After working past 'lose-lose situation,' Bellator's Joe Riggs hitting stride

Once upon a time, Joe Riggs (39-14 MMA, 0-1 BFC) was MMA’s version of a cautionary tale. But now, as a cast member of Bellator MMA’s new reality show “Fight Master,” the 30-year-old Riggs said he’s primed for a second run to prominence.

“My ass kicking has just begun in my career,” Riggs recently told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “I’m hitting my second stride.”

Riggs already boasts nearly 11 years of professional MMA experience, but he’s best known for an eight-fight UFC run followed by seven appearances under the Strikeforce banner. But in 2011, he dropped three-straight fights to Kendall Grove, Bryan Baker and Jordan Mein, leaving him at just 2-4 over a six-fight run that spanned 19 months.

At that point, Riggs returned to Arizona’s regional stage, and it seemed his time in the spotlight was done.

Searching for answers, Riggs turned to John Crouch, head coach at Arizona’s MMA Lab. Training alongside UFC lightweight champion Benson Henderson, big-show veterans Jamie Varner, John Moraga, Efrain Escudero and more, Riggs turned a corner.

“John Crouch, my coach, has changed everything,” Riggs said.

The results have shown up in Riggs’ recent outings, and he now boasts a five-fight win streak – the longest such run of his career over the past nine years.

Riggs success earned him a spot on Bellator’s “Fight Master,” and he was featured in this past week’s third episode. Riggs was expected to fight Frank Carillo in an elimination contest, but he was ruled ineligible just before the fight by the governing athletic commission. Riggs was visibly distracted by the late switch, but he said the episode only showed part of what happened behind the scenes.

“I was supposed to fight Jacob McClintock in the first round,” Riggs said. “He pulled out because he cut four pounds and said that was too much. Meanwhile, I cut 16 pounds, and he said he was too dehydrated to fight. Then the other guy (Carillo) faked an injury.

“It bothered me. It was the second time in four hours. You like to know your opponent. Everybody else had 24 hours to prepare for their opponent. I had a half an hour. It was a little bit different for me.”

Ultimately, Bellator officials elected to allow Rob Mills, who was eliminated in earlier episode but sustained little damage, back into the tournament to face Riggs. “Diesel” admits he wasn’t exactly thrilled with the position in which that left him.

“It was a lose-lose situation,” Riggs said. “If you beat him, you’re supposed to beat him because he already lost. But if you lose, you’re like a f—ing turd.”

Fortunately for Riggs, he was able to work past the distractions and score a first-round submission win, earning himself a spot in the “Fight Master” house and working one step closer toward a $100,000 grand prize.

While taping for the reality competition series is complete, Riggs is not at liberty to discuss how far he advances on the Spike TV-broadcast show. Yet he can at least talk about his own career and where he believes it’s heading. As a man who knows what it’s like to fight at the top, Riggs believes he’s well on his way to residing there again.

“I’m feeling great,” Riggs said. “I’m literally five times the fighter I was back then. I was nothing back then compared to what I am right now.”

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.

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