Gordon Ryan has just announced that he will not be a member of the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team that will be competing at CJI 2. It always looked unlikely that he would do so anyway, but it also looked unlikely that his team would compete to begin with at first. Although Craig Jones himself was always confident that they would, the rift between Jones and some of the New Wave competitors seemed like it might be unsurmountable. There were some positive early signs though in fairness, particularly when John Danaher gave a glowing review of the first CJI event and the work Jones had done with it.
Rumours started swirling when Jones and Danaher had a meeting together just a few days ago, and things have really picked up speed since then. The two men must have managed to work something out, as Jones later announced that New Wave were officially confirmed for CJI 2. It was a huge signing and it will likely turn out to be one of the biggest that he could have secured, particularly because the team has several ADCC medalists to choose from for their lineup. Although there’s a lot of talent available for the New Wave team at CJI 2, Gordon Ryan still stands out as the biggest star of the team and even the sport itself.
In his first statement about the event, Ryan shut down that idea immediately. Not only was he very clear that he would not be stepping on the mats at CJI 2 but he was also far less complimentary about the promotion than his coach John Danaher was. He also referenced the fact that the prize money for the winners has decreased somewhat since their debut event, stating that it no longer makes sense for him to compete there from a financial perspective. With $200,000 available for each of the five members of the winning team, it still remains the highest-paying tournament in the sport and will attract many of the best competitors in the world as a result.
Gordon Ryan announced the news that he would not be a member of the New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team at CJI 2 in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
