Gordon Ryan’s having a spectacular phase. A black-belt under Garry Tonon and John Danaher, 21-year-old Gordon Ryan has been getting attention for his perfomances in no-gi matches. After winning the absolute title at the Eddie Bravo Invitational last April, this time Ryan conquered the organization’s middleweight belt. Last Sunday the 11th at the Orpheum Theatre, in Los Angeles, Ryan finished four opponents to win another title at EBI 8.
Right off the bat he finished Matt Arroyo via heel hook. Then Mike Hillebrands tapped out to an RNC. In a semifinal, Ryan went into overtime versus Josh Hayden. He then sank an RNC to win a spot in the final.
On the other bracket, Kyle Griffin beat Quentin Rosenzweig via heel hook. In a quarterfinal he again used the heel hook, on Eduardo Telles. He then beat Felipe Gogolin in a semifinal on overtime. The final lasted just one minute, with Ryan again pulling a heel hook.
The next iteration of EBI is slated for Nov. 6, and Ryan will try to win the belt for a third time. He’s part of the line-up for the middleweight tourney, as is Keenan Cornelius, whom Ryan subbed last August via inverted heel hook.
