Gordon Ryan Confident He Can Beat Khabib Nurmagomedov & Khamzat Chimaev

Gordon Ryan, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Khamzat ChimaevBrazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Gordon Ryan believes that he can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev in grappling matches. BJJ great Gordon Ryan is universally considered to be the greatest no-gi grappler on the planet right now having won two IBJJF No-Gi World championships. His claim to win against former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and current […]

Gordon Ryan, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Khamzat Chimaev

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert Gordon Ryan believes that he can beat Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev in grappling matches.

BJJ great Gordon Ryan is universally considered to be the greatest no-gi grappler on the planet right now having won two IBJJF No-Gi World championships. His claim to win against former UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov and current rising prospect Khamzat Chimaev makes sense to him as the two Russians are mixed martial artists whereas he is a specialist in grappling.

Ryan’s training partner Garry Tonon also previously claimed to be capable of submitting Nurmagomedov in a grappling match. Both members train with the legendary BJJ coach John Danaher and base their opinion on reason and sound logic. Ryan has also managed to defeat Tonon in competition back at ADCC 2019

In a post made on Instagram, Gordon Ryan was asked by a fan how he would fare against the rising star of Khamzat Chimaev. Ryan responded to the fan explaining why he feels confident he would get the win.

“Generalist(s) usually won’t beat specialists in their domain. Generalists never beat the absolute best specialists. A submission grappling match wouldn’t be competitive, objectively.”

The Chechen-born Swede has shown impressive wrestling in competition and even managed to defeat Jack Hermansson in a freestyle wrestling match. He recently got promoted to purple belt in BJJ after his thrilling victory over Gilbert Burns at UFC 273.

As more fans chimed in, the subject turned to Khabib Nurmagomedov. Ryan responded to the discussion by using similar logic as before:

“Khabib is a generalist. These are very silly questions lol. No one who specializes in jiu-jitsu can beat me. Why would an MMA fighter be able to?”

Gordan Ryan and the Danaher Death Squad

BJJ came to prominence with the rise of the UFC in mixed martial arts. It was the Gracies who revolutionized the art form and brought it to the eyes of the world when they helped create the promotion. The spectacle of seeing a smaller man win over a bigger man changed how the community thought about fighting.

One name that stands out after the Gracie family is the legendary BJJ coach John Danaher, who Gordon Ryan trains under. In Joe Rogan’s podcast episode with Dan Gable, the commentator backed Ryan to be the “pound for pound greatest of all time”. He explained the pedigree Ryan comes from and ranked Danaher as possibly the best BJJ mind in the world right now.

Ryan is a member of the Danaher Death Squad alongside many supreme BJJ practitioners. He stands out as the best guy in a team of world champions under Danaher. Their approach to objectively assessing a potential fight in terms of generalized and specialized skills sounds reasonable. However, we can only speculate how these dream fights would turn out.

Do you think Gordan Ryan will win a grappling match against Khabib Nurmagomedov and Khamzat Chimaev?

John Danaher Announces The Split Of His Death Squad

John DanaherJohn Danaher has announced the Danaher Death Squad is no more. The BJJ team that consisted of Gordon Ryan, Nicky Ryan, Garry Tonon, Craig Jones, and many more will no longer be working or training together. “End of an era: It is with great sadness that I have to announce the break up of the squad as […]

John Danaher

John Danaher has announced the Danaher Death Squad is no more.

The BJJ team that consisted of Gordon Ryan, Nicky Ryan, Garry Tonon, Craig Jones, and many more will no longer be working or training together.

“End of an era: It is with great sadness that I have to announce the break up of the squad as a unified training and competition team,” Danaher wrote on social media. “A combination of factors revolving around disagreements in physical location of a future school, personality conflicts, conflicting values and an inevitable tension between the team brand and the growing individual brands of members were the main factors. I am immensely proud of the tremendous effect the squad had upon the development and direction of our beloved sport over the years. I am extremely confident that all the various team members have risen in competitive ability, teaching skill and independent creativity that they will be highly successful wherever they choose to go – whatever happens their legacy is assured and their future very bright indeed. As for the future, it is still uncertain. Most of us still get along very well. I expect some will still train together and we will work together in future projects in accordance with our team philosophy, but no longer as a single unified room. I believe the split will have the positive effect of creating a larger footprint for the team as they spread out and develop a wider influence. I always believed that the technical development of the team was best created by a tight, unified room, but at the end of the day human happiness outweighs medals and martial skill and it has become clear that some individual members would be happier in different locations. I would like to thank all the members of the squad for the tremendous effort and myriad sacrifices they made to build a team and legacy that will be remembered, in particular, Garry Tonon, Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, Eddie Cummings, Nicky Ryan and Nick Rodriguez. I would also like to thank the many students who formed the room in which the squad developed and honed their skills; and thank you so much to all our faithful followers for your interest and support over the years – I hope and trust we can keep the project of refining our art going despite the changes – Thank you.”

What’s next for John Danaher and former Death Squad members?

Following Amicable Split From Trainer Jon Chaimberg Prior to Koscheck Bout, GSP Parts Ways With Manager Shari Spencer

("I don’t care if it tastes good. I distinctly told you Blueberry Freeze. Danaher told me Rasberry Rush will make me go bald." Photo credit Brian D’Souza.)
UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre today made the second major change to his …


("I don’t care if it tastes good. I distinctly told you Blueberry Freeze. Danaher told me Rasberry Rush will make me go bald." Photo credit Brian D’Souza.)

UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre today made the second major change to his professional entourage in the past few months.

After amicably splitting from longtime strength and conditioning coach Jonathan Chaimberg prior to his UFC 124 bout with Josh Koscheck in December, St-Pierre announced today that he is moving on from his relationship with manager Shari Spencer and will be announcing new representation soon.

In a joint press release issued today by the French Canadian fighter and his now former manager, the pair explained that they "had a different vision for the future of Georges’ career and it was best to remain close personally but dissolve their business relationship." Spencer, who also manages UFC lightweight champ Frankie Edgar has represented St-Pierre since 2007.

Sources tell Cage Potato that St-Pierre’s split with Chaimberg, although an amicable one, was allegedly due to similar differences of opinion the two shared regarding the unorganized direction St-Pierre’s training was taking.

read more