"Kind of a boring wrestling match" - Gordon Ryan gives honest opinion on Craig Jones' performance at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4
The UFC Fight Pass Invitational grappling event went down at the Las Vegas APEX last night. A number of top grapplers were in attendance, including Gordon Ryan.
In the event’s headliner, Australia’s Craig Jones, who is widely considered one of the world’s top grapplers, defeated Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Felipe Pena in overtime.
Jones was awarded the win over the former Abu Dhabi absolute champion via escape time, with neither man being able to fully assert themselves.
Craig Jones with the W!!
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One observer who seemingly wasn’t impressed by Jones’ performance, though, was his former teammate-turned rival Gordon Ryan. The two men trained together under the Danaher Death Squad before a nasty split that saw Jones depart to form the B-Team Jiu-Jitsu camp.
When asked about Jones’ bout with Pena, then, it wasn’t a surprise that Ryan was scathing in his assessment. He stated the following at the event’s post-fight press conference:
“It was really surprising that both guys are guard players but neither guy wanted to play guard. I think that Felipe had a pretty good strategy coming out and trying to pull on the head and get Craig tired because Craig notoriously has a pretty terrible gas tank, but the round was only 12 minutes as Craig purposely negotiated a shorter time, so it’s kind of hard to completely exhaust a guy in 12 minutes if your wrestling and hand-fighting isn’t high-level. Craig is very experienced in EBI rules so not really much happened in regulation, Craig picked up a few singles and not much happened, neither guy could play bottom position so it’s kind of just a boring wrestling match and then a tightly-contested overtime match which Craig edged on ride time...”
Watch Gordon Ryan discuss the bout below.
The two rivals have already engaged in a war of words online previously, with Jones accusing Ryan of PED use and Ryan responding with a collage showing him defeating the Australian in grappling action.
Elsewhere at Fight Pass Invitational 4, former UFC light-heavyweight champ Glover Teixeira defeated former MMA opponent Anthony Smith in their grappling match, claiming a decision.
Just a man with Lionheart's number. Simple as that.
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Gordon Ryan UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4: What happened to the grappling ace’s physique?
World-renowned grappler Gordon Ryan is widely considered one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners on the planet right now, with five ADCC championships to his name.
‘King’ was also easily recognizable for his massive, shredded physique, which has caused a number of people to accuse him of anabolic steroid use, something he has largely denied.
Recently, though, Ryan stunned fans after revealing a dramatic change in his physique, one that he put down to a 40-day course of antibiotics following an infection of strep throat.
Remarkably, though, just a few weeks after this, Ryan posted a photo on his Instagram suggesting he’s getting back to his old self.