In a bold response to BJJ superstar Gordon Ryan‘s recent critique, three-time NAIA wrestling champion Brandon Reed has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging Ryan to test his skills in a freestyle wrestling match.
The exchange began after Reed commented on Ryan’s use of the term “scrimmage wrestling” in his instructional content, saying it “made him cringe” and questioning its validity in a recent interview.
“What’s made me cringe lately has been like Gordon Ryan consistently saying scrimmage wrestling,” Reed stated. “I’m like dude, what the [expletive] is that? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Ryan, known for his direct responses to criticism, fired back with a detailed account of their previous training session, claiming he dominated Reed during a 20-minute round and questioning Reed’s wrestling credentials.
“Remember how I scored about 847 points on you under ADCC takedown rules, and you scored 0 on me because you have no idea how to scrimmage?” Ryan wrote. “You wanna market wrestling, fine by me, but don’t come at me knowing how our wrestling exchanges went. Come at me with your not even D1 skills, gtfo lol.”
Reed, a four-time All-American and ADCC World Championships veteran now competing in BJJ, responded by acknowledging Ryan’s superiority in jiu-jitsu while defending his wrestling background and issuing a direct challenge.
“I’ll never take you out in bjj. Never said I would. I never disrespected you,” Reed wrote. “I said you’re weird for saying scrimmage instead of scramble. I also said you’re impossible to score on in ADCC and complimented you in the same clip.”
Reed then proposed a solution to settle the dispute: “Beat me in a WRESTLING match. 6 mins with traditional freestyle rules. Since I’m a terrible NAIA wrestler after all, it should be easy to take me out in my own ruleset and then you can promote your DVD!”
The former collegiate wrestler highlighted the difference in their backgrounds, noting his achievements in wrestling while pointing out Ryan’s lack of competitive wrestling experience.
“You said you were a better wrestler than me and ragged on my college career (insane coming from someone who didn’t even wrestle in college),” Reed continued. “So let’s do the sport of wrestling (my sport) and see how you actually do. Shoes and all.”
Reed concluded his response by drawing a line between their respective sports: “Your BJJ opinion means nothing in our world – no matter how much you think it does.”
This exchange highlights the ongoing debate about the relationship between wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, with practitioners from both disciplines often discussing the optimal way to adapt wrestling techniques for BJJ competition.
Ryan has not publicly responded to Reed’s challenge for a freestyle wrestling match. It’s unlikely he ever will.
