Diesel Demoted?

According to mmaweekly.com Joe Riggs is fighting on the next WEC card; I still think its only a matter of time before he's back in the UFC but man has this guy had some major ups and downs at such a young age.

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Posted by JoeMimic

According to mmaweekly.com Joe Riggs is fighting on the next WEC card; I still think its only a matter of time before he's back in the UFC but man has this guy had some major ups and downs at such a young age.

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Agreed, but potential only takes you so far. I've heard and read about him having all this talent and potential, but he has never shown me anything to make me belive he's a top 5 guy. His fight with Diaz was his best against a possible top 10 guy, and that was because Diaz was willing to just stand with him the majority of the time. After getting Koed by Diego of all people( who saw that coming who wasn't in his camp? ) I think he needs to regroup and rebuild his confidence. He's real young, so I'm sure he'll be back soon enough.

He seems like a guy who´s game and performance are very dependant on how mentally prepared he is and what he's going through in life.
I think he should find a new camp for starters. Perhaps go down to Jackson´s. He would be an asset to any camp out there and he would probably learn a lot there.

Hopefully he'll get back stronger than ever.

More than anything this is great news for the WEC, I hope at some point in the future fighters will be grateful to be competing in the WEC rather than seeing it as a downfall in their careers, the truth is the UFC will be a mess with 25 fighters in each division competing for one belt, it will simply cause too much confusion and disruption and it will be severely difficult for anybody to attempt to work out where exactly people are at in their respective divisions.

As soon as the WEC belts start to have some weight behind them we could see the potential for fighters holding belts in both orgs. It would be a good move for the UFC to send some of it's star fighters or at least well known to compete in the WEC to help the show gain more popularity and credibility, this will simply result in more great MMA shows for the fans to watch and greater potential for the UFC to have more stacked divisions in the long run, each with legitimate fighters in each weight class. I have every faith in the UFC to do the best job with the WEC and even now they have some fighters I am very interested in seeing their progress, Riggs is now another of them and i'm much more happy to see him fighting in the WEC than the UFC, with no disrespect intended whatsoever.

That suxs. I am surprised to hear this. I would rather see him in the UFC than the WEC.

While I would like to see him in UFC, I would eventually like to see WEC treated as a real minor league. Rather than cuttin talented fighters after a loss or two, send them to WEC where they are matched up against up and comers to see if they have it or not. It's win/win for UFC cuz they own both and they get to sort the wheat from the chaffe while keeping guys under contract. Personally I think Riggs could make it. He could also give some credibility to WEC. I'm kinda in the middle on this. They also might want some mainstays (guys that couldn't make it in ufc but are great in wec).

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Posted by JimiMak

While I would like to see him in UFC, I would eventually like to see WEC treated as a real minor league. Rather than cuttin talented fighters after a loss or two, send them to WEC where they are matched up against up and comers to see if they have it or not. It's win/win for UFC cuz they own both and they get to sort the wheat from the chaffe while keeping guys under contract. Personally I think Riggs could make it. He could also give some credibility to WEC. I'm kinda in the middle on this. They also might want some mainstays (guys that couldn't make it in ufc but are great in wec).

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I agree completely.I think they are doing that, just not admitting it. They would have trouble selling the WEC to advertisers, fans, etc. if they admitted it was the place they will put people who need to tune up their game, up and comer's and people they want to keep around instead of cutting them.

I almost feel sorry for Riggs, because even though he is young he has spent alot of his time fighting and winning in the smaller show. It's not as if his losses haven't come against top tier opponents in the UFC and it's not as if he doesn't have any good wins behind with Diaz, Flue and Lytle. He did the UFC a big favour stepping up to fight Hughes and i'm sure in the long run he will be rewarded for helping them out. I think after a few wins in WEC against some B level opponents he will back and better in the UFC in no time.

I still think he looked better at MW and he has done some much work to cut down to WW it's untrue, maybe that is the direction he will take in future? The WW division is dominated by strong ground artists and although he can hang there's alot more potential for him in the MW division in my opinion.

Question for you hippy as your much more in the know about this sort of thing, but where do you think Riggs looks best in which weight category? It seems he could fight in pretty much anything from WW onwards if he wished.

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Posted by nate22

I almost feel sorry for Riggs, because even though he is young he has spent alot of his time fighting and winning in the smaller show. It's not as if his losses haven't come against top tier opponents in the UFC and it's not as if he doesn't have any good wins behind with Diaz, Flue and Lytle. He did the UFC a big favour stepping up to fight Hughes and i'm sure in the long run he will be rewarded for helping them out. I think after a few wins in WEC against some B level opponents he will back and better in the UFC in no time.

I still think he looked better at MW and he has done some much work to cut down to WW it's untrue, maybe that is the direction he will take in future? The WW division is dominated by strong ground artists and although he can hang there's alot more potential for him in the MW division in my opinion.

Question for you hippy as your much more in the know about this sort of thing, but where do you think Riggs looks best in which weight category? It seems he could fight in pretty much anything from WW onwards if he wished.

