Bellator releases Matt Riddle following second fight withdrawal

Matt Riddle (7-3 MMA) is once again a free agent, as Bellator officials recently announced that the welterweight fighter has been released by the promotion.

Riddle was expected to face Nathan Coy on the main card of Bellator 109, which goes down this weekend in Matt’s home state of Pennsylvania. However, due to reasons not yet public, Riddle has decided to withdraw from the scheduled welterweight bout.

In March, Riddle signed a multi-fight deal with the Texas-based MMA promotion ‘Legacy FC’, this after his UFC run was ended by a pair of failed drug tests for marijuana. Then, Bellator MMA picked up Riddle’s contract, in order to have him compete in their season 9 welterweight tournament.

Riddle was expected to make his Bellator MMA debut in September, but was forced to pull out of that fight due to a cracked rib.

Then things really got interesting. As shortly after he revealed his injury, Matt Riddle announced his retirement from mixed martial arts, citing several issues he had with both the UFC and Bellator.

The retirement proved to be short-lived, as a month later, Riddle announced that he was back and would be fighting at Bellator 109 in his home state of Pennsylvania.

Now, following his second fight withdrawal, Riddle has subsequently been cut.

Bellator released the following official statement regarding Riddle’s release:

“Matt was a guy we had high hopes for coming into Bellator,” said Bellator Director of Communications Anthony Mazzuca. “After Matt suffered his rib injury and withdrew from our tournament, we went back to the drawing board and got Matt another fight on November 22nd.

“Unfortunately, Matt very recently informed us he would not be fighting on November 22nd from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and at that point we decided to release Matt from Bellator. We wish him the best in his future endeavors.”

The 27 year-old, Matt Riddle, has not competed since February of 2013. He boasts a professional record of 7-3 with two no contests (both due to testing positive for marijuana), all of which occurred under the Zuffa banner.