Matthew Riddle

Matthew Riddle

Riddle at an LCW Wrestling event in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on December 25, 2015
Born Matthew Frederick Riddle
(1986-01-14) January 14, 1986
Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
Other names Deep Waters, Chipper
Nationality American
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Division Middleweight (2008, 2014)
Welterweight (2009-2013)
Reach 76.0 in (193 cm)
Style Wrestling
Fighting out of Del Rio, Texas,
Las Vegas, Nevada
Team Throwdown Training Center
Rank      Brown belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Years active 2007–2013, 2014
Mixed martial arts record
Total 13
Wins 8
By knockout 1
By submission 1
By decision 5
By disqualification 1
Losses 3
By knockout 1
By decision 2
No contests 2
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog
Riddle at a 2016 BEYOND WRESTLING event.
Riddle tosses WWE NXT star Tommaso Ciampa at a 2016 Beyond Wrestling event in Melrose Massachusetts
Matt Riddle tosses Chris Dickinson during an August 2016 BEYOND WRESTLING event at AURORA in Providence RI
Matt Riddle tosses Chris Dickinson

Matthew Frederick Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Riddle made a name for himself by appearing on SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7.

Background

Riddle was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and later moved to Saratoga Springs, New York, where he attended Saratoga Springs High School. He graduated from high school in 2004 and then attended East Stroudsburg University, where he was a member of the wrestling team for two years. After his head coach was fired, Riddle lost his wrestling scholarship and moved to MMA.[1]

Mixed martial arts career

Riddle's main experience comes from high school wrestling. He wrestled at Saratoga High School in upstate New York. There Riddle was a National wrestling Champion and in his Senior year was a New York state wrestling champion. He is 1-0 in amateur MMA.

Riddle worked as a roofer and trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the evenings. Since Riddle had little to no money, he did not train at a gym but in his apartment. Riddle used BJ Penn's book, Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge to help him learn.[2]

The Ultimate Fighter

Riddle fought Dan Simmler, an understudy of Matt Serra, to get into the TUF house. Riddle knocked out Simmler in the opening seconds of the second round and struck him three times in the jaw after he had lost consciousness,[3] breaking Simmler's jaw in two places.[3] It was called the biggest knockout in The Ultimate Fighter history by Dana White and the knock out of the century by Quinton Jackson.[3] Riddle was picked second for team Rampage.[4] During the show's taping, Riddle was given the nickname Chipper after Rampage noticed him always smiling.[5]

Riddle's second fight was against Tim Credeur. Credeur defeated Riddle via armbar in the second round, knocking Riddle out of the tournament.[6] After the fight, Credeur bought Riddle an Xbox 360 with his earnings.[7]

During the show, Riddle was consistently shown arguing with the older and more experienced, Dante Rivera. Dante, on more the one occasion, stated that he would retire if Riddle defeated him.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

At The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale held on June 21, 2008, Riddle made his UFC and professional debut defeating fellow Ultimate Fighter castmate, Dante Rivera, via unanimous decision (29–28, 30–27, 30–27).

Riddle was then scheduled to fight Ryan Thomas at UFC 91, but a knee injury had forced Riddle out of the fight. Recovery for the knee injury was scheduled to take 6–8 weeks.[8]

After recovering, Riddle fought and defeated Steve Bruno via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) at UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens.

In his third UFC bout, Riddle defeated another one of his former Ultimate Fighter 7 cast mates, Dan Cramer via unanimous decision on the undercard of UFC 101.

He next faced TUF 9 alumnus Nick Osipczak on November 14, 2009 at UFC 105. The fight was held in Osipczak's home country of England.[9] Riddle lost the fight by TKO in the third round.

After his loss to Osipczack, Riddle faced UFC newcomer Greg Soto on March 27, 2010 at UFC 111.[10] After a dominant first two rounds for Riddle, Soto landed an illegal upkick to Riddle's head in the third round which rendered him unable to continue, giving Riddle the victory by disqualification.

