The absolute grand prix at Who’s Number One (WNO) 30 has just undergone a big shift, as Roberto Jimenez has had to pull out due to injury and Ryan Aitken has stepped in to replace him. Losing Jimenez should have been a pretty big blow to the event really, as he was going to be one of the top contenders in the bracket. FloGrappling have really pulled it out of the bag though, as Aitken is an excellent grappler in his own right and he will occupy a similar spot right among the favorites. To replace Jimenez with an equally skilled competitor on less than a week’s notice is some genuinely impressive matchmaking.
The absolute grand prix has some really tough opponents in it of course, so Aitken will have a pretty big mountain to climb even though he’s one of the bigger names involved. It’s not as if he hasn’t done it before though; Aitken won the absolute bracket at EBI 21 and he had to overcome some huge size differences in order to do so. In fact, nobody competing at WNO 30 is even close to the size of Dan Manasoiu; who Aitken beat in the final of that event. That was over a year ago and he’s improved a lot even since then too, so he should definitely go far here.
This opportunity will also act as a shot at redemption for Aitken too, as his last appearance for the promotion at WNO 29 was a decision loss to Jimenez. If he’s able to come out on top in a stacked bracket like this, he’ll definitely make people forget about that match pretty quickly. It doesn’t hurt that there’s a title-shot on the line too, as FloGrappling revealed just a few days ago that the winner will get to face the reigning champion in the division of their choice. If Aitken does win then he’d likely end up choosing light-heavyweight, where he already holds a submission win over reigning champion Pedro Marinho.
The full Who’s Number One (WNO) 30 live event, including the Ryan Aitken in the absolute grand prix, is available to watch on October 24th, 2025 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
