1. Gordon Ryan was born on July 8,1995, in Monroe, New Jersey, US He began grappling at the age of 15 under Miguel Benitez before switching to train under John Danaher, Tom DeBlass and Garry Tonon.
45 Facts About Gordon Ryan
1. 2.
Gordon Ryan began competing and won the IBJJF World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship as a brown belt.
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Gordon Ryan next faced top USA grappler Keenan Cornelius in a no time limit, submission only match where Gordon Ryan was able to upset Cornelius and submit him with a heel hook.
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In September 2017 Gordon Ryan competed at the ADCC World Championship.
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Gordon Ryan took 2nd place in the absolute division, submitting all his opponents on his way to losing to Felipe Pena in the final.
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Gordon Ryan would go on to win another EBI title and defeat Yuri Simoes in a superfight at Kasai Pro to wrap up 2017.
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In September 2018, Gordon Ryan competed at the IBJJF Pan No-gi, winning both his weight class and the absolute division all by submission.
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Gordon Ryan led Team Alpha Male's victory in Quintet's 2018 Tournament, Quintet 3.
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Gordon Ryan competed at the IBJJF Nogi Worlds in California, again taking gold in both his weight class and the absolute division.
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In 2019 Gordon Ryan competed in a superfight against Joao Gabriel Rocha at KASAI Super Series in Dallas, Texas.
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Gordon Ryan ultimately won the match, but during an exchange there was an entanglement where Gordon Ryan was attempting an entry for a heel hook and his knee popped multiple times and tore his LCL.
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In September 2019 it was reported that Gordon Ryan injured his hand in an accident with one of his motorized bikes, leaving him competing at ADCC with one hand heavily bandaged and injured.
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Gordon Ryan beat Ben Hodgkinson, Tim Spriggs, Lucas Barbosa and Vinicius Ferreira.
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Gordon Ryan was forced to withdraw from a superfight set for July 31,2020, after contracting COVID-19.
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On October 2,2020, Gordon Ryan faced fellow ADCC 2019 World Champion Matheus Diniz and defeated him via heel hook approximately halfway through a thirty-minute submission-only match.
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Gordon Ryan decided late in 2020 that he would leave the New Jersey area and move to Puerto Rico with his coach, John Danaher, and several members of his team to open up their own gym.
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Gordon Ryan revealed in December 2020, that the new gym had a tentative opening date of March 2021.
18.
On March 22,2021, ONE Championship Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong confirmed that Gordon Ryan had signed a contract with the promotion to compete in grappling, as well as mixed martial arts if he wished to.
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In July 2021, it was announced that Danaher Death Squad had split up and Gordon Ryan will be opening his own academy in Austin, Texas.
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Gordon Ryan proceeded to clear his weight class with victories over Heikki Jussila, Victor Hugo, Roosevelt Sousa and Nick Rodriguez to win gold.
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Gordon Ryan had the fastest submission in the history of ADCC against Roosevelt Sousa, where he submitted Sousa via outside heel hook in 11 seconds.
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Later that weekend, Gordon Ryan faced Galvao in a highly anticipated match in grappling history and won via rear naked choke.
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Gordon Ryan became the first grappler in ADCC history to become champion in three different weight classes and he defeated Andre Galvao, who had not lost a match since 2017.
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On December 15,2022, Gordon Ryan was scheduled to compete against Vinny Magalhaes in the main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 3.
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Gordon Ryan went on to win the match by fastest escape time in EBI overtime.
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In January 2023, Gordon Ryan announced that he had signed a seven-figure multi-fight contract with FloSports.
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Just two days before the event, Gordon Ryan withdrew as a result of stomach issues that he suffered during the week leading up to the match and he was replaced by Nick Rodriguez.
28.
Gordon Ryan did not compete in the first half of 2023 and revealed on May 22 that this was because he suffered a serious case of strep throat that was resistant to penicillin and had to undergo a tonsillectomy.
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Gordon Ryan announced that he would return to professional grappling competition on October 1,2023 when he would defend his Who's Number One heavyweight title against Patrick Gaudio at WNO 20: Night of Champions.
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Gordon Ryan won the match by submission via armbar, as predicted in his mystery box and retained his title.
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Gordon Ryan was scheduled to defend his heavyweight title against Lucas Barbosa at Who's Number One 21: Gordon Ryan v Barbosa on November 30,2023.
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Gordon Ryan withdrew from the match due to a rib injury and was replaced by his teammate Giancarlo Bodoni.
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Gordon Ryan was scheduled to compete against Mason Fowler in the main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 on December 9,2023.
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Gordon Ryan withdrew from this match due to rib injury too.
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Gordon Ryan competed against Josh Saunders in the main event of Who's Number One 24 on June 20,2024.
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Gordon Ryan competed against Yuri Simoes in the traditional superfight at the 2024 ADCC World Championship, and competed in a second superfight against Felipe Pena.
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Gordon Ryan is the older brother of Nicky Gordon Ryan, another successful submission wrestler.
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Gordon Ryan is in a relationship with Nathalia Santoro, one of his training partners and a BJJ brown belt under John Danaher.
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Gordon Ryan reported suffering from an undiagnosed stomach condition for several years until April 2019, when he was diagnosed with Helicobacter pylori.
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Gordon Ryan has engaged in numerous public spats with other competitive grapplers, including an incident on October 13,2020, when he revealed private conversations between himself and Felipe Pena regarding a potential third match between the pair.
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In January, 2021, Gordon Ryan clashed with several key members of ATOS on social media, including founder and head coach Andre Galvao, ahead of their potential match at ADCC 2022.
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Gordon Ryan has been known for publicly challenging other Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitors by criticizing their ability, like AJ Agazarm and Dillon Danis.
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Gordon Ryan is well known for claiming that other elite grapplers are unwilling to face him and at least one of them, Felipe Pena, has publicly claimed that this is a lie and in fact it is Gordon Ryan who refuses to compete against them instead.
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Gordon Ryan has trained with multiple martial artists, most noticeably UFC star Jon Jones, the UFC heavyweight champion.
45.
Gordon Ryan trained with strongman Hafthor Bjornsson in December 2022.