Riddle faced DaMarques Johnson on August 1, 2010 at UFC on Versus 2.[11] The fight was a catchweight bout after Johnson weighed in at 172 lbs and Riddle would go on to win the fight via TKO due to punches near the end of round 2.

Riddle was expected to face TJ Waldburger on December 11, 2010 at UFC 124.[12] However, Waldburger was forced from the card with an injury[13] and replaced by promotional newcomer Sean Pierson.[14] Pierson defeated Riddle via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) and the bout was dubbed by UFC president Dana White as the real Fight of the Night.

Riddle was expected to face Ultimate Fighter castmate, Matt Brown, on March 3, 2011 at UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann, replacing an injured Mark Scanlon.[15] However, Riddle was also injured, resulting in the Brown fight being scrapped from the card altogether.

Riddle was expected to face TJ Grant on June 26, 2011 at UFC on Versus 4.[16] However, Riddle was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Charlie Brenneman.[17]

Riddle faced undefeated welterweight prospect Lance Benoist who was making his Octagon debut on September 17, 2011 at UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger.[18] He lost the fight via unanimous decision in a bout that earned Fight of the Night honors.

Riddle was expected to fight Luis Ramos on December 30, 2011 at UFC 141. However the fight was called off as Riddle became ill and had to pull out just moments before the fight took place.[19]

Riddle was expected to face Jorge Lopez on February 4, 2012 at UFC 143, replacing an injured Amir Sadollah.[20] However, Lopez was also forced out of the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer Henry Martinez.[21] He won the fight via split decision.

The bout between Riddle/Ramos was rescheduled for June 22, 2012 at UFC on FX 4.[22] However, Riddle was forced from the bout with another injury and replaced by Matt Brown.[23]

Riddle stepped in for Siyar Bahadurzada on short notice to fight Chris Clements at UFC 149.[24] Riddle won the fight after catching Clements in a standing arm-triangle choke, forcing him to submit at 2:02 in the third round. Riddle won a $65,000 Submission of the Night bonus; this also marked the first submission win of his professional career.[25] On October 20, 2012, it was announced that Riddle had failed his post fight drug test, testing positive for marijuana. Riddle was subsequently fined and suspended for 90 days, retroactive to July 21, 2012. His win over Clements was changed to a No Contest.[26]

Riddle was originally expected to face Besam Yousef on November 17, 2012 at UFC 154, replacing an injured Stephen Thompson.[27] However, Yousef was forced out with injury and replaced by John Maguire.[28] Riddle defeated Maguire via unanimous decision.

Riddle faced Che Mills on February 16, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barao vs. McDonald.[29] Riddle defeated Mills via split decision. On February 26, 2013, Riddle revealed that he had tested positive for marijuana. This was his second failed drug test within a year, and Riddle was subsequently released from the promotion.[30] He finished his UFC career ranked 3rd in UFC history for takedown defense (89.3%) and 8th for total strikes landed (1350),[31] and without positive marijuana tests would have held an octagon record of 9-3 with a streak of four consecutive victories.

Bellator MMA

Shortly after being released from the Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC), Riddle signed a multi-fight deal with Texas-based promotion, Legacy Fighting Championships.[32] However, on May 18, 2013, it was announced that Riddle instead joined the Bellator MMA roster after his Legacy FC contract had been purchased by the promotion.[33] Riddle was expected to compete in the Bellator's welterweight tournament during their ninth season which begins in the Fall of 2013.[34] However Riddle cracked his rib and had to pull out of the tournament, and subsequently retired from MMA fighting due to financial reasons.[35] A few weeks later Riddle came out of retirement and was expected to fight at Bellator 109.[36] Once again Riddle pulled out of that fight and has been released from Bellator in total.[37]

Titan FC

Riddle fought fellow former UFC fighter Michael Kuiper in the co-main event of Titan FC 27 on February 28, 2014.[38] Riddle won by second round guillotine choke.[39]

