Viktor Doria is one of the biggest managers in the Jiu-Jitsu world and he recently gave his thoughts on the effect that Gordon Ryan has had on the sport. His achievements on the mat are undeniable of course, as Ryan has beaten almost all of the best grapplers in the world and often made it look easy too. He’s won all of the major titles in the no gi side of the sport and is considered by many to be the greatest no gi competitor of all time. What’s much harder to quantify is his impact on the growth of the sport.
Doria thinks that Ryan has actually been a huge driver in the recent explosion of popularity that Jiu-Jitsu has experienced, and he used a similar example from another sport to illustrate his point:
“Gordon (Ryan) is for Jiu-Jitsu what Conor (McGregor) is for the UFC. You can say what you want about Gordon. I’ve repeated this countless times. Some people call me a pain in the a**, but no. It’s just reality. Gordon is for Jiu-Jitsu what Conor is for the UFC. That’s it. Period.”
It’s a bold claim to make because McGregor famously forced his way into the mainstream consciousness through a combination of electrifying performances and a very loud personality. The comparison does make some sense though, as Ryan has also been incredible in action and he is equally controversial in the eyes of some fans. It can’t be a coincidence then that Ryan’s rise to the top of the sport has coincided with a sudden surge in popularity and earning opportunities for competitors. Doria believes that the two are definitely connected:
“Why does no gi pay so much better than gi? Because the United States had a great hero in Gordon Ryan. He drove the sport forward in his country in a hard way, and where there’s attention there’s money.”
The full interview with Viktor Doria where he talks about Gordon Ryan and his influence on Jiu-Jitsu was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of the Connect Cast Podcast:
