Joe Riggs
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| Joe Riggs | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Statistics | |
| Nickname | Diesel |
| Height | 5'11.5 (182 cm) |
| Weight | 185 lb |
| Born | September 23, 1982 |
| Town of birth | Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Team/Association | Elite Performance |
| Fighting style | Freestyle |
| Mixed martial arts record | |
| Wins | 26 |
| By knockout | 20 |
| By submission | 5 |
| Losses | 9 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 1 |
Joseph Jonathan "Diesel" Riggs (born September 23, 1982) is an American mixed martial arts fighter. He has competed at weights ranging from Heavyweight down to Welterweight. Currently Riggs is fighting at Middleweight
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Joe Riggs was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. He dreamed of fighting in the UFC since he was 10 years old. He started fighting right after finishing high school, and decided to do it full-time after attending college for a year.[citation needed]
[edit] Martial arts background
Riggs started boxing as a child with his father. Although Riggs is right handed, he was encouraged by his boxing coach to fight southpaw, making his power hand his lead hand. [1]
He began wrestling at Cactus high school in Glendale, AZ where he was inspired by an assistant coach known as Benjamin Metcalfe, he also followed in the footsteps of his hero, Randy Couture, and became an All-American twice. Currently, Riggs also holds a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Second-Dan BJJ black belt, Gustavo Dantas.
Riggs' strength training consists primarily of plyometrics. His weight training is geared to maintain his muscle mass, and consists of squats, deadlifts and cleans. Riggs does a lot of pushups and circuit training. [1]
Riggs credits his success to his old coach Benjamin Metcalfe, and his knockout power and athleticism. He says that his favorite technique is a right hook.
[edit] Mixed martial arts career
Over his career, Riggs has fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, Middleweight and Welterweight divisions, and became a four-time Desert Quest champion, two-time Grappler's Quest Advance champion, Rage in the Cage Heavyweight and Middleweight champion, Art of War Heavyweight champion, Evolution Combat Heavyweight champion, and XCF Light Heavyweight champion. [2]
Riggs' dream of fighting in the UFC materialized in 2004, in a winning bout against Canadian fighter Joe Doerksen. Riggs received his shot at the UFC Welterweight title at UFC 56 in November 2005 against Matt Hughes.
Originally, the title shot was offered to Karo Parisyan, who had to withdraw due to a torn hamstring. When Riggs was contacted to take Parisyan's place he jumped at the chance, despite having fought at UFC 55 just a month earlier. However, Riggs did not make the required weight and the fight was declared a non-title event, due to Hughes allowing Riggs to fight him (if a fighter does not make weight for a match, the match may still take place if their opponent allows it). Despite his efforts, Riggs could not mount a significant challenge; Hughes took him down and submitted him with a kimura from half-guard just minutes into the first round of the fight.
Following his loss to Hughes, Riggs rebounded to win against Nick Diaz (decision) at UFC 57. In the hospital room after the fight, Diaz and Riggs got into a physical altercation where they had to be separated by police.
Riggs then moved up to Middleweight to face The Ultimate Fighter alumni Mike Swick. Early in the fight Riggs was caught in a guillotine choke and tapped out. Riggs then fought The Ultimate Fighter 2's Jason Von Flue, submitting him with a triangle choke.
Riggs' last UFC bout was on December 13, 2006 against Welterweight contender Diego Sanchez on at UFC Fight Night 7. Riggs lost the fight due to knockout from a hook followed by a knee in 1:45 of the first round.
Following the fight with Sanchez, Riggs chose to go to the WEC and compete for the vacant Middleweight championship, but had to pull out of the fight the day before because of a recurring back injury.[3]
Most recently, Riggs lost to Cory Devela via TKO at Strikeforce: At The Dome due to re-injuring his back while pummeling before Devela threw him. He was a heavy favorite in this fight, and his loss continued a streak of performances that did not live up to the expectations for the talented fighter (particularly vs. Hughes, Salaverry, Swick, and Sanchez). His return from the injury is unknown.
[edit] Personal life
Joe and his wife, Lisa, welcomed a son in the summer of 2006, but he passed away shortly after birth.[4] Their second son,Joseph Diesel Riggs, was born on June 28, 2007. [5]
On an episode of The Beatdown on Sherdog.com, Riggs came onto the show. He revealed the fact that he became addicted to painkillers and medication, and had been on it well before his fight with Jason Von Flue. He had been taking as many as twenty painkillers a day, and realized he had a problem "when my doctor prescribed me 120 Oxycontin, and I finished them in five days". When he told his doctor about this, he was told that if he was any other person he (the doctor) would've been pumping his stomach. He is now clean.