Riddle was expected to face MMA legend Jose Landi-Jons for the vacant TFC Welterweight Championship at Titan FC 29 on August 22, 2014.[40] However, Landi-Jons was forced out of the bout due to visa issues, and was replaced by UFC veteran Ben Saunders.[41] However, Riddle was forced out of the bout due to injury, and was replaced by the man he was originally scheduled to face, Jose Landi-Jons.[42]

Professional wrestling career

Matt Riddle
Born (1986-01-14) January 14, 1986[43]
Allentown, Pennsylvania[43]
Alma mater East Stroudsburg University[44]
Children 3
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Matt Riddle[43]
Matthew Riddle
Billed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[43]
Billed weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st)[43]
Billed from Las Vegas, Nevada[43]
Trained by Monster Factory[43]
Debut February 7, 2015[45]

Independent circuit (2014–present)

On October 29, 2014, it was reported that Riddle was training for a career in professional wrestling.[46] Riddle made his professional wrestling debut on February 7, 2015, at the Monster Factory in Paulsboro, New Jersey.[45] in July 2015 won the Monster Factory Heavyweight Championship. On September 15, 2015, it was announced that Riddle had signed with the World Wrestling Network (WWN) to work the October Evolve events.[47] Riddle later confirmed that he had taken part in a WWE tryout, which led to them setting up the booking with Evolve.[48] On January 24, 2016, Riddle won Evolve's Style Battle tournament.[49] On April 8, it was reported that Riddle had signed a contract with Evolve's parent company WWN.[50] On September 3, Riddle made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), entering the 2016 Battle of Los Angeles tournament, from which he was eliminated in his first round match by Kyle O'Reilly.[51] In October 2016, Riddle took on Cody Rhodes at New York promotion House of Glory's show titled Unbreakable in a losing effort.

Personal life

Riddle is a father of twin daughters and a son.[52]

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

Professional wrestling

Mixed martial arts record

Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 8–3 (2) Michael Kuiper Submission (guillotine choke) Titan Fighting Championship 27 February 28, 2014 2 2:29 Kansas City, Kansas, United States
NC 7–3 (2) Che Mills No Contest UFC on Fuel TV: Barao vs. McDonald February 16, 2013 3 5:00 London, England Originally a split decision win for Riddle; overturned after Riddle tested positive for marijuana.
Win 7–3 (1) John Maguire Decision (unanimous) UFC 154 November 17, 2012 3 5:00 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
NC 6–3 (1) Chris Clements No Contest UFC 149 July 21, 2012 3 2:02 Calgary, Alberta, Canada Originally an arm-triangle submission win by Riddle; Submission of the Night; overturned after Riddle tested positive for marijuana.
Win 6–3 Henry Martinez Decision (split) UFC 143 February 4, 2012 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 5–3 Lance Benoist Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger September 17, 2011 3 5:00 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Fight of the Night
Loss 5–2 Sean Pierson Decision (unanimous) UFC 124 December 11, 2010 3 5:00 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win 5–1 DaMarques Johnson TKO (punches) UFC Live: Jones vs. Matyushenko August 1, 2010 2 4:29 San Diego, California, United States 172 lb Catchweight bout; Johnson missed weight
Win 4–1 Greg Soto DQ (illegal upkick) UFC 111 March 27, 2010 3 1:30 Newark, New Jersey, United States
Loss 3–1 Nick Osipczak TKO (elbows & punches) UFC 105 November 14, 2009 3 3:53 Manchester, England
Win 3–0 Dan Cramer Decision (unanimous) UFC 101 August 8, 2009 3 5:00 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 2–0 Steve Bruno Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Lauzon vs. Stephens February 7, 2009 3 5:00 Tampa, Florida, United States Welterweight debut.
Win 1–0 Dante Rivera Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale June 21, 2008 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States

