“Gordon is for jiu-jitsu what Conor is for the UFC,”
Doria said during the interview.
“You can say what you want about Gordon. I’ve repeated this countless times. Some people call me a pain in the ass, but no—it’s just reality. Gordon is for jiu-jitsu what Conor is for the UFC. That’s it. Period.”
Doria’s comparison highlights how both men transcended competition and captured mainstream attention. Just as McGregor drew unprecedented eyes and revenue to mixed martial arts with his charisma and promotion Ryan has pushed no-gi jiu-jitsu from a niche practice into a spectacle commanding pay-per-view numbers and sponsorships.
He also emphasized Ryan’s ability to connect with the U.S. market as a key factor.
“They’re not competing in the same match not with the same promoters,”
Doria said.
“But with these guys playing hard the sky’s the limit.”
For Doria Ryan’s role goes beyond personal success—it changed the sport’s economy.
“Why does no-gi pay so much better than kimono? Because the United States had a great hero in Gordon Ryan. He drove the sport forward in his country in a hard way. And where there’s attention there’s money.”
This shift has created opportunities that previously didn’t exist. Once Brazilian jiu-jitsu athletes often needed to cross into MMA to earn real income. Ryan proved that elite grapplers can now build lucrative careers staying within their own discipline.
Doria admitted Ryan’s style and persona aren’t universally loved especially among traditionalists who prefer jiu-jitsu’s older etiquette. But he argued that entertainment value has become inseparable from professional combat sports.
“Martial arts are more and more present but so is entertainment,”
he noted.
The McGregor comparison becomes especially clear when looking at both athletes’ embrace of promotion and controversy to fuel viewership. While critics say this undermines martial arts Doria argued it’s simply the natural evolution of the sport.
“For me it’s much more important to teach the control that leads to the submission than the submission itself,”
Doria explained when weighing technique against entertainment. But he acknowledged that today technical mastery alone is not enough for success.
