An MMA competitor since 1999, judo black belt Toby Imada is simply known as a dangerous submission machine. He holds victories over fellow regional veterans such as James Krause, Carey Vanier, and UFC veteran Jason Von Flue. He has also fought many much bigger opponents throughout his career such as Jake Shields, or Jason 'Mayhem' Miller. The Bellator veteran is most known for his fight against Jorge Masvidal, where he choked his opponent unconscious with a never before seen inverted triangle choke. He would go on to lose in the final of the first ever Bellator lightweight championship tournament against Eddie Alvarez, but many had Imada's inverted triangle choke victory as the submission of the year for 2009.

Imada has not fought since a he suffered a flying knee knockout loss to Brazilian Patricky 'Pitbull' Freire at Bellator 39. He was scheduled to participate in a rematch with James Krause, but the bout never materialized. It's unknown when the California native will make his return to a cage.