Matthew Fredrick "Matt" Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. A professional MMA competitor since 2008, Riddle made a name for himself by appearing on SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7, and went on to go on a four-fight win streak in the UFC before he was fired after testing positive for marijuana in February 2013. In 2014, Riddle began training for a career in professional wrestling, and made his debut in February 2015. In 2016, readers of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter recognized him as the wrestling Rookie of the Year and the Most Improved wrestler of the year.
Riddle is currently one-half of the Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) World Tag Team Champions with Jeff Cobb.
Video Matthew Riddle
Early life
Riddle was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and trained at Rat Pack Fighting Systems, but later moved to Saratoga Springs, New York, where he attended Saratoga Springs High School and was a state champion in 2004 (189 lbs.) Riddle later attended East Stroudsburg University, where he was a member of the wrestling team for two years and won many championships. He is known for pinning Jon Jones back in high school. After his head coach was fired, Riddle lost his wrestling scholarship and moved into MMA.
Maps Matthew Riddle
Mixed martial arts career
Riddle is 1-0 in amateur MMA. He worked as a roofer and trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu in the evenings. Since he had little to no money, he trained at the Rat Pack Gym in Palmerton, PA. Riddle used BJ Penn's book, Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge, to help him learn.
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, breaking Simmler's jaw in two places. It was called the biggest knockout in The Ultimate Fighter history by Dana White and the knock out of the century by Quinton Jackson. Riddle was picked second for team Rampage. During the show's taping, Riddle was given the nickname Chipper after Rampage noticed him always smiling.
Riddle's second fight was against Tim Credeur. Credeur defeated Riddle via armbar in the second round, knocking Riddle out of the tournament. After the fight, Credeur bought Riddle an Xbox 360 with his earnings.
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.
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. 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. 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. 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. However, Waldburger was forced from the card with an injury and replaced by promotional newcomer Sean Pierson. 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. 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. However, Riddle was forced from the bout with an injury and replaced by Charlie Brenneman.
Riddle faced undefeated welterweight prospect Lance Benoist who was making his Octagon debut on September 17, 2011 at UFC Fight Night: Shields vs. Ellenberger. 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.
Riddle was expected to face Jorge Lopez on February 4, 2012 at UFC 143, replacing an injured Amir Sadollah. However, Lopez was also forced out of the bout and replaced by promotional newcomer Henry Martinez. Riddle won the fight via split decision.
The bout between Riddle/Ramos was rescheduled for June 22, 2012 at UFC on FX 4. However, Riddle was forced from the bout with another injury and replaced by Matt Brown.
Riddle stepped in for Siyar Bahadurzada on short notice to fight Chris Clements at UFC 149. 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. 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.
Riddle was originally expected to face Besam Yousef on November 17, 2012 at UFC 154, replacing an injured Stephen Thompson. However, Yousef was forced out with injury and replaced by John Maguire. Riddle defeated Maguire via unanimous decision.
Riddle faced Che Mills on February 16, 2013 at UFC on Fuel TV: Barao vs. McDonald. 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. He finished his UFC career ranked 3rd in UFC history for takedown defense (89.3%) and 8th for total strikes landed (1350), 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. 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. Riddle was expected to compete in the Bellator's welterweight tournament during their ninth season which begins in the Fall of 2013. However Riddle cracked his rib and had to pull out of the tournament, and subsequently retired from MMA fighting due to financial reasons. A few weeks later Riddle came out of retirement and was expected to fight at Bellator 109. Once again Riddle pulled out of that fight and has been released from Bellator in total.
Titan FC
Riddle fought fellow former UFC fighter Michael Kuiper in the co-main event of Titan FC 27 on February 28, 2014. Riddle won by second round guillotine choke.
Riddle was expected to face MMA legend Jose Landi-Jons for the vacant TFC Welterweight Championship at Titan FC 29 on August 22, 2014. However, Landi-Jons was forced out of the bout due to visa issues, and was replaced by UFC veteran Ben Saunders. 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.
![FREE MATCH] Cody Rhodes vs Matt Riddle - House of Glory Wrestling ...](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_t9VRQZInofvLGP6V587mQdSkQOtJ6Ad-KNponcEMtqDzkQ7DkhKeawbPieAwmpJRVGG97F1VJkpoq8yRD8hC8ybPLVH-GbpvN0vS8UYPCG1W-uDcZ5YXoCYcFosAvibfMU2t8-JODQDvnrsVM=s0-d "FREE MATCH] Cody Rhodes vs Matt Riddle - House of Glory Wrestling ...")
Professional wrestling career
Independent circuit (2014-present)
On October 29, 2014, it was reported that Riddle was training for a career in professional wrestling. Riddle made his professional wrestling debut on February 7, 2015, at the Monster Factory in Paulsboro, New Jersey. 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. Riddle later confirmed that he had taken part in a WWE tryout, which led to them setting up the booking with Evolve. On January 24, 2016, Riddle won Evolve's Style Battle tournament. On April 8, it was reported that Riddle had signed a contract with Evolve's parent company WWN. 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. In October 2016, Riddle took on Cody Rhodes at New York promotion House of Glory's show titled Unbreakable in a losing effort.
On January 15, 2017, Riddle defeated Rampage Brown to win the Progress Atlas Championship. Riddle debuted for Revolution Pro Wrestling on January 21, unsuccessfully challenging Katsuyori Shibata for the British Heavyweight Championship. On February 11 at CZW 18, Riddle faced David Starr in an inter-promotional champion vs champion match, with Riddle defending Progress Wrestling's Atlas Championship and Starr defending WXW's Shotgun Championship. The match ended in a double disqualification, and neither championship changed hands. On April 1, Riddle defeated five other men to become the inaugural WWN Champion. On October 20, Riddle and Jeff Cobb, known collectively as "The Chosen Bros", defeated the Lucha Brothers (Rey Fenix and Penta el Zero M) for the PWG World Tag Team Championship.
Personal life
Riddle is a father of twin daughters and a son.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Bromission (Twister)
- BTS - Bro to Sleep (Fireman's carry dropped into a knee lift) - 2016-present
- Signature moves
- Bridging German suplex
- Brostroyer (Front flip piledriver)
- Fisherman buster
- Two gutwrench suplexes followed by a gutwrench powerbomb
- Jumping piledriver
- Broton (Running senton)
- Shoot kicks
- Nicknames
- "The Bro"
- "King of Bros"
- "Deep Waters"
- Entrance themes
- "Regulate" by Warren G
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
- Ultimate Fighting Championship
- Fight of the Night (1 time) vs. Lance Benoist
- Submission of the Night (1 time) vs. Chris Clements
Professional wrestling
- Beyond Wrestling
- Tournament for Today Men (2016)
- Evolve
- Style Battle (2016)
- Keystone Pro Wrestling
- KPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Punisher Martinez
- Monster Factory Pro Wrestling
- Monster Factory Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked No. 116 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
- Progress Wrestling
- Progress Atlas Championship (2 times)
- Pro Wrestling Chaos
- King of Chaos Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
- PWG World Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) - with Jeff Cobb
- Scenic City Invitational
- Scenic City Invitational Tournament (2017)
- Westside Xtreme Wrestling
- Ambition 8 (2017)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Improved (2016)
- Rookie of the Year (2016)
- WWNLive
- WWN Championship (1 time)
Mixed martial arts record
References
External links
- Official Myspace
- UFC Profile
- Professional MMA record for Matthew Riddle from Sherdog
- Matthew Riddle's profile at Cagematch.net
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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