In a remarkable achievement, Nicky Ryan has become only the second person ever to submit the highly accomplished black belt JT Torres. The submission victory came at a recent grappling event in Arlington, Texas.
After his hard-fought win, a jubilant Ryan reacted to his historic accomplishment. “Dude, I’m feeling great,” he exclaimed. “This was the biggest match of my career so far. I was finally able to go out there and compete the way I train.”
Ryan admitted to having issues with nerves affecting his performance in past competitions. However, he credits key mindset advice that allowed him to stay relaxed and focused for this match against Torres.
The match itself was an intense grappling battle with both competitors getting deep on numerous shot attempts before Ryan was able to secure a leg entanglement and apply a match-ending submission.
“I was happy to be able to go out there and get the finish,” Ryan said during B-Team’s vlog. “I’ve been informed that I’m only the second person ever to submit JT.”
The last time Torres was submitted was years ago by Kron Gracie with an armbar from closed guard according to Ryan.
With this massive victory under his belt, Ryan plans to ride the momentum all the way to the prestigious ADCC submission grappling world championships later this year. However, he couldn’t resist adding with a laugh, “Knowing me, I’ll probably mess up again and lose at ADCC, but we’ll give it one more shot.”
Nicky Ryan subs JT Torres with a straight ankle lock
Wow pic.twitter.com/9juM4zxYVM
— William – Open Note Grappling 🗒️ (@OpenNoteGrapple) May 11, 2024
WNO results:
Nicholas Meregali defeated Vagner Rocha via submission (armbar)
Andrew Tackett defeated Tommy Langaker via submission (RNC)
Felipe Pena defeated Rafael Lovato Jr. via decision
Nicky Ryan defeated JT Torres via submission (ankle lock)
Jasmine Rocha defeated Emily Ferreira via submission (Aoki lock)
Diogo Reis defeated Shay Montague via submission (anaconda)
Preliminary Card
Achilles Rocha defeated Camron Couch via submission (armbar)
Luccas Lira defeated Husam Alabed via decision
Cassia Moura defeated Jessica Crane via submission (RNC)
Evan Leve defeated Marlon Tanaka via decision
