During his post-fight press conference after UFC FPI 8, Nicky Rods talked about Gordon Ryan’s match stipulations and explained why he’s afraid of losing.
Let’s break it down and answer the question: Is Gordon Ryan afraid to lose?
After beating Michael Pixley at UFC FPI 8, Rodriguez was asked about a potential rematch with Gordon Ryan. Rodriguez gave a blunt answer that got the forums talking, like Reddit.
Nicky Rods went on to explain how Ryan handpicks all of his opponents and creates stipulations to favor him.
“I offered him a million dollars. I don’t know what else to do (to make Gordon Ryan accept a match),” Nicky Rod said after winning at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 8.
“My offer was fairly simple. After I won CJI, I said ‘let’s do a bet match, my $1 million vs. your $1 million, winner take all.’ And I said we’ll stream it for free on YouTube.
“He came back like a couple of weeks later with a rebuttal that was like ‘okay, I’ll do the match, only if Craig Jones competes with me on the same day, and only if my stomach doesn’t hurt, and only if it’s a no time limit match, and only if it’s under these rule sets.’
“His answer is like reading a text from a girlfriend that’s breaking up with you. It was super long, after the first period I’m kind of out of there,” Rodriguez said. “It was kind of a yes, kind of a no, so who knows?”
“He doesn’t want to lose.”- Nicky Rods.
Gordon Ryan Making “Special Rules”
Is Gordon Ryan afraid to lose might be the wrong question to ask. Does Gordon Ryan occasionally stack the deck in his favor to win a match? Absolutely.
Here are two other instances where Ryan has altered rules in a match to benefit himself.
Ryan vs Pena 3
Going into Felipe Pena vs Gordon Ryan III, Ryan made certain stipulations for this match.
To avoid the scenario where Pena won by points, the match was altered to “no-time limit.”
Gordon certainly put the odds in his favor, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt here. Felipe didn’t have to agree to these stipulations, but he did.
Gordon Ryan vs. Pat Downey 3
Most recently, Pat Downey released DMs about a possible third match against Gordon Ryan. Once again, Ryan said he’d only agree to a match if Downey agreed to “specialized rules.”
Here’s the message Ryan sent Downey: “We make a YouTube video of us wrestling to the 1st point under ADCC rules. 1st to 3 scores wins, so I can show everyone that I can out wrestle you in accordance with ADCC scoring.”-Gordon Ryan.
So Is Gordon Ryan Afraid to Lose?
I’m not sold on the question of is Gordon Ryan afraid to lose. However, he isn’t above putting the odds in his favor to win. It’s not the most honorable tactic, but when he’s one of Jiu-Jitsu’s top draws, and he can do that.
This is a similar tactic that the Gracie family used in certain fights. Royce Gracie’s no-time limit fight against Sakuraba is the best example of this practice, which backfired spectacularly.
This tactic will rub some fans the wrong way and lead them to ask, is Gordon Ryan afraid to lose.
For grappling fans, we just want to see the best Jiu-Jitsu athletes compete against each other to see who’s the best. Maybe when Ryan feels healthy next year, we’ll see him test himself and put his unbeaten streak on the line.
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.
