Jeremiah Riggs (born December 12, 1982) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and bare-knuckle boxer, currently competing in the

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have beg ...

division in the

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship The Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia. The promotion was founded in April 2018, and is presided over by David Feldman. BKFC is the first promotion to hold an official st ...

(BKFC). A professional MMA competitor since 2007, Riggs has made a name for himself mainly fighting in the Midwest, and his home state of

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. He was a competitor on SpikeTV's '' The Ultimate Fighter: Team Rampage vs Team Forrest'' as well as a contestant on ''

WWE Tough Enough ''WWE Tough Enough'' is an American professional wrestling reality competition series that was produced by WWE, wherein participants undergo professional wrestling training and compete for a contract with WWE. There were two winners per season ...

''.

Early life

Riggs was born and raised in

Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 21,573 at the 2020 census. Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vicksburg ...

. He is the son of an E-9 who served four years in the Coast Guard followed by 31 years in the National Guard. Riggs attended his local high school, playing baseball and football, lettering in both sports. After graduating high school Riggs went on to enroll into

Mississippi Delta Community College Mississippi Delta Community College is a public community college serving the Mississippi Delta region with its main campus in Moorhead, Mississippi. It also offers courses at locations in Greenville, Greenwood, and Indianola. Its mascot is th ...

where he was on the football team. Upon graduating from college Riggs signed up with the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

and served a tour in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

with the 1st Ranger Battalion. After leaving the Army in 2005, Riggs worked around Mississippi driving trucks for a living; even owning his own trucking business.

Mixed martial arts

Riggs made his professional debut against Craig Sjoerdsma in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Riggs won the fight via submission from strikes in the first round. Riggs then fought Robert Thompson for the Southern Fighting Alliance middleweight title belt. The fight lasted all 5 rounds, and Riggs narrowly lost a decision. During the fight, one of Riggs' front teeth was knocked out. In 2007 Riggs sold his trucking company and moved to San Jose to train MMA with

Frank Shamrock Frank Shamrock (born Frank Alisio Juarez III; December 8, 1972) is an American former professional mixed martial artist. Shamrock was the first to hold the UFC Middleweight Championship (later renamed the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship) ...

. Riggs was set to become part of the San Jose Razorclaws, an

International Fight League The International Fight League was an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion billed as the world's first MMA league. It was founded on January 7, 2006, and closed on July 31, 2008.

team coached by Shamrock, but the team was disbanded by the IFL before the season began. After the IFL dissolved Riggs was invited to be a part of season seven of ''

The Ultimate Fighter ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

''. Riggs was paired against Dan Cramer in a preliminary match-up to see who obtained entry into the house. Riggs lost a decision, but earned the respect of UFC President

Dana White Dana Frederick White Jr. (born July 28, 1969) is an American businessman who is the CEO and president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a global mixed martial arts organization. In August 2019, White's net worth was estimated at . Out ...

and

Quinton Jackson Quinton Ramone Jackson (born June 20, 1978), known by his ring name of Rampage Jackson, is an American rapper, former mixed martial artist, actor, kickboxer, and professional wrestler. During the course of his mixed martial arts (MMA) career, ...

. After filming on TUF Riggs moved to

Granite City, Illinois Granite City is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, within the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. The population was 27,549 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Metro East and S ...

to train with Matt Hughes at The HIT Squad. Riggs took a fight against up-and-comer Dom O'Grady, losing the fight via submission late in the last round of the fight. The loss was the start of a four-fight losing streak stretching from 2008 to 2010. During that time he saw defeat from soon-to-be teammate Ken Jackson, and future UFC fighter John Salter. Riggs broke the streak in February 2010 after pulling off an impressive triangle choke submission over Jesse Beale. After suffering his last loss Riggs went on a five fight winning streak; with wins coming inside the

Bellator Fighting Championships Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from '' bellātor'', the Latin word for "warrior". Bellato ...

, and

Strikeforce Strike Force may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games *Strike Force (video game), ''Strike Force'' (video game), a 1991 arcade game *''Commandos: Strike Force'', a 2006 video game *''Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce'', a 2009 video game *' ...

. In 2011, Riggs officially retired from MMA to pursue a career in professional wrestling. On March 16, 2012, Riggs officially came out of retirement at Bellator 61 in

Bossier City, Louisiana Bossier City ( ) is a city in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, Bossier Parish in the northwestern region of the U.S. state, state of Louisiana in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in the Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area ...

to fight Trey Houston in a "Middleweight Tournament Qualifier". In 2015 Riggs walked away from MMA and pursued a career in bull riding, competing on small circuits in the midwest and southeast United States.

Television career

After competing on

Riggs was selected to go on VH1's hit reality show ''

Daisy of Love Daisy de la Hoya attending the premiere of VH1's "Daisy of Love" at My House, Hollywood, CA on April 26, 2009 ''Daisy of Love'' is an American reality television dating show which stars Daisy de la Hoya, the runner-up of the VH1 reality datin ...

''. In an MMA fight arranged by the show's producers, Riggs defeated VH1 reality personality "12 Pack" which saw 12 Pack suffer a broken nose and sent to the hospital. Riggs finished fifth on the show. When filming of ''Daisy of Love'' ended, Riggs was selected to be a part of another VH1 series '' I Love Money 3''

Professional wrestling career

Riggs began his professional wrestling career training with

Dutch Mantel Wayne Maurice Keown (born November 29, 1949) is an American professional wrestling manager, booker and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Dutch Mantel (also spelled Dutch Mantell). Since May 2022, Mantell has co-host ...

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

WWE

In March 2011, he was announced as one of the fourteen contestants for the return of ''

'' on the USA Network. Throughout the show, Riggs was complimented on his heart and athleticism. He was nicknamed "MMA" by the trainers because of his mixed martial arts background. Along with Martin, he was one of just two contestants to not get stuck in the bottom three. Riggs finished third on the show, being eliminated in week nine because of his inexperience inside the ring. In May 2011, Riggs made his debut for

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until ...

, the developmental territory for the WWE. He defeated Peter Orlov in his first match as a part of the ''Tough Enough'' finale. However, Riggs was released after being informed that WWE had no interest in signing him following the tryout in FCW after rubbing officials and other wrestlers the wrong way.

Filmography

Bare-knuckle boxing

Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship

Riggs made his BKFC debut at BKFC Fight Night: Jackson on January 29, 2022 and won by technical knockout in the first round. Riggs faced Connor Tierney at BKFC Fight Night: New York 2 on March 12, 2022 and lost by knockout in the fifth round. Riggs faced Billy Wagner at BKFC Fight Night: Jackson 2 on June 11, 2022 and lost by knockout due to an ankle injury in the first round. Riggs faced former

WBO The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxin ...

interim

light middleweight Light middleweight, also known as junior middleweight or super welterweight,PeBoxRec/ref> is a weight class in boxing but also may include other combat sports. Boxing The light middleweight division (also known as junior middleweight in the Intern ...

boxing champion

Alfredo Angulo Alfredo Angulo López (born August 11, 1982) is a Mexican professional boxer who held the WBO interim light middleweight title from 2009 to 2010. As an amateur he represented Mexico at the 2004 Olympics, reaching the first round of the middlewe ...

in a middleweight bout at BKFC: Knucklemania IV on April 27, 2024. After throwing a flurry of punches to start the round, he was eventually knocked out in the first round. Riggs clearly was holding onto Alfredo's hair throughout the match, only releasing Angulo's braid when the referee was on the same side as the illegal grip.

Mixed martial arts record

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Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–7 ,

Kelvin Tiller Kelvin Tiller (born June 26, 1990) is an American mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2011, Tiller has also formerly competed for Bellator, World Series of Fighting and Sha ...

, Submission (Kimura) , Bellator 70 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:38 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–6 , Trey Houston , Submission (armbar) , Bellator 61 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:30 ,

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Jackson, Mississippi Jackson is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city of the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city sits on the Pearl River (Mississippi–Louisiana), Pearl River and is locate ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–5 , Mike Fleniken , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 30 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–5 , Menden McKeehan , TKO (punches) , Absolute Cage Fights 12 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:17 ,

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–5 , George Oiler , TKO (submission to punches) , Hardrock MMA 23 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:59 ,

Albany, Kentucky Albany is a home rule-class city in Clinton County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 1,760 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Clinton County. It is located on U.S. Route 127, about north of the Tennessee borde ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2–5 , Keith Johnson , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Empire FC: A Night of Reckoning 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:34 ,

Tunica, Mississippi Tunica is a town in and the county seat of Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s when casino gambling was introduced in the area, Tunica had been one of the most impoverished places in the U ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–4 , Jesse Beal , Submission (triangle choke) , Empire FC: A Night of Reckoning 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:48 ,

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–4 , Eric Irvin , Decision (unanimous) , Devastation Fight Club , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

Cape Girardeau, Missouri Cape Girardeau ( , ; colloquially referred to as "Cape") is a city in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, Cape Girardeau and Scott County, Missouri, Scott Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–3 , John Salter , TKO (punches) , CCCW: The 3rd Degree , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:44 ,

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...

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Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

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New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

, United States ,

Bare knuckle boxing record

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, KO (punches) , BKFC: Knucklemania IV , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:07 ,

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, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 1–1 , Connor Tierney , KO (punch) , BKFC Fight Night: New York 2 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 1:31 ,

Salamanca, New York Salamanca ( Seneca: ''Onë'dagö:h'') is a city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States, inside the Allegany Indian Reservation, one of two governed by the Seneca Nation of New York. The population was 5,929 at the 2020 census. It was n ...

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Riggs, Jeremiah 1982 births Living people American male professional wrestlers American male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Tough Enough contestants Sportspeople from Vicksburg, Mississippi Professional wrestlers from Mississippi United States Army soldiers