"Khabib missed weight how many times?” - Gordon Ryan slams critics of his PED use in grappling; claims he’ll be remembered for one thing
Gordon Ryan has been in the combat sports news over the past few weeks despite not competing at all since August. The 29-year-old phenom was thrust into the limelight by fellow submission grappler Mikey Musumeci, who highlighted the large number of athletes using steroids in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).
Performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), are largely legal in submission grappling, with only the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation employing testing in their competitions for athletes who place on the podium.
Following Musumeci's acquisition by UFC Fight Pass, who host grappling events, 'Darth Rigatoni' made it clear he wanted to eradicate PEDs from BJJ with the UFC's help, much to Ryan's frustration.
'The King' has now taken to addressing the discussion surrounding steroids in the sport and uploaded the following to his YouTube channel on Dec. 17:
"Let's talk about steroids and PEDs and how bad everything is and how it's cheating... Why I started taking steroids, which I've been open about for years. Number one, because they were legal in jiu-jitsu. Especially backi in 2016 when I started, there was no organization in jiu-jitsu that even tested for PEDs. So they were clearly legal."
He continued:
"Number two, people don't remember anything other than the fact that you won or lost. No one talked about the fact that Khabib [Nurmagomedov] missed weight how many times? Six, seven, eight times. They talk about the fact that Khabib's undefeated. The only thing that people care about is whether you won or you lost."
Check out Gordon Ryan's comments below (0:20):
Gordon Ryan needs a reason to compete at ADCC 2026
Gordon Ryan is the most accomplished grappler in the history of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships - the world's most prestigious submission grappling competition.
'The King' competed at the 2024 edition, held in August, and secured two gold medals.
However, with the next edition roughly 18 months away, Ryan has remained coy about his potential participation. During a recent appearance in front of the media, while attending UFC 310 on Dec. 7, he said this:
"Mo [Jassim] stepped down from ADCC, so someone is gonna take [over] ADCC. I wasn't going to do this ADCC this last time [in 2024]. But I felt like I owed it to Mo... But [2026], we'll see. We'll see how it plays out. Number one, the main thing is just my health. Getting my stomach to a point where I can actually grapple well. Number two. we'll see what ADCC becomes in 2026... I really have no reason to do it unless I'm healthy."
Check out Gordon Ryan's comments below (8:05):