Gordon Ryan Claims He’s Received ‘Seven-Figure Offers’ to Compete in MMA

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Despite receiving some lucrative offers to do so, grappling ace Gordon Ryan has no designs on transitioning to mixed martial arts in the near future.

In a recent interview with Combate.com, Ryan shared how injuries derailed his plans on competing in MMA some four years ago and how his focus has shifted since then.

“I was actually planning to fight MMA in 2019, but I tore my knee ligament, and when I was coming back from this surgery, I had to go straight into camp for the ADCC because I competed seven months exactly after my surgery,” Ryan said. “So the second I got out of surgery, I had to enter camp. I was going to start fighting at the beginning of 2019, then I had to enter the camp, then I won two golds [at ADCC], and I started to get pulled back into jiu-jitsu. I won the absolute, then I had the biggest superfight in history with Andre Galvao , and now I have to defend the superfight title, and my teammates haven't won the absolute yet, and now I'm 28.”

Gordon also revealed that his coach John Danahar's opinion also weighs heavily on his decision to not fight MMA.

“John is never wrong about anything, and he told me "You're already the best no-gi competitor of all time, you make a lot of money, there's no reason for you to fight MMA,” Ryan said. “You already make more than most fighters in the UFC, have an established legacy in this sport and are not even close to its peak yet. You should keep doing this and be the absolute best of all time indisputably, to the point that even when you've been dead for 50 years, no one has a close record.

“But yes, I've received seven-figure offers to fight MMA, for sure. I have the desire to test myself, but I don't make huge life decisions like that based on emotion,” he continued. “I base it on realism and logic. And logically, it doesn't make sense for me to go into MMA. I think, No.1, jiu-jitsu is right on the cusp of becoming a mainstream sport. I think that one or two more ADCCs and the athletes will start to receive [more recognition]. And I feel that if I leave the no-gi to go to MMA, it will degenerate back to what it was, unless a giant star emerges who kills everyone. But I feel like I'm taking this sport to the next level of professionalism now. I love jiu-jitsu so much, and I want to see the next generation of athletes succeed financially.”


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https://www.sherdog.com/news/news/G...d-SevenFigure-Offers-to-Compete-in-MMA-191265

 

[dog y]

Lol. Sure. So did I.

 

[RemyR]

Probably could have from One. No fucking way Dana's cheap ass is doing that.

 

[StonedLemur]

And he didn't take it because he knows all his BJJ goes out the window when you're getting hammer fisted in the face sir lol.

 

[ROcknrollracing]

Only way it would work if they just fed him a can. We've already seen how it all went for little Gracie.

 

[HunterAcosta]

Meh Dillon Fuckin Danis is a “ pro “ mma fighter who’s fought in Bellator.. Gordon could absolutely fight mma with right opponents at first . Kron and Tonon have absolute dog shit striking and wrestling for mma and have won mma fights and are in the two top orgs in world . Gordon could 100 do it I do agree I don’t know how far he’d go .

 

[StonedLemur]

Meh Dillon Fuckin Danis is a “ pro “ mma fighter who’s fought in Bellator.. Gordon could absolutely fight mma with right opponents at first . Kron and Tonon have absolute dog shit striking and wrestling for mma and have won mma fights and are in the two top orgs in world . Gordon could 100 do it I do agree I don’t know how far he’d go .

Danis' name should be blocked like on this site lol

 

[Dana's Moonface]

He is a wizard in grappling, no fucking doubt, but I saw a video of him throwing hands a while back and he is fucking atrocious

I get the feeling he he has a glass jaw as well. I know it's a weird assumption to make, but something about this guy tells me he does not want to get punched in the mouth and he wouldn't like it

I think he should stay and do what he is doing and keep his invincible aura. If he or Danahar thought he had any chance of making waves in MMA he would be there showing off his grappling.

He gets fucking destroyed unless he is fed cans

 

[plataoplombo]

What Danaher really said....Don't do it Gordon, you're gonna get fucked up.

 

[randomg1t]

Kron and Tonon have absolute dog shit striking and wrestling for mma

i don't know if that's entirely fair to tonon. he actually looks pretty decent when he strikes, all things considered. i would also say his general approach is solid for MMA, because if he messes up the shot or comes up short, he knows how to dive into the legs instead and work the leglocks. and yes, i know he got KO'd by le while playing footsie, but that doesn't invalidate everything he does well.

kron was showing some promise too, but he seems to have abandoned that completely and it showed in his last fight.

i believe gordon is actually making very solid cash just grappling, and he really is almost unopposed. when was the last time anyone's given him a competitive match? i completely understand why he's in no rush to cross over to MMA.

as for how well he'd do... i think his main problem would be the way he grapples. his style is very relaxed and loose, he flows slowly, but can't be contained. there's rarely any urgency to anything he does, nor does he really do things too explosively. that works brilliantly in BJJ, but will get you hurt something awful in a fight where some maniac is trying to punch a hole in your face every second of the match.

 

[2008]

King Ryan will lose his mystique if he goes into mma and eventually loses. His popularity is being the best nogi grappler at the moment. He is enjoying the grappling version of money success and popularity Connor McGregor had in the UFC before he started losing. Once he loses in mma, watch people turn on him real quick. He's aware of this that is why he and Danaher wants him to stay in grappling.

 

[TheMaster]

Why take a very high risk of a KO loss like Roger?
He will be remembered as one of the greatest sub grapplers of all time, but will remain a virtual unknown in the wider sports world for never taking the chance at testing himself in MMA.
I don't think he minds.

Kind of sad excuse in a way "Danahar told me" though, it would be great to see if his grappling style actually holds up in combat. I mean great Olympic wrestlers like Coleman all made the transition successfully but fighting, as in the real thing, is not for everyone.

 

[PointyShinyBurn]

What would be the effect on his performance of having to pass even a one-time, in-competition drug test required by US commissions? He stopped competing at no-gi worlds the year they started testing.

 

[randomg1t]

I mean great Olympic wrestlers like Coleman all made the transition successfully but fighting, as in the real thing, is not for everyone.

when i first started watching MMA circa 2004, i thought coleman was just some meathead who couldn't pick up any boxing or ground skills.

the older i get, the more i appreciate the absolute ferocity this man brought to the game at a pretty high age - he was 31 when he made his pro debut, by the time i saw him fight for the first time, he was almost 40. no wonder he couldn't evolve, it's shocking he got as far as he did... and i think most of it was just on pure rage and determination.

 

[Smato_rules]

when i first started watching MMA circa 2004, i thought coleman was just some meathead who couldn't pick up any boxing or ground skills.

the older i get, the more i appreciate the absolute ferocity this man brought to the game at a pretty high age - he was 31 when he made his pro debut, by the time i saw him fight for the first time, he was almost 40. no wonder he couldn't evolve, it's shocking he got as far as he did... and i think most of it was just on pure rage and determination.

Hell yea, well said. The older I get the more I truly appreciate the hammer house guys

 

[JonnyBonesPharmacist]

Juice body with that gray hair looks odd as fk

 

[cheachea]

I mean he's already making a bunch of money right now, why disrupt the gravy train ?

The thing is he can always try MMA later on down the road.

 

[BJJ_Rage]

He will beat some mid tier guys with ease, going to get knock the fuck out by top guys, although he will be fighting 205 probably, he isn’t beating a top powerful wrestler/boxer, but pure strikers, he’ll maul them…

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Pride would have dropped a mint to have him fight a New Japan Pro Wrestler... or Judo guy...

 

[Coconutwater]

Why take a very high risk of a KO loss like Roger?
He will be remembered as one of the greatest sub grapplers of all time, but will remain a virtual unknown in the wider sports world for never taking the chance at testing himself in MMA.
I don't think he minds.

Kind of sad excuse in a way "Danahar told me" though, it would be great to see if his grappling style actually holds up in combat. I mean great Olympic wrestlers like Coleman all made the transition successfully but fighting, as in the real thing, is not for everyone.

IMHO, bjj has always been about using the art in a fight. To stay in pure grappling is a personal decision, but it’s no longer a martial art at that point. You have to put yourself in a position to get punched and kicked to be considered a true martial art., that’s how I see it.

I realize not everyone thinks this way, but I’m glad Tonon, Kron, Gilbert, Roger and Beneil all tasted a real fight and did their best to use their grappling knowledge in that environment.