So much for hostile territory.
Despite a skid of bad luck along the way, Mississippi’s Jeremiah Riggs found a whole lot of northern hospitality in his recent BKFC business trip to Canada.
A massive snowstorm on fight week delayed his arrival in the country from Thursday afternoon to early Friday morning. Riggs’ bags, which included all of his fight night gear, never arrived in Edmonton.
A local gym allowed Riggs access to their sauna free of charge to assist in his behind-schedule weight cut. A local sporting goods store provided him with all the gear he’d need on fight night – again, on the house – and a local print shop put in overtime to make sure Riggs’ gear was fit for the Squared Circle.
“Everyone was so kind and full of gratitude just to be able to help me; it was very overwhelming,” Riggs says. “It all came together, and it felt like I was the hometown fighter.”
Riggs takes a lot of pride in representing the United States when he competes, and he has a newfound pride in his relationship with America’s neighbor to the north.
“I’m so ready to go back there and show my gratitude,” he says. “It really meant so much to me.”
Riggs capped off his epic weekend in Canada with a 49-second stoppage victory over Sonny Smith in the Co-Main Event at the sold-out River Cree Resort & Casino.
“Getting the win is always the No. 1 priority, especially by finishing your opponent. With how it all went down, especially against that type of opponent, I couldn’t ask for anything more,” he says.
“What an amazing experience.”
