Gordon Ryan plans to take ONE Championship to ‘new heights’ after signing ‘huge deal’

Gordon Ryan has said he plans to take ONE Championship to “new heights” after Monday night’s bombshell announcement that the American grappling superstar has joined the Asian martial arts organisation.

A jiu jitsu black belt under fellow ONE star Garry Tonon and John Danaher in New Jersey’s famous Danaher Death Squad, which is now based out of Puerto Rico, the 25-year-old Ryan is a three-time ADCC champion and will compete in submission grappling matches under the ONE banner, with heavyweight MMA bouts also on the table.

“As many of you already know, I just signed a huge deal with @onechampionship,” Ryan wrote in an Instagram post.

“The matches will be grappling matches, with MMA on the table if I choose to go that route. Right now, my main focus is ADCC 2022, but if I choose to fight MMA eventually, my new home at ONE will be where I debut.

“I am very excited to see my fans in other parts of the world, but also to rebrand myself as one of the best fence wrestlers of all time. I’ve managed to outpace the competition in the open, so wrestling the fence will present new challenges for me, which is very exciting.”

The news of Ryan’s signing was broken on Twitter by ONE chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong.

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“I also want to take a second to thank @yodchatri for taking the time to personally talk with me about making this deal happen. I am insanely busy on a daily basis so I can’t imagine how busy he must be,” Ryan added.

“Him taking time out of his days to chat with me shows me that he wants this to be more than a business deal, but a partnership. I look forward to pushing ONE (and grappling) to new heights.”

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