Former UFC welterweight contender Joe Riggs (25-9) could soon fight at middleweight in the Zuffa-owned World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC), according to Dave Meltzer at WrestlingObserver.com.
Here’s a snip:
Joe Riggs has been talked with about being moved to the WEC, and moved up to
185 pounds. If so, he would likely be in the match when they create a
middleweight champion. It is not a done deal right yet.
Hmmm … continue an unimpressive — and wildly inconsistent — run at 170 pounds in the UFC or fight for a title in the WEC?
Seems like a no-brainer if indeed the “talks” are ongoing.
A former heavyweight, “Diesel” is huge for a welterweight, cutting upwards of 30 pounds prior to his bouts. He is a more natural fit for middleweight — a division in which he has enjoyed success. However, he has made recent statements in which he is adamant that he will stay at 170.
Either way, it’s hard to be too tough on Riggs, considering the level of competition he has been up against throughout his on-and-off two-year stint with the UFC.
He’s dropped fights to top fighters such as Ivan Salaverry (12-4), Matt Hughes (40-5), Mike Swick (10-1) and Diego Sanchez (17-0). Riggs has also enjoyed success in the Octagon during this time, but has fallen way short of expectations.
At only 24 years old — and brimming with potential — moving over to the WEC and perhaps establishing himself as a champion could do wonders for the Arizona native.
And, if he does make the switch and continues to improve, there’s no doubt that he will make it back to the UFC in the near future.
Change should do him some good — I hope he takes Zuffa up on its offer.
Thanks to Matt over at MMALowdown.com — a WrestlingObserver.com newsletter subscriber — for the information.
14 Comments »
joe riggs stinks. that’s all i have.
Joe, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. This loser only lasted 30 seconds against Diego Sanchez.
i like joe diesel riggs go take that WEC belt sanchez got luckly i hate that fuck i hope koscheck ends his carrer
o he didnt get lucky. diego is just a fucking pit bull. hopefully he knocks out koschecks arogant ass out.
Diego got luckly riggs sliped and got up to fast and got caught with a knee if they fought again riggs would knock his ass out with a punch
o that wasnt luck . Diego is just to aggressive, his boxing has improved a lot. diesel just got caught thats all. if you think he slipped then you dont know what the fuck you are talking about, watch it again and you will see.
oh it was luck i seen the fight a couple of times and when diego hit him joe was throwing a punch and got caught off guard and slipped point blank
you must dont know shit. look clearly i think every body else would agree with me, joe dint slip he got absoluty rocked then knocked out with the knee. face the facts its true its dam true.
Travis you are a MORON! Riggs didn’t slip, Diego caught him clean. Riggs got knocked out!
Joe Riggs belongs everywhere else except the UFC! a once promising mma fighter has proven to be a dissapointment.
All talk no action…Joe, stick to washing dishes. Dude, your all talk…..
See ya Joe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
travis your wrong, joe riggs is clumsy and could of slipped but on that day he got popped on the chin, landed square on his butt and was asleep 3 seconds later. diego would finish him off 10 times out of 11. and as far as that other guy wanting kos to end diegos career, dont hold your breath, that silly yellow haired fool will regret taking this fight. and by the way hughes cant hide with fights like lytle for ever, sanchez will bury matt hughes.
It takes a true eye to see a true fighter. Riggs has beaten some tough opponents in the past, the one that comes to my mind is the Chris Lytle fight, Lytle has’nt been stopped his whole career till riggs jumped in and hit his 25 win record to 8- (at the time).
Riggs always pulls off a big win, which then follows with a big loss, which is what makes him such a interesting fighter since from what I’ve trained with him before he’s an exceptional boxer and sports great explosive Muai Thai. He also showed Rich Franky a few things about over hand jabs.
To the above few “people” who called Riggs clumsy is far from correct. In order to judge a fighter’s losses you must look at who they’ve lost to, I can tell you straight up losing to an undeafeted power-house such as Diego is not suprising. Also, if you look at the Diaz fight Riggs had exceptional stamina and boxing capacity (especially in the 2nd and 3rd round).
And just to speculate a little, Diego previoulsy had won his last 4 fight by Decision, had that fight gone on longer we would have seen a serious Riggs, least that or a classic brawl.
Riggs had a magnificent record before he hit the UFC, but like they say it’ll either break, or make a true champ. And I’ve seen riggs sport some potential in any circumstance, he just needs to apply those at “the heat of the moment” or during a fight.
P.S. What kind of bull shit is “silly Yellow Haired Fighter” anyways? You’d be happy to know he burried his baby daughter just weeks before hitting a big win against Jason Von Flu, if that ain’t a true warrior I don’t know what is. So please next time some dumbass like “moose” decides to boast his opinions, least say something that someone can ponder over.
JG- out