GORDON RYAN - ADCC INTERVIEW
Jason Manly: Hey guys, we're here with The King, Gordon Ryan just coming off a double gold victory at ADCC 2019, how're you feeling?
Gordon Ryan: Feeling good. Feeling good. Feeling ready for Palhares now.
Jason Manly: Awesome.
Gordon Ryan: Just did a little bit of a party on Sunday. Now I'm back to training.
Jason Manly: Awesome. Awesome. How do you think that matchup will compare with some of the match-ups you had at ADCC this weekend?
Gordon Ryan: I feel like Palhares is definitely more dangerous than all the guys that I competed against as far as submissions go. Not as good positionally, but a lot more dangerous with submissions. So it's definitely, I think more of an issue than anyone that I competed against.
Jason Manly: Got you. Was ADCC ... Did it go as you expected it to?
Gordon Ryan: Yeah. I told everyone I was going to double gold, so that was the plan. Thank God I did, or else I would just get crushed by the haters. But yeah, it went well. I was looking to get eight out of eight submissions. I got six out of eight, but other than that I'm happy about it.
Jason Manly: It seems like maybe you tailor your game a little bit more to the rule set also at ADCC. Maybe, we see you open up some times a little bit more-
Gordon Ryan: Yeah, for sure. The rules make a big difference. There's a big difference between being a high level technically and high level tactically. If you look at a lot of the guys, even veterans, like Vinny just made tactical mistakes that lost him a match. Nikki had a really tactical match with Paula Meo. And even if you're there tactically, a lot of times the people who win are more ... Or even if you're good technically, the people who win are more tactical. Being good at just doing winning, don't necessarily correlate. You can be good at winning without being good at Jiu-Jitsu. So you got to play the rules as well as actually have good Jiu-Jitsu.
Jason Manly: Was there anybody in particular that you were looking forward to going up against at this ADCC?
Gordon Ryan: Yeah, I was looking to compete against Vinny. Because Vinny was the only one that was competing, I'm pretty sure, that actually holds a win over me without being avenged. But he lost in the semifinals. He made a tactical mistake and shot, and wasn't on his knees for three seconds and then set the guard. So they gave his opponent two points for a take down. I didn't get to fight him. And then Buchecha, because everyone knows Buchecha, Buchecha is the greatest of all time, and I've been trying to get a match with him for a while. So it was fun to compete against him.
Jason Manly: Absolutely. That was my next question. So you feel like Buchecha is, aside from yourself, you feel like Buchecha is the best grappler of all time?
Gordon Ryan: He's definitely the most accomplished, yeah. He's got 13, should be 14 really. He gave the last absolute title to Leandro Lo. But he's essentially a 14 time world champion, two or three time ADCC champion. He's right up there with anyone. If anyone's going to be the greatest of all time, he's got to be there in the conversation.
Jason Manly: So, does that make you the greatest of all time now?
Gordon Ryan: I think No-Gi, I'm not the most accomplished as far as the ADCC goes, but I think my overall resume as far as No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu is the most impressive. I don't just win, I submit people and I have all the titles that you can win No-Gi. Like multiple No-Gi world titles, multiple ADCC titles, No-Gi Pans titles, EBIs. I have all the titles. And I'm very dominant in the way that I submit people, or the way that I beat people. I have pretty much the highest submission rate in the sport. So I think that puts me on top No-Gi, best ever kind of.
Jason Manly: You mentioned most accomplished in ADCC. I think you'd probably given it to Marcelo. What do you think you have to do to match that?
Gordon Ryan: Well, most accomplished in weight division is Marcelo, most accomplished overall is André Galvão, he has six golds. Marcelo has four weight division golds. Now you can make an argument that Galvão has six golds, but he only does super fights, which a lot of people think are easier than doing a full division every year.
Jason Manly: Absolutely.
Gordon Ryan: But as far as ADCC, I just have to keep winning super fights and I want to do my division next year. So if they let me do a weight class, which has never been done before, if they let me do my weight class and the super fight, that'll make me a five time champion. So I'm still one behind Galvão. But I still think my ADCC runs are more impressive. If you look at André's first three ADCCs, he didn't even win one gold medal. As far as being an ADCC greatest of all time, I think André Galvão is definitely ... By at least titles has the most impressive, because he got eight out of eight submissions and that's never been done. For me the most impressive person is Hager. But as far as, if you just do just based on titles, it's definitely André.
Jason Manly: Got you. Do you think you'll see Galvão in 2021?
