Craig Jones has never been one to shy away from talking about his old rival Gordon Ryan, and he recently shared his thoughts on whether or not he’ll ever compete again. It’s been something that fans have been wondering for a little while now, as Ryan has been plagued by various health issues in recent years. Although he does manage to get them under control at regular intervals and beat the best grapplers in the world, he spends a lot of time sidelined as well. Concerns about whether or not fans will get to see Ryan compete again have been growing lately though, fuelled in some part by his own statements.
He even went so far as to say he wasn’t returning for ADCC 2026, where he would have been defending his superfight title. He has not yet competed in 2025 either and has no matches scheduled, as he closes in on a year since his last appearance. He already confirmed he wasn’t doing CJI 2 and that’s going to be the premier no gi grappling event this year, so it seems like he may finish the year without a single match. He also vacated his WNO heavyweight title, so it doesn’t look like he’ll be competing on that show any time soon either.
When asked if Gordon Ryan would compete in the Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu lineup for CJI 2, Craig Jones was clear that he thinks we might have seen the last of him altogether:
“He will not compete. I don’t believe he’ll ever compete again.”
This isn’t the first time that Ryan has hinted at leaving the sport behind either, but Jones thinks this time is different:
“I think this time it’s real. This time it’s a real retirement.”
Ryan is obviously going to be busy with the grand opening of Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu headquarters but Jones thinks it’s something else that will be taking his attention in the future:
“I think he’s healthy, I think he’s going into politics actually I’ve heard… I think he’s going to run for Congress.”
The full interview with Craig Jones where he talks about whether or not Gordon Ryan will compete again was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the Ariel Helwani Show:
