Gordon Ryan has accused his former training partner Nick “Nicky Rod” Rodriguez of taking one of his most quoted observations about how jiu-jitsu practitioners dominate untrained opponents.
Ryan posted screenshots on social media comparing his 2023 statements with Rodriguez‘s recent podcast comments. He suggested that “Nicky Fraud” had lifted his perspective without credit.
The similarities are hard to ignore. In November 2023, Ryan told illusionist Chris Angel that competing with untrained opponents feels
“literally like playing with a child, no matter what size they are.”
Two years later, Rodriguez used nearly identical language on the Coach Em Up podcast. He said that if you train jiu-jitsu consistently for two years and get in a situation with an untrained person,
“it’s like playing with a baby.”
Gordon Ryan in 2023 stated
“Training with a person who has never done any martial arts or grappled in their life is literally like playing with a child, no matter what size they are.”
Nicky Rod in 2025 said
“If you train jiu-jitsu consistently for like 2 years and you get in a fight with a regular human being that has never trained, it’s like playing with a baby. I’m not even exaggerating. You can do whatever you want to them.”
Both grapplers used similar examples of dominance and control. Both addressed the “what about a weapon?” counterargument in remarkably similar ways.
Ryan and Rodriguez were once training partners at the Danaher Death Squad. Their relationship fell apart after the team split. Ryan has consistently called Rodriguez “Nicky Fraud” on social media. The bad blood between them shows no signs of cooling.
The plagiarism accusation is just the latest episode in their ongoing rivalry. Ryan clearly views Rodriguez‘s comments as theft of an idea he expressed years earlier.
The jiu-jitsu community’s response has been mixed. Some practitioners see the similar talking points as coincidental. After all, trained grapplers have been saying untrained people are helpless against them since the first UFC. Others think the near-identical phrasing and examples are too similar to be accidental.
Social media comments ranged from supportive of Ryan to dismissive of the entire controversy.
The most ironic part of this controversy is that both men are discussing something countless martial artists have said before. The effectiveness of grappling training against untrained opponents has been demonstrated repeatedly since the early UFC days.
But Ryan‘s accusation seems to focus on the specific framing and language Rodriguez used. The “playing with a child/baby” comparison and the similar examples of control are what Ryan appears to find objectionable.
The plagiarism accusation, whether valid or not, shows the ongoing tension between two of grappling’s biggest names. Ryan has dominated the sport for years and built a reputation for calling out anyone he thinks is being dishonest or taking his ideas.
Rodriguez has built his own reputation. He transitioned from wrestling to become one of the sport’s most exciting competitors. Whether he intentionally borrowed Ryan‘s framing or came to similar conclusions on his own is up for debate.
Beyond the personal drama, both grapplers make the same point about jiu-jitsu’s effectiveness. Their shared emphasis on the technical advantage trained grapplers have over untrained opponents serves as an endorsement of the art.
Rodriguez added some practical wisdom about the fragility of human bodies and the legal mess that can follow physical confrontations. His story about being sued after an incident while working as a bouncer shows the real-world complications that come from even justified use of force.
“It’s like we’re in court for like a year and then we settled for whatever because he admitted to headbutting me, right? It’s like people are just fragile, literally just from a push, you know? So it’s not worth it.”
This will probably play out on social media for a while. Ryan isn’t known for dropping grudges quickly.
Whether Ryan‘s accusation sticks or fades away, it proves that in combat sports, battles happen everywhere.
