It looks like fans will have to wait even longer to see Gordon Ryan back in action, as the greatest no gi grappler in the world has announced that he will not be competing outside of ADCC any more. It’s undoubtedly going to be disappointing news for any fans of professional grappling, as he’s been the biggest figure in the sport for quite some time now. He’s gone on an incredible winning streak that has lasted years and seen him overcome ever predicted challenger, centered around his amazing performances at both ADCC 2019 and ADCC 2022.
Although ADCC has been the best place to watch Gordon Ryan work his magic over the last few years, now it seems that ADCC 2024 will be the only place to watch him this year. The last few years of his career have been a tale of two stories really, and now we’re seeing both of them coming to a natural conclusion. Although he’s been unstoppable on the mats, Ryan has also suffered a number of injuries and recurring health issues that have prevented him from competing as often as many of his peers. This has always been a problem for him, but 2023 was the worst point as he only competed once in the entire year.
Ryan recently gave fans the background information of the health issues he’s been suffering with over the last few years, along with an update on how he’s doing at the moment:
“Stomach update – reminder, this is simply an UPDATE. People follow me for my athletic career and want to know when I’m competing. I’m not here looking for a pat on the back. This is simply an update on my physical health. As many of you know, I’ve struggled with stomach issues since 2018. Originally stemming from repeated courses of antibiotics to treat staph infections, which wiped out my stomach. Well, I was feeling about 85% better, even though on paper, test results were still all out of order. The 4th Pena camp was the hardest I’ve ever pushed my body and as we all know 2 weeks out it quit on me.”
“Then, because my immune system was still so suppressed from my stomach it took 45 days (on antibiotics) to cure a simple strep throat. After that round of meds, I knew something changed, but I thought I made it out ok. Well over the past months, test results and symptoms have shown a relapse. In mid December, I started getting more nauseous and eating less. Symptoms have been pretty bad but we changed the protocol a little and added some things. For those of you who care, diatomaceous earth and itraconazole. The fluconozole (which I weaned off of) ended up not working and I recently got ring worm on my skin, despite being on nystatin (another oral antifungal) suggesting it’s not strong enough.”
“The diatomaceous earth is supposed to disrupt the biofilm to allow new antifungal to work better. We also added a variety of supplements via shots and powders because my body is deficient in all nutrients needed for recovery and general immunity because my stomach doesn’t absorb them properly with food, and all my receptors are closed due to this issue. Also, a HUGE shout out to Dr Rahbar at LA integrative GI. He, along with Ways 2 Well have been the most thorough doctors I’ve ever worked with who didn’t start as my friends. He truly cares and will even call off hours in case of emergency. Anyone with stomach issues should refer to him and any GI doctors who are stuck should ask him for help. He’s incredible. If you end up going either to him or Ways 2 Well, tell ’em I sent you! Danese, Brigham, and Rahbar have all been incredibly knowledgeable and accommodating.”
Gordon Ryan announced the news that he would no longer be competing outside of ADCC and explained his reasons why, in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
