While it was circulating that Saturday’s BKFC 29 bout with Josh Dyer would be the final fight of Joe Riggs’ 70-plus pro fight career, the longtime UFC veteran is setting the record straight.
Riggs and Dyer will meet in the co-main event of the promotion’s return to Montana. Ahead of the fight, “Diesel” cleared up comments from BKFC and is very confident he’ll compete again after Saturday.
“I don’t know where that came from that this is my last fight,” Riggs told MMA Fighting. “I talked to Dave Feldman and asked him why he said that and he said someone told him that. Well, shouldn’t you ask me?
“No. But this won’t be my last fight. Although I’m close to my end, there are a few other things I [want to do], need in my life before I am done. Three [more fights, tops.”
In his most recent appearance, Riggs challenged Lorenzo Hunt for the BKFC middleweight title at BKFC 24 in April where Hunt retained with a second-round stoppage. Riggs called the performance “embarrassing,” and wouldn’t allow himself to move on to the next chapter of his life after a loss like that.
For this training camp, Riggs returned to where it all started for him in Phoenix, returning to The MMA Lab. Working with a room full of professional fighters that would push him is something that he needed, and hasn’t had in two years.
“Jeremy Horn once told me that if you train, and run a gym constantly, one is going to hurt — either your career, or training people at the gym,” Riggs said. “I wasn’t able to do both. When I would train for a fight, I would make sure I’m in shape, I would get down my weight, but I wouldn’t work [hard enough on my skills].
” My last fight was the first time I didn’t spar. My student held my pads, while we were moving gyms. I didn’t do anything but hitting the speed bags. My routine consisted of swimming, hitting pads and then going to the speed bag. I thought my experience and being good would just carry me through, and it did for the most part, and after the last fight and all of the mental things I went through, and not having a strong camp, it makes me question myself even more.
“So I went back to Phoenix, went back to The MMA Lab, where at the time, I was the first person from Arizona to make it to the UFC, and it’s been a great feeling training with good guys, and being in an actual camp.”
As far as where Riggs would like to go moving forward, he says a fight with Jake Paul would be something he’d love to check off the list. Anderson Silva is the opponent Paul will face on October 29 at Glendale, Ariz. Riggs responded to the matchmaking but revealed that there had been conversations with him about the possibility of facing Paul early in his career.
” I think it’s a fascinating fight,” Riggs said. “I have [actually] many talks because someone I’ve worked alongside for a while knows his manager, and we discussed fighting Jake before Ben Askren fought. Although he’s improved as a fighter, I still want to fight him. Jake knocking out Tyron Woodley…Tyron had an overhand right and that’s it. [Woodley] had a lot to offer as a fighter, but was not very athletic.
“If he beats Anderson Silva, even at Anderson’s age, that would be impressive. But I’d fight that guy for f****** free. Rampage had a video crew with him before he started boxing. I remember beating on him at Rampage’s gym, which was funny. Now he considers himself a real f****** fighter. He’s gotten better, I’ll give him that, but it’s crazy. He has more than I do. He’s probably made f****** 10 times as much as I have in fighting in probably 1/10th of the time. That kind of makes me bitter.”
