During a recent interview with CBS Sports, WWE Superstar Riddle commented on the UFC punishing him for his lifestyle, now living his life the way he wants, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On being punished for his lifestyle with medical marijuana by UFC: “For me, it was hard because I got fired from the UFC for my lifestyle and got punished. I had a lot of people that stopped talking to me, like, ‘Oh, you’re a loser. You got fired.’ It was brutal but for me, it was like a filter. I tend to deal with certain things and filter out certain people. There were people I thought we were cool and that’s happened with the UFC and with my lifestyle and everything.”
On seeing his lifestyle be embraced in WWE: “Now, to be at SummerSlam in front of 51,000 people and to see the merchandise flying off the shelves — when I got to the merchandise table and I can’t even get my own shirt or hat, because they’re already sold out? Bro. To know it’s my hard work that did that and that I didn’t give up on myself and believed that I wouldn’t let people tell me what to do. People were saying, ‘You’re wrong. You’re wrong.’ No, I’m not wrong. I’m right and you’re wrong trying to tell me how to live my life.”
On living life the way he wants: “Now, I live my life the way I want to and kept living my life the way I wanted to. Now, I’m on top of this game. Just be yourself and it will all come in time. For me, that was it. It was a grind and a journey and there were times where I thought I should change who I was, but I would have been miserable. The more I’m myself, the more people like me and can relate to me. It feels amazing staying true to myself even if it got me fired from the UFC or if I didn’t get jobs earlier in my career. The juice was worth the squeeze and I proved I was right.”
