Video summary
In this episode of *Craig Jones*, Craig and his guest engage in a candid discussion about Gordon Ryan's role as the current figurehead of grappling, exploring the complex dichotomy between his undeniable dominance on the mat and his controversial persona off it. The conversation highlights how Gordon has become an entertainment spectacle due to his eccentric behavior, strong conservative political views shared online, and perceived money obsession. While some critics view these traits as signs of insecurity or a need for attention through "baiting" others, Craig argues that this dynamic is intrinsic to the sport's culture in America, where roasting each other is part of the fun. He notes that despite Gordon's health issues causing him to come and go from competition, he consistently returns to beat everyone, creating an aura similar to Lewis Hamilton in Formula One—a dominant force whose presence alone elevates the interest level of the event regardless of competitive depth. The dialogue shifts to analyze how John Danaher and Gordon Ryan have fundamentally transformed Jiu-Jitsu culture over the last seven or eight years by breaking barriers and making No-Gi more popular and respected. Previously, Gi practitioners dominated tournaments like ADCC, but Danaher's crew introduced new techniques that shifted the competitive landscape. Craig praises their marketing genius, noting how they utilize Japanese terminology to lend credibility and mystique to their methods while coaching students who deliver tangible results. This success has created a massive empire where eccentric personalities are not red flags but rather captivating elements of the sport's mythology, effectively turning what might seem like a "cheesy martial arts character" into a legitimate legend backed by real-world achievements that defy typical expectations for athletes with injuries or unconventional training habits. A significant portion of the discussion addresses the financial motivations behind leaving ADCC and the philosophical question of whether prestige is worth sacrificing seven-figure earnings. Craig points out that Gordon's criticism of competitors seeking money elsewhere may be unfair, especially considering the language barriers and visa issues faced by Brazilian grapplers who need to monetize their skills in foreign markets. He contrasts this with American athletes, some of whom have executive function challenges similar to autism spectrum conditions, