The welterweight was released from the UFC recently after he failed a post-fight drug test for marijuana following his UFC on FUEL TV 7 split decision win over Che Mills earlier this month, MMAFighting.com confirmed with sources close to the situation. MMA Junkie first reported the news Tuesday.
Riddle wasn’t available to comment on the situation when contacted by MMAFighting.com. No word just yet on whether his win will now be overturned.
This marks the second time in less than a year that Riddle tested positive for marijuana following a fight. His July UFC 149 win over Chris Clements was changed to a no contest after he failed his post-fight drug test in Calgary.
The 27-year-old Riddle has a medical marijuana license from the state of Nevada, and he said on a recent episode of The MMA Hour that he smokes for legitimate medical reasons.
“I do smoke but I’m not smoking to get stoned,” he said. “I’m smoking so I can finally relax, sit back and just not worry about things. People, maybe they did it in college one way, but for a guy like me, for a professional athlete that goes through what we go through, it’s medicine for me. Maybe for some little stoner sitting on the couch playing XBox, for him, it’s a drug. For me, it’s medicine.”
The UFC acted as the governing body in London since there isn’t an athletic commission in place there.
Riddle (8-3, 1 NC) made his UFC and MMA debut in June 2008 following a stint on the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter.”