Roger Gracie recently gave an interview with Canal Encarada where he was asked about Gordon Ryan and his status within the sport, and the BJJ legend had nothing but good things to say about the no gi king. Any praise at all from Roger is an incredibly high honor of course as he’s not only a 5th degree BJJ black belt and an ADCC Hall of Famer, but he’s also commonly regarded as the greatest competitor in the history of the sport. Of course, Ryan is not exactly a stranger to praise. He’s very easily the greatest no gi grappler on the planet right now and the vast majority of the community would pick him as the greatest no gi grappler in the history of the sport as well.
Ryan became a four-time ADCC world champion and the new superfight champion at ADCC 2022, also becoming the first man to win three different weightclasses at the same time. When asked, Roger Gracie seemed more than aware that Gordon Ryan was making history in no gi and he seems to have high hopes for the future of Ryan’s career as well, confident that he would be the favourite in any matchup he takes right now and that he is capable of being the biggest name in grappling history:
Roger, do you think Gordon Ryan can be the biggest name in grappling history?
“I think he can. He’s already making history in nogi. If I analyze, well, who is there to stop him?”
Who are the names of those who wanted to fight him? that you think have a good chance of beating him?
“I think there are several athletes in Jiu-Jitsu who obviously have a chance of winning him in no gi I think it’s a fight, no one is invincible.”
But if you stop to think about a name that has great chances of winning, would he be the favourite?
“I don’t see it. I think any fight he’s going to fight now, from my point of view, he’s going to be the favourite. I don’t see anyone who would be the favourite in a fight against him.”
The interview with Roger Gracie where he discusses Gordon Ryan and his status in the sport was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of Canal Encarada:
