Brad Riddell announces he will be stepping away from MMA competition following his UFC 281 defeat: “Until the fire to compete comes back”
Brad Riddell announced he would take an extended break from competing inside the Octagon following his loss at UFC 281.
The City Kickboxing athlete announced today on Instagram that he’ll step away from competition until the fire relights. On Saturday past, Brad Riddell was stopped by Renato Moicano in the first round, marking the Kiwi’s third straight defeat by stoppage.
Brad Riddell announces break from MMA
it looks like Brad Riddell won’t be returning to the cage for awhile. pic.twitter.com/KWcqJtYQKI
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) November 14, 2022
“I appreciate everyone that has been supporting me and standing by my side from day one though to these last two lackluster performances,” Riddell wrote. “I’m going to step away from competing in MMA for a good while until the fire to compete comes back. I’m not performing close to my capability, and it’s a dangerous job if you’re not fully present. I’ve been training hard for 15 years, in and out of camps with not enough rest or balance and it’s massively taken its physical and mental toll on me. There has not been a year since I was 17 that I have not fought.
“I know this is the right choice because, as I write this, I feel a sense of relief for finally voicing what I had been feeling for a while. I wanted to have one last crack at MSG to see if the feelings from the last camp were just one-off, but sadly they were not. It’s a hard pill to swallow, as this is what I’ve done my entire life and fighting was my first love. But sometimes you just have to face it.”
Quotes via MMA Fighting
Riddell also stated he would continue training and get treatment for “a few overdue surgeries” after years of wear and tear on the body.
Before Riddell’s three-fight skid, he was 4-0 in his first four fights with the company. The 31-year-old earned respectable victories over names such as Jamie Mullarkey, Magomed Mustafaev, Alex da Silva, and Drew Dober.
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