Jiu-jitsu world champion Gordon Ryan has set his sights on revolutionizing the sport he loves, both in competition and as a viable career path for practitioners. In a recent video, Ryan outlined his vision for elevating jiu-jitsu’s profile and transforming it into a mainstream spectator sport.
Ryan, widely regarded as one of the greatest grapplers of all time, credits much of his success to his innovative approach to training and competition. Rather than simply putting in physical work on the mats, Ryan emphasizes the importance of mental preparation and strategic analysis. “Everyone’s willing to come in and do the physical work,” he explains, “but you ask them to sit down for an hour and think about why an armbar worked or didn’t work and they don’t want to do it.”
This cerebral approach has allowed Ryan to rapidly close the gap with competitors who began training at a much younger age. While many top Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes start as young children, Ryan only took up the sport at age 15 after being inspired by early UFC events featuring Royce Gracie.
Ryan claims he’s focused on using his platform to create opportunities for other athletes. He points to the dramatic increase in prize money and sponsorship deals in recent years as evidence of jiu-jitsu’s growing mainstream appeal.
“It’s about growing the sport and turning it into a mainstream sport, and getting guys paid to do jiu-jitsu—to do what they love. When I started, you couldn’t make a living unless you either won a world championship and then started fighting MMA, or you won a world championship and opened a school. That’s how you made money. But now, when I started six or eight years ago, there was barely any money in it. Over time, we started seeing a little money here and there, but now, thanks to the push from me and ADCC, the sport is almost mainstream. Guys are now getting six- and seven-figure paydays. So, I’d say my mission in that regard is pretty much accomplished.”
Beyond the financial aspects, Ryan is passionate about restoring jiu-jitsu’s reputation as an effective martial art. He laments the current lack of high-level jiu-jitsu practitioners transitioning into MMA and hopes to see more “dangerous and mechanically sound submission artists” emerging from the grappling world.
Ryan remains committed to his ultimate goal: “I wanted to change the sport, to have an overarching theme of really changing jiu-jitsu on and off the mats.” With his combination of unparalleled skill and ambitious vision, Gordon Ryan is well-positioned to leave an indelible mark on the world of jiu-jitsu for years to come.
This is also interesting to hear from Ryan considering he’s been very critical in the past about other competitors getting paid in BJJ, and especially the female stars.
At the crux of Ryan’s argument is the claim that top female competitors are neither as physically strong nor as technically proficient as their male counterparts. “The best women currently and in the past aren’t as physical and aren’t as technical as men. You can cry all you want, but that statement is a fact,” Ryan asserted reacting to our post in the past.
Beyond that, he also backtracked his claim that ADCC should be upping prizes (prior to ADCC 2024) if they wanted to keep the prestige.
In an interview on The Miguel Benitez Podcast Tapping in, Ryan argued that while ADCC is currently the most prestigious no-gi jiu-jitsu event, the payouts are still quite low compared to other professional sports. He then believed increasing the winner’s purse to $250,000 or more per division would attract even higher level athletes and create mainstream buzz around grappling.
But he quickly backtracked those claims once ADCC actually faced pushback from the community – and namely Craig Jones.
“My take on ADCC and prize money is simple. You win ADCC because it is the absolute pinnacle of the sport. Winning ADCC cements you a name in history. You don’t compete in the Olympics to win money, you compete in the Olympics to tell people you’re an Olympic champion. Basics. officialls must put a set pay in this. ADCC should leave the prize relatively equal in all divisions. I don’t believe the open will deserve the prize money so much more division has a 1st place prize of at least 2x the highest payout in other tournaments, which would be approx 100k prize.”
“I don’t think it makes sense for the world’s premier grappling tournament to put an emphasis on money UNLESS they emphasize that it is not only the sport’s most respected tournament under their st alone, but also the sport’s most lucrative tournament. So, in short, leave the prize as is, which on paper it should be the same and ADCC hasn’t changed it for a decade”
“Sheikh Tahnoon created ADCC because he loved the sport, because he wanted to see it grow, and because he ultimately just wanted to see the best athletes compete. In the almost 30 years of existence, ADCC has never made a profit. In the last 30 years, this man has lost 10s of millions of dollars simply because he loves jiu jitsu.”
“If ADCC were to owe anyone anything, it’s me. I expect nothing and feel I don’t deserve anything more than they’re willing to give. They’re far easier to work with, and doing a lot for the sport, all while losing money.”
Craig Jones puts ADCC on blast: Some guys are getting 6 figures in show money – which is crazy because prize is $10k
In the end, in the clash between Craig Jones Invitational and ADCC, $500,000 was raised for charity and for the first time in history, nobody left empty handed. It remains to be seen where Ryan’s pro grappling career is headed considering he heavily hinted at retirement due to recurring health issues in lead up to ADCC 2024 this past summer.
