One of the jiu-jitsu world’s most anticipated match ups fell apart right before the end of 2023.
As arguably the greatest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) player on the planet, Gordon Ryan, has become must-watch television whenever he’s in action. The 28-year-old was supposed to return as recently as UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 on Dec. 10, 2023. Unfortunately, Ryan suffered a rib injury that removed him from his dream bout with Mason Fowler.
Ryan vs. Fowler has been a pairing that’s been in the works for the better part of two years, dating back to each’s time in Chael Sonnen’s Submission Underground (SUG). Fowler notoriously rose to prominence in the promotion with his upset victories over fellow top-global grappler, Craig Jones. SUG events ceased at the end of 2021 and are still in limbo after its longtime matchmaker, Heather Standing, passed away in 2023. Hopes for the promotion’s future (and Ryan vs. Fowler) still have full support, however.
“The driving force of that was a wonderful young lady named Heather Standing,” Sonnen told MMA Mania at the 2023 World MMA Awards in Las Vegas. “Heather passed away. Heather had a dream, and her biggest dream was she wanted to get Gordon Ryan and Mason Fowler together. So, we had to call Dana White, say, ‘Hey, we have to get this done.’ We were about to do it, we gotta get it done.
“Dana actually booked the match out of respect to Heather, and then Gordon ended up getting [injured] and that match didn’t happen. That was supposed to be last weekend,” he concluded. “A very big deal, a bit of an open wound. I miss Submission Underground, but it will be back.”
SUG enjoyed a 29-event run from July 2016 to December 2021 before its current hiatus with all events taking place in Portland, Oregon. The promotion was known for its strong integration of top mixed martial arts (MMA) fighters. The very last match, for example, saw the now-UFC Middleweight champion, Sean Strickland, submitted via a flying rear-naked choke by Andy Varela.
Before SUG returns, Sonnen mentioned that things are still being sorted out between distributors and that keeping things local in the Portland area is likely.