It didn’t take long of course, but Gordon Ryan has now released his first statement on the news that has signed for ONE FC to compete in both Submission Grappling and MMA. The news of his signing was originally reported by ONE FC CEO Chatri Sityodtong who included both Ryan and Marcus “Bucheca” Almeida in the list of amazing martial artists that he has now managed to sign to the promotion. However, it seems as though Ryan needed to make a little clarification in a post to his official Instagram account, before fans got too carried away with the potential matchups for his MMA debut.
It’s understandable that people started to get excited after the ONE FC signing was announced, considering that Gordon Ryan is the best no gi grappler on the planet and fans have been eager for him to make good on his statements regarding an MMA career. Now, Ryan revealed that he didn’t actually have any plans for an MMA debut just yet and instead would be focusing on Submission Grappling in the ONE FC cage to begin with, although MMA would be available if he wanted to.
He also explained that his main focus right now would be preparation for ADCC 2022 where he will return as the reigning double champion. This makes sense considering that this represents the pinnacle of no gi grappling and another great performance here would really help cement Ryan’s already well-established legacy as the best no gi competitor on the planet. Not just that, but ADCC organizer Mo Jassim has previously stated that this may be the first time that the reigning double champion will be given the opportunity to compete in his weightclass again, meaning that Ryan may have a few more matches than originally planned.