Going into a fight I might be thinking I want to take the guy down and do it, or stand up, you know? I do game plan but I won't spend my whole camp on just focusing on one thing. Say the guy is a jiu-jitsu guy; I won't just spend the whole camp on the ground. I'm just always, constantly working stand-up, jiu-jitsu and wrestling. I go in knowing that I kind of have a game plan of what I might want to do though. I have a plan but am prepared for it go anywhere.

FiveKnuckles.com: Going into the Bellator tournament, despite being undefeated, you weren't considered among the front-runners to take it. Many thought that Wilson Reis would blow right through the field. Did being the underdog motivate you?

Joe Soto: I knew to everybody else I was the underdog. In my heart and people around me all pretty much knew I was capable of winning the whole thing. We didn't think of ourselves as the underdog and thought we could be the favorite's definitely. I was aware in the MMA community that I was probably the underdog. More people knew Wilson [Reis] and I was okay with that role. I definitely thought I had the better skill set than my opponents.

FiveKnuckles.com: So what's next for you? You took the Bellator tournament and have certainly raised your profile within the sport. Do you plan on going back to Bellator? When is the next season starting?

Joe Soto: Yeah, Yeah, definitely; if there is a Bellator I'm going there. I'm under contract with them so, you know, that's where I'm going. I just heard Bellator got pushed back to March now. I don't know why it keeps getting pushed back, but all I can think of is they are trying to work out a TV deal. I'm not sure though. I don't know what's going on, but I liked everything about the tournament and thought people within the organization were great people. It seemed like they really cared about you as a fighter. I liked the cage, how it was put together but the only thing I didn't like was there wasn't too many fans. That was probably the only thing I didn't like but they are new so... you know.

FiveKnuckles.com: Right, it takes time to build a fan base. So will next season be different for you since you won the tournament last season? 

Joe Soto: The next winner of the tournament will be the number one contender. I'll fight whoever wins the next tournament, but before then I'll fight a featured fight at a catchweight, or something, when the tournament begins. It will be a non-title fight and then after the tournament, I'll fight the number one contender. It's basically a way to get you a fight and help you stay active so you don't have to wait the whole season.

FiveKnuckles.com: So you'd fight outside of your weight class then? You currently fight at featherweight. Could you see yourself moving up to lightweight for a fight?

Joe Soto: If a fight made sense going up, and...