Gordon Ryan may rub some people the wrong way, but it’s impossible to deny the credentials he’s established as one of the best grapplers in history.
That’s according to UFC veteran and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Kenny Florian, who is preparing to call Ryan’s pair of superfights at the ADCC World Championships on Saturday and Sunday from Las Vegas. In rare back-to-back matches over two days, Ryan faces longtime rival Felipe Pena and then takes on 2022 ADCC champion Yuri Simoes.
Ryan’s willingness to take on a daunting challenge like that after missing a significant amount of time in his career while dealing with a debilitating stomach disorder only speaks to the résumé he’s attempting to put together as the greatest of all-time.
“Gordon Ryan at his best, when he’s healthy, he’s the Michael Jordan of submission wrestling, whether you like it or not,” Florian told MMA Fighting. “He’s just that good. He was a phenom when he was younger. He had a commitment unlike any other person out there. He has just so much to his game. There’s so many ways that he can win. Everything from his defense to his offense, he’s as perfect of a grappler as you’re going to get.
“He knows how to compete when the lights are brightest. Everyone wants to see him either win or lose. When you’re that good in this sport and you talk a little trash like Gordon Ryan, people are going to want to see you compete. He has two big challenges ahead of him. With his health issues, it makes it an interesting wrinkle, for sure.”
While Ryan’s activity has slowed down considerably due to his health issues, the now 29-year-old submission specialist still maintains a remarkable list of wins on his record, with his last noted loss coming all the way back in 2018 in a match against Vinny Magalhaes.
Since that time, Ryan has rattled off a ridiculous amount of wins in succession while taking out champion after champion to help him truly earn his nickname as “The King.”
There’s no metric that can be measured to truly define anybody across sports as the greatest, but Florian believes in his estimation that Ryan has done more than enough to cement himself in that position when it comes to submission grappling.
“There’s no question about it,” Florian said of Ryan’s stake as the best ever. “I think the proof is in the pudding based on what he’s accomplished at this stage of the game. You have to have him as the GOAT. To me, there’s three grapplers that really stand out, all of them ADCC world champions — Marcelo Garcia, Roger Gracie, and Gordon Ryan, and Gordon Ryan being the latest iteration of those gentlemen.
“The sport evolves. You learn from those that came before you. We stand on the shoulders of giants. I think Gordon Ryan and his coach John Danaher, of course one of the best coaches in the world, knows how to learn from those guys, knows how to apply successful techniques, successful strategy, successful training methods, and has improved upon that a lot. We have Gordon Ryan because of it.”
Of course, it’s impossible to ignore that off the mats, Ryan has become one of the most polarizing figures in the sport thanks to his willingness to speak his mind and talk trash to his opponents, which isn’t typically the case in the Brazilian jiu-jitsu community.
Ryan’s brash attitude earned him plenty of attention, but also a few enemies who don’t particularly love the way he handles himself.
In a way, Florian feels like that only adds to Ryan’s mystique and also creates an audience with some fans backing his every move and others constantly rooting for his downfall.
Florian expects those emotions to bubble up a lot this week with the ADCC World Championships kicking off, but even more with Ryan preparing to grapple his old rival Pena, who actually holds two wins over Ryan in the past.
Add in Ryan’s health woes in recent years and Florian knows the drama surrounding his return will reach a fever pitch by his first match on Saturday.
“Gordon Ryan isn’t 100 percent or hasn’t been,” Florian said. “On certain days, he feels great. On certain days, he doesn’t. So I’m certainly curious to see what kind of Gordon Ryan we see. This potentially opens the door for someone to come in here and get an upset.
“[And] just based on their history, the fact that [Ryan and Pena] really do not like each other, it’s what makes it exciting.”
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