- published: 22 Jul 2012
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Matthew Frederick Riddle (born January 14, 1986) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter 7. He currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship in their welterweight division.
Riddle was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania and later moved to Saratoga Springs, New York, where he attended Saratoga Springs High School. He graduated from high school in 2004 and then attended East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, where he was a member of the wrestling team.[citation needed]
Riddle's main experience comes from high school wrestling. He wrestled at Saratoga High School in upstate New York. There Riddle was a National wrestling Champion and in his Senior year was a New York state wrestling champion. He is 1-0 in amateur MMA.
Riddle worked as a roofer and trained in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the evenings. Since Riddle had little to no money, he did not train at a gym but in his apartment. Riddle used BJ Penn's book, Mixed Martial Arts: The Book of Knowledge to help him learn. Riddle trains in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Cameron Diffley and is currently a purple belt.
Dana White (born July 28, 1969) is the current President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts organization based in the United States.
Born in Manchester, Connecticut on July 28, 1969, White grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ware, Massachusetts and Levant, Maine. White is a passionate Boston Red Sox fan. During his youth, he bounced back and forth between Boston and Maine. He attended the University of Massachusetts Boston but did not finish; however, while there he did launch a boxing program for inner-city youth.
White has a background as an aerobics instructor. In 1992, White established Dana White Enterprises in Las Vegas. He conducted aerobics classes at three gyms in the Las Vegas area and began managing MMA fighters Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.
While working as a manager, White learned that Semaphore Entertainment Group, the parent company of the UFC, was looking for a buyer for the UFC. White contacted childhood friend Lorenzo Fertitta, an executive at Station Casinos, and a former commissioner of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Within a month, Lorenzo and his older brother Frank bought the UFC, with White installed as its president. White currently owns about 9% of Zuffa, LLC, the entity the Fertitta brothers created to own and manage the UFC.