Regardless of whether or not Gordon Ryan decides to return to competition by the time ADCC 2022 rolls around, it looks like we’ll be seeing Andre Galvao on the mats working to defend his superfight title.
FloGrappling was the first to report that Galvao had confirmed his participation in the upcoming event in a May 1 conversation with ADCC host Mo Jassim. The outlet shared a screenshot of a text message between Galvao and Jassim, with Galvao requesting to keep the news under wraps at the time.
Galvao won his fourth consecutive ADCC superfight in 2019 when he defeated Felipe Pena. As the winner of the absolute division that same year, Gordon Ryan was scheduled to face him in the next ADCC superfight, but Galvao’s return was uncertain as he teased the idea of retirement from competitive no-gi grappling.
Further doubt was cast about Galvao’s potential return when he asked for $1 million for the superfight purse — a price that ADCC couldn’t meet, given that they’ve agreed to pay $40,000 to the winner. Since then, there’s been a lot of drama between Galvao and Ryan, with Ryan infamously slapping Galvao during an altercation at a Who’s Number One event back in February.
With Galvao now promising his participation in the superfight, though, the question is now if Ryan will be involved in the match. Ryan recently announced his indefinite leave of absence from competitive grappling due to ongoing health issues, and while the timing of the announcement about Galvao is certainly suspicious at first glance, the screenshot between Galvao and Jassim is dated May 1 — weeks before Ryan made his own announcement.
Although it’s hard to imagine Ryan passing up this opportunity for any reason given the friction between him and Galvao, a replacement will need to be found if he opts not to participate in the superfight.
The Jiu-Jitsu Times will provide updates on this development and ADCC 2022 as they become available.