Gordon Ryan: No. As of right now, he agreed to it, and he did the press and everything, which he should. Even if he wasn't going to do it, he should do it just to get the notoriety. But I think he's going to sit back and not do anything for the next two years. He's not going to compete. And when he sees what I'm going to do in the next two years, I don't think he's going to show up.
Jason Manly: Because he'll be scared?
Gordon Ryan: Yeah. Well it'll be funny if he actually does show up, because someone offered him $300,000 to compete against me and he said no. So now he have to it for the super fight for a 10th of that price. So that'll be funny, if we actually had to do fight.
Jason Manly: Yeah. Wow. Awesome. So who's your favorite grappler, aside from yourself? Outside of your team? Who do you respect the most, or who do you like to watch the most?
Gordon Ryan: I really like Keenan, because he does something unique. My two favorites probably are, or three favorites probably are, in no particular order, Keenan, Nicholas Meregali and Hager. Because they are guys who go out to actually fight to submit people. Meregali has one of the highest submission rates. Hager has one of the highest submission rates, and Keenan is unique and has one of the highest ... Anyone who…to actually do jiu jitsu, I admire.
Jason Manly: Yeah, absolutely. I agree 100%. Who do you hate?
Gordon Ryan: I don't really hate anyone. I definitely hate AJ. I can't stand AJ Agazarm, just because he tried to fuck me out of money one time, and he's just a real dirt bag. But I don't really hate anyone besides that. I troll everyone, but I don't really hate everyone. I do believe that Dillon is a clown, but I don't hate him, I just think he's just an idiot. But everyone else I'm pretty okay with.
Jason Manly: Yeah. You mentioned you troll everyone, that you're The King of trolling also.
Gordon Ryan: That's definitely undisputed.
Jason Manly: How far off of who you actually are at heart, is that?
Gordon Ryan: Listen, the stuff that I do say, I believe.
Jason Manly: Yeah.
Gordon Ryan: And if someone came up and they told me how much I sucked in person, I would probably just be like, "Yeah, fuck you." Just like I do online, but no one actually says that in person.
Jason Manly: Yeah.
Gordon Ryan: So I don't ever get to react like that. But I don't leave people alone. The only time I ever fire back at people is when they actively attack me.
Jason Manly: Yeah.
Gordon Ryan: If you leave me alone, I'll leave you alone. But I definitely do believe the things that I say. Like if I say I'm going to go win I believe that. If I say, "Fuck this guy, he's never going to win anything." I do believe that.
Jason Manly: Yeah.
Gordon Ryan: But it's all fun for me.
Jason Manly: All fun. Got you. Now, tell us who's your best training partner? Who gives you the toughest time in the room?
Gordon Ryan: Right now, in different ways there's different people. But right now overall it's probably Craig Jones, as far as just a full overall role. The person who threatens the most, in terms of submissions, is Gary. And the person who gives me the hardest time with physicality, like to submit upper body is Nick Rodriguez. Believe it or not, if you enter into his legs, it's a little bit easier, because he's just not as experienced there. But upper body, Nick is the hardest person I've ever had to try to submit.
Jason Manly: Wow.
Gordon Ryan: Which is insane, because he doesn't know any moves and he's only been training a year, but it's just so disheartening.
Jason Manly: Kind of on that subject too, there was a lot of talk after ADCC from some particular people's side work, specifically about perceived favoritism from some of the refs.
Gordon Ryan: A Brazilian talking about favoritism is just the most amazing thing that I've ever listened to, because Brazilians have been getting favored for like the last three decades, in all the biggest IBJJF events. So that's just incredible to me. Also, the guys from Finland that they're accusing of being favorites, they don't even know the guy. They'd never met Nicky Rod before. Cyborg's been competing for 10 years at ADCC. It's Nicky Rod's first ADCC. Why would they like him more than Cyborg, it doesn't make any sense.
Jason Manly: Absolutely. Yeah. I agree 100%. Last question, MMA, is that on your radar, and if so, how serious?
Gordon Ryan: Yeah, I haven't really been thinking about it too much because the ADCC camps are pretty serious. My last year really has just been focusing on getting my knee healthy, and getting ready for this ADCC. I have a couple more matches coming through the end of the year. I have the Palhares match, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Adolfo, my super fights that I have lined up right now. So I'm just trying to get through this year and make up for the first half of the year where I couldn't compete, and then I'm going to go from there. So right now I have my sights set on the big Adolfo match, and then I'm going to figure out what I'm going to do after that.
Jason Manly: Awesome. Thank you guys. Appreciate it Gordon.
Gordon Ryan: Thanks guys.