Gordon Ryan has just shocked the Jiu-Jitsu world by saying that he’s not actually going to be returning to defend his superfight title at ADCC 2026. He made the comment on social media in response to being challenged to a match by the man who won double gold at the last ADCC world championship, Kaynan Duarte. Duarte put on one of the best performances in the history of the sport when he won two gold medals at ADCC 2024, as he submitted 7 out of his 8 opponents over the weekend. It was an incredible achievement that is second only to one man, Roger Gracie, who submitted all 8 of his opponents back in 2005.
Tradition dictates that Duarte will now be given the opportunity to compete for the ADCC superfight title, a belt that is currently held by Ryan. He won the title by beating Andre Galvao at ADCC 2022 and has since defended it twice, as he doubled up on superfight matches at ADCC 2024 and won both of them. He first beat Felipe Pena on the first night before beating Yuri Simoes on the second night of the event. It was an unprecedented decision by both promotion and Ryan, as the superfight champion traditionally only defends the belt against the winner of the previous absolute division.
Ryan has since taken some time off competition since winning those matches, partially due to an injury he suffered during the first one. Duarte on the other hand has already put himself back in action against one of the best grapplers in the world, as he beat Roberto Jimenez by decision at Who’s Number One 25. In the post-match interview, Duarte took the opportunity to call out some competitors that he’d like to face next. Among the matches he’s looking for is one against Gordon Ryan, as he explained that he didn’t think Ryan would make it to their tentatively booked ADCC 2026 superfight.
Ryan then commented on footage of Duarte’s callout with the following statement:
Ryan has flirted with retirement before and there’s still almost two years left before ADCC 2026, so it’s entirely possible that he changes his mind. It’s also possible that this is just him poking fun at Duarte’s statement and he actually has every intention of returning to defend his superfight title once again. The footage of Kaynan Duarte calling out Gordon Ryan for a match ahead of their scheduled ADCC 2026 superfight was uploaded to the official Instagram account of VFComunica:
