GREAT FALLS — The last time MMA legend Joe “Diesel” Riggs fought in the ring was Oct. 9, 2021 in Billings. Once again though, the 39-year old will enter the ring April 30 in the city he calls home: Great Falls.
Riggs will be competing in his sixth sanctioned Bare Knuckling Fighting Championship (BKFC) fight where he’ll have the chance to compete for the light heavyweight belt as the No. 3 bare knuckle boxer in the world.
Along with him, will be other Great Falls based fighters Leo Bercier and Kai Stewart as well as Browning boxer, Billy Wagner.
“I was really happy to get guys a chance to fight on a card like this and bring a show of this caliber to Great Falls so they can see what high level fighting is about,” Riggs said.
In his corner and on the bag is Great Falls native, Deante Davis, who trained and helped Riggs prepare for the upcoming fight after a few years as Riggs’ student at his gym Diesel Counterpunch MMA.
“I would actually prefer Deante to hold for me, he’s gotten so good. He has a high IQ of Albert Einstein.”
Riggs is 3-1-1 in his BKFC record listed as the No. 3 light heavyweight in the world and has only improved since he joined the sport in 2018.
“I know a lot more about giving and taking, the tempo of the fight, the distance that’s the most important thing and I’ve gotten to learn that now.”
His opponent is Lorenzo “The Juggernaut” Hunt who is the defending light heavyweight champion with a 6-1 record. The fire of competition has already begun with the exchange of words between the two fighters on multiple occasions but at the end of the day, Riggs thinks it will be a great fight.
“If you look up the definition of narcissist it would be his face…but he is a good fighter at the end of the day. He’s explosive and athletic fighter. At the end of the day, the one thing I can tell you for sure is it’s going to be a good fight.”
A fighter in UFC, WEC, Strikeforce, Bellator, King of the Cage and M-1 Global, fought and defeated UFC lightweight Melvin Guillard in his last BKFC fight in October 2021 with a opening minute knockout. His championship bout with Hunt is set for 7 p.m. at the Four Seasons Arena in Great Falls.
