Brad Riddell signs with UFC, ready to debut at UFC 243 in Melbourne

New Zealand striker Brad Riddell has signed a contract with the UFC and will make his debut at UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia, on October 6.

Riddell will be competing alongside City Kickboxing teammates Israel Adesanya and Dan Hooker on what is regarded as the most significant mixed martial arts event in Australasian history.

The 27-year-old is most renowned for his impressive career as a kickboxer. One of Riddell’s most memorable victories came in the rematch with John Wayne Parr in March 2016. Riddell dropped Parr several times during the bout on his way to a unanimous decision win. As he makes the transition to mixed martial arts, Riddell now has over 70 fights to his name and a collection of titles.

In April 2018, Riddell competed in the first-ever ONE Super Series Kickboxing bout in ONE Championship. After losing a unanimous decision to Regian Eersel, Riddell decided against signing a contract with the promotion because the restrictions could ultimately impact his chances of joining the UFC in the future.

“Our end goal is the UFC and ONE Championship wants to tie you up for two years,” Riddell explained to the Herald Sun in June 2018. “They offered us a contract after the last fight, and it was quite long, so we thought we’d keep freelancing.”

That decision has now paid dividends for Riddell and the team at City Kickboxing.

Riddell will enter the UFC on a three-fight winning streak that has improved his professional mixed martial arts record to 6-1. His most recent victory came at Wollongong Wars 7 in July, where he defeated Mikey Vaotuua by decision. Previously, he had stopped all of his opponents — including current UFC welterweight Song Kenan — by way of KO/TKO.

The UFC 243 main event is a title unification clash between Robert Whittaker and Israel Adesanya. View the full fight card below.