At 27-years-old, Matt Riddle retiring doesn’t really sound like it’s going to be a permanent thing, but anything can happen. Earlier this week, Matt Riddle retired from MMA when Bellator refused to give him an extension on his fight after cracking a rib in training, and furthermore, they can’t get him another fight until 2014.
That doesn’t bode well for Riddle, who hasn’t had a fight since February of 2013 when his win over Che Mills was overturned to a no contest when he tested positive for marijuana. Now, all of this.
MMA Junkie spoke to Riddle about his possibly brash decision to retire:
“When Bellator bought out my contract they said, ‘We’re family, we take care of our own'” said Riddle. “But then I crack a rib two weeks out from a fight and ask for an extension, like Joe Warren got, and I get told no. Then I ask if I can fight before the end of the year and I get told no on that. I’ve got three kids, man. When they bought me out of the Legacy contract, that was back in May. They kept me on the bench from May until September. I got hurt for September and now they say they can’t get me a fight until January or February. The bottom line is, I’ve got a wife and three kids. I’ve got bills I have to pay.”
“I said it to them, I told them that if I couldn’t get a fight by the end of the year, I need to retire and get a full-time job. They were like, ‘Well, we can’t.’ Really? Viacom can’t? Bellator can’t? OK, I guess I need to retire then.”
“I’m just tired of the unethical people, the scumbags, all that. Maybe that’s how all businesses are run, but in MMA I’ve been in the UFC, Legacy and Bellator. The UFC was the best, and even they didn’t treat you that well. It just gets sh—ier on the way down. I’d rather get a real job, do some BJJ, get my black belt and compete in some tournaments. And maybe I will fight in a year or two. But right now I’m so fed up with the people that run this sport, I don’t want anything to do with it.”
