Gordon Ryan scored two points to win his match against Felipe Pena at ADCC 2024 and several people have criticized the scoring, so ADCC North America head referee Miguel Benitez recently took the time to explain it. It was an incredibly important decision too, because it ended up being the moment that actually won the match for Ryan. The two men battled it out over a twenty-minute regulation period and ten-minute overtime period, and those two points were the only thing that separated them. There was always going to be a lot of attention on the sequence as a result, but a number of people were confused as to why it even led to points being scored.
Benitez started out by addressing the general rule surrounding takedowns, and what constitutes one for scoring purposes:
“Everyone knows ADCC is about initiation, except for takedowns. The simplest definition for a takedown is, did they start on the feet and end on the ground? If they did, who’s on top?”
That might seem clear enough in itself, but Benitez also broke down the specific sequence in the match between Ryan and Pena. He explained it step by step and laid out the exact reasoning why the scramble constitutes a takedown why Ryan was awarded two points as a result:
“So when you watch Gordon’s, Gordon initiates like an uchi mata. You know Felipe defended, almost takes Gordon’s back. They keep rolling, the movement’s still going. No position has been secured for more than three seconds. The only time position is actually established is when Felipe has this weird guard, it’s almost like a reverse half-guard which is just naturally how they landed and he locked his legs. But if you look at the upper body, it’s chest-to-chest. Felipe’s shoulders are on the mat, Gordon is on top, holds it for three seconds. Did they start on the feet? Yes. Did they end on the ground? Yes. Was someone clearly establishing top position? Yes. That’s a takedown, two points.”
The relevant clip from the interview with ADCC North America head referee Miguel Benitez was uploaded to the official Instagram account of Benjamin Kane:
