ADCC 2024 starts next weekend, and top athletes are attempting to create more hype for the event before it happens. No-Gi king Gordon Ryan sat down with Flograppling to discuss the event and explain why he is doing two superfights.
Ryan also explains why he won’t compete in the superheavy or absolute divisions. Check out the highlights of the interview detailed below.
Why is Gordon Ryan Doing 2 ADCC Superfights?
Well, during his pre-ADCC interview for Flograppling, Gordon Ryan gave the obvious answer as to why he was doing two superfights. Basically, the lack of interest in the original superfight led to the inclusion of another fight against Felipe Pena.
Ryan detailed how he messaged Mo Assim with the proposal and how it went down. He felt that since he had already beaten Yuri Simoes four times and won everything at ADCC, he needed another fight.
That’s why he pitched the idea of a 2nd fight with Felipe Pena. Now, here we are, less than a week from the fight with two Gordon Ryan superfights.
Gordon On His Match With Yuri Simões
During Ryan’s interview, he was asked his thoughts on his super-fight match with Yuri Simoes. Gordon answered with one of his classic backhanded compliments.
“Yuri has been able to consistently win against the best guys in the world consistently with what, in my opinion, is not a very high level of technique.”– Gordon Ryan.
However, Ryan followed this comment by saying that Simoes is a grinder who just knows how to win.
Since Gordon is 4-0 vs Yuri, Ryan believes he’ll play a tactical game. Ryan predicts that Yuri will try to do enough to grind out a win and force Gordon to chase him.
Then, if Simoes decides to come out aggressive, Ryan will immediately counter him and look for the finish. Ryan feels that there is no situation where Simoes can beat him.
Gordon on Facing Felipe Pena Again
Gordon feels Felipe will bring nothing new to their fourth match this weekend. He complimented Pena’s guard and back-taking ability but believes he can’t dictate where the fight will go.
Ryan believes he will take the fight wherever he wants and can smash Pena in any situation. He believes there is nothing Felipe can do to beat him.
Why is Gordon Ryan Not Competing in the ADCC Absolute Division?
Another question Ryan answered during his interview was why he wasn’t competing in the absolute division. The reason was that he had multiple teammates from New Wave Jiu-Jitsu who were entering the absolute division.
His teammate, Nicholas Meragali, is the favorite to win the absolute division and his division.
Will This Add Hype to ADCC 2024?
To be completely honest, the extra superfight does not add any hype to the event. Unfortunately, almost nobody believes that Yuri Simoes can beat Gordon, and we’ve already seen the Felipe Pena match.
At the WNO event, Gordon and Felipe hosted, we all saw Ryan beat Pena with ease. Felipe gave numerous excuses for his loss, but nobody accepted them.
He also failed to meet Ryan in the 2022 ADCC absolute finals after losing to Tye Ruotolo. That failure to reach the 2022 absolute finals killed what interests were left in their rivalry.
Everyone expects Gordon to easily walk through his opponents this week.
However, despite the lack of hype in the Gordon Ryan matches, it doesn’t detract from the other talented grapplers. Everyone from Mica Galvao, Nicholas Meragali, Cyborg Abreu, Kendall Reusing, Giancarlo Bodoni, Kayan Duarte, and Amy Campo will be present.
Check out the ADCC 2024 in its entirety, airing live on Flograppling this weekend!
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.
