Tye Ruotolo has just called out the greatest no gi grappler on the planet right now, Gordon Ryan, and Ryan has even given his challenge a response too. It actually hasn’t even been that long since both men shared the same mats, as they were both competing at the 2022 ADCC world championships. They were never going to actually cross paths at the event though, as Ruotolo was competing in both the 88kg and absolute divisions while Ryan was competing in the superfight and the over 99kg division. Ryan left that event with a gold medal and the superfight belt, but Ruotolo went out in the first round of his division and earned a bronze medal from the absolute.
Ruotolo is still confident that he can be the one to dethrone the king regardless, as evidenced by a recent comment on Instagram that started this new rivalry:
Tye Ruotolo: “Remember that Darce at Modolfo? It would be competitive now and Im 19 and natural. I guarantee you retire before I gain 15 pounds. Pure facts, no ill intent. Let’s do the same deal you did with Pena. No time limit.”
The deal that Ruotolo is referring to, is the fact that Gordon Ryan gave Felipe Pena ten to one odds on a private bet between the two for their recent match at Who’s Number One. Ryan was quick to respond though of course:
Gordon Ryan: “How about you put up your 50k win bonus from ONE and I’ll put up my same 100k that I did with pena? 2-1 odds no time limit. Just remember, I’m not Josh hinger, and you couldn’t beat him.”
Ryan is of course referencing the opening round match of the 88kg division at ADCC 2022, where Hinger managed to beat Ruotolo on points. In Ruotolo’s response, he continued to push for the odds he originally requested:
Tye Ruotolo: “Given the fact that you made this deal for Pena, you’re 80lbs heavier, and utilizing performance enhancing drugs… I assumed you would confidently make the same offer. Clearly the confidence to make that same deal isn’t there and that’s ok, I get it. At the end of the day I couldn’t care less about the money. I want to fight you.”
Gordon Ryan issued his final response to Tye Ruotolo in a separate post to his official Instagram account, amending the challenge to something that will definitely get the fans excited. He proposed two no-time limit matches against both Tye and Kade Ruotolo back-to-back with no rest, with both of them putting up $50,000 each against $200,000 from Gordon Ryan:
