What did jiu-jitsu extraordinaire Gordon Ryan say about transitioning to MMA?

Gordon Ryan has been reigning supreme in the world of jiu-jitsu for a few years now. The multi-time ADCC world champion is currently gearing up for his upcoming grappling match against Vinny Magalhaes at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 3.

During a recent interaction with the media at UFC 282, 'The King' explained that he'll only consider a switch to MMA when one of his teammates dominates the ADCCs as he does.

The 27-year-old added that a transition to MMA is highly unlikely since his coach John Danaher wants him to strictly stick with grappling:

"Yeah, maybe if one of my teammates actually wins an ADCC absolute and I can just kind of like, give it to them. But to be honest... our coach John [Danaher] has never been wrong on much and he seems to think that I should stick with grappling, so it's hard to argue with John, man... For right now, I'm going to stick with grappling and then maybe if one of our guys wins the absolute and starts dominating people like I do, then I'll make the jump [to MMA]. "

Watch Gordon Ryan detail his MMA plans below:

As per Gordon Ryan's profile on BJJ Heroes, the American holds an extraordinary grappling record of 97 wins against just five losses. The 27-year-old is widely considered to be one of the best grapplers of all time.

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When John Danaher explained why he thinks Gordon Ryan should not transition to MMA

During a media session with former multi-promotional MMA champion Ben Askren in 2020, jiu-jitsu coach John Danaher stated that he wanted Gordon Ryan to stick with grappling because the sport needs its superstars to reach new heights.

Danaher opined that if Ryan were to switch to MMA, it would negatively affect the increasing popularity of jiu-jitsu:

"I'm doing my best to talk Gordon Ryan out of doing MMA... My belief [is] that grappling is in a pivotal point in its history. There is a chance that submission grappling could expand to a remarkable degree over the next 10 years... In order for that to happen the sport needs superstars, it's individuals who start revolutions... If Gordon went to MMA, I feel that could be lost."

Watch John Danaher explain why he doesn't want Ryan to do MMA below:

Danaher added that his dream was to create a situation where young grapplers would be able to earn sizable paydays from grappling rather than needing to transition to MMA.