World champion grappler, Gordon Ryan, has argued in favor of PEDs in combat sports in a controversial rant in response to fellow grappler, Mikey Musumeci.
Ahead of Jon Jones‘ UFC return this past November, he formed an Avenger-like star-studded team, including the consensus greatest no-gi grappler of all time, Gordon Ryan.
Earlier this year, Ryan competed at ADCC, winning both of his bouts and once again being crowned ADCC champion.
Gordon Ryan advocates for PED use in combat sports
The 29-year-old has always been open about the fact that he takes steroids which has always caused a lot of controversy in the world of martial arts.
One athlete who has openly talked about Ryan’s steroid usage is new UFC-exclusive grappler, Mikey Musumeci. The 28-year-old recently blamed Ryan for the sport’s acceptance of performance-enhancing drugs which has led to a PED-infused rant from the ADCC champion.
Ryan attended UFC 310 this past Saturday and participated in a media scrum despite not being signed with the promotion.
“I’m pretty indifferent as to PEDs one way or the other. If a tournament wants to have them, great. If they don’t wanna have them, great,” Ryan began to explain.
“Now I think, obviously, the matches will be better (with them). I think the athletes will be better athletes. The athletes will definitely be able to get paid more because the better you perform, the better you look.
“The reason people watch professional sports is to see the absolute best athletes in the world do what they do. And when you take performance enhancers, it makes you a better athlete,” Ryan continued.
Of course in MMA, PEDs are illegal and Ryan’s teammate, ‘Bones’, knows all too well about that considering his failed tests in 2016 and 2017.
“I just think across the board, if people wanna see the best athletes, the best athletes are the people on PEDs,” he continued.
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Ryan argues that PEDs help extend an athlete’s career
The 29-year-old also believes that the unfair part about the current rules around PEDs in combat sports is that athletes at the top of their sport can ‘beat the tests’, whereas up-and-comers can’t afford to beat the test, making it an unfair balance.
“All that PED testing really does, in my opinion, is it makes it so that the people with good teams and doctors can afford to beat the tests, and then the guys who are up-and-coming, who are at some obscure gym in Kentucky who were trying to work their way up, those guys can’t afford to beat the test, and they have to compete natural.
“So all you are doing is making it so the guys on top can still afford to beat the test, and the guys on bottom can’t afford to beat the test. So then you have natural guys competing against juice guys,” he continued.
Another thing Ryan has claimed you benefit from taking PEDs is adding to the longevity of your career, which is relatively contradictory considering his history of injuries.
The 29-year-old is currently out with several injuries to his knee, and he also suffers from ongoing, well-documented stomach issues, which have forced him to take another break, through to 2025.
“I’m just trying to rehab my knee right now because I had an ACL and PCL sprain. And then a grade 2 LCL tear in the first (ADCC superfight) match with Pena,” he finished.
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