References

  1. ↑ Suleymanov, Mark. "Exclusive: Matt Riddle Talks UFC Career, WWE Tryout, EVOLVE, And Marijuana". Inquisitr. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  2. ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/news/5263/guest-column-matthew-riddle-says-evan-tanners-life-full-of-inspiration.mma
  3. 1 2 3 http://mmajunkie.com/news/4111/the-ultimate-fighter-7--episode-2-recap.mma
  4. ↑ http://mmajunkie.com/news/4155/the-ultimate-fighter-7--episode-3-recap.mma
  5. ↑ http://fromthehedgestothekorakuen.blogspot.com/2008/04/ultimate-fighter-7-show-four-re-cap.html
  6. ↑ http://www.buddytv.com/articles/ufc/the-ultimate-fighter-7-episode-18840.aspx
  7. ↑ http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/sherdogcoms-guide-to-tuf-7-12543
  8. ↑ "MATT RIDDLE OUT OF UFC 91 BOUT DUE TO INJURY". MMAWeekly.com. October 30, 2008. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  9. ↑ "Paul Taylor vs. John Hathaway, Nick Osipczak vs. Matt Riddle In The Works for UFC 105". MMAFrenzy.com. 2009-01-02. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  10. ↑ "UFC 111 fight card finalized with Matthew Riddle vs. Greg Soto prelim fight". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2010-03-02.
  11. ↑ "UFC targets DaMarques Johnson vs. Matt Riddle for UFC on Versus 2". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2010-04-30.
  12. ↑ "Matt Riddle vs. TJ Waldburger Added to UFC 124". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2010-10-07.
  13. ↑ "Injured Anthony "T.J." Waldburger out of UFC 124 fight with Matt Riddle". mmajunkie.com. 2010-10-25.
  14. ↑ "Sean Pierson replaces injured T.J. Waldburger, meets Matt Riddle at UFC 124". mmajunkie.com. 2010-10-27.
  15. ↑ "Matt Riddle Steps in to Face Matt Brown at UFC on Versus 3 in Kentucky". mmaweekly.com. January 14, 2011.
  16. ↑ "UFC Live 4 Gets Grant-Riddle Addition". sherdog.com. 2011-04-27.
  17. ↑ "Matt Riddle out, Charlie Brenneman in against T.J. Grant at UFC on Versus 4". mmajunkie.com. May 6, 2011.
  18. ↑ "Matt Riddle and Lance Benoist Square Off at UFC Fight Night 25 in New Orleans". MMAWeekly.com. July 25, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-25.
  19. ↑ "Luis Ramos vs. Matt Riddle agreed to UFC 141". tatame.com. November 4, 2011. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  20. ↑ "Amir Sadollah out, Matt Riddle in against Jorge Lopez at UFC 143". mmajunkie.com. January 3, 2012.
  21. ↑ "Jorge Lopez out at UFC 143, Matt Riddle now meets Henry Martinez". mmajunkie.com. January 29, 2012.
  22. ↑ "UFC on FX 4 Fight Card Growing: Riddle vs. Ramos". mmaweekly.com. March 22, 2012.
  23. ↑ "Matt Brown replaces Matt Riddle, meets Luis Ramos at UFC on FX 4". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved May 30, 2012.
  24. ↑ "With Siyar Bahadurzada out at UFC 149, Chris Clements now meets Matt Riddle". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  25. ↑ "Matthew Riddle posts submission win with pregnant wife on his mind". sports.yahoo.com. July 21, 2012.
  26. ↑ "UFC 149 wins for Riddle, Rivera overturned to no contests after positive drug tests". mmajunkie.com. October 20, 2012.
  27. ↑ "Matt Riddle replaces Stephen Thompson, meets Besam Yousef at UFC 154". MMAjunkie.com. October 29, 2012.
  28. ↑ "John Maguire To Face Matt Riddle At UFC 154". YourMMA.tv. 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  29. ↑ "Matt Riddle meets Che Mills at UFC on FUEL TV 7 in London". MMAjunkie.com. December 1, 2012.
  30. ↑ Steven Marrocco (February 26, 2013). "Matthew Riddle again tests positive for marijuana, cut from UFC". MMAjunkie.com.
  31. ↑ "UFC Official Records". FightMetric. 2013-04-20.
  32. ↑ Mookie Alexander (March 16, 2013). "Former UFC welterweight Matt Riddle signs with Legacy Fighting Championship". BloodyElbow.com.
  33. ↑ Dann Stupp (May 18, 2013). "Matthew Riddle headed to Bellator after Legacy FC contract bought out". mmajunkie.com.
  34. ↑ http://hereisyourwinner.com/2013/05/matt-riddle-signs-with-bellator/
  35. ↑ MMAjunkie.com Staff (September 10, 2013). "UFC vet, recent Bellator signee Matthew Riddle announces retirement". mmajunkie.com.
  36. ↑ MMAjunkie.com Staff (October 3, 2013). "Matthew Riddle out of short retirement, fights at Bellator 109 in November". mmajunkie.com.
  37. ↑ MMAWeekly.com Staff (November 19, 2013). "Matt Riddle Pulls Out of Friday's Event, Bellator Sends Him Packing". mmaweekly.com.
  38. ↑ Ariel Helwani (January 13, 2013). "Matt Riddle returns, meets Michael Kuiper in Titan FC 27 co-main event". mmafighting.com.
  39. ↑ "Titan FC 27 Results: Ricci Crushes Gurgel, Riddle Chokes Kuiper". themmacorner.com. February 28, 2014.
  40. ↑ "Titan FC books Magalhaes vs. Brilz, Riddle vs. Landi-Jons title fights". mmajunkie.com. May 20, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Ben Saunders vs Matt Riddle Welterweight Title Bout at Titan FC 29". cagepages.com. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  42. ↑ "Matthew Riddle out, Jose Landi-Jons meets Ben Saunders for belt at Titan FC 29". mmajunkie.com. August 6, 2014.
  43. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Matt Riddle". Cagematch. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  44. ↑ Suleymanov, Mark. "Exclusive: Matt Riddle Talks UFC Career, WWE Tryout, EVOLVE, And Marijuana". Template:Inquisitr. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  45. 1 2 Hudnall, Jessica. "Former UFC Fighter Matt Riddle Made His Pro Wrestling Debut, And It Was Actually Good". Uproxx. Retrieved 13 February 2015.
  46. ↑ Johnson, Mike (October 29, 2014). "Former UFC fighter jumps to pro wrestling". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  47. ↑ Caldwell, James (September 15, 2015). "WWNLive news: Former UFC fighter signs with WWNLive - in-ring debut announced". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  48. ↑ Caldwell, James (October 10, 2015). "WWE/Evolve news: Former UFC fighter Matthew Riddle confirms WWE arrangement to debut for Evolve later this month". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 10, 2015.
  49. 1 2 Trionfo, Richard (January 24, 2016). "Complete Evolve 55 iPPV report: first Evolve tag champions crowned, Style Battle concludes, who is the next challenger for Timothy Thatcher?". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  50. ↑ Caldwell, James (April 8, 2016). "WWNLive News Drop – Evolve champion's status, Riddle signs, Evolve 60 & 61 main events". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved April 8, 2016.
  51. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (September 4, 2016). "PWG Battle of Los Angeles night two results: A phenomenal night of action". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  52. ↑ "Despite twin daughters and weight issues, Matt Riddle ready for UFC on Versus 2". MMAJUNKIE.com. 2010-07-26. Retrieved 2010-07-26.
  53. ↑ "Evolve 64 results: Timothy Thatcher vs. Marty Scurll, Matthew Riddle vs. Roderick Strong". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  54. ↑ "7/17 Evolve 65 results: Zim's in-person report on Drew Galloway vs. Johnny Gargano, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Anthony Nese, Marty Scurll vs. Matthew Riddle, Cedric Alexander vs. Tommaso Ciampa". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 2016-08-08.
  55. ↑ http://411mania.com/wrestling/beyond-wrestling-tournament-for-today-2016-results-donovan-dijak-vs-matt-riddle-more/
  56. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=2946
  57. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=5&nr=2989
  58. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved September 1, 2016.

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