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Recently Dana White talked about his decision to release Matt Riddle, a fighter who had a four-fight winning streak to his name at the time. White justified what was a controversial decision, talking about his reasons for releasing the current number one contender for the NXT Championship.
The release came at a time when the fight was dealing with marijuana-related failed drug tests that turned over the results of his wins in UFC.
Matt Riddle's UFC career
Riddle made his professional MMA debut in The Ultimate Fighter 7 Finale, a fight that he won. He would win several more fights over his MMA career, losing a total of three fights during his time with UFC.
Unfortunately for him, the two turnovers of the four-fight win streak he had going on due to testing positive for marijuana resulted in him getting released by White. He would go on to fight in Titan FC to win a match, before moving to the independent professional wrestling circuit. He eventually signed with WWE in 2018, where he is now a part of the NXT brand.
Dana White says he does not regret releasing Riddle
White had come under criticism for releasing Riddle at the time. He defended the decision in an interview with Barstool Sports.
“I don’t hate Matt Riddle or dislike Matt Riddle in any way. I know he feels the opposite, as he should, but I don’t wish him any ill will or anything. But no, I don’t regret the decision that I made at that time.”
He said that he knew Riddle was fired up about the decision, but he was happy that Riddle was achieving success where he was.
Riddle fires back at Dana White
Riddle has since fired back at White via an Instagram post, where he stated that he was not mad at being fired, but that White was 'a heartless moron' with too much 'money and power'.
He expressed that he had not liked the way that White had called him a loser after the release, a time when he was having his third child and was almost bankrupt.
Currently, Riddle is set to face Adam Cole for the NXT Championship.
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