It’s been public knowledge for a while that Gordon Ryan has been unhappy with life in New Jersey and will be leaving the state shortly, but now it appears that Craig Jones will be joining him too. The pair will be moving together to Puerto Rico, along with Gordon’s younger brother Nicky Ryan and Ethan Crelinsten. The small island territory is already one of the places that ADCC Head Organizer Mo Jassim calls home and he’s known for being close to the world’s greatest no gi grappler. The news was first broke by Attack the Back, who asserted that they have had it confirmed by an “incredibly reliable”, but as yet unnamed source.
It’s unclear as to whether John Danaher will be uprooting his life to move to the island too, but considering his long-held position as coach at Renzo Gracie New York, it seems unlikely that he would move along with them. Considering that Ethan Crelinsten and Nicky Ryan were just awarded with their black belts by Danaher, the timing seems to line up with their leaving for new horizons along with Craig Jones and Gordon.
There have been rumors abound for quite some time now as to where these elite athletes will be relocating to, and FloGrappling has been gearing up to make the announcement soon. For that reason, it’s worth mentioning that there has been no official word from the athletes concerned as yet so this leak could potentially be a red herring. Considering how much sense Puerto Rico makes in the grand scheme of things, especially when Ryan’s main concern has always been the high taxes he’ll be levied with, it seems likely that Attack the Back’s source may be right.
