Gordon Ryan is coming to ONE Championship.
ONE Championship made a surprise announcement in March that they would be adding the BJJ superstar to their already star-studded roster. While Ryan is interested in crossing over to MMA, he will first fight under grappling rules, the world in which he rules.
Almost 2 months after the signing, we finally have a date and an opponent in line for Ryan to fight in his promotional debut.
Chatri Sityodtong, the CEO of ONE Championship, would take to social media to announce the breaking news.
BREAKING NEWS: Gordon Ryan will make his debut in ONE Championship against Shinya Aoki in an openweight grappling super match on August 27!
Ryan would be facing no other than former ONE Lightweight Champion, Shinya Aoki in his entrance into the organization.
Aoki, is coming off a massive milestone in his MMA career. He achieved his 30th submission win, getting an armbar over Eduard Foloyang at ONE on TNT IV. Just weeks separated from the massive victory, Aoki has locked in s contract to face one of the best grapplers, if not the best grappler on planet Earth.
Aoki is currently experiencing a career resurgence winning his last four fights with himself on the verge of another title shot against divisional kingpin, Christian Lee.
Ryan has been linked to compete in MMA under the ONE banner as well, but will be at a later time.
“There’s a ton of time for me to compete in MMA,” Gordon Ryan said to MMA Fighting. “I know that once I go to MMA, it will be something I focus 100 percent on. If I ever do transition, I’ll do grappling matches here and there, but I feel like if I do something, I do it 100 percent. If I can’t focus 100 percent on grappling, then I’ll probably stick to preparing for MMA fights.
“Grappling is just not something I’m ready to leave at this moment. Maybe I will in the future, but I love grappling. You can have a much longer career in grappling and it’s much more enjoyable to train for day-to-day. I love where this sport is going and the innovations our team is making. Every day it’s something new with John. It’s not doing the same old stuff for the last two, three years. We’re working on something new every single day. It’s still exciting, it’s still fun for me. I love it and I’m not stepping away from it right now but maybe in the future.”
