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“He Made me Look Less Than Human” – Matt Riddle Slams Dana White

Published 06/19/2020, 2:20 AM EDT

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Matt Riddle has gone a long way from being a professional fighter to wrestling on the independent scene before joining WWE NXT in 2018. Here he adopted the ‘Original Bro’ gimmick and set the scene alight with his style and charisma. The 34-year-old earned a lateral move to SmackDown and will make his bow on the blue brand. Ahead of his arrival on Friday Nights, Riddle responded to claims that he should thank Dana White for motivating him. 

Matt Riddle fires back at Dana White 

In a chat with ESPN’s Ariel Helwani on Ariel Helwani’s MMA Show, Riddle spoke about being dismissed by the UFC. This happened as he tested positive for marijuana. He said, “I remember it you know I just a lot of people are really like aw that probably worked as motivation.”

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However, he dismisses the idea and revealed that he did not watch the clip for over a year. This is because he had no intention of watching his former boss “talk trash” about him. 

Riddle brings up the fighter pay issue and says, “I basically gave up most of my 20s to him and my body to him for that company. And it barely paid me what they should have. Just like they do to everybody else.” 

Furthermore, he addressed claims of needing to thank the UFC President for helping him rebound quickly from cage fighter to WWE Superstar. Riddle dismisses this and claims it wasn’t motivation which was already there. 

He says, “The only thing I will thank him for is talking all that cr*p about me. Calling me a loser and all that. Because so many people around the world related to that. Being treated like that. My fan base went through the roof when he said all that bad stuff about me.”

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Riddle says it wasn’t due to his fight win streak or the way he was beating Welterweights, But, “It was because he put me down and made me look less than human. And a bunch of people started following me because it’s not fair to do that to anybody. And he does it consistently.”

Whilst one wonders what could have been had Matt Riddle remained in the UFC and furthered his fight career, fans cannot deny that he is extremely hot in the WWE and is set for an amazing time on SmackDown. 

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Written by:

Reubyn Coutinho

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Reubyn Coutinho is a Combat Sports editor at EssentiallySports with over 2 years of journalistic experience. Having earned his bachelor's degree in Mass Media with a specialization in Journalism from Xavier's College, Reubyn has interned with the sports desks at DNA and Times Now before joining EssentiallySports to further his passion for sports content. Reubyn has interviewed former UFC champions like 'Mighty Mouse' Demetrious Johnson and Miesha Tate.
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