Gordon Ryan Reveals Khamzat Chimaev Superfight Was Proposed For ADCC 2024

Jiu-Jitsu Federation: Gordon Ryan famously decided to do a pair of superfights at ADCC 2024 for the first time but apparently the second opponent was never set in stone, as he originally tried to face Khamzat Chimaev instead. It's surprising to hear that the world's greatest no-gi grappler wanted to face an MMA fighter, but they were really dancing around each other not long before that event. It all started a little over two years before, when Ryan claimed he could beat both Chimaev and Khabib Nurmagomedov in a grappling match. It's hardly a controversial take of course, as both men are not Jiu-Jitsu competitors and both are also lighter than Ryan.
That didn't end there though, as Chimaev actually called out Ryan directly in 2023. A match between them still seemed unlikely of course and there was no official word about it, but Ryan revealed in a recent interview that it was actually a thought at some point in time:
"I really asked because we were going to do the second super fight for ADCC 2024, and I asked Khamzat if he wanted to do it."
Although Ryan was eager and Chimaev had publicly declared his interest before, the match couldn't move forward at that time due to scheduling issues:
"He said: 'Can't do it this time, but I want you to come train.'"
A lot has happened since then of course; Ryan retired from professional grappling and Chimaev enjoyed a brief stint as the UFC middleweight champion. Both of those things make the idea of a grappling match between them even less likely than ever before, but it didn't stop Ryan from evaluating Chimaev's grappling in MMA:
"If Khamzat was better at denying movement, like he's very good at following movement, but if he was better at denying movement, he would make the guys carry more body weight."
The full interview with Gordon Ryan where he reveals he wanted Khamzat Chimaev as his opponent for the ADCC 2024 super fight was uploaded to Tim Kennedy's Overdogs USA official YouTube channel:

The article Gordon Ryan Reveals Khamzat Chimaev Superfight Was Proposed For ADCC 2024 first appeared in Jitsmagazine.com.

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