Gordon Ryan set off a fiery comment section this week after posting a pointed critique of Kron Gracie‘s coaching legacy on Instagram.
In a recent post, Ryan questioned whether Kron’s years running a jiu-jitsu academy had ever produced any notable talent on the competition circuit.
“General reminder that Kron Gracie had a gym he was coaching at for over a decade, it seems,” Ryan wrote. “Yet, never even got close to producing a single jiu-jitsu or MMA champion. I guess that’s what happens when you’re too busy overcharging people for bulls**t 1990s self defense lessons.”
The post accumulated more than 4,000 likes within hours. Reports and public records indicate that Kron ran a well-regarded academy in the Los Angeles area from the early 2010s through 2021 before closing the location and relocating to Montana during the pandemic.
In the years since, he has taken on periodic seminars rather than operating a permanent facility.
Gabi Garcia was among the first to respond, defending Gracie in the comments: “Come on! @riokid is one of the nicest guys in our sport, Gordon.”
Kron answered directly. In a lengthy response, he challenged Ryan’s characterization of John Danaher’s influence over Georges St-Pierre’s career and questioned Ryan’s standing to weigh in on producing champions at all.
“Your coach only made one champion, you, and without st**oids you have zero ADCC gold so that makes me better than you,” Kron wrote. “I never had a coach after 17 years old. Danaher didn’t make GSP. I’m sure he was already a champ or at least close to it before Danaher set eyes on him like a tasty treat.”
“All I know is I would never want to be around a dork like Danaher who wears a rash guard every day and speaks like he’s a champion when he ain’t s**t but AI generated jiu-jitsu philosophy saying ‘gashi’ to sound superior. BTT, Alliance, Atos and AOJ are all way better than that dork.”
“Also why have you been following me for 10+ years if you don’t like my jiu-jitsu? Because you’re a fan and watched my matches and wanted to have subs like me. I never followed you.”
Ryan was quick to respond, defending Danaher’s track record with specifics and throwing in a pointed jab at Gracie’s competitive résumé.
“John’s only champion in jiu-jitsu is me? I’ll let you research that one and get back to us here,” Ryan replied. “John was GSP’s head coach and coached him literally his whole career. He was also Weidman’s coach until his second Anderson match. I love the fact that you are mad that John is calling the moves what they are called, by the people who invented them, the Japanese. Yes, I’m your fan. It’s been my dream to emulate your 1997 closed guard and win a tiny amount of events at black belt.”
Kron then suggested that Firas Zahabi would not agree with Ryan’s account of Danaher’s role in shaping GSP’s game.
Ryan pushed back with pointed detail: “John used to teach George and George used to go back and teach Firas what John taught him. Firas is a John Danaher black belt. George’s entire shoot boxing, wall wrestling, and grapple boxing system is John’s.”
“John was the strategist and teacher for all the major things you see George do. George has said this on camera and I’ve literally been there for entire camps and watched all of this. What are you talking about?”
The conversation widened when a follower flagged Giancarlo Bodoni, a two-weight world champion who trains under Danaher, as further evidence against Kron’s argument.
Additionally, Ryan pointed to Rafael Meregali’s world absolute championship as a testament to Danaher’s coaching reach.
Kron countered that Meregali had already earned titles before joining the group, and that those accomplishments shouldn’t be credited to Danaher.
Ryan then doubled down by listing several high-level competitors he believes benefited directly from Danaher’s coaching. “Meregali won the world absolute for the 1st time with us. Giancarlo his 1st 2 ADCCs with us. Garry won 5 EBI’s with us. Should I keep going?” he wrote.
Ryan added that anyone skeptical could simply “ask any of the people I’ve just listed how instrumental John was in their careers.”
The exchange didn’t end there. Kron followed up with an Instagram Story, challenging Ryan to settle things on the mats rather than online. “Don’t be a big ol p**sy, do a match if your belly ain’t hurtin. I recommend stay off the juice so it don’t pop @gordonlovesjiujitsu no time, and Danaher can’t be there to see if you are capable alone,” he wrote.
Even though Kron has called Ryan out for settling things on the mat, there is an obvious size disparity between the two. Kron spent his UFC career competing at featherweight (145 lbs / 66 kg), whereas Ryan typically competes at super-heavyweight division (up to 242 lbs / 110 kg) in submission grappling.
Given the difference of roughly 70 lbs or more, the proposed matchup does not seem to be a realistic challenge.
