Watch: Gordon Ryan Defeats Felipe Pena and Yuri Simoes in Consecutive ADCC Superfights
Gordon Ryan won not one, but two superfights while competing at this year’s ADCC tournament in Las Vegas.
As the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational kicked off two miles down the road, ‘The King’ returned to the stage inside T-Mobile Arena for a pair of big BJJ matchups, the first coming against 2017 Absolute champion Felipe Pena.
Closing out Day 1 of this year’s ADCC, Ryan and Pena wasn’t exactly the most eventful meeting between the two with the bout failing to even hit the ground for the first five of their 20-minute regulation round. Eventually, Ryan snatched a single leg and dumped Ryan. Once on the mat, Ryan settled into half-guard while Pena threatened a footlock, and that’s pretty much where the match stayed for the remainder of the round.
During the overtime period, a scramble nearly ended with Pena on Ryan’s back, but ‘The King’ managed to get the top position, earning him the only two points awarded during the match.
Gordon Ryan becomes a seven-time ADCC World champion
The very next night, Ryan returned and delivered a much more dominant showing against two-time ADCC champion Yuri Simoes.
Ryan racked up points by improving position, going from mount back to half-guard repeatedly. The action was fast and furious in this one as ‘The King’ continuously attacked his opponent’s arm. Simoes ended the bout attempting to cinch in an ankle lock but was unable to force the tap before the clock ran out.
With the win, Gordon Ryan became a seven-time ADCC champion.
Across the street, Nicky Rod completed his impressive run at the CJI, submitting all four of his opponents via rear-naked choke to claim the $1 million prize in the Over 80kg division. Following his seven-figure win over Fellipe Andrew, Rod issued a $2 million rematch challenge to Ryan.
“The only thing better than one million dollars is two million dollars,” Rod said in a post-match interview. “So let’s do this: I want a bet match with Mr. Gordon Ryan. Because I know in my bones that I’m the actual best grappler on the planet, so let’s do this, Bubba. My $1 million versus your $1 million, winner-take-all bet match. Come get some.”
