Joe Riggs

“Diesel”

MMA · Active

49-18-1 (2 NC)RECORD

37KO / TKO WINS

7SUBMISSION WINS

5DECISION WINS

Profile

Full name	Joseph Jonathan Riggs
Nickname	Diesel
Date of birth	23 Sep 1982
Nationality	American
Birthplace	Sanford, USA
Lives in	Phoenix, USA
Division	Middleweight
Team	Grace Fighting Systems
Height	183 cm (6′0″)
Reach	178 cm (70″)
Stance	Southpaw
Years active	since 2001
Status	Active
Pro debut	26 Sep 2001
Last fight	No contest vs George Sullivan, 23 Nov 2019

Details on this page were compiled from public information on 11 Oct 2026 (the record is as of that date). Is this you? Claim this profile to correct anything and add your photo and bio. Claim this profile

Titles and honours

Former WEC Middleweight Champion
Fight Master: Bellator MMA Season One winner
Former KOP Middleweight Champion
Former Fight Night Light Heavyweight Champion
Submission of the Night (x1)

Background

American veteran from Sanford, Maine, based in Phoenix, Arizona, who competed in the UFC, Strikeforce, WEC, Bellator and M-1 Global. He won the Fight Master: Bellator MMA Season One tournament in 2013.

Fight history

70 professional fights. Newest first.

Result	Opponent	Method	Round	Time	Event	Date	Location	Notes
No contest	George Sullivan	No contest (overturned)	3	2:08	Ring of Combat 70	23 Nov 2019	Atlantic City, New Jersey, USA	Originally a TKO win; overturned after a failed drug test
Win	Dan Yates	TKO (submission to punches)	1	3:31	KOP 63	4 Jan 2019	Muskegon, Michigan, USA
Loss	Artem Frolov	TKO (knee injury)	2	0:46	M-1 Challenge 93: Shlemenko vs. Silva	1 Jun 2018	Chelyabinsk, Russia	For the M-1 Global Middleweight Championship
Draw	Borys Polezhai	Draw (split)	3	5:00	M-1 Challenge 90: Kunchenko vs. Butenko	30 Mar 2018	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win	Erick Lozano	TKO (punches)	2		KOP 60	24 Feb 2018	Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA	Won the KOP Middleweight Championship
Win	Oleg Olenichev	TKO (punches)	3	3:21	M-1 Challenge 84: Kunchenko vs. Romanov	27 Oct 2017	Saint Petersburg, Russia
Win	Shonie Carter	TKO (punches)	2	4:54	Z Promotions: Fight Night Medicine Hat 4	9 Sep 2017	Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada	Won the vacant Fight Night Light Heavyweight Championship
Win	Dmitry Samoilov	TKO (punches)	3	1:24	M-1 Challenge 81: Battle in the Mountains 6	22 Jul 2017	Nazran, Ingushetia, Russia
Win	Jerome Jones	TKO (punches)	1	0:27	WXC 68	8 Apr 2017	Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA
Win	Billy Martin	TKO (punches)	1	1:48	ICF 27: The Last Stand	8 Apr 2017	Great Falls, Montana, USA	Date as listed on Wikipedia
Win	Cody McKenzie	TKO (submission to punches)	1	1:51	Z Promotions: Fight Night Medicine Hat 2	28 Oct 2016	Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada	Catchweight (180 lb)
Loss	Chris Camozzi	TKO (knees)	1	0:26	UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs Cowboy	21 Feb 2016	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Win	Ron Stallings	DQ (illegal upkick)	2	2:28	UFC 191: Johnson vs Dodson 2	5 Sep 2015	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Loss	Patrick Cote	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC 186: Johnson vs Horiguchi	25 Apr 2015	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Loss	Ben Saunders	TKO (neck injury)	1	0:57	UFC on FOX: Dos Santos vs Miocic	13 Dec 2014	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Mike Bronzoulis	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	Bellator 106	2 Nov 2013	Long Beach, California, USA	Won Fight Master: Bellator MMA Season One
Win	Cris Leyva	TKO (punches)	1	2:28	RITC 164	16 Nov 2012	Chandler, Arizona, USA
Win	Josh Cavan	KO (punches)	1	4:16	Made For War 1	13 Oct 2012	Castle Rock, Colorado, USA
Win	Shane Johnson	KO (punch)	2	2:33	RITC 160	22 Jun 2012	Chandler, Arizona, USA
Win	Aaron Brink	Submission (armbar)	2	1:18	RITC 159	11 May 2012	Chandler, Arizona, USA
Win	Shannon Ritch	TKO (punches)	1	0:56	Duel for Domination	26 Nov 2011	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Loss	Kendall Grove	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	0:59	ProElite 1	27 Aug 2011	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Loss	Bryan Baker	KO (punch)	2	3:53	Bellator 43	7 May 2011	Newkirk, Oklahoma, USA
Loss	Jordan Mein	TKO (punches)	2	4:30	Wreck MMA: Strong & Proud	28 Jan 2011	Gatineau, Quebec, Canada	Catchweight (184 lb)
Win	Trent Thorne	TKO (elbows)	1	3:56	KOTC 48	21 Nov 2010	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Win	Louis Taylor	TKO (submission to punches)	3	2:07	Strikeforce Challengers: Riggs vs. Taylor	13 Aug 2010	Phoenix, Arizona, USA	Catchweight (182 lb)
Loss	Jay Hieron	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	Strikeforce: Miami	30 Jan 2010	Sunrise, Florida, USA
Win	Nick Almen	TKO (submission to punches and elbows)	1	1:51	Ironman MMA 1	11 Dec 2009	Welch, Minnesota, USA
Win	David Barnes	TKO (punches)	1	0:57	RITC 138	4 Dec 2009	Mesa, Arizona, USA
Win	Phil Baroni	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	Strikeforce: Lawler vs. Shields	6 Jun 2009	St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Win	Luke Stewart	TKO (punches)	2	2:05	Strikeforce: Destruction	21 Nov 2008	San Jose, California, USA	Catchweight (178 lb)
Loss	Kazuo Misaki	TKO (punches)	2	2:29	Strikeforce: At The Mansion II	20 Sep 2008	Beverly Hills, California, USA
Win	Matt Dempsey	Submission (rear-naked choke)	2	1:47	RITC 112	26 Jul 2008	Prescott, Arizona, USA
Loss	Cory Devela	TKO (slam)	1	1:22	Strikeforce: At The Dome	23 Feb 2008	Tacoma, Washington, USA
Win	Eugene Jackson	KO (punches)	1	3:56	Strikeforce: Playboy Mansion	29 Sep 2007	Beverly Hills, California, USA
Win	Dan Chambers	Submission (triangle choke)	1	3:25	Hardcore Championship Fighting: Unfinished Business	21 Jul 2007	Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Loss	Diego Sanchez	KO (knee)	1	1:45	UFC Fight Night: Sanchez vs Riggs	13 Dec 2006	San Diego, California, USA
Win	Jason Von Flue	Submission (triangle choke)	1	2:01	UFC Fight Night 6	17 Aug 2006	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	Submission of the Night
Loss	Mike Swick	Submission (guillotine choke)	1	2:19	UFC 60: Hughes vs Gracie	27 May 2006	Los Angeles, California, USA
Win	Nick Diaz	Decision (unanimous)	3	5:00	UFC 57: Liddell vs Couture 3	4 Feb 2006	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Loss	Matt Hughes	Submission (kimura)	1	3:28	UFC 56: Full Force	19 Nov 2005	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA	Non-title after Riggs missed weight
Win	Chris Lytle	TKO (doctor stoppage)	2	2:00	UFC 55: Fury	7 Oct 2005	Uncasville, Connecticut, USA
Win	Rob Kimmons	TKO (submission to punches)	1	1:24	WEC 15	19 May 2005	Lemoore, California, USA	Won the vacant WEC Middleweight Championship
Loss	Ivan Salaverry	Submission (triangle choke)	1	2:42	UFC 52: Couture vs Liddell 2	16 Apr 2005	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Win	Thomas Gil	Submission (armbar)	1	2:05	RITC 66	13 Nov 2004	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Isidro Gonzalez	TKO (punches and elbows)	1	1:50	WEC 12	21 Oct 2004	Lemoore, California, USA
Win	Joe Doerksen	TKO (submission to elbows)	2	3:39	UFC 49: Unfinished Business	21 Aug 2004	Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Win	Shane Johnson	KO (punches)	1		XCF 5: Evolution	28 May 2004	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Kendall Grove	KO (elbows)	1	3:09	Rumble on the Rock 5	7 May 2004	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Win	Dave Vitkay	KO (punches)	1		ICC: Trials 2	30 Apr 2004	Minnesota, USA
Win	John Renken	KO (punch)	1	0:28	RITC 60	20 Mar 2004	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Chris Kiever	KO (punch)	1	0:49	IFC: Battleground Tahoe	31 Jan 2004	Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA
Loss	Alex Stiebling	Submission (triangle choke)	2	1:54	WEC 9	16 Jan 2004	Lemoore, California, USA
Win	Cory Timmerman	Submission (armbar)	1	1:11	RITC 57: Tucson Revisited	13 Dec 2003	Tucson, Arizona, USA
Win	Frank Alcala	TKO (punches)	1	0:31	IFC: Rumble on the Rio	6 Dec 2003	Hidalgo, Texas, USA
No contest	Andy Montana	No contest			RITC 53: The Beat Goes On	13 Sep 2003	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Greg Wikan	TKO (corner stoppage)	3	5:00	ECS: Evolution	19 Jul 2003	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Will Hammond	TKO (punches)	1		Art of War 2	21 Jun 2003	Kalispell, Montana, USA
Loss	Travis Fulton	Submission (choke)	1	0:48	RITC 45: Finally	1 Mar 2003	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Herb Dean	TKO (submission to punches)	1	0:52	RITC 43: The Match	18 Jan 2003	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Loss	Wesley Correira	KO (knee and punch)	2	2:07	Rumble on the Rock 1	28 Dec 2002	Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Win	Lemuel Vincent	TKO (punches)	1	0:23	RITC 42: Road Trip	7 Dec 2002	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Allan Sullivan	Submission (armbar)	3	1:57	RITC 39: Bring It	19 Oct 2002	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Joe Pardo	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00	RITC 38: Let's Roll	7 Sep 2002	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Jess Morton	TKO (retirement)	1	3:00	RITC 36: The Rematch	22 Jun 2002	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Andy Montana	TKO (submission to punches)	1	1:24	RITC 35: This Time It's Personal	3 May 2002	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Loss	Homer Moore	Decision (unanimous)	3	3:00	RITC 34	15 Mar 2002	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Joey Vigueria	TKO (submission to punches)	1	2:00	RITC 33: The Big Show	2 Feb 2002	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Justin Lyon	TKO (submission to punches)	1	0:33	RITC 31	7 Nov 2001	Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Win	Ryan Roath	TKO (submission to punches)	1	2:32	RITC 30: Soaring to New Heights	26 Sep 2001	Phoenix, Arizona, USA	Pro debut