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I completely agree with you about Riggs fighting at Middleweight. It's been said he cut 24 lbs. to fight Hughes. He was already training for another fight , and thier was some mix-up with the scales( according to him) , but I think 15 lbs. of water is the absolute max someone can cut at welterweight the day before the fight and still be at max fighting potential when the fight starts. Sodium depletion is a big part of that,and I know he works with Billy Rush who is great at cutting. However, If he got himself back to walking around at 200 and cut to 185 the % is better for him being in fighting trim for the match. I know Franklin had to cut too much before he fought Silva and seemed payed for it. I think Silva would have KOed him anyway, because his gameplan was bad, but he probably wouldn't have been as dominated if he were only cutting 15. lbs. I also agree with you that the welterweight division is far deeper than the middleweight. Since There are less ground fighter's in the top teir of the UFC middleweight division, I think he would find more people to stand with him, and he would be able to prove just how good he is, or not. Either way, at least he would know where he's a currently.

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Posted by JoeMimic

According to mmaweekly.com Joe Riggs is fighting on the next WEC card; I still think its only a matter of time before he's back in the UFC but man has this guy had some major ups and downs at such a young age.

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Thank god. Anyone who has a DIESEL tattoo across their stomach can disappear for eternity for all I care.

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Posted by mmadb

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Posted by JoeMimic

According to mmaweekly.com Joe Riggs is fighting on the next WEC card; I still think its only a matter of time before he's back in the UFC but man has this guy had some major ups and downs at such a young age.

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Thank god. Anyone who has a DIESEL tattoo across their stomach can disappear for eternity for all I care.

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I was thinking about getting "Unleaded" tattooed on my stomach and challenging him.

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Posted by JoeMimic

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Posted by mmadb

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Posted by JoeMimic

According to mmaweekly.com Joe Riggs is fighting on the next WEC card; I still think its only a matter of time before he's back in the UFC but man has this guy had some major ups and downs at such a young age.

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Thank god. Anyone who has a DIESEL tattoo across their stomach can disappear for eternity for all I care.

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I was thinking about getting "Unleaded" tattooed on my stomach and challenging him.

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One of the funniest things I've seen all day

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Posted by JoeMimic
I was thinking about getting "Unleaded" tattooed on my stomach and challenging him.

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How about PROPANE!

I think Joe will do good in WEC. I think it is a real chance for him to decide on a weight class, 185 or 170. I personally like seeing him fight. He is always action packed and never a bore. He is one of those guys who you are always cheering for. He has fallen on hard times in the last year. With a few bad fights and his baby daughter dying.
I think Joe Riggs will be the 170 and/or 185 champion quickly.

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Posted by hippysmacker
I completely agree with you about Riggs fighting at Middleweight. It's been said he cut 24 lbs. to fight Hughes. He was already training for another fight , and thier was some mix-up with the scales( according to him) , but I think 15 lbs. of water is the absolute max someone can cut at welterweight the day before the fight and still be at max fighting potential when the fight starts. Sodium depletion is a big part of that,and I know he works with Billy Rush who is great at cutting. However, If he got himself back to walking around at 200 and cut to 185 the % is better for him being in fighting trim for the match. I know Franklin had to cut too much before he fought Silva and seemed payed for it. I think Silva would have KOed him anyway, because his gameplan was bad, but he probably wouldn't have been as dominated if he were only cutting 15. lbs. I also agree with you that the welterweight division is far deeper than the middleweight. Since There are less ground fighter's in the top teir of the UFC middleweight division, I think he would find more people to stand with him, and he would be able to prove just how good he is, or not. Either way, at least he would know where he's a currently.

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I dont see how cutting weight can be that big of a affect in the First round. Franklin didnt gas in his fight with Silva he got stuck in a badass Thai Clinch.
When a fighter cuts a lot of weight it affects him more in the 2nd and third rounds.

In the first round the Adreenline is flowing and they are pumped. But when the bell rings and they gotta go to their corner for a pause is when it all falls apart. Just watch Fisher vs Stout at UFC 58. Spencer owned Sam the first round but then fell apart.
I tihnk the same thing happend to Travis Lutter when he Fought Anderson Silva.

WEC is a strong organization. i might want to be a WEC star rather than a UFC jobber.

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Posted by SteedTheDeed

WEC is a strong organization. i might want to be a WEC star rather than a UFC jobber.

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Good point, it's not as if zuffa won't do a good job making it a big org either.

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Posted by nate22

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Posted by SteedTheDeed

WEC is a strong organization. i might want to be a WEC star rather than a UFC jobber.

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Good point, it's not as if zuffa won't do a good job making it a big org either.

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You're both right, IMO, which is why I think some "journeymen" would be willing to be the "2nd rate" star. And to address a couple other posts, like I said they can't market it as minor leagues but we all know Zuffa wants UFC to be "the" brand. (Some agreed some didn't, don't care about post count just want to address things as easy as possible)

Diesel has no reason to be "demoted" the guy is going to go where the money is, not saying that WEC pays better, only recognizing that a guy can get more fights, more fights = more money. IMO if UFC wont give him a fight, hes doing the right thing. He should part, find his niche and return better than ever.

I think the UFC should keep him around as a gatekeeper instead of dropping him into WEC. He's a familiar face and always entertaining, no reason to let him go,

That's hillarious

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Posted by JoeMimic

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Posted by mmadb

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Posted by JoeMimic

According to mmaweekly.com Joe Riggs is fighting on the next WEC card; I still think its only a matter of time before he's back in the UFC but man has this guy had some major ups and downs at such a young age.

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Thank god. Anyone who has a DIESEL tattoo across their stomach can disappear for eternity for all I care.

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I was thinking about getting "Unleaded" tattooed on my stomach and challenging him.

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I'm laughing my A$$ off right now