Sorry, ADCC hopefuls. You’ll have to wait a little bit longer before “King” Gordon Ryan, the current reigning double champ, hangs up the crown he gave himself and settles into that “retirement.” Ryan posted his explicit intention to keep competing through the entirety of 2020, reversing his plan to retire around mid-year following previously scheduled superfights. He also blames Keenan Cornelius for all of it:
Ryan announced his retirement intentions in late 2019, stating he wanted to start enjoying his life more and living in The Blue Basement at Renzo Gracie’s in NYC less.
“It’s been years since I did anything besides training,” wrote Ryan back on December 26. “I have proven I’m the best over and over and now it’s time for a change.”
Ryan has dominated ADCC as a double gold medalist for 2 years. He is a multiple EBI and Quintet champion with 77 wins and only 5 losses on his professional record. Ryan has a booming career as an instructor, pulling in a rumored $50,000.00 a month in DVD sales and around $10,000.00 per seminar.
Cornelius, for the record, took it all in stride:
