Alex Soto

Alex Soto (born February 15, 1984) is a Mexican-American mixed martial artist who competes in the bantamweight division. A professional MMA competitor since 2009, Soto fought mostly in regional promotions in his adopted state of California and in his native Mexico before signing with the UFC.

Background
Born in Tijuana, Mexico, Soto's family immigrated to California when he was a child. As soon as Alex was of age, he became an infantryman in the United States Army where he spent 4 years in the 25th Infantry Division’s Long Range Surveillance Detachment, one of them in Afghanistan. After retiring from the United States Army, Alex aspired to be a diver, but instead got a job at Sea World, where he eventually became a dolphin trainer. Today, he still continues to work with dolphins and also trains them for the United States Navy.

Ultimate Fighting Championship
Soto made his promotional debut against Michael McDonald on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139, replacing an injured Johnny Eduardo. He lost the fight via KO in the first round.

Soto was expected to face Azamat Gashimov on May 15, 2012 at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier. However, Gashimov was forced from the bout and replaced by returning veteran Francisco Riviera. Soto lost to Rivera via unanimous decision and was subsequently released from the promotion.