Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champion Gordon Ryan has once again stirred controversy with his recent social media post addressing discussions around pay equity in grappling sports. The post, shared on his Instagram story, comes in the wake of the ongoing rivalry between ADCC and the newly formed Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), which has led to debates about athlete compensation.
Ryan shared an image of a tweet criticizing the WNBA , which stated: “This why I’ve found all the WNBA talk to be hilarious. Nobody actually watches it. So when you’re arguing about it, you’re not really arguing about a professional sport. It’s more of just a charity for lesbians.”
Commenting on this tweet, Ryan added his own text: “Female competitor in jj complaining about equal pay,” drawing a direct comparison between women’s basketball and female BJJ competitors seeking equitable compensation.
The timing of Ryan’s post is significant, as it follows recent developments in the grappling world where several high-profile athletes, including women’s ADCC champion Ffion Davies, chose to compete in the CJI rather than defend their ADCC titles. This decision was largely motivated by the promise of higher payouts at CJI as well as disrupting the industry.
Ryan’s close ties to ADCC and his lucrative contract with Flograppling, which streams ADCC events, place his comments in the context of this emerging rivalry between the two promotions. His post appears to be a response to the discourse surrounding grappler pay that has intensified since the announcement of CJI and its reportedly high purses.
This is not the first time Ryan has expressed controversial views on gender pay gaps in sports. In previous statements, he has argued that compensation should be based solely on revenue generation and audience draw, dismissing considerations of gender equality.
The BJJ community’s reactions to Ryan’s latest post have been mixed, with some supporting his views and others criticizing them as reductive and harmful to the growth of women’s divisions in the sport.
The post comes after a viral stunt in which Craig Jones got a bunch of Romanian ‘witches’ to heal Ryan’s tummy and call him mentally ill in process.
The rivalry between ADCC and CJI, along with high-profile athletes’ decisions about where to compete, will likely continue to fuel conversations about grappler compensation across genders in professional grappling.
