Who Is Gordon Ryan The Career of BJJ’s Most Dominant Grappler

Gordon Ryan is the closest thing modern Brazilian jiu jitsu has to a household name. From his emergence as a teenager training under John Danaher at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York, to his three Superfight wins at ADCC, to his retirement announcement in February 2026 after a decade at black belt, Ryan defined an era of competitive grappling. This is the full story.

Who Is Gordon Ryan

Gordon Ryan is an American Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, born in 1995 in New Jersey. He came up through the John Danaher coached training group later known as the Danaher Death Squad at the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York City, alongside fellow students like Garry Tonon, Eddie Cummings, and his older brother Nicky Ryan.

His career arc from teenage prospect to multiple ADCC champion to retirement at thirty is one of the most concentrated dominant runs in any individual sport. He retired in February 2026 having spent ten years at black belt, owing largely to a chronic stomach condition that had limited his ability to train and compete.

The Danaher Death Squad Years

Ryan moved to New York to train full time under John Danaher in his late teens. The Death Squad system that Danaher developed over the next several years revolutionised modern no gi grappling, particularly in the leg lock game.

Ryan applied the system at scale. By his early twenties he was winning ADCC trials and breaking into world class competition. The DDS as a unit dominated the EBI and sub only event circuit through the late 2010s.

The ADCC Run

Ryan’s ADCC career is the heart of his legacy. He won gold in his weight class at ADCC 2017, then absolute and weight class gold at ADCC 2019, and Superfight gold against Andre Galvao at ADCC 2022. He defended the Superfight title at ADCC 2024 with dual Superfight wins over Felipe Pena (2-0 on points) and Yuri Simoes (21-0 on points), making it three consecutive Superfight wins.

The Galvao Superfight in 2022 was particularly important. Galvao was the previous Superfight champion and had been the dominant face of ADCC for the prior decade. Ryan beat him decisively, marking a generational handover.

The Move to B-Team

In 2021 the Danaher Death Squad split. Ryan, his brother Nicky, Craig Jones, Nicky Rodriguez, Ethan Crelinsten, Oliver Taza and others moved to Austin, Texas, to form what became known as B-Team Jiu Jitsu. John Danaher continued coaching the group from a distance and eventually rejoined them in person.

The split is one of the most discussed splits in BJJ history. The reasons given by the team focused on lifestyle and team culture in New York versus Austin. The competition results continued at the new gym.

Ryan’s Style and Game

Ryan’s grappling identity is built around three core elements:

• The over-under guard pass and body lock · He passes more methodically and persistently than almost any modern competitor
• The back take from any angle · Once he has half guard or top position, he hunts the back relentlessly
• The rear naked choke from back control · His finishing rate from the back is among the best in the sport’s history

He is also one of the most articulate grappling teachers of his generation. His instructional sales and breakdowns of his own matches have shaped how thousands of black belts think about pressure passing and back attacks.

The Health Issues and Retirement

Ryan has been open about chronic stomach issues that affected his training and competition for years. The condition involves digestive problems that limited his weight gain, recovery, and consistency. He competed through ADCC 2024 with significant health and injury issues, including tearing his LCL in the first ten minutes of the Felipe Pena Superfight.

In February 2026 he announced his retirement from competition via Instagram, marking the milestone alongside his ten year anniversary at black belt. He left the door open for a return if his health improved but framed the announcement as essentially final.

Legacy

Ryan’s place in BJJ history is among the very top tier of all time submission grapplers, alongside Marcelo Garcia, Roger Gracie, and a small handful of others. His three Superfight wins, his weight class and absolute golds, and his decade of dominance at the highest level make him the defining grappler of the late 2010s and early 2020s.

Beyond competition, his role in popularising no gi grappling, the leg lock game, and the modern BJJ instructional industry has been transformative. There is a generation of grapplers who learned the sport through Gordon Ryan’s videos.

What’s Next for Gordon Ryan

In retirement Ryan continues to coach at B-Team in Austin, produce instructional content, and remain active in the BJJ media ecosystem. Whether he ever returns to competition depends on his health.

Either way, the King of Modern BJJ has stepped off the mat at the very top.