Gordon Ryan (born July 8, 1995) is an American

submission grappler Submission wrestling, also known as Submission grappling, Submission fighting a form of competition and a general term for martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission through the ...

and

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

1st degree black belt, considered to be the greatest no–gi grappler of all time due to his accomplishments and dominance. Ryan is a Five–time ADCC World champion, two-time IBJJF No-Gi World champion and a four-time

Eddie Bravo Edgar A. Bravo (''né'' Cano; born May 15, 1970) is an American martial arts instructor, podcaster, stand-up comedian, and musician. After earning a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2003, Bravo began teaching his own self-developed style ...

Invitational champion.

Early life and education

Gordon F Ryan III was born on July 8, 1995 in Monroe, New Jersey, USA. He began

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

at the age of 15 under Miguel Benitez before switching to train under John Danaher,

Tom DeBlass Tom DeBlass (born May 14, 1982) is an American Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, submission grappler and mixed martial artist currently signed to ONE Championship. He has competed in the middleweight division for Bellator and the Ultimate Fig ...

and

Garry Tonon Garry Lee Tonon (born September 12, 1991) is an American submission grappler and mixed martial artist. He is a five-time Eddie Bravo Invitational champion, and has won titles at ADCC submission wrestling championship, IBJJF ...

. He began competing and won the

IBJJF The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu ...

World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship The World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a no- gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) tournament hosted annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation held at California State University in Long Beach, California. The 2022 edition ...

as a brown belt. Ryan reported suffering with an undiagnosed stomach condition for several years until April 2019, when he was finally diagnosed with

Helicobacter pylori ''Helicobacter pylori'', previously known as ''Campylobacter pylori'', is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, spiral (helical) bacterium usually found in the stomach. Its helical shape (from which the genus name, helicobacter, derives) is though ...

Career

After a 6-month brown belt run, where Ryan won notable tournaments such as the Newaza Challenge and the World Championship, Ryan was awarded his black belt by

in February 2016 in a ceremony supported by the presence of

Tom deBlass Tom DeBlass (born May 14, 1982) is an American Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner, submission grappler and mixed martial artist currently signed to ONE Championship. He has competed in the middleweight division for Bellator and the Ultimate Fig ...

Ricardo Almeida Ricardo Alves Almeida (; born November 29, 1976) is a Brazilian-American former mixed martial artist and current Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grappler residing in Bordentown, New Jersey. Almeida is a veteran of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRID ...

and John Danaher – who shared the responsibility of the new belt rank. On April 24, 2016, Ryan won the Eddie Bravo Invitational Championship, defeating world champion

Yuri Simões Yuri Simões (born June 18, 1990) is a Brazilian grappler, BJJ practitioner and mixed martial artist, signed with Singapore-based mixed martial arts promotion ONE Championship. He is a three time ADCC World Champion in three different weight div ...

and noted grappler Rustam Chsiev on the way. Ryan next faced top USA grappler

Keenan Cornelius Keenan Kai-James Cornelius is an American martial artist. His competitive achievements include what has been called a "grand slam" in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having won double ...

in a no time limit, submission only match where Ryan was able to upset Cornelius and submit him with a

heel hook Heel hook may refer to: * Heel hook, in grappling * A climbing technique {{disambig