After the sad news that Nicky Ryan was withdrawing from his upcoming match against Roberto Jimenez at Who’s Number One due to an injury, his older brother Gordon is stepping up to the plate. It’s a very interesting turn of events for sure, as the entire focus of the match has been flipped on it’s head by this last-minute replacement to the lineup. The match originally represented a big opportunity for Nicky Ryan to stake his claim as one of the best grapplers around by defeating Jimenez after bulking up to a new weightclass, but now it’s Jimenez who has a huge opportunity presented to him by taking on the elder Ryan brother.
Roberto Jimenez is definitely the underdog in this fight with Gordon Ryan by virtue of both the difference in experience and the significant weight advantage the Danaher Death Squad team captain will hold over him. Not just that, but Jimenez has proven himself to be vulnerable to the style of leg attacks that Ryan is one of the best in the world at, as seen by his recent loss against Craig Jones at the last Who’s Number One event. The match will take place on the same event, headlined by a stellar main event between Craig Jones and Ronaldo Junior, and assuming it stays in the same running order it’ll be odd to see Ryan competing on an event that he isn’t in top billing for.
The full Who’s Number One event will be streamed live on FloGrappling on February 26th, click here to subscribe and watch.
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