Jeremiah Riggs’ stay on season 7 of the hit reality show The Ultimate Fighter didn’t end as planned, when he was defeated in his preliminary fight by Dan Cramer, losing his shot at the fabled six-figure contract with the UFC. But that didn’t stop him from getting back on the Reality Show Bandwagon.

“One of my buddies called me when I was on the way to camp and he said ‘You aren’t going to believe this.’ I said ‘What is it?’ He said ‘You are going to be on Daisy of Love.’ I thought he was joking. He had signed me up and I didn’t know,” says Riggs of his selection to be on the VH-1 reality show. “A few hours later someone else from VH1 called and said ‘Can you be in Atlanta this weekend?’ I thought, well what have I got to lose? We were off from camp so I went. The girls loved me.”

Riggs—known as “Big Rig” on the VH-1 show—hopes the exposure will help his career as he continues to climb up the MMA ladder and expand his boundaries as a businessman.

“Nowadays with the fight world you have to broaden your horizons and be an entrepreneur. Fighting is a priority but you have to market yourself. It’s reality TV and a shot at a hot girl, why not?” Riggs told aroundtheoctagon.com in a recent interview. “If a promoter sees me and wants to use me that’ll be great. Fighters are entertainers. As a fighter you are a businessman. It’s a business and you have to train hard to get better and make money. You need to make people recognize that you are doing big things. Folks need to say, ‘He was on VH1 and on Ultimate Fighter 7.’ Then the promoter will think that will lead to ticket sales. I called Matt Hughes and told him about the show and what it was about and he said it was a great idea and I should go for it.”

Despite his time on The Ultimate Fighter—where coach Rampage Jackson dubbed him “Mississippi”—Riggs didn’t use that experience to try to win the heart of Daisy on the Daisy of Love.

“I’m Jeremiah Riggs and I’m not ashamed of who I am or where I came from. A lot of kids think they are bad because they are fighters. I’m not going to walk around telling everyone I’m a UFC fighter. I’m only knocking on the door of being a UFC fighter,” says Riggs. “ I’ve trained with numerous world champions. I’ve been to Mileitich’s place and trained with Jens Pulver. I’ve been at the HIT squad with Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler. I’m just a regular person trying to make a career of fighting. I just love to do it. There was another guy on the show that was a fighter and he played it up for the cameras. I’m not like that. I’m a confident person. If you want to try me, try me. If they ask me I tell them, but I don’t run around telling everybody. I’m still me.”

Despite the stop on VH-1, Riggs still makes it clear that he is a fighter first and that being a fighter is still his focus.

“My record is only 1-1 .I’ve been training my ass off. I’m trying to be a smart fighter. I don’t want to be the guy with a built up, inflated record. I want to be the guy who has a smart fight and makes good money and fights people and not have to travel the world to fight on small cards just to make ends meet. I think people now are settling for less than they are worth,” says Riggs. “I may have to take my lumps here and there. I’ve been exposed to The Ultimate Fighter and there’s a bunch of [fighters] that I could step in and compete with. They’ve been doing it for years and I’ve been at it for two. The only thing they have over me is technique and that comes from experience. They don’t have as much heart or me or can hit as hard as I can.”

“I believe that at the level I’m at I should be on the undercard at a UFC event. The last thing I want to do is get beat by is a nobody. I want to be in there with some big names. I’d like to fight the guy who won my season. It’s all about getting the opportunity,” continues Riggs. “ I’m in the right place and I’m in the right camp. I think I could be getting my break. I’d like to be in the UFC. I’d like to call that place my home but there is Affliction and Strikeforce. You have to make a living. I got a kid to feed. I want to be paid what I’m worth.”

While fighting may still be Riggs’ focus, he isn’t ruling out a third stint on a reality show.

“I’m looking to fight pretty soon.. I’m just looking to get things in line. I’m sure once the show starts it might get crazy. I’m just going to bob and weave and take things as they come my way,” says Riggs. “If [VH-1] gave me my own show, ‘I love Mississippi’ they’d never have to make another one. I’d like to do that and pick out my own girls. Give me 25 badass bitches, shoot. That would be great.”

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