Gordon Ryan mocks Craig Jones as Jay Rodriguez becomes latest exit from B-Team
Gordon Ryan has taken delight in the drama unfolding in the B-Team Jiu Jitsu gym, founded by Ryan's arch-rival, Craig Jones. 'The King' used to share the training room with Jones, as the pair were part of an elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) team called the Danaher Death Squad (DDS), headed by coach John Danaher.
The DDS split in 2021, with Ryan and Danaher remaining together while Jones founded his own gym, the B-Team, alongside several other DDS members such as Nicky Ryan and Nicky Rodriguez. Recently, the B-Team has been in the headlines after Jay Rodriguez, the younger brother of Nicky, was banned from the team due to "unhealthy" interactions with female training partners.
Jones shared the post on Instagram, writing:
"Jay Rod is no longer part of B Team. He has stated his reasons for his removal. B Team is a safe training place for all and we have a zero tolerance policy for anyone breaching the trust."
With several other BJJ athletes who were a part of the original B-Team having left, including Izaak Michell, Ryan recently poked fun at the current state of Jones' home-gym.
He posted the story on Instagram, saying:
"So let's see. Guys who left New Wabe [Ryan's gym] for [B-Team]: [Jay] Rod, Ethan [Crelinsten], Fraud [Nicky Rodriguez], Izaak [Michell], Nick Ortiz, [Nicky] Ryan, Craig [Jones], Damien [Anderson]."
He continued:
"Guys still training there: [Nicky] Ryan, [Nicky] Rodriguez, Ethan, Damien. Everyone left on bad terms except the guy who travels around doing drugs and isn't there anyway. It's like a BJJ "survivors" episode! Let's see who makes it to the end!"
Check out Gordon Ryan's post below:
Gordon Ryan shares sneak peek inside his new gym, Kingsway Jiu Jitsu
Gordon Ryan is widely considered the best no-gi BJJ athlete of all time. He holds an unbeaten streak that extends to 2018, and is the co-record holder for the most Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championship titles (6), alongside Andre Galvao.
Since the DDS split, Ryan has trained at New Wave Jiu Jitsu in Texas, USA, with his longtime mentor and coach John Danaher. But Jones has now opened up a BJJ school of his own, known as Kingsway Jiu Jitsu, and it isn't clear whether he will continue to train at New Wave Jiu Jitsu going forward.
With Ryan having stated for several years that his time in competition will be coming to an end soon, him opening a BJJ school appears to indicate that he is closer than ever to retiring from the sport. He recently took to Instagram to post a sneak peek on his BJJ school.
Check out Gordon Ryan's post below: