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Gordon Ryan

Creator credit recorded on the linked source page: Derek Moneyberg · CC BY 3.0

Gordon Ryan

“The King”

Source: bjjheroes.com

American grappler with seven ADCC world golds across weight, absolute and superfight titles, promoted to black belt by Garry Tonon in February 2016.

Biography

Gordon Ryan has won seven gold medals at the ADCC World Championship across four editions, three of them in weight divisions, one in the absolute and three in superfights, and he has lost one final there. He was born on 8 July 1995 in Monroe Township, New Jersey, began grappling at fifteen, and was working as a garbage collector until 2015, when he left the job to train full time. He competes at super-heavyweight, listed at 1.88 m and 110 kg, for New Wave Jiu Jitsu. The route to that record ran through four coaches in four steps, and the fighter database BJJ Heroes, which carries most of what is on record about his life away from the results, gives the order. Miguel Benitez introduced him to jiu-jitsu at fifteen. Tom deBlass took over his tuition shortly afterwards. As a four-stripe white belt he met Garry Tonon, who had just received his own brown belt and was starting to coach at the Brunswick BJJ academy, and Ryan joined his classes. As a purple belt he began travelling regularly to New York to train under John Danaher, head coach at the Renzo Gracie Academy. Danaher is the name attached to Ryan in most of what has been written about him, but the black belt came from Tonon, in February 2016, after six months at brown belt in which Ryan won the Newaza Challenge and the World Championship. Tom deBlass, Ricardo Almeida and Danaher were present at the ceremony and shared responsibility for the rank. Wikipedia's infobox lists Danaher Death Squad and the Renzo Gracie Academy beside New Wave Jiu Jitsu as his teams, with no dates against any of the three. BJJ Heroes traces his line back from Tonon through deBlass, Ricardo Almeida, Renzo Gracie, Carlos Gracie Jr, Helio Gracie and Carlos Gracie, one of two lineages the site lists for him. He had already medalled at the ADCC North American Championship, bronze at under 88 kg in 2014 and silver at the same weight in 2015. At the 2017 World Championship he entered two brackets. In the under 88 kg division he beat Dillon Danis on a referee decision, Romulo Barral by rear-naked choke in the quarter-final and Alexandre Ribeiro on another referee decision in the semi-final, then finished Keenan Cornelius with a mounted guillotine in the final; ADCC's own podium for the division lists Ryan first, Cornelius second, Ribeiro third and Craig Jones fourth. In the absolute, the open division where competitors of any size enter the same bracket, he beat Roberto Abreu by inside heel hook, Craig Jones by katagatame and Mahamed Aly by heel hook, and then lost the final to Felipe Pena on points, 6-0. It is the only ADCC World Championship final he has lost. The main superfight that year, a single match for a standing title held outside the brackets, went to Andre Galvao over Claudio Calasans. In 2019 he won two. At under 99 kg he choked Ben Hodgkinson and Tim Spriggs from the back, beat Lucas Barbosa 3-0 in the semi-final and took the final by choke; the organiser's podium gives Ryan first, Barbosa third and Vinny Magalhaes fourth, and names the silver medallist differently from BJJ Heroes, so the beaten finalist is left unnamed here. In the absolute he beat Pedro Marinho by outside heel hook, then met Garry Tonon in the quarter-final and choked him, three years after Tonon had promoted him to black belt. He beat Lachlan Giles by rear-naked choke in the semi-final and took the final against Marcus Almeida on penalties from 0-0, with neither man scoring. ADCC's podium for the absolute gives Ryan first, Almeida second, Giles third and Aly fourth. The 2022 championship happened the way it did because he asked for it. He was due to challenge Andre Galvao for ADCC's open weight superfight belt, and asked additionally to enter the +99 kg tournament, a request BJJ Heroes describes as without precedent given the prestige and the prize money attached to the superfight. ADCC's promoter Mo Jassim granted it. Ryan beat Heikki Jussila by rear-naked choke, Victor Hugo 8-0 on points and Roosevelt Sousa by outside heel hook, and finished Nick Rodriguez with an outside heel hook in the +99 kg final, the organiser putting Rodriguez second, Sousa third and Felipe Pena fourth. He then beat Galvao by rear-naked choke in the superfight, the same fixture Galvao had held five years earlier. By BJJ Heroes' account, no athlete before him had taken a +99 kg gold and the open weight superfight in one championship; the two results are confirmed by the organiser, while the record framing is the site's own. What he did not win in 2022 was the absolute, which went to Yuri Simões and which he did not enter. He came back in 2024 for superfights alone and won two of them, over Felipe Pena on points, 2-0, and over Yuri Simões on points, 21-0. Pena is the man who had beaten him in the 2017 absolute final. ADCC's results page for 2024 is headed "OFFICIAL RESULTS" and carries the word SUPERFIGHT twice in its list of divisions, but it holds no competitor names at all, for any bracket, so the 2024 results rest on Wikipedia's medal record and BJJ Heroes' fight table, which agree on both the count and the outcomes. Across the four World Championships, every final he reached was fought to a result. His federation record sits in the same branch of the sport. He won both the over 97.5 kg division and the absolute at the 2018 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship as a black belt, and both divisions of the Pan No-Gi that year; the medal table also holds the 2015 No-Gi world title at under 73.5 kg, taken as a brown belt, and a 2014 Pan No-Gi bronze at under 91.5 kg, taken as a purple belt. During his time as an EBI champion he was announced on stage as "The Iron Dragon", a marketing name of the sort used in boxing and mixed martial arts rather than a jiu-jitsu nickname. The one that stuck is "The King", and he started using it himself.

Sources for this profile

  • Wikipedia, "Gordon Ryan", article infobox.(opens in a new tab)

    • Wikipedia’s infobox gives Ryan’s date of birth as 8 July 1995 and his birthplace as Monroe Township, New Jersey, United States. It lists him at 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) and 240 lb (110 kg), competing at super-heavyweight, and records his other name as "The King". His team is given as New Wave Jiu Jitsu, with Danaher Death Squad and Renzo Gracie Academy also listed, and his rank as black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: Article infobox, rows "Born", "Other names", "Height", "Weight", "Division", "Team" and "Rank", read whole

      Accessed:

    • He began grappling at the age of 15 under Miguel Benitez before switching to train under John Danaher, Tom DeBlass and Garry Tonon. He won the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship as a brown belt, and in 2015 he quit his job as a garbage collector to dedicate himself to the sport full time.

      Where in the source: Section "Early life", read whole - four sentences

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    • Wikipedia’s medal record gives Ryan seven ADCC World Championship golds and one silver: gold at -88 kg and silver in the absolute in 2017; gold at -99 kg and gold in the absolute in 2019; gold at +99 kg and gold in the superfight in 2022; and gold in the superfight in 2024, listed twice. It also records silver at -88 kg at the 2015 ADCC North American Championship and bronze at the same weight in 2014.

      Where in the source: Infobox "Medal record", the block headed "ADCC World Championship" and the block headed "ADCC North American Championship", read row by row with the medal colour taken from each row’s icon alt text

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    • The same medal record gives him gold at +97.5 kg and gold in the absolute at the 2018 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship as a black belt, gold at -73.5 kg at the 2015 edition as a brown belt, gold at +97.5 kg and in the absolute at the 2018 IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship, and bronze at -91.5 kg at the 2014 Pan No-Gi as a purple belt.

      Where in the source: Infobox "Medal record", the blocks headed "IBJJF World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship" and "IBJJF Pan No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship", read row by row with colour and belt rank from each row

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  • BJJ Heroes, "Gordon Ryan", fighter database entry (undated).(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes gives the order in which he met his coaches. Miguel Benitez introduced him to jiu-jitsu at 15, and Tom deBlass took over his tuition shortly after. As a four-stripe white belt he met Garry Tonon, who had just received his brown belt; Ryan joined Tonon’s classes when Tonon began coaching at the Brunswick BJJ academy. As a purple belt he started travelling regularly to New York to train with John Danaher, head coach at the Renzo Gracie Academy.

      Where in the source: Section "Gordon Ryan Biography", first paragraph, read in sequence from "Ryan’s introduction to jiu-jitsu" to "particularly in the submission-only jiu-jitsu circuit"

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    • Ryan was awarded his black belt by Garry Tonon in February 2016, after a six-month run at brown belt in which he won the Newaza Challenge and the World Championship. Tom deBlass, Ricardo Almeida and John Danaher were present at the ceremony and shared responsibility for the rank.

      Where in the source: Section "Gordon Ryan Biography", the sentence beginning "After a stellar 6-month brown belt run"

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    • During his time as an EBI champion Ryan was announced on stage as "The Iron Dragon", a marketing name of the kind used in boxing and MMA rather than a jiu-jitsu nickname. He later began calling himself "The King".

      Where in the source: Section "Nickname", read whole from "During his time as EBI champion" onward

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    • BJJ Heroes gives his lineage as Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr > Renzo Gracie > Ricardo Almeida > Tom deBlass > Garry Tonon > Gordon Ryan.

      Where in the source: Field "Lineage 1" in the stat block at the head of the page; a second lineage is also listed and was not used

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    • His 2017 ADCC run is recorded match by match. At -88 kg he beat Dillon Danis on a referee decision, Romulo Barral by rear-naked choke in the quarter-final, Alexandre Ribeiro on a referee decision in the semi-final, and Keenan Cornelius by mounted guillotine in the FINAL. In the absolute the same year he beat Roberto Abreu by inside heel hook, Craig Jones by katagatame in the quarter-final and Mahamed Aly by heel hook in the semi-final, then LOST the final to Felipe Pena on points, 6-0.

      Where in the source: Table "Gordon Ryan Fight History", columns Competition/Weight/Stage/Year: Competition exactly "ADCC", Year 2017, IDs 13894, 13898, 13900, 13902 (88KG) and 13942, 13946, 13947, 13950 (ABS). Excludes ID 12579, whose Competition is "ADCC WC Trials".

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    • His 2019 ADCC run is likewise complete. At -99 kg he beat Ben Hodgkinson and Tim Spriggs by rear-naked choke, Lucas Barbosa on points 3-0 in the semi-final, and won the final by choke. In the absolute he beat Pedro Marinho by outside heel hook, his own coach Garry Tonon by choke in the quarter-final, Lachlan Giles by rear-naked choke in the semi-final, and Marcus Almeida in the final on penalties from 0-0.

      Where in the source: Table "Gordon Ryan Fight History", columns Competition/Weight/Stage/Year: Competition exactly "ADCC", Year 2019, IDs 21883, 21891, 21943, 21945 (99KG) and 21961, 21968, 21971, 21973 (ABS).

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    • At ADCC 2022 he beat Heikki Jussila by rear-naked choke, Victor Hugo on points 8-0, Roosevelt Sousa by outside heel hook in the semi-final and Nick Rodriguez by outside heel hook in the +99 kg final. In the same event he beat Andre Galvao by rear-naked choke in the absolute superfight.

      Where in the source: Table "Gordon Ryan Fight History", columns Competition/Weight/Stage/Year: Competition exactly "ADCC", Year 2022, IDs 35227, 35235, 35239, 35241 (O99KG) and 35272 (ABS, SPF).

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    • At ADCC 2024 he won two superfights: over Felipe Pena on points, 2-0, and over Yuri Simoes on points, 21-0.

      Where in the source: Table "Gordon Ryan Fight History", columns Competition/Weight/Stage/Year: Competition exactly "ADCC", Year 2024, IDs 52772 (Felipe Pena) and 52773 (Yuri Simoes), both ABS and SPF.

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    • BJJ Heroes records that in September 2022 Ryan was set to challenge for ADCC’s open weight superfight belt against the holder, Andre Galvao, and asked additionally to compete in the +99 kg division - a request the source calls unprecedented given the prestige and prize money attached to the superfight. The request was granted by ADCC’s promoter Mo Jassim, and by the source’s account Ryan became the first athlete to win the +99 kg gold medal and the open weight superfight belt in the same year.

      Where in the source: Section "ADCC HISTORY", read whole - one paragraph

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  • ADCC, official results page for the 2017 Submission Fighting World Championship.(opens in a new tab)

    • ADCC’s own results page for 2017 gives -88 kg as gold Gordon Ryan, silver Keenan Cornelius, bronze Alexandre Ribeiro, fourth Craig Jones; and the absolute as gold Felipe Pena, silver Gordon Ryan, bronze Marcus Almeida, fourth Mahamed Aly. The main superfight that year was won by Andre Galvao over Claudio Calasans.

      Where in the source: Medal blocks headed "-88kg" and "Absolute" on the 2017 results page, each read whole from gold to fourth place, plus the "Main Superfight" row

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  • ADCC, official results page for the 2019 Submission Fighting World Championship.(opens in a new tab)

    • ADCC’s results page for 2019 gives -99 kg as gold Gordon Ryan, silver Vinicius Gazola, bronze Lucas Barbosa, fourth Vinny Magalhaes; and the absolute as gold Gordon Ryan, silver Marcus Buchecha Almeida, bronze Lachlan Giles, fourth Mahamed Aly.

      Where in the source: Blocks headed "MALE -99KG" and "ABSOLUTE" on the 2019 results page, each read whole, first through fourth

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  • ADCC, official results page for the 2022 Submission Fighting World Championship.(opens in a new tab)

    • ADCC’s results page for 2022 gives +99 kg as gold Gordon Ryan, silver Nick Rodriguez, bronze Roosevelt Sousa, fourth Felipe Pena, and names Gordon Ryan over Andre Galvao in the superfight. The absolute that year was won by Yuri Simões, and Ryan was not in it.

      Where in the source: Blocks headed "MALE +99KG", "ABSOLUTE" and "SUPERFIGHT" on the 2022 results page, each read whole

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  • ADCC, official results page for the 2024 Submission Fighting World Championship.(opens in a new tab)

    • ADCC’s results page for the 2024 championship carries the heading "OFFICIAL RESULTS" and a list of divisions that includes the word SUPERFIGHT twice, but the page contains no competitor names at all - not for the superfights and not for any division.

      Where in the source: Whole page, 1 976 characters, searched for every name appearing in c12 and c7 and for the surname Ryan; none present

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Competition results

Recorded tournament results, newest first
YearEventResultDivision
2024ADCC 2024Source: adcombat.comNo-giVerified1st placeNo-giVerified
2024ADCC 2024Source: adcombat.comNo-giVerified1st placeNo-giVerified
2022ADCC 2022Source: adcombat.comNo-giVerified1st placeNo-giVerified
2022ADCC 2022Source: adcombat.com+99 kgNo-giVerified1st place+99 kgNo-giVerified
2019ADCC 2019Source: adcombat.com-99 kgNo-giVerified1st place-99 kgNo-giVerified
2019ADCC 2019Source: adcombat.comAbsoluteNo-giVerified1st placeAbsoluteNo-giVerified
2017ADCC 2017Source: adcombat.comAbsoluteNo-giVerified2nd placeAbsoluteNo-giVerified
2017ADCC 2017Source: adcombat.com-88 kgNo-giVerified1st place-88 kgNo-giVerified

Lineage

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