In an edition of Beyond the Fight, Chael Sonnen alluded that certain sections of the combat sports community have been calling for Gordon Ryan to try his hand at MMA. The former UFC fighter suggested that although there’s a certain appeal to an elite BJJ athlete crossing over to MMA, Ryan’s case is slightly different.
‘The Bad Guy’ insinuated that Gordon Ryan is helping take the sport of BJJ to the next level, popularizing it among the masses and successfully monetizing his brand as a BJJ specialist combat athlete. Sonnen indicated that Ryan would be better off staying in BJJ than moving to MMA.
Similarly, he feels the jiu-jitsu community would greatly benefit if Ryan continues helping the sport ascend to greater heights of popularity. Sonnen believes that the BJJ community should incentivize Ryan by consistently offering him lucrative paydays to keep him in the sport:
Watch Sonnen discuss the topic at 3:40 in the video below:
Joe Rogan heaps praise on Gordon Ryan’s mental warfare
While Gordon Ryan signed with ONE Championship last year, the consensus is that he’s still got a long way to go before he can reach the pinnacle of MMA as he did in BJJ. Whether or not he chooses to make his long-awaited transition to MMA remains to be seen.
That said, UFC commentator Joe Rogan is all praise for Gordon Ryan. In a recent Joe Rogan Experience podcast episode, he lauded Ryan’s psychological warfare in BJJ. Moreover, emphasizing that facing Ryan amplifies the general fear that any world-class athlete experiences while competing at the elite level, Rogan said:
Watch Rogan discuss Ryan below:
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