s a good fighter, but give me a break.
one of these days Warren isn’t going to be able to brute force his way out of a submission. hopefully it’s tonite. my dislike of Warren stems from a 125lb state champ on my HS wrestling team who thought he was the biggest badass on the team yet turned into a big bitch when he would overstep his bounds and my 160lb barely state-qualifying ass put him in his place
a life: it's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come -Lester Freamon
by eastcoastatlas on Sep 2, 2010 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions
You can only be so tough
when everyone over 150lbs can toss you like a bitch. At 125, you really gotta be the baddest man on the planet, cause someone’s gonna call you’re tiny ass out.
"I trained with Steven Seagal."
by B.H. Farnsworth on Sep 2, 2010 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions
He earned it when he beat Kid in his 2nd MMA fight.
He re-affirmed it during the Freire fight where he puked his guts out all day, got the crap beaten out of him in the 1st and STILL came back to win a decision. Add in the fact he was one of the best wrestlers on the international circuit and I think he’s earned the right to call himself that.
I think Warren’s an interesting character with tons of talent, but hindsight has definitely taken a little shine off his win over Kid.
And I still don’t think he won the Pitbull fight. I had it 10-8, 9-10, 9-10 (28-28).
Fair enough, but at the time it was still a huge upset (one I made a pretty penny on) and while Warren will never be well-rounded fighter he is still tough as nails. Plus unless memory is failing me he’s had that nickname since his wrestling days when he won the World Cup and World Championships in Greco.
Sounds to me like he’s won some fights. Nothing more. Way too early to start saying he’s anything but a good fighter with a lot of potential.
His accomplishments go beyond MMA, he was the best wrestler in his division winning gold at the Pan American AND World Championships in 2006. If he hadn’t tested positive for weed he would have most likely won Gold in 2008 in Beijing as well.
All this happened before he beat a former world champion in his first fight and followed that up by beating a guy who hadn’t lost in MMA in 7 years. Personally I’d consider that an accomplishment and not just “winning some fights”.
He also named his son Achilles, if that isn’t awesome I don’t know what is.
by Lyrias on Sep 2, 2010 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
He also named his son Achilles, if that isn’t awesome I don’t know what is.
Okay, yeah, that’s pretty awesome.
Wandy named his son Thor.
"I trained with Steven Seagal."
by B.H. Farnsworth on Sep 2, 2010 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions
I would say Askren vs. Thomas 2
was Bellator’s first grudge match.
Let's get naked and see who's stronger.
Can't stand Warren
Cocky guy with very boring fighting style. Soto has five rounds to KO or submit him.. hope he manages!
The blueprint for how to beat Warren was laid out in his last fight, Soto should have studied that and worked on his cardio if he did than he’ll take it.
"they mad at me, I keep going hard reppin/
cause what's your Rampage to Rashad Evans/"
-Joe Budden (Something To Ride To)
http://www.zshare.net/audio/76866807deabe3c1/
Oh the irony
Soto complains about humility and get’s lamped while lampooning.
(That’s an eerily prescient weigh-in photo too.)
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bloody Elbow
Related FanShots on Bloody Elbow
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
