| Jeremiah Riggs | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Jeremiah Riggs, Big Rigg, Mississippi |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Billed weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st) |
| Born | December 17, 1982 Vicksburg, Mississippi |
| Resides | Granite City, Illinois, Vicksburg, Mississippi |
| Trained by | Matt Hughes, Dutch Mantel, Bill DeMott |
Jeremiah Riggs (born December 12, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist who competes in the welterweight and middleweight divisions. A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Riggs has made a name for himself mainly fighting in the Midwest, and his homestate of Mississippi. He was a competitor on SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest as well as a contestant on WWE Tough Enough.
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Riggs was born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He is the son of an E-9 who served four years in the Coast Guard followed by 31 years in the National Guard.[1] Riggs attended his local high school, playing baseball and football, lettering in both sports. After graduating high school Riggs went on to enroll into Mississippi Delta Community College where he was on the football team.[2]
Upon graduating from college Riggs signed up with the United States Army and served a tour in Afghanistan with the 1st Ranger Battalion.[1] After leaving the Army in 2005, Riggs worked around Mississippi driving trucks for a living; even owning his own trucking business.
Riggs made his professional debut against Craig Sjoerdsma in New Orleans, Louisiana. Riggs won the fight via submission from strikes in the first round. Riggs then fought Robert Thompson for the Southern Fighting Alliance middleweight title belt. The fight lasted all 5 rounds, and Riggs narrowly lost a decision.[3] During the fight, one of Riggs' front teeth was knocked out. In 2007 Riggs sold his trucking company and moved to San Jose to train MMA with Frank Shamrock. Riggs was set to become part of the San Jose Razorclaws, an International Fight League team coached by Shamrock, but the team was disbanded by the IFL before the season began.[1]
After the IFL dissolved Riggs was invited to be a part of season seven of The Ultimate Fighter.[4] Riggs was paired against Dan Cramer in a preliminary match-up to see who obtained entry into the house.[5] Riggs lost a decision, but earned the respect of UFC President Dana White and Quinton Jackson. After filming on TUF Riggs moved to Granite City, Illinois to train with Matt Hughes at The HIT Squad.
Riggs took a fight against up-and-comer Dom O'Grady, losing the fight via submission late in the last round of the fight. The loss was the start of a four-fight losing streak stretching from 2008 to 2010. During that time he saw defeat from soon-to-be teammate Ken Jackson, and future UFC fighter John Salter. Riggs broke the streak in February 2010 after pulling off an impressive triangle choke submission over Jesse Beale. After suffering his last loss Riggs went on a five fight winning streak; with wins coming inside the Bellator Fighting Championships, and Strikeforce.[2][6][7] In 2011 Riggs officially retired from MMA to pursue a career in professional wrestling.[8]
After competing on The Ultimate Fighter Riggs was selected to go on VH1's hit reality show "Daisy of Love". In an MMA fight arranged by the show's producers Riggs defeated VH1 reality personality "12 Pack" which saw 12 Pack suffer a broken nose and had to go to the hospital after the fight. Riggs finished fifth on the show.[9]
When filming for Daisy of Love ended, Riggs was selected to be a part of another VH1 series I Love Money 3. The show was never aired because another contestant who participated in the competition killed his wife and committed suicide.[1]
Riggs began his professional wrestling career training with Dutch Mantel in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.[10]
In March 2011, he was announced as one of the fourteen contestants for the return of WWE Tough Enough set to debut April 4 on the USA Network.[11] Throughout the show Riggs was complimented on his heart, and athleticism. He was nicknamed "MMA" by the trainers because of his mixed martial arts background. Along with Martin, he was one of just two contestants to not get stuck in the bottom three. Riggs finished third on the show, being eliminated in week nine because of his inexperience inside the ring.
In May 2011, Riggs made his debut for Florida Championship Wrestling, the developmental territory for the WWE. He defeated Peter Orlov in his first match as a part of the Tough Enough finale..[12] However, Riggs was released after being informed that WWE had no interest in signing him following the tryout in FCW.[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Ultimate Fighter | Himself | TV Series |
| 2010 | Daisy of Love | Himself | TV Series |
| 2011 | WWE Tough Enough | Himself | TV Series |
| Professional record breakdown | ||
| 12 matches | 7 wins | 5 losses |
| By knockout | 1 | 1 |
| By submission | 3 | 3 |
| By decision | 3 | 1 |
| Result | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 7–5 | Eric Slocum | Decision (majority) | SportFight X Middle Tennessee Mayhem | January 29, 2011 | 3 | 5:00 | Murfreesboro, TN | |
| Win | 6–5 | James Sharp | Decision (unanimous) | Strikeforce Challengers: Wilcox vs. Ribeiro | November 19, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Jackson, MS | |
| Win | 5–5 | Mike Fleniken | Decision (unanimous) | Bellator 30 | September 23, 2010 | 3 | 5:00 | Louisville, KY | |
| Win | 4–5 | Menden McKeehan | TKO (punches) | Absolute Cage Fighting | July 16, 2010 | 1 | 0:17 | Knoxville, TN | |
| Win | 3–5 | George Oiler | Submission (punches) | Hardorcck MMA 23 | June 18, 2010 | 1 | 4:59 | Albany, KY | |
| Loss | 2–5 | Keith Johnson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | EFC Night of Reckoning III | April 23, 2010 | 2 | 4:34 | Tunica, MS | |
| Win | 2–4 | Jesse Beale | Submission (triangle choke) | EFC Night of Reckoning II | February 27, 2010 | 1 | 4:48 | Tunica, MS | |
| Loss | 1–4 | Eric Irvin | Decision (unanimous) | Midwest Pro | January 30, 2010 | 3 | 3:00 | Cape Girardeau, MO | |
| Loss | 1–3 | John Salter | TKO (punches) | The 3rd Degree | October 17, 2009 | 1 | 4:44 | Springfield, IL | |
| Loss | 1–2 | Ken Jackson | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Arkansas MMA: Ultimate Fight Night 6 | November 28, 2009 | 1 | 3:07 | Fort Smith, AR | |
| Loss | 1–1 | Dom O'Grady | Submission (guillotine choke) | Xtreme Fighting Organization 25 | August 9, 2008 | 3 | 4:16 | Island Lake, IL | |
| Win | 1–0 | Craig Sjoerdsma | Submission | Ultimate Cage Fighting: 1 | September 22, 2007 | 1 | N/A | New Orleans, LA |
Riggs has a son.