Bridgett "Babydoll" Riley

Biography:

Bridgett Riley was born in a rural suburb to a working-class, Irish-Catholic family just outside of St. Louis, Missouri. She had three brothers, one older and two younger. She began gymnastics when she was eight, and dreamed of one day becoming an Olympic Gold Medalist. At age 15, she was still a gymnast, but accompanied her brother Pat to a karate tournament. She fell in love with the martial arts after watching the girls spar, and decided she had to get into it. Even though she was a great icon of popularity in junior and senior high (a cheerleader), she was quite introverted before she got into karate. She startedd to gain confidence. She went to Catholic school and considered herself a "nerd". When she turned 18, she began clubbing at the dance clubs in East St. Louis.

Thus, Bridgett learned hip-hop dancing. She soon became the only female (and only Caucasian) member of The Outside Dogs, which were a dancing group. But, she only clubbed on weekends and spent the week practicing her martial arts. After gaining her black belt in Okinawa-Te, and one year after graduating high school, she decided to put her skills to the truest test: competing in professional kickboxing. She came up with the ring name "Babydoll" , because it had been a nickname since early in her martial arts career. With no amateur experience, she challenged then-U.S. champion Denise Taylor in her first bout. Taylor agreed, but didn't take Riley seriously. To everyone's surprise, Bridgett won. Denise called it a fluke and challenged her to a rematch---vowing to teach her a lesson. This was a big mistake. Not only did Bridgett take the match, but she broke Denise's nose and knocked her out in the process.

After dominating the kickboxing ranks, loosing only twice in 26 battles with 14 knockouts, she moved to L.A. like most of the other professional kickboxers did. She used this opportunity to both compete in pro-boxing and participate in the entertainment industry. Since becoming a pro-boxer, she has a 6-2 record with 3 knockouts. She fought Yvonne Trevino in 1994 and won a six-round decision, and in 1998 won a ten-round unanimous decision when she challenged her for the International Female Boxing Association's (IFBA) Bantamweight title. Later that year, she defended her title from Aicha Leschen when she knocked her out in the ninth round, with two well-placed hook punches. On March 16, 1999, the IFBA declared the bantamweight title vacant because Bridgett had declined to defend it within a year of her win over Aicha Lahsen.

Nevertheless, she still does professional boxing and stuntwork--lately working on the show Martial Law. She has also been a stuntwoman on Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers television show and movie, where she worked with Jeff Pruitt and Sophia Crawford, as well as her own character "Babydoll" on WMAC Masters.

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