One of the most unusual rivalries in the Jiu-Jitsu world appears to be picking up some steam, as Gordon Ryan and Mikey Musumeci have continued to debate the usage of PEDs in the sport. It’s a pretty contentious topic of course, but both Ryan and Musumeci have taken shots at each other when it has come up lately. The disagreement is obviously never going to be settled on the mats of course, as the two men inhabit the complete opposite ends of the weight spectrum. Ryan generally competes at either heavyweight or ultra-heavyweight, while Musumeci has gone as low as roosterweight in the IBJJF and currently competes at flyweight in no gi.
This isn’t the first time that the two men have had issues though, as Musumeci first took issue with Ryan over PED use a few months ago. They had a little bit of back and forth at the time, but it all appeared to blow over relatively quickly. That is, until Musumeci was taking part in the pre-match press conference for his debut appearance at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 9. Musumeci brought up Ryan first in order to make a comparison to himself
“Other people like Gordon (Ryan), Craig (Jones), they definitely help the sport grow in different ways but I feel like what I’m doing right now is definitely the most important thing for grappling in terms of having a stable platform.”
Then he went on to criticise the current state of Jiu-Jitsu when it comes to PEDs, throwing some shade at athletes that do use them:
“Jiu-jitsu with people just talking about like they blatantly use PEDs, like it’s not… they’re not athletes. They really don’t have the values of martial artists.”
Ryan was quick to respond and he immediately went on the offensive, calling in to question Musumeci’s morals on social media:
“The guy talking about ethics and morals has been on 37 different jiu-jitsu teams, got what he could from them, and left. You wanna have my d**k in your mouth constantly and talk about morals? How about start with loyalty. This little rat’s been on more teams than Keenan. Taking what he wishes and when he can’t learn anymore, leaves to the next. Get off your moral high ground, dork.”
Although he originally started out by attacking Mikey Musumeci in return, Gordon Ryan did later clarify his personal stance on PEDs in Jiu-Jitsu:
“If, you know, a tournament wants to have them, great; if they don’t want to have them, great. Now, I think, obviously, the matches will be better. I think the athletes will be better athletes. The athletes will definitely be able to get paid more because the better you perform, the better you look… These are all things that will lead to you being paid more as an athlete… people want to see the world’s best athletes.”
After his match at UFC Fight Pass Invitational, Musumeci then clarified some of his earlier statements:
“I have nothing against Gordon (Ryan). He’s grown the sport tremendously and I have the utmost respect for him. We’re both from the same town in New Jersey. What I stand for and what he stands for are a bit different, and I’m just keeping it real.”
“If you take PEDs you’re definitely an athlete, I would just say you’re a super athlete. You don’t count as a regular athlete.”
Gordon Ryan was later asked by the press about the whole back and forth, and he gave a much more in-depth answer about the entire interaction:
