WNO roundup, Gordon Ryan, controversy and the aftermath

Gordon Ryan is no stranger to controversy and his match at last nights Whose Number One went without any chaos. However, it was the aftermath that got people talking. In a backstage exchange, he and Andre Galvao got into a verbal confrontation, which resulted in Ryan slapping Galvao.

Obviously, this is not a good look for the sport but at the same time, it is sadly nothing new. Earlier in the year a brawl at F2W Miami took place, whilst last year saw Erberth Santos charge at Felipe Pena and 2019 had Ralph Gracie punch Flavio Almeida too.

However, let’s focus on the positives of the event.

Firstly, as predicted Gordon Ryan defeated Roberto Jimenez by submission. What’s even more crazy is that he actually predicted his exact submission just hours beforehand. Ryan managed a mounted armbar on Jimenez and claim victory. Elsewhere, his team mate Craig Jones also scored an impressive heel hook on Ronaldo Junior.

Away from the controversy, the biggest upset of the night was witnessed when Nathiely de Jesus managed to beat Gabi Garcia. This was not expected as Garcia was the favorite. Throughout her history as a black belt, Garcia has rarely ever lost and is usually far bigger and stronger than her opponents. For those betting on the event, this may have lost people a lot of money.

So, what is next for Gordon Ryan? Well, Flograppling quickly announced that he would be fighting Vagner Rocha at the next WNO event. This will be an exciting affair as Rocha is known for his wild and relentless style. Nonetheless, it is a shame that Gordon Ryan has to fight lighter opponents due to his lack of competition or willing opponents at his level.

On another positive note, there seemed to be a lot of attention on the event beforehand. It was definitely one of BJJ’s biggest events in recent times and overall the matches were exciting and well-thought out. A few months back, John Danaher spoke about the commercial rise in BJJ and its potential to become more mainstream in the future. This seemed to be the case last night as it had a lot of hype surrounding the build up.

Following on from Danaher’s beliefs, hopefully he’s correct that one day, BJJ super fight events will be viewed by more people than ever that will help grow the sport. You would have to agree that on the mats at least, last nights WNO did well to showcase the very best of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.