Matt Riddle left WWE in September after working for the company for many years. When his non-compete clause expires on Thursday, he will become a free agent.
Riddle was an MMA fighter before becoming a pro wrestling superstar, most notably in the UFC. He hasn’t competed since February of this year.
Riddle spoke with MMA Junkie about his possible return to MMA while at the MMA Awards.
“Yeah, oh yeah, I’ll say this. There’s been a lot of talk. I’ve been talking to a couple of promotions. I don’t want to get into it until it’s official, but I think 2024 is a very big possibility that I get back in the ring or cage and fight again. Pretty soon,” Riddle stated.
Riddle added, “Yeah, I feel like, and maybe this is a bad theory or a bad idea, I feel like you gotta get like beat up to leave. I feel like I left the UFC on a four-fight win streak, then won another fight in Titan FC and kinda just left, went to pro wrestling, did good, still doing it. Pro wrestling’s awesome but [I] still wanna get beat up. I wanna have my exit. But we’ll see. Maybe somebody beats me up. Maybe I keep winning. Who knows?”
Riddle stated that he trains a few times per week but does not engage in hard sparring. He has a black belt and has recently focused on jitsu “because he’s had that itch.”
Despite having a strained relationship with UFC President Dana White, Riddle was asked about a possible return to the octagon.
“Never say never, right? If the opportunity is right. I don’t really hold a grudge. I talk a lot of shit. Sorry, I talk a lot of trash, but that’s about it. So if there’s business to be had, I’ll get business done. For me, there’s no things that really needs mending. [He] had his decision. I had mine. He went his way, I went my way, and I had great success. For me, there’s no problem. It’s just a matter of he’d want me to work for him again,” Riddle stated.
Finally, Riddle was asked if he was surprised to see CM Punk back in WWE.
“I’m not surprised because the one thing they [WWE] like [is] money, and CM Punk is money just like he was money in mixed-martial-arts. So, you can’t argue [with] a man that’s money. But, yeah, then that’s just like the UFC. I know if I fight, I’ll sell tickets,” Riddle stated.
You can check out the interview below:
(h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription)
