Luke Riley has finally put pen to paper on a deal with the UFC
Liverpool MMA star Luke Riley has finally put pen to paper on a deal with the UFC. The 26-year-old featherweight has been on the radar of the UFC for quite some time and last September was scheduled to fight on Dana White’s Contender Series for a shot at a contract with the promotion.
However, after encountering some visa issues ahead of the bout at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Riley had to withdraw from the fight and returned to Cage Warriors. Now, though, nearly a year on from his American dream being crushed, the featherweight has put pen to paper on a deal with the UFC and is expected to make his debut later this year.
Posting on Instagram to announce he had signed with the promotion on Wednesday night, Riley wrote: “It’s official, signed with the UFC.”
Since switching from Muay Thai to MMA in 2019, Riley, who trains out of Next Generation Gym in Liverpool, is 11 fights unbeaten as a professional.
The Briton follows in the footsteps of Next Generation fighters to have signed with the UFC, most notably Paddy Pimblett and Molly McCann.
After Riley defeated Tariel Abbasov at Cage Warriors 185 in Manchester earlier this year, Pimblett called on UFC CEO White to sign his close friend and gym-mate.
“Luke Riley is ready for anyone and anything inside the cage, Dana White,” said Pimblett. “You already know who my boy is. Get him signed to the UFC. He’s too good not to be on the roster, beating some FWs up for fun.”
Riley is set to compete in the UFC’s featherweight division, which is ruled by current champion Alexander Volkanovski and also features fellow Brits Lerone Murphy and Arnold Allen inside the top-15.
