Riddell Stepping Away From UFC After UFC 281 Loss

It’s been a rough 11 months for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Lightweight contender, Brad Riddell, having lost three straight fights inside the Octagon dating back to December 2021, losing to Rafael Fiziev via knockout (see it again here).

Seven months later, “Quake” returned to action and was submitted by Jaline Turner at UFC 276, and then suffered his latest setback against Renato Moicano at UFC 281 last Saturday night (Nov. 12, 2022) losing via first-round submission.

As a result, Riddell will be putting his fighting career on hold for a while.

“I appreciate everyone that has been supporting me and standing by my side from day one through to these last 2 lackluster performances. I’m going to step away from competing in MMA for a good while until the fire to compete comes back,” he wrote on Instagram.

“I’m not performing close to my capability, and it’s a dangerous job if you’re not fully present. I’ve been training hard for 15 years, in and out of camps with not enough rest or balance and it’s massively taken its physical and mental toll on me. There has not been a year since I was 17 that I have not fought.

“I know this is the right choice because, as I write this, I feel a sense of relief for finally voicing what I had been feeling for a while. I wanted to have one last crack at MSG to see if the feelings from the last camp were just a one-off, but sadly they were not. It’s a hard pill to swallow, as this is what I’ve done my entire life and fighting was my first love. But sometimes you just have to face it,” he added before saying he will also be taking care of some lingering health issues.

“There are a few overdue surgeries to be addressed as well. I will keep training and teaching, but my energy that was all consumed by the sport will be directed at my family. The itch will come back, But a long time off is needed. I appreciate everyone always supporting me,” he concluded.

Riddell got off to a hot start to his UFC career by winning his first four fights inside the Octagon, which includes an impressive unanimous decision win over Drew Dober at UFC 263 in mid-2021. That was the last time Riddell had his hands raised.

Prior to his skid, “Quake” was an impressive 10-1 overall in his MMA career but three consecutive defeats have obviously taken a toll on his desire to compete, so now it remains to be seen if and when he’ll decide to return to action.

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For complete UFC 281 results and coverage click here.