Gordon Ryan

Gordon F. Ryan III began grappling at the age of 15 under Miguel Benitez. He later trained under Tom DeBlass and Garry Tonon, while also traveling to New York to study with John Danaher at the Renzo Gracie Academy.

Ryan's progress through the colored belts was rapid. He won the 2015 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship as a brown belt and also captured the Newaza Challenge. In 2015, he left his job as a garbage collector to devote himself fully to grappling.

Garry Tonon awarded Ryan his black belt in February 2016, after a six-month brown belt run. The ceremony was supported by Tonon, Tom DeBlass, John Danaher, and Ricardo Almeida, making Ryan Tonon's first student to reach black belt.

Ryan became one of the foundational members of the Danaher Death Squad, the New York training group led by John Danaher. The team emphasized systematic study of leg locks, back attacks, pressure passing, and submission-only competition. Ryan's younger brother, Nicky Ryan, was also part of the wider grappling group before the team later divided.

In 2016 and 2017, Gordon Ryan won four Eddie Bravo Invitational titles. His victories included submissions of Yuri Simões, Rustam Chsiev, Keenan Cornelius, and Craig Jones, helping establish him as one of the leading submission-only competitors in the sport.

Ryan made his ADCC World Championship debut in 2017. He won the -88 kg division after defeating Dillon Danis, Romulo Barral, Alexandre Ribeiro, and Keenan Cornelius, then won silver in the absolute division after reaching the final against Felipe Pena.

Ryan won both the -99 kg division and the absolute division at the 2019 ADCC World Championship. His run included victories over Ben Hodgkinson, Tim Spriggs, Lucas Barbosa, Vinicius Ferreira, Pedro Marinho, Garry Tonon, Lachlan Giles, and Marcus Almeida. He competed at the event after recovering from a serious knee injury sustained earlier that year.

At the 2022 ADCC World Championship, Ryan became the first competitor to win the +99 kg division and the open-weight superfight title at the same event. He submitted André Galvão by rear naked choke in the superfight and also recorded the fastest submission in ADCC history at that tournament, finishing Roosevelt Sousa with an outside heel hook in 11 seconds.

Ryan returned to the ADCC superfight format in 2024, defeating Felipe Pena 2-0 on points and Yuri Simões 21-0 on points. He also won the 2023 Who's Number One heavyweight title defense against Patrick Gaudio by armbar and defeated Josh Saunders by submission at WNO 24 in 2024.

When the Danaher Death Squad split in 2021, Ryan remained with John Danaher and Garry Tonon. They went on to establish New Wave Jiu-Jitsu in Austin, Texas, giving Ryan a central role in the development of a new academy and training system.

Ryan's work at New Wave expanded his role beyond competition. His technical approach emphasizes pressure passing, interconnected guard systems, leg-lock entries, heel-hook mechanics, and a concept he calls "inside camping," which uses body weight and positional control to limit an opponent's movement.

He has also produced an extensive library of Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructionals and published the autobiography Top Game: Domination in the World of Jiu-Jitsu. IMDb credits him as a producer associated with Gear Heads Gone Wild, Countdown to UFC, and UFC 282: Blachowicz vs. Ankalaev.

Ryan's competitive career has been affected by a chronic gastrointestinal condition. He was diagnosed with gastroparesis in 2019, but later accounts described Helicobacter pylori infection, fungal growth in the small intestine, and bacterial imbalance as contributing factors. The condition led him to announce a temporary retirement from competition in 2021.

Health problems continued to interrupt his schedule. He withdrew from planned matches because of stomach issues in 2023, and he also underwent a tonsillectomy after a severe case of strep throat. He returned to competition later that year against Patrick Gaudio.

In 2026, Ryan announced a retirement from competition while leaving open the possibility of returning if his health improved. His public comments connected the decision to an inability to train at full intensity without triggering severe gastrointestinal symptoms.