Gordon Ryan announces he will retire from BJJ in 2020 | UFC Betting Sites

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Reigning ADCC champ-champ Gordon Ryan has announced he is stepping away from grappling.

It looks like the self-proclaimed king of grappling is about to hang up his crown.

After an amazing 2019, which saw him win double gold at ADCC and win super fights at SUG and Quintet, Gordon Ryan has taken to Instagram to announce that he is stepping away from grappling to enjoy his life:

View this post on Instagram

Thank you and farewell. Its been years since i did anything besides training. I haven’t taken a vacation in 5 years. On this trip i realized that there’s more to life than being stuck in a blue basement every day killing myself. i have proven im the best over and over again and now its time for a change. Its time to start the next chapter of my life. i have some matches scheduled early in 2020 which ive committed to and will compete in but consider 2019 the last year of my competitive life span. I dont need anything else in life. All i want and need now is to explore the world with the ones i love and help my team mates achieve twice as much as i have as well as help people around the world through instructional videos. i know it will pain a lot of you to see me go but this is something im sure about. i hope all the fans understand and have enjoyed the rise thus far. its not over. I couldnt have asked for a better career. love you all ??. @jeffreyschu. @heysonnyy

A post shared by Gordon King Ryan (@gordonlovesjiujitsu) on Dec 26, 2019 at 3:32pm PST

Ryan has won all there is to win in no-gi grappling. In 2018, he won the World Championship in his weight class and the absolute division and in 2019 he did the same at ADCC. Ryan is also a multiple time EBI champion. At present, Ryan is rumored to face Kyle Boehm and Felipe Pena in early 2020. Pena defeated him twice previously so it is unlikely Ryan will retire without earning his revenge.

While Ryan has mentioned that he wants to take time off competing in his instagram post, his coach and mentor Garry Tonon has stated that Ryan will likely make his MMA debut in 2020.

Gordon Ryan is the most successful grappler of recent times on the mats, but also off it and he could feasibly retire and live off the proceeds of his DVDs and seminars. Ryan has reportedly made upwards of $50,000 per month on DVD sales this year and it is rumored that Ryan charges around $10,000 for a seminar.

I personally would be shocked if Ryan doesn’t appear at ADCC 2021 in a match against Andre Galvao, but if not, let’s congratulate the king on his reign and let him move on to the next chapter of his life.