NEW YORK – Brad Riddell has been in his fair share of wars, but he doesn’t want his next fight at UFC 281 to be another one.
From his UFC debut win against Jamie Mullarkey, to his Fight of the Night against Drew Dober, and his recent third-round knockout loss to Rafael Fiziev, Riddell (10-3 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has been through plenty of entertaining scraps. He sees the same potential when he squares off against Renato Moicano (16-5-1 MMA, 8-5 UFC) in Saturday’s featured prelim at Madison Square Garden but hopes he’s wrong.
“I don’t want it to be,” Riddell told reporters, including MMA Junkie, at media day. “I’ve been in a war every single time so far. I guess that’s like the people that I keep getting matched up with. They’re very durable, very skillful, and I’ve got another one. So high possibility but hopefully not.”
Although Moicano only has submission finishes on his resume, Riddell rates his striking skills highly.
“The guy is good at everything,” Riddell said. “Good striker, good grappler, he’s a veteran. I’m super excited. I watched that guy fight, and every time he comes, and obviously he’s not lacking any heart taking that last fight (dos Anjos) on short notice, so it’s gonna be a bit of a barnburner.”
UFC 281 takes place Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on ESPNews and early prelims on ESPN+.
For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 281.
