Gordon Ryan is without a doubt the greatest no gi competitor on the planet right now and he was recently training with Hafthor Bjornsson, one of the greatest strength athletes of all time. Bjornsson is perhaps best known to the wider population thanks to playing The Mountain on Game of Thrones, but he is one of the strongest men on the planet too. The Icelandic professional strongman is the third most-decorated in the history of the sport and won everything there was to win during his career at the top of game. He is a former world’s strongest man and has reached the podium of the illustrious event on eight different occasions, alongside winning the Arnold Strongman Classic for three straight years.
As a result of Bjornsson’s incredible frame and phenomenal strength, he would be a tough challenge for any grappler; no matter how talented they are. Bjornsson has even rolled with BJJ black belts in the past, and he can make anyone struggle with the size difference. Although he can certainly overpower the vast number of BJJ black belts on the planet, he has trained with elite competitors in the past too. Bjornsson was previously seen training with UFC veteran and fourth-place ADCC finisher Gunnar Nelson and although the size difference clearly played a role, Nelson was able to submit him in the end.
Even when it comes to elite grapplers, Ryan is a cut above the rest. He has achieved things that no other BJJ black belt has, including winning an ADCC world championship in three different weightclasses by the time he won in 2022. As you can see from the footage below, although the strength advantage that Hafthor Bjornsson holds is obvious, Gordon Ryan is able to neutralise that and come out on top regardless.
The footage of Gordon Ryan and ‘The Mountain’ Hafthor Bjornsson rolling together was uploaded to Bjornsson’s official Instagram account:
