Gordon Ryan Claims He’s Received ‘Seven-Figure Offers’ to Compete in MMA

Gordon Ryan wins by arm bar pic.twitter.com/DGMPgGtvN3

— D (@D_The_Husband) October 2, 2023

Despite receiving some lucrative offers to do so, grappling ace Gordon Ryan has no designs on transitioning to mixed martial arts in the near future.

In a recent interview with Combate.com, Ryan shared how injuries derailed his plans on competing in MMA some four years ago and how his focus has shifted since then.

“I was actually planning to fight MMA in 2019, but I tore my knee ligament, and when I was coming back from this surgery, I had to go straight into camp for the ADCC because I competed seven months exactly after my surgery,” Ryan said. “So the second I got out of surgery, I had to enter camp. I was going to start fighting at the beginning of 2019, then I had to enter the camp, then I won two golds [at ADCC], and I started to get pulled back into jiu-jitsu. I won the absolute, then I had the biggest superfight in history with Andre Galvao , and now I have to defend the superfight title, and my teammates haven't won the absolute yet, and now I'm 28.”

Gordon also revealed that his coach John Danahar's opinion also weighs heavily on his decision to not fight MMA.

“John is never wrong about anything, and he told me "You're already the best no-gi competitor of all time, you make a lot of money, there's no reason for you to fight MMA,” Ryan said. “You already make more than most fighters in the UFC, have an established legacy in this sport and are not even close to its peak yet. You should keep doing this and be the absolute best of all time indisputably, to the point that even when you've been dead for 50 years, no one has a close record.

“But yes, I've received seven-figure offers to fight MMA, for sure. I have the desire to test myself, but I don't make huge life decisions like that based on emotion,” he continued. “I base it on realism and logic. And logically, it doesn't make sense for me to go into MMA. I think, No.1, jiu-jitsu is right on the cusp of becoming a mainstream sport. I think that one or two more ADCCs and the athletes will start to receive [more recognition]. And I feel that if I leave the no-gi to go to MMA, it will degenerate back to what it was, unless a giant star emerges who kills everyone. But I feel like I'm taking this sport to the next level of professionalism now. I love jiu-jitsu so much, and I want to see the next generation of athletes succeed financially.”

Ryan recently returned to the mats to reaffirm his reign. The five-time ADCC champion dominated opponent Patrick Gaudio en route to an armbar submission victory at the Who’s No. 1 grappling card this past Sunday. After the victory, Ryan opened a mystery box, which contained a bottle of Proper No. Twelve (his new sponsor) along with a note declaring that he would submit Gaudio with an armbar.