Matt Riddle is one of the most popular wrestlers on the WWE roster, and the superstar has just been promoted to black belt in BJJ. Riddle was given his final belt promotion in a ceremony that was headed up by Daniel Gracie, Rolles Gracie, and David Floridia; the instructor at Daniel Gracie Orange County. While the worlds of professional wrestling and BJJ have been intertwined for the longest time, it should come as no surprise that Riddle in particular is a veteran of the sport.
Long before he was ever one on the WWE roster, Riddle was a professional MMA fighter with a lot of talent for the sport. He managed to work his way onto the cast for The Ultimate Fighter 7, despite only having had amateur fights up until that point. Riddle went 1-1 on the show but as those fights are counted as exhibitions officially, he actually made his professional debut in the UFC cage at the season’s finale. Riddle went 7-3 with 2 no contests during his UFC career, with both of those no contests coming from fights he won that were overturned when he tested positive for marijuana use.
Riddle was released from the UFC as a result of the failed drug tests and he only took one more MMA fight for Titan FC before he made the move to professional wrestling. After a few years of plying his trade on NXT, Riddle transitioned to WWE in 2020 and has since found huge success there. Throughout his time competing as a professional MMA fighter and his years as a professional wrestler, Matt Riddle has continued to train BJJ and after years of dedication to the sport he has now been promoted to black belt.
The news that WWE superstar Matt Riddle was promoted to BJJ black belt was announced in a post to his official Instagram account:
