Gordon Ryan Vs Andre Galvao (Two BJJ Legends!)

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a prominent martial art with a worldwide reputation for its efficiency in competition and self-defense. Gordon Ryan and Andre Galvao stand out among the numerous outstanding jiu-jitsu fighter. These top-notch competitors have significantly affected BJJ and established a passionate fan base.

This post will discuss Gordon Ryan and Andre Galvao’s achievements and compare their careers and techniques. Stay tuned!

Gordon Ryan vs. Andre Galvao: ADCC Superfight 2022

Gordon Ryan defeated Andre Galvao via RNC submission 4 minutes before the end of the 2022 ADCC Superfight.

Source: FloGrappling

Andre Galvao – Fighting Style, Trademark Moves, And Achievements

Source: Takedown Breakdown

Andre Galvao is a BJJ black belt and a master of full control, transitions, and gi chokes. From time to time, he fishes for a collar or bow and arrow choke from an impossible position and finishes the opponent.

You don’t want this guy on your back; you’ll tap in less than 10 seconds due to his fabulous and tricky chokes!

Also, if he gets a hold of your arm, it might get critical, as there are many armbar and Kimura victories on his belt. His most successful takedown is a single leg.

Now here are a few exciting things. First, Galvão likes to circle, change positions when his opponent is in turtle position, and entertain the crowd. You rarely see opponents who leave the crowd breathless in BJJ fights, but Andre’s fights are entertaining.

Interestingly, André Galvão rarely chooses to control his rival via body triangle and instead picks other, harder-to-see positions and transitions to tire his opponent out.

There are many top-notch BJJ titles under Andre Galvao’s belt. This guy’s career lasts for ages, and here are some of his greatest achievements: 

  • ADCC Superfight Winner (2013 / 2015 / 2017)
  • 1st Place ADCC World Championship (2011**)
  • 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2005 / 2008 / 2016 / 2017)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Pans Championship (2005 / 2008** / 2006 / 2011 / 2013 / 2014** / 2016)
  • 1st Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro (2012 / 2013 / 2014)

*Absolute, **Weight, And Absolute

Gordon Ryan – Fighting Style, Trademark Moves, And Achievements

Source: Takedown Breakdown

Gordon Ryan likes to fish for a rear-naked choke from the body triangle position. His game has many “impossible” submissions, shrimps, and transitions.

For example, he is extremely dangerous when he gets on top, using several severe submissions such as the mounted guillotine and arm-triangle choke.

Indeed, Ryan’s transitions are fast as lightning; he can move from north-south to a full guard position and get a hold of your leg in less than a second.

Otherwise, Gordon likes to attempt leg locks, and his opponent will be in deep trouble if he holds his ankle.

Now here are some exciting details.

First, most of his entrances and takedowns are atypical, so it is pretty hard to stuff them.

Second, He is a chain wrestling rock, so pulling guard against this master of the top game is suicide.

Third, Ryan rarely goes for a submission switch. This is because he instead chooses to trick or feint his enemy than go for a quick, hard-to-see limb attack that usually finishes in a tap or a terrible spot for his opponent on the mat.

Aside from that, Ryan was making breaks from his grappling career due to his medical issues (gastroparesis), which worsened through the years, but let’s hope his fine now.

There are many high-level achievements under his belt, and here are the most important ones:

  • WNO Heavyweight Champion (2022)
  • 1st Place ADCC World Championship (2017 / 2019**)
  • 1st Place IBJJF World No-Gi Championship (2018**)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Pans No-Gi Championship (2018**)
  • 1st Place Quintet 3 (2018*)

*-Absolute, **- Weight, And Absolute

Gordon Ryan Vs. Andre Galvao – Bad Affairs

Andre Galvao Vs Gordon Ryan

Gordon Ryan is known for participating in head-to-head altercations with many of his opponents. There is a lot of bad blood between him and Andre Galvao, and we’ll explain their beef step by step.

It kicked off in January 2021, when Ryan took part in social media exchanges with several members of ATOS, including head coach Andre Galvao. It was a great intro to their upcoming 2022 ADCC battle.

Upon Craig Jones‘ win over ATOS competitor Ronaldo Junior at Who’s Number One on February 26, 2021, Ryan tried to shake hands with his rival. Yet, he was sworn by Galvao, who also gave him the middle finger in return.

Galvao and Ryan then participated in a backstage altercation, exchanging many heated words. Galvao shoved Ryan back to troll him, but it was too much for Ryan, who slapped Galvao two times. Staff and competitors intervened, so the situation didn’t escalate.

There was no remorse for the incident on Ryan’s end. On the contrary, he continued trashing and criticizing Andre Galvao and a few more members of the ATOS team in a public statement after the incident.

Andre Galvao Vs. Gordon Ryan – Fighting Style Analysis

Gordon Ryan vs Andre Galvao

Gordon Ryan prioritizes taking the opponent’s back and locking him into a body triangle position. Then, he’ll use an RNC choke or other submission to end the fight.

On the other side, having Galvao on your back might be pretty tricky, mainly because he uses unorthodox chokes and control positions.

You can expect a sweep/transition war. Both guys are skillful in quickly changing positions and ending up from north-south into crucifix or half-guard.

Ryan might go for a leg lock attempt, but Andre Galvao is a master of rolling to the side, so finishing him via leg attempt looks like science fiction.

Now think of turtled Ryan and Galvao on top of him. That is the situation every diehard BJJ fan wants to see, and here is why.

Andre Galvao will try to keep the crowd entertained; he’ll circle, shrimp, and change positions to confuse his opponent and let the fans enjoy his superb black-belt performance.

These two guys are champions for a reason. They are more explosive than the rest of the division, and their fight IQs rock. We’ve seen these mat warriors slipping out of challenging positions and defending almost finished chokesarmbars, and leg locks.

Conclusion

Gordon Ryan and Andre Galvao are two of the best BJJ fighters, yet their careers and approaches are quite different.

Ryan is recognized for his aggressive and unconventional fighting style, while Galvao is noted for his technical prowess and relentless pursuit of submissions.

Ryan and Galvao have both had outstanding career terms of achievements. Ryan has multiple world-class achievements and titles in No-Gi grappling, while Galvao has numerous world titles in Gi and No-Gi grappling.