While the narrative that’s been pushed this week focuses on the time Riddell and Fiziev spent together in Thailand, “Quake” made it clear that while he respects the man he used to share the mats with, he doesn’t let their relationship get in the way of the task at hand.
“That was a very, very long time ago so I think it’s irrelevant,” the 28-year-old said. “Five years ago, we were young men. A lot has changed since then, we’ve gotten a lot better, we’ve pretty much spent five years apart. That’s more time than we spent training together. I know a lot of people like to talk about it, but I don’t think it plays too much of a part. It’s just a job.
“It is a little odd because in other sports you might compete against your friends physically, you know like basketball or rugby or something, but you’re not intentionally trying to hurt them, you’re just trying to win. But obviously, in our profession, you have to intentionally try to hurt your friend, so that’s a bit weird to get around at the beginning, but you just need to look at it as competition and you just need to see if you’re better.”
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On paper, Saturday’s co-main event may seem like a simple scrap between neighbors in the lightweight rankings, but in reality, it has the potential to be a technical striking showdown between two standup brawlers who both have extensive professional careers in other striking-heavy martial arts.
Between Riddell’s more than 70 professional kickboxing matches and Fiziev’s 30-plus professional Muay Thai fights, the two prospects both heading into their fifth fights under the UFC banner are anything but green — something Riddell believes gives them both an edge as they rise in the lightweight ranks.