Last week, Bloody Elbow Radio host Matt Bishop wrote an exclusive story saying that former UFC welterweight Matt Riddle had pulled out of his Bellator debut vs. Nathan Coy, which was scheduled for this Friday. Reasons for Riddle removing himself from the bout wasn't known at the time, but today it's been confirmed that Bellator is not keeping Riddle around any longer. MMA Fighting has more:
"Matt was a guy we had high hopes for coming into Bellator," said Bellator Director of Communications Anthony Mazzuca in a statement. "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."
Riddle (7-3, 2 NC) was bounced from the UFC after testing positive for marijuana in his UFC on Fuel 7 post-fight drug test. He'd previously been suspended for the exact same offense in Calgary at UFC 149, and the 2nd positive test resulted in his release.
After getting the boot from the UFC, Riddle signed with Texas-based Legacy Fighting Championships, only to quickly jump ship to Bellator. When he was slotted for a place in their welterweight tournament, he pulled out with a rib injury and subsequently retired. The 27-year-old ended his brief "retirement" a couple of weeks after his initial declaration, but with today's news he now finds himself released from the top two MMA promotions in the span of nine months.