Gordon Ryan

Gordon Ryan is a New Jersey (USA) born grappler and member of the well-known group – Danaher Death Squad (DDS), known particularly in jiu-jitsu‘s no-gi and submission only circuit where he beat big names of the sport such as Alexandre Ribeiro, Romulo Barral and Gabriel Arges. A submission orientated competitor and one of the leading jiu-jitsu figures of his generation, Gordon cemented his name as one of the top brown belts on the planet in 2015 by winning the Newaza Challenge and No-Gi World Championship, which led to his black belt promotion under Garry Tonon – this way becoming Tonon’s first ever student to achieve the rank, a belt responsibility shared with another one of Gordon’s coaches, John Danaher.

Lineage 1: Carlos Gracie Sr. > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr. > Renzo Gracie > Ricardo Almeida > Tom deBlass > Garry Tonon > Gordon Ryan

Lineage 2: Carlos Gracie Sr. > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr. > Renzo Gracie > John Danaher > Gordon Ryan

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place ADCC World Championship (2017 / 2019**)
• 1st Place IBJJF World No-Gi Championship (2018**)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pans No-Gi Championship (2018**)
• 1st Place Quintet 3 (2018*)
• 1st Place EBI 6 (2016*)
• 1st Place EBI 8 (2016)
• 1st Place EBI 11 (2017)
• 1st Place EBI 14 (2017*)
• 1st Place Kinektic 1 (2019)
• 1st Place Grappling Industries (2017*/2016*)
• 2nd Place ADCC World Championship (2017*)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF World No-Gi Championship (2015 brown)
• 1st Place Newaza Challenge (2015)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pans No-Gi Championship (2014 purple)

* Absolute
** Weight and absolute

Weight Division: Super-Heavy (100,50 kg / 222.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Renzo Gracie Association/Brunswick BJJ

Gordon Ryan was born on the 8th of July, 1995 in Monroe, New Jersey – United States of America.

Ryan’s introduction to jiu-jitsu was made by Miguel Benitez at the age of 15. His tuition would be taken over shortly after by the legendary Tom deBlass – one of New Jersey’s most prominent grapplers.

Months after taking his first steps in the sport, as a four stripe white belt, Gordon met Gary Tonon. Tonon had just received his brown belt at the time but was already regarded as one of the rising talents in the sport, and deBlass’ most accomplished student to date. The two grapplers became good friends and as Garry started coaching at the Brunswick BJJ academy, Gordon joined his classes, developing his technical abilities also under Tonon’s guidance.

With Garry Tonon’s growing influence in Gordon’s grappling lifestyle, as a purple belt, Ryan started traveling to New York regularly to train with another one of Garry’s mentors – John Danaher. The Renzo Gracie Academy head coach and his methodology were also a big part of Ryan’s success, particularly in the submission-only jiu-jitsu circuit where Ryan’s potential star status was first noticed.

After a stellar 6-month brown belt run, where Ryan won important tournaments such as the Newaza Challenge and the World Championship, Gordon was awarded his black belt by Garry Tonon (February 2016) in a ceremony supported by the presence of Tom deBlass, Ricardo Almeida. and Danaher – who shared the responsibility of the new belt rank.