Teddy Riner, three-time Olympic judo gold medalist and star of the -100kg category, has turned down an offer from the UFC for 15 million euros.
The eleven-time world champion would rather remain focused on his big goal for 2024: to repeat Olympic gold in front of his home crowd at the Paris Games. He wants to get rid of the thorn from Tokyo, when he won bronze. The gold was won in the mixed team event.
“I have to concentrate on judo. We already get injured a lot… My goal is to win the Games and beat the best in my discipline,” said Riner during his stay in Japan, where he is training after missing the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi and the European Championships in Montpellier.
Riner revealed that he had received offers not only from the UFC, but also from professional wrestling.
“MMA came to me. With big bills. It doesn’t interest me, it doesn’t match my values. I respect these fighters, but getting punched and kicked in the face is not my thing. I am aware that we have to live with the times and that MMA are in fashion, but it will be without me,” he said in 2015 in an interview with L’Equipe.
Riner not closing the door on UFC
Now, eight years later, he has said no to the UFC, but he is not completely closing the door once the Paris Olympics are over.
Riner went nine years and three months without defeat in judo, one of the longest records in the combat sport. That includes 38 tournaments without losing with 162 consecutive victories in his +100 kg category (he had not lost since August 15, 2008) and 154 in all categories (his last defeat dated September 13, 2010).
He was defeated on February 9, 2020 in the round of 16 of the Grand Slam in Paris, although he went all of 2018 without competing and in 2019 he participated in only two tournaments.