UFC LW open to Rousey-Esque fight change
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A former UFC lightweight has expressed interest in following in Ronda Rousey’s career footsteps down the line.
Ten years ago, Rousey was beginning to walk a road that would see her become the world’s biggest star in MMA. Having had success in the Strikeforce promotion, “Rowdy” was signed by the UFC and immediately took on bantamweight champion status.
Over the next two and a half years, Rousey reigned supreme over the 135-pound division, successfully defending the belt six times. Among the challengers she sent were Miesha Tate, Cat Zingano and Bethe Correia.
But after her cage career came to an unceremonious end with back-to-back losses to Holly Holm and Amanda Nunes, Rousey tried her hand at a new industry – professional wrestling.
Since a surprise appearance at the WWE Royal Rumble in January 2015, Rousey has been a prominent presence in the main pro wrestling organization, where she has joined fellow MMA veterans Brock Lesnar, Bobby Lashley, Matt Riddle and Shayna Baszler. .
As these names ply their trade on the North American wrestling scene, an active UFC lightweight could make a name for themselves in sports-entertainment halfway around the world in the future.
During an appearance on The Allstar’s Gastronomy with Fighters seriesBrad Riddell was asked about his experience training with budding professional wrestlers in New Zealand.
Riddell, who held a spot in the UFC 155-pound rankings prior to his loss to Jalin Turner at UFC 276, described his time at an official New Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in Auckland.
Having received positive reviews for his wrestling potential, Riddell suggested he could become the “male Ronda Rousey” after retiring from MMA.
“I trained with a group of guys in New Zealand called Falu Dojo. They are like a fuel source for the Japanese wrestling scene,” Riddell explained. “So they’re training people in New Zealand and they could be recruited and sent to Japan. So I go over there and teach kickboxing; whatever can fit into part of their routine.
“We did wrestling, it’s fun like… Just big lifts and stuff like that, it looks cool. They may or may not have told me I should wrestle after I retire, so I’m probably going to be something like the male Ronda Rousey. I’ll just be in Japan nudging people,” Riddell added. “I will 100% wear tiny underwear and wrestle in Japan if it prevents me from doing a job.”
At the age of 30, it stands to reason that Riddell still has a lot to accomplish inside the cage before trading martial arts for professional wrestling.
His current focus will be to bounce back from the first losing slip of his career. After a perfect 4-0 start to the UFC left him at the top of the lightweight ladder, a late knockout loss in a competitive bout with Rafael Fiziev tainted his promotional slate for the first time.
And after being submitted in just 45 seconds against Turner seven months later, ‘Quake’ will be looking to find his way back to winning ways and put a number next to his name again at UFC 281 on November 12 when he will collide with Renato Moicano.
Do you expect more mixed martial artists to try their hand at professional wrestling in the future?
