Matthew Riddle (8-3 MMA, 8-3 UFC) was off on his timetable to cease marijuana usage prior to a fight.
The welterweight fighter on Tuesday confirmed to MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that he failed his second post-fight drug test for marijuana and has been released from the UFC.
Riddle flunked a test following UFC on FUEL TV 7, where he earned a split call against Che Mills (15-6 MMA, 2-2 UFC).
Several critics, including UFC President Dana White, said Riddle should have won a unanimous decision. White also disparaged Mills' performance, saying the fighter didn't press the action late in the fight when he had a positional advantage.
Mills was later cut by the promotion in a spate of pink slips handed out prior to UFC 157.
Riddle appeared earlier this month on MMAjunkie.com Radio, where he said he would continue to use medical marijuana despite a previous failed test that resulted in a win over Chris Clements being overturned to a no-contest.
Riddle, who is a licensed medical marijuana user in his current home state of Nevada, said he would prevent future run-ins with regulatory bodies by halting his use three weeks prior to a fight.
But it appears he didn't give himself enough time, and the UFC, who previously advised Riddle not to use the drug prior to competition, took action.
Riddle exits the promotion as one of the only active fighters to serve his entire professional career in the UFC. A former high school state wrestling champ in New York, he competed on "The Ultimate Fighter 7," where he was eliminated in the reality show tournament's opening round.
Since his appearance, he went on to notch wins over the likes of DaMarques Johnson, John Maguire, and most recently, Mills.
It's no secret Riddle is a proud medical marijuana user in the state of Nevada, but athletic commissions who are run by the federal government still consider marijuana to be a banned substance. He served a 90-day suspension earlier for banned substances and now he is "caught" again. But this time the UFC decided to cut him, that's no surprise because it's just a hassle the UFC doesn't want to deal with.
Riddle has talked in "MMA today" about banned substances and he thought it was ridiculous that fighters were allowed medical exemptions for Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT), which he called steroids, while marijuana users were penalized.
At UFC on Fuel TV 7, Riddle faced off against British fighter Che Mills, who he easily dominated for three consecutive rounds with superior wrestling. Riddle's split-decision victory over Mills has been officially ruled a no contest.
