Former UFC fighter Matt Riddle has opted to jump ship from Legacy FC to Bellator before he’s even had a single fight with the promotion.
Inside MMA broke the story last night, claiming that Riddle is currently hammering out a deal with Bellator.
It’s likely that Riddle had a clause in his Legacy FC contract that would allow him to move on if one of the major promotions made an offer. Leonard Garcia who signed with Legacy earlier this week has a similar deal.
Generally, a move to a promotion like Legacy FC is seen as a sensible move for a fighter who hopes to leave the door open for a return to the UFC one day, while going to a direct competitor like Bellator often means shutting the door on that prospect.
While that might be a concern for some fighters, Riddle has already managed to burn his bridges with the UFC by his outspoken views since being cut for repeated marijuana violations, claiming that he was going to rack up a lot of wins in other promotions and then turn down the UFC if they then wanted him to return to the promotion.
Dana White responded by calling Riddle “a moron” and stating that they will never invite him back.
Riddle is currently 7-3 (2nc) in his MMA career and while I can’t help but feel he’s been foolish in some of the things he’s said and done of late, moving to Bellator is a smart choice for his career and is the best chance he has to continue to make a name for himself in the sport.
