Brad Riddell didn’t hesitate at all to fight Gregor Gillespie.
In the co-main event of UFC Vegas 22, Riddell is welcoming back Gregor Gillespie back to the Octagon. It’s a very intriguing matchup because they are completely different fighters as Riddell is a striker while Gillespie is one of the best wrestlers in the sport.
“We’re like polar opposites, right? It’s like who gets to build off their skill first,” Riddell said at media day. “I think it’s far easier to learn how to get up and get back to striking than try to catch up to a very, very high-level striker, so that’s a big focus of mine. I’m really excited to fight Gregor and see where my wrestling is against like, an All-American. That’s like the pinnacle here, and it’s going to be cool to test myself against that.”
Entering the fight, Riddell is well aware Gillespie is coming off a KO loss at UFC 244 and will no doubt want to get back in the win column. He expects Gillespie to shoot early and often on him to try and take him down, however, he is confident he can stuff the takedowns.
If he can keep the fight standing, Riddell is confident he would win the fight. Once he beats Gillespie, the City Kickboxing product believes ranked lightweights will be nervous to fight him.
“I know a lot of people didn’t want to fight Gregor, so I was more than keen,” Riddell said. “Throw me that bone. I’ll eat it. I’ll get this win, and then against a wrestler of that caliber, it’s going to make a lot of people above in those rankings a little nervous, I think.”
Riddell enters this fight with a pro record of 9-1 and is on a six-fight winning streak. He is also 3-0 in the UFC but is still looking for his first UFC stoppage win.
