UFC veteran Justin Scoggins is set to make his Rizin debut at Rizin 14, facing Yuki Motoya in a bantamweight division clash.
The fighter had thought he would get another opportunity in the UFC and when it did happen, it lead to some unfortunate news.
“I had the fight with (Said) Nurmagomedov and of course…I mean like it was my third loss in a row, so I felt weird about it. But the way everybody was talking, like ‘dud you won that fight, don’t worry about it…you’ll get back in there…it’ll be straight, just be sure you win your next one.’ Then I was waiting and I was staying in shape, kind of just waiting for anything to pop off and I got a call to fight at 135. They were looking for a replacement for (Mark) De La Rosa and I was like dude…yes, sweet because I’ll get this win and it’ll be impressive…I’ll whoop this dude and I’ll re-sign. I accepted the fight and I got a call back…probably like a day later and they’re like ‘you don’t get the fight and you’re getting cut.’ I was like ‘damn,’” says Scoggins in an exclusive interview with Fightful’s James Lynch.
Scoggins went 4-5-0 during his time in the UFC and ended his tenure with the promotion while on a three fight losing skid.
If the whole MMA thing doesn’t work out for Scoggins, a future in professional wrestling could be in his future.
“I would love to do that man, I think I could kill that shit…for sure. I grew up doing karate, I was on the demo team…which is a lot like pro wrestling. Like, you go put on fights and skits in front of people and stuff. I think it would be fun man, I would love to do it,” says Scoggins.
Rizin 14 takes place on Monday, December 31 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan with Floyd Mayweather and Tenshin Nasukawa headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on multiple outlets worldwide.
