Procedure Leaves Riggs Pain Free

Joe Riggs (Pictures)' pain, for now, has subsided.

After re-injuring his surgically-repaired back Saturday during a middleweight contest versus Cory Devela (Pictures) in Tacoma, Wash., Riggs suffered from what his manager Ken Pavia described as "excruciating pain."

Tuesday, Riggs underwent a procedure in which four scopes were used to "freeze" three nerves in his lower back that were pinched by an out-of-place disc. The out-patient procedure, said Pavia, had Riggs (27-10, 1 NC) talking of an immediate return to the cage.

"I told him 'no you're not,'" Pavia said.

There is talk of a match between Riggs and Joey Villasenor (Pictures), though Pavia said he's not sure the bout would be the right play in the wake of an injury the manager compared to a "broken hip."

Instead, Pavia told Sherdog.com he wants the 25-year-old UFC veteran to rematch Devela, which apparently sits well with Riggs.

Said Pavia about his client's opinion on fighting Devela a second time: "Make sure Devula doesn't fight anyone else. I don't want him exposed before I smash him."