Bellator Fighting Championships featherweight champion Joe Soto (9-0 MMA, 4-0 BFC) and season-two tournament winner Joe Warren (5-1 MMA, 3-0 BFC) will clash on Sept. 2.
As was first reported by MMAjunkie.com, Soto and Warren meet in the main event of Bellator 27.
Bellator officials today announced the matchup for the card, which takes place at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas.
Soto claimed Bellator's featherweight title in the organization's first season with wins over Yahir Reyes, Wilson Reis and Ben Greer. The 23-year-old has since earned a gogoplata win under the Tachi Palace Fights banner and returned to Bellator for a non-title TKO win over UFC vet Diego Saraiva.
The Nor-Cal Fighting Alliance product has reeled-off nine-straight victories to open his career, and eight of the wins have come via stoppage.
"I'm just really excited to get in there and compete against him," Soto stated in today's release. "He's a wrestler just like I am, but I think I can out-wrestle him. If he takes me down, I'm better on my back than he is on top. If we stay standing, I think I can out-box him. No matter where the fight goes, I think I'm a much better all-around fighter than he is."
Meanwhile, Warren comes to the matchup after grinding out three-straight decision wins over Patricio Freire, Georgi Karakhanyan and Eric Marriott.
A former world-champion Greco-Roman wrestler, Warren began his mixed martial arts career for the Japanese-based DREAM organization where he compiled a 2-1 record in just a seven-month period before making his way to Bellator.
"Joe Soto is a tough fighter, but he's going to see the best Joe Warren that's ever been in a cage," Warren stated. "We're both great wrestlers, so I'm guessing we're going to get in there and beat the crap out of each other, but in the end I'm going to be taking that belt home with me."
Bellator's second season, which kicks off Aug. 12, will feature Soto and Bellator's three other champions each defending their belts for the first time.
As with all Bellator events, Bellator 27 airs live on FOX Sports Net and during special weekend highlight shows on NBC, Telemundo and the cable network mun2.
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/20108/champ-j ... ntonio.mma