Gordon Ryan and Roberto Jimenez faced off against each other for the first time in the co-main event of Who’s Number One: Craig Jones vs. Roberto Jimenez. Though Jimenez put up a valiant effort, Ryan cut the 30-minute match short with a devastating submission.
Ryan sat guard immediately and worked his way into a leg entanglement, but rather than latching onto a leg lock, he used it to reverse the position and get on top of Jimenez. Jimenez did an impressive job of maintaining his frames to keep Ryan from passing, locking up half-guard as Ryan went low to pass, ultimately freeing his leg and moving to side control. Ryan then transitioned to mount and stayed low atop Jimenez, who searched for opportunities to try to buck his opponent off.
Ryan transitioned to s-mount and then worked for an armbar, and for a moment it looked like the match would end right there. Somehow, though, Jimenez managed to escape, resulting in Ryan playing guard while Jimenez tried to pass. Jimenez stepped into his opponent’s guard and dove to try to take the back, and Ryan used the opportunity to get on top. He initially got past Jimenez’s guard, but then Jimenez did some impressive work to get his guard back and retain it briefly before Ryan was again able to transition to mount.
Ryan again moved to s-mount, and this time when he extended the arm, Jimenez’s best attempts to stay safe weren’t enough, and he was forced to tap after trying to roll out of it.
Gordon Ryan was declared the winner by submission with just over nineteen minutes left out of a possible thirty.