[edit] MMA record
| 26 Wins (12 TKO's, 12 submissions, 2 decisions), 9 Losses, and 1 no contest | |||||||
| Date | Outcome | Opponent | Method | Event | Round | Round, Time | Notes |
| 2/23/08 | Loss | Cory Devela | Submission (Injury) | Strikeforce: At The Dome | 1 | 1:22 | |
| 9/29/2007 | Win | Eugene Jackson | KO (Punches) | Strikeforce - Playboy Mansion | 1 | 3:56 | |
| 7/21/2007 | Win | Dan Chambers | Submission (Triangle Choke) | HCF - Hardcore Championship Fighting | 1 | N/A | |
| 12/13/06 | Loss | Diego Sanchez | KO (knee) | UFC Fight Night 7 | 1 | 1:45 | |
| 8/17/2006 | Win | Jason Von Flue | Submission (Triangle Choke) | UFC Fight Night 6 | 1 | 2:01 | |
| 5/27/2006 | Loss | Mike Swick | Submission (Guillotine Choke) | UFC 60: Hughes vs. Gracie | 1 | 2:19 | |
| 2/4/2006 | Win | Nick Diaz | Decision (Unanimous) | UFC 57: Couture vs Liddell 3 | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 11/19/2005 | Loss | Matt Hughes | Submission (Kimura) | UFC 56: Full Force | 1 | 3:28 | Originally a title fight, but Riggs failed to make weight and was changed to a non-title match. |
| 10/7/2005 | Win | Chris Lytle | TKO (Cut) | UFC 55: Fury | 2 | 2:00 | |
| 5/19/2005 | Win | Rob Kimmons | Submission (Strikes) | WEC 15: Judgment Day | 1 | 1:24 | |
| 4/16/2005 | Loss | Ivan Salaverry | Submission (Triangle Choke) | UFC 52: Couture vs Liddell 2 | 1 | 2:42 | |
| 11/13/2004 | Win | Thomas Gil | Submission (Armbar) | RITC 66 - Rage in the Cage 66 | 1 | 2:05 | |
| 10/21/2004 | Win | Chilo Gonzalez | TKO | WEC 12: Halloween Fury 3 | 1 | 1:50 | |
| 8/21/2004 | Win | Joe Doerksen | Submission (Strikes) | UFC 49: Unfinished Business | 2 | 3:37 | |
| 5/28/2004 | Win | Shane Johnson | KO | XCF 5: Evolution | 1 | N/A | |
| 5/7/2004 | Win | Kendall Grove | KO (Elbows) | ROTR 5 - Rumble on the Rock 5 | 1 | 3:09 | |
| 4/30/2004 | Win | Dave Vitkay | KO | ICC-Trials 2 | 1 | N/A | |
| 3/20/2004 | Win | John Renken | KO | RITC 60: 'The Saint' Goes Marching In | 1 | 0:28 | |
| 1/31/2004 | Win | Chris Kiever | KO | IFC: Battleground Tahoe | 1 | 0:49 | |
| 1/16/2004 | Loss | Alex Stiebling | Submission (Triangle Choke) | WEC 9: Cold Blooded | 2 | 1:54 | |
| 12/13/2003 | Win | Cory Timmerman | Submission (Armbar) | RITC 57: Tucson Revisited | 1 | 1:11 | |
| 12/6/2003 | Win | Frank Alcala | TKO | IFC: Rumble on the Rio | 1 | 0:31 | |
| 9/13/2003 | No contest | Andy Montana | No Contest | RITC 53: The Beat Goes On | N/A | N/A | |
| 7/19/2003 | Win | Greg Wikan | TKO (Corner Stoppage) | ECS: Evolution | 3 | 5:00 | |
| 6/21/2003 | Win | Will Hammond | TKO | AOW - Art of War | 1 | N/A | |
| 4/6/2003 | Loss | Rodney Faverus | KO (Knee) | K-1 Holland: Rumble in the Silverdome | 1 | N/A | |
| 3/1/2003 | Loss | Travis Fulton | Submission (Choke) | RITC 45: Finally | 1 | 0:48 | |
| 1/18/2003 | Win | Herb Dean | Submission (Strikes) | RITC 43: The Match | 1 | 0:52 | |
| 12/28/2002 | Loss | Wesley Correira | KO | ROTR 1 - Rumble on the Rock 1 | 2 | 2:07 | |
| 12/7/2002 | Win | Lemuel Vincent | TKO | RITC 42: Road Trip | 1 | 0:23 | |
| 10/19/2002 | Win | Allan Sullivan | Submission (Armbar) | RITC 39: Bring It | 3 | 1:57 | |
| 9/7/2002 | Win | Joe Pardo | Decision (Unanimous) | RITC 38: Let's Roll | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 6/22/2002 | Win | Jess Morton | TKO | RITC 36: The Rematch | 1 | 3:00 | |
| 5/3/2002 | Win | Andy Montana | Submission (Strikes) | RITC 35: This Time It's Personal | 1 | 1:24 | |
| 3/15/2002 | Loss | Homer Moore | Decision (Unanimous) | RITC 34: Rage in the Cage 34 | 3 | 3:00 | |
| 2/2/2002 | Win | Joey Vigueria | Submission (Strikes) | RITC 33: The Big Show | 1 | 2:00 | |
| 11/7/2001 | Win | Justin Lyon | Submission (Strikes) | RITC 31: Rage in the Cage 31 | 1 | 0:33 | |
| 9/26/2001 | Win | Ryan Roath | Submission (Strikes) | RITC 30: Rage in the Cage 30 | 1 | 2:32 | |
[edit] References
- ^ a b Knucklepit.com (2005). Joe Riggs. The Middleweight Casting a Heavyweight Shadow. Retrieved on 2006-06-09.
- ^ UFC.com. Joe Riggs. Joe Riggs Fighter Detail. Retrieved on 2006-06-08.
- ^ MMaontap article stating that Riggs has a back injury
- ^ Interview with Joe where he talks about the death of his son
- ^ The eight-time UFC veteran has just begun to elevate his training after welcoming the birth of his newborn son, Joseph Diesel Riggs, June 28.
