Well, this wasn’t on the 2023 combat sports bingo card.
This past week, it was announced that UFC and the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) will not continue their relationship after Jan. 2024 (read all about it HERE).
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) superstar and steroid defender Gordon Ryan celebrated the news that USADA is no longer a UFC partner.
“If the UFC ‘regresses’ back to the old days, this is amazing news,” Ryan wrote on social media. “The reason people watch professional sports is almost exclusively for entertainment value.” (read the rest of his comments HERE).
Former UFC Heavyweight and despiser of steroids, Mark Hunt, took to Instagram in a now-deleted post to bash Gordon’s comments and challenge the BJJ legend to a fight.
“What does this idiot know about fighting,” Hunt wrote. “[Gordon Ryan] maybe have at least one proper before you talking d—khead. Maybe I should get on the sauce and stomp your face [and] see how you like it.”
The very outspoken grappler did not take too long to respond to the UFC and Pride legend.
“If you read the post, you’d either see the validity in the arguments or offer up a decent rebuttal that was factually based. You did nothing but blabber out of your fat, miserable mouth,” Gordon wrote. “We can fight any time you’d like. You may very well knock me out before I get a hold of a legs, but then again, you also may not. And I’m very willing to take my chances. Miserable f—k.”
Gordon also wrote on his Instagram Story, “Fear no one- ever. I’d bet heavily on me [by the way].”
From a matchup perspective, it is literally a classic striker vs. grappler fight from UFC 1 in 1993. Will the fight ever take place? No, but it’s fun to think about.
Hunt, 49, has not fought in mixed martial arts (MMA) since 2018, when he lost a unanimous decision to Justin Willis at UFC Fight Night: dos Santos vs. Tuivasa. He had two boxing matches after his UFC run ended, losing by a decision in one and winning by knockout in his most recent match (Nov 2022).
On the other hand, Gordon defended his WNO Heavyweight title earlier this month (watch highlights). He also made a surprise appearance during the Logan Paul vs. Dillon Danis press conference.
For the latest and greatest Brazilian jiu-jitsu news and notes click here.