Matt Riddle Hangs Up the Gloves For Now
A cracked rib suffered by Matt “Deep Waters” Riddle (7-3-0, 2nc) forced the Welterweight to withdraw from his scheduled Bellator 102 welterweight quarterfinal against Luis Melo. Upon finding out that Bellator would not be able to give him a fight till early 2014, Riddle has retired.
The TUF season 7 vet ends his career only ever having fought in the UFC, even tho he was under contract with Legacy FC and Bellator MMA. After twice in 4 fight testing positive for Marijuana Riddle was released from the UFC. “Deep Waters” then signed with the Texas based Legacy FC. Riddle would never fight in the promotion as Bellator bought out his contract to attain his services.
Riddle after finding out about his rib injury asked Bellator if they could postpone his fight, they said they couldn’t. Riddle asked about getting a fight on a prelim later on this season, Bellator and said they couldn’t do it. Being a husband and father of 3, Riddle thinking of his family will now get a regular job.
Without the failed drug testes Riddle would be on a 4 fight winning streak. As a fighter “Deep Waters” will be remembered for pushing the pace and mixing up his striking an wrestling. Riddle said that he will continue to participate in Jiu Jitsu and maybe even compete in Tournaments. As for the 27 year old leaving the door open to fight in MMA again, it’s possible depending on how the landscape of the industry looks in a few years.