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Gordon Ryan isn’t competing this week, but he is offering bounties on his former teammates that have matches at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4.
After years gaining notoriety and operating under the Renzo Gracie Academy in New York, the accomplished “Danaher Death Squad” had a pretty rough split in 2021. John Danaher, Gordon Ryan, Gary Tonon and others are now leading a new team called New Wave Jiujitsu, while Craig Jones, Nicky Rodriguez, and Gordon’s younger brother Nicky Ryan branched out to create the “B-Team.”
Jones likes to poke fun and make light hearted jokes at Gordon Ryan’s expense online, but things seem more personal for the latter.
Gordon Ryan offers $500 bounty on his ex-teammates
Some of Gordon Ryan’s former teammates are featured on the stacked UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 event, and he has offered $500 to anyone who can beat Craig Jones and Nicky Rodriguez in the BJJ event.
“I’ve privately invested thousands of dollars into this venture. Bounties are out, and they always stick because this team is so utterly atrocious they can’t win anything ðŸ˜,” Ryan wrote on Instagram.
“Pedro, El Montrso and many others have been sent 500 dollars by myself for beating top D team members. The(y) actually lose so often they’re gonna bankrupt me,” he wrote. “Anyone I who beats nicky fraud and just not good enough Jones in this upcoming event will get 500 cash from me that night.”
Gordon Ryan’s last match was with Nicky Rodriguez at the last UFC Fight Pass Invitational event. Rodriguez actually broke his foot, but the injured Ryan found a way to continue and win the match.
Craig Jones will headline the event against Felipe Peña, which means if Jones does lose, it’s a bit funny that Ryan will have to send money to another BJJ rival he also had serious beef with for much longer.
The Jon Jones and Conor McGregor formula in BJJ
Ryan has been out all year dealing with health issues and drastic physique changes, and this bounty also served an alternate purpose. Apart from taking shots at former teammates he doesn’t like, it’s also a way to get his name out there.
As I noted on my preview of the event, another sign this is a great card is that the biggest star in the sport is trying to insert himself and grab some headlines. Think of it as the BJJ equivalent of Conor McGregor and Jon Jones’ tweet-and-delete sprees from the sidelines, where they try to steal some of the shine from active competitors during big UFC PPVs. (I guess it worked, because I am writing about this now.)
Ryan is also currently in Las Vegas to attend the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 BJJ event, where apart from rooting against his former teammates, he will also help corner a few of his current ones.
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