Matt Riddle set for MLW return while also teasing MMA fights in 2024

Matt Riddle may be gearing up for both wrestling and MMA matches next year.

Matt Riddle will be wrestling again soon, but he may also step into another kind of ring or cage next year.

MLW president Cort Bauer revealed today on Busted Open Radio that he had signed Riddle to face Jacob Fatu on a Jan. 6 show at the 2300 Arena (the former ECW Arena) in Philadelphia. It will be a first time ever matchup between the two men.

Riddle has yet to appear in any wrestling promotion since he was released by WWE in late September. Though he was pushed as a fairly big star at times, Riddle’s time with WWE was marked by several violations of the company’s wellness policy and other incidents, including one at JFK Airport earlier this year.

It won’t be the first time Riddle has competed at an MLW event. He’s wrestled on several of the promotion’s cards in 2017-18, facing opponents like Tom Lawlor, Jeff Cobb and current AEW star Swerve Strickland.

Returning to wrestling may not be all Riddle has planned for 2024. A former UFC fighter with an 8-3-2 record in MMA, he may also be entertaining thoughts of unscripted fighting again. Riddle told MMA Junkie’s Nolan King earlier this week that “there’s a very big possibility that I get back in the ring or cage pretty soon.”

His hint toward a ring over a cage suggests Riddle could be considering a fight for BKFC, a bare-knuckle boxing promotion based in Philadelphia that has seen an influx of ex-UFC fighters over the past few years.

In the meantime, fans can definitely catch Riddle when he takes on Fatu at MLW Kings of Colosseum 2024 on Jan. 6. Tickets are on sale now, and the show will be broadcast by FITE as part of TrillerTV+.