in his ten-year career as a mixed martial artist Riggs has lost three straight fights. After the loss to Grove he went on a five-fight win streak. Fight Master: Bellator MMA On May 6, 2013, it was announced that Riggs would be featured as a participant on Bellator's reality TV show Fight Master: Bellator MMA, competing as a Welterweight. In his first fight to get into the house, Riggs defeated UK fighter Rob Mills via heel hook submission in the first round and subsequently chose to join Greg Jackson's team. In the preliminary round, Riggs defeated Eric Scallan via unanimous decision and went on to the quarterfinal round where he defeated Evan Cutts via unanimous decision. In the semifinal round, Riggs defeated number one seed Cole Williams in a three-round split decision victory. He made it to the tournament finals with Mike Bronzoulis. Riggs was set to face Mike Bronzoulis in the Fight Master Finale on September 7, 2013 at Bellator 98. However, on September 3, it was revealed Riggs has sustained a significant eye injury and the bout was postponed indefinitely. The bout took place on November 2, 2013 at Bellator 106. Riggs won the fight via unanimous decision to become the first winner of Fight Master. Return to UFC After becoming the first winner of Fight Master, Riggs was expected to return to UFC and face Paulo Thiago at UFC Fight Night 51 on September 13, 2014, replacing an injured Mike Rhodes. However, Riggs was forced to pull out of the fight after accidentally shooting himself in the hand and leg while cleaning a pistol at his home. Riggs made his eventual return against Ben Saunders at UFC on Fox: dos Santos vs. Miocic on December 13, 2014 at US Airways Center in Phoenix, Arizona. The fight ended early in the first round by TKO due to injury when Riggs hurt his neck on a take down and tapped out shortly thereafter. Joe Riggs faced Patrick Côté on April 25, 2015 at UFC 186. Riggs lost the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. Riggs was expected to face Uriah Hall in a middleweight bout on August 8, 2015 at UFC Fight Night 73. However, Riggs pulled out of the fight in late July, citing an injury, and was replaced by promotional newcomer Oluwale Bamgbose. Following a quick recovery, Riggs faced Ron Stallings on September 5, 2015 at UFC 191.