The circus for Matt Riddle continues, as the recently retired mixed martial artist finds himself back in the game after a few short weeks.
He was originally slated to compete in the Season 9 Bellator welterweight tournament, but a rib injury forced him out before he could enter the cage. Thinking that Bellator couldn’t get him another fight until next year, Riddle decided to hang up the gloves for good.
Or so he thought.
According to Matt Erickson of MMA Junkie, he is now back with Bellator, coming out of his extremely brief retirement. Plus, he will have a fight before the end of the year, taking a bout at Bellator 109 against an opponent to be determined.
Riddle has been on a wild ride the last few years. The medical marijuana user was with the UFC for his entire career until he was cut for failing multiple drug tests.
He then signed with Legacy Fighting Championship; however, Bellator bought out his contract and planned to use him in one of its tournaments.
That’s where the ride got rocky. Riddle got injured close to fight time and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. He was replaced by Ron Keslar and was told he wouldn’t be able to get a fight until next year.
Riddle said he had had enough. He told MMA Junkie that he didn’t “want anything to do with” the sport and was ready to give up MMA to get a “real job.”
It appears he has patched things up with Bellator for now. This could be good for him, as he is a skilled wrestler with an exciting style and good lasting power.
He has the potential to be a mainstay with the company as long as his drug tests come back clean. One has to expect him to be in a future welterweight tournament to make up for his absence in this season’s tourney.
Stay tuned with Bleacher Report for more information as we move forward, including a potential opponent and possible implications of a future tournament.
Read more MMA news on BleacherReport.com