- Gordon Ryan beat Pedro Marinho via rear-naked choke in their heavyweight match at WNO Finale
- “King” is positive about a strong comeback this year
Gordon Ryan successfully defeated Pedro Marinho at the “Tezos WNO: Who’s Next Finale” last Thursday. It took the three-time ADCC world champion almost 26 minutes to submit his opponent and admitted that he was trying to pull off a smother tap the entire fight.
Left with no choice
Speaking after his victory, Ryan explained why the fight took longer than it was supposed to. Admittedly, the 27-year-old said that he “couldn’t smother tap” Marinho and since the crowd was already “complaining,” he was prompted to switch up and went for the rear-naked choke instead.
“I tried to smother tap him for like the first 25 minutes,” Ryan said after the match. “But he figured out he could put his arm in my armpit and alleviate the pressure and force me to double under hook. Props to him. I couldn’t smother tap him. You guys were complaining so I said okay, I’ll finish him with something else.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTkY3RmvoLg&t=934s
The King is back!
Last year, Ryan was diagnosed with Gastroparesis, a rare stomach condition that almost put an end to his stellar grappling career, having affected his training and performances for a long time. However, none of that seems to matter now as “King” is looking set for a strong comeback this year.
“I feel good, I’m just happy to be back,” he said. “It’s been a long road. I’m still not 100 percent, I’m still only 60-70 percent with my stomach. But I’m able to function as a human being now from day-to-day. I’m just happy I can go out there and manage my stomach enough and compete against the best guys in the world.”
Prior to this win, Ryan kicked off 2022 with a sensational victory over Jacob Couch in March. Let’s see if he can prolong his impressive streak.
