Kaynan Duarte recently discussed the idea of Gordon Ryan transitioning to gi competition and not only does he have faith in Ryan’s ability, but he thinks that he could go as far as winning the IBJJF World Championship. It’s not exactly too far-fetched seeing as how Ryan has already won every major accolade there is in no gi grappling and has beaten many gi world champions along the way. Ryan hasn’t ever competed in the gi at a high level though and doesn’t seem to have any intention of doing so, even if he has trained with some of the best gi grapplers around.
It was during an interview with Raphaella Amorim that Duarte was asked how Ryan would do in gi competition, and he was very confident in his assessment:
“I believe he would be fine.”
When pressed about Gordon Ryan winning an IBJJF World Championship, Kaynan Duarte explained some of the problems he might face even though he still thinks he could end up on top:
“He could. He could but the game would change a bit. Maybe he’d have a hard time with someone who does lapel; maybe Erich Munis, (Victor Hugo), bigger guys like that. Maybe he could have difficulty, but he would be fine. I think he would win from some names there… He could but (he) would have to put (in) more time, because it’s different.”
Duarte is in a great position to make this assessment too, as he’s won a pair of IBJJF world titles in the gi and has shared the mats with Ryan back in 2018. He lost that no gi match by submission but when asked, he reveals that he thinks it would go differently in the gi:
“I would smash him.”
The full interview with Kaynan Duarte where he talks about the idea of Gordon Ryan winning an IBJJF World Championship in the gi was uploaded to the official Instagram account of Raphaella Amorim:
