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JOE RIGGS The Middleweight Casting a Heavyweight Shadow
© Marc Wickert All photos copyright 2004
Zuffa LLC Former heavyweight Joe Riggs was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona. And like the fabled phoenix bird that was determined to rise from the ashes - reborn, Riggs is determined to rise from UFC contender status and be reborn as champion of the middleweight division. Coming off a convincing win against Joe Doerksen at UFC 49: Unfinished Business, this bird of fire is now set to take on David "The Crow" Loiseau at UFC 51: Super Sarurday. At 21 years of age, Joe has been preparing for these Octagon battles for eleven years, and is trained by Trevor Lally at the Arizona Combat Sports gym. "Since I was 10, I started watching the UFCs with my dad, and he got me into boxing. I began wrestling in high school and did pretty well with that. Then I tried out for a local show called Rage in the Cage after high school, and I ended up becoming their most decorated fighter to date," says Riggs. With an MMA record of 28-5-0, and being on a current win streak of nine, this is an amazing accomplishment for someone just 21 years of age. And Joe feels these credentials put him in a unique position, with the NHB world at his feet. "Most people with as many fights behind them are older. They’re around thirty years of age. I’m a young buck in my prime. I’m a rooster in the hen house right now. The future for me is tying that 185-lb belt around my waist. It’s not me: It’s destiny. It’s got to happen. It’s inevitable." Joe made the dramatic transformation from heavyweight to middleweight fighter, cutting down from 300lbs to 185lbs, but has retained much of his heavyweight strength. "I’ve got it all. Actually, I haven’t lost any of my strength since I dropped in weight. I don’t think I’ve lost any of my punching power. Last month, I started lifting weights again and got up to 215lbs. And I got too heavy. My body adapts very well to putting on muscle. "When I was 300lbs, I was more of a chubby guy. Then I naturally went down to 205 easily, and I thought, ‘Shit, I can make 185.’ It’s always better to fight smaller opponents – to be the biggest guy in the weight class."
At UFC 49, Riggs’s ‘new’ physique rippled with muscles. But what stood out most was his huge V-shaped back that resembled a powerful, concrete construction. Although Joe now tends to focus on plyometrics for his workouts, he still does some heavy-poundage training that helps to build that massive back. "I do a lot of pushups and circuit training. It’s mainly due to genetics that I have the big back, which is good for punching power. But I do lift weights for my legs, just for core strength. I do squats, deadlifts and cleans. That’s about it as far as weights go. Thank God I’m blessed with these powerful limbs," laughs Joe. Like Yves Edwards and many other southpaws, Riggs is naturally an orthodox fighter, but was encouraged in the gym to compete as a left hander. "I’m right-handed. My power hand is my lead hand. When I was young, the boxing coach trained me to fight southpaw. I don’t know what it was, but it stuck with me and it worked well for me. So it’s as though I always have an advantage. I like it." When Riggs fought Doerksen at UFC 49, Doerksen had Riggs in his guard and tried for an arm bar. But Riggs stood and delivered big right fists to the downed opponent. Under similar circumstances, standing strikers have been knocked out by kicks from their horizontal adversaries. An example of this was when Renzo Gracie defeated Oleg Taktarov at Martial Arts Reality Superfighting (MARS). "You always have to watch out for the up-kicks. If you get lackadaisical and lead with your hands, you can be in danger of getting kicked in the face. But that’s a small part of the game you have to watch out for. Some of the Jiu Jitsu guys like to kick up, but when they do, you just hit their legs around and counter with an elbow. I like to counter everything with an elbow." Joe’s dynamic stand-up game has earned him a healthy MMA following that continues to grow. And although he has shown he can mix it on the mat, having won many bouts through submissions, it’s his toe-to-toe battles that seem to impress the crowds. "I love to stand up and bang them. I’ve got a great chin. It takes a bat to knock me out, and I’m fast and strong. The crowd always loves a knockout, but when I am on the ground, I still feel right at home there. It doesn’t seem to matter. I may be on my feet or on the ground, they can get knocked out either way."
Joe, what is your biggest weapon in a fight? "My punching power and my raw strength. I’m very explosive, and I can hit so damn hard." Where do your ground-fighting skills come from? "I train with a Second-Dan BJJ black belt named Gustavo Dantas down here in Phoenix. I’m a two-time Grapplers Quest winner. I’m about a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu and my wrestling backup is pretty extensive." How will you defeat David Loiseau? "He’s a stand-up fighter. He likes to bang. If he wants to stay on his feet, he’ll get knocked out. It’s going to be a knockout either way." When Loiseau fought Jorge Rivera at UFC 44: Undisputed, he used some damaging elbows. And you’ve carved up your share of adversaries with your elbows. Is your match against Loiseau going to be a dueling-elbows battle? "It could be. It could be. If he wants to go to the ground, he’s going to get elbowed. And if they want me to keep fighting the Canadian guys…I fought Joe Doerksen, and they wanted me to fight Patrick Cote, but he couldn’t make the weight…and now I’m fighting Loiseau…I’m a Canadian killer." Why’s that? "I have no idea. It’s fine with me, though." But David Loiseau is big on elbows, isn’t he? "He is. He likes to throw elbows from the standing position. He’s a very tough fighter. It should be an interesting fight, and I can’t wait to get in there with him. But it’s inevitable that I’m going to take him out, my friend." Joe, is there anything you’d like to add to this article? "No. Just thanks for giving me the opportunity to do the interview. And watch the next UFC. Keep your eye on me, because I’m going to be the next Middleweight Champion." Sponsors?
For more on Arizona Combat Sports: www.azcombatsports.com For more on UFC 51: www.ufc.tv
JOE RIGGS
Part 2
Battle-Hardened for the Title
Shot
A cool Joe Riggs entering the
Octagon at UFC 55
© Marc Wickert
www.knucklepit.com
All photos copyright 2004 Zuffa LLC
Photography by Joshua Hedges When Joe ‘Diesel’ Riggs got a call, offering him the opportunity to challenge UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes for his title, Joe jumped at the opportunity. At just 23 years, Riggs has already notched up an impressive 26-6-0 MMA record, and has fought in the heavyweight, middleweight and now welterweight divisions. Prior to his last Octagon bout against the respected Chris ‘Lights Out’ Lytle, the latter said to UFC of Diesel: "He hits extremely hard on the ground. He’s incredibly strong - a real specimen. It will be a tough fight." Chris’s prediction came to fruition, with their epic battle ending when Joe became the first athlete to stop Lytle in his incredible career of 29-11-4. Riggs’s victory occured when he had Chris in his guard. He pushed Chris’s head up with both hands, before unleashing a vicious elbow from his back. The strike opened a large gash in Lytle’s forehead, which caused referee Big John McCarthy to stop the fight, two minutes into round two. According to Joe, the elbow strike from the ground position was not something he’d been working on particularly for that match. "I’m always throwing elbows and punches – whether it’s from my back or on my feet – so it’s something I’ve been doing for a while. It’s the first chance I’ve had to use it, but it was nothing I was planning on doing for that fight," says Riggs. Karo Parisyan was billed to be facing Hughes at UFC 56, but due to an injury, Parisyan had to withdraw from the card and Riggs was contacted to take Karo’s place. Joe says he had "…about a week and a half off after the bout with Chris. My body is in pain right now from all the training I’ve been doing." Of the challenge for the UFC Welterweight Title against Matt, Joe says, "I knew it was coming up, but I didn’t expect it so soon. Yeah, it was a shock. And it’s an honour to be able to fight for the title at my age, but it was a welcome shock."
Joe, UFCs 55 (October 7) and 56 (November 19) are unusually close together, and you get to compete in both of them. Will that make you more battle hardened? "You never know. My body is the most beat up it’s probably ever been. My back is sore, but it’s not going to make me…I don’t know… That’s a tough question to ask, cause my body’s still beat up." How do you expect to match up strengthwise against Matt? "I’m a strong guy, and Matt’s a freak, so who knows? I’ll be the bigger guy, but they’re two different kinds of strength. Matt Hughes is like farm-boy strong. He’s like, when he grabs hold of you… I’m going more for athletic fitness. They’re two different kinds of strength. But we won’t be going at it clashing like two rams, as a lot of people are expecting. It will be more technique and finesse than that." In the past, Matt has been able to weather the storm and then wear his opponents down – as in his battles with Frank Trigg and Georges St. Pierre. Will you be able to counter that aspect of his game? "You know, I’m not going to go out there and blow my wad like lots of guys do. I want to pick my shots like Matt does, and I’m going to be relaxed. I won’t freak out when Matt starts coming back, like when he came back against Frank Trigg. I’m going to stay relaxed about everything."
You sustained an injury leading up to your match with David Loiseau. Do you have any plans of a return to middleweight to take David on? "If they offered me a fight with David I’d be all for it." Do you think Matt Hughes will be working on a way to counter your big, elevated bomb shots? "I doubt that he’d be thinking he’ll be fighting off his back, because he’s a better wrestler than I am. I think he’ll be working more on putting me on my back." What will be his main strengths against you? "His wrestling. And the fact that he’s been there so many times. He’s had, what…10 title defences? His experience and his wrestling." How are you going to win this fight? "I can win it in a number of ways: I can knock him out, I can cut him, or submit him. I have the power to win with one elbow swing. He doesn’t have that. I have a whole barrage of ways. He’s only got one." After your victory at UFC 55: Fury, many fighters seemed to be trying to copy your fighting style, didn’t they? "Yeah, a lot do try to copy my fighting style, but I’ve got copyright on it," laughs Riggs. Joe, is there anything you’d like to add? "No, that’s about it. That sounds good to me." Your sponsors? "Tapout."
For more on Joe Riggs and UFC 55: Full Force – www.ufc.tv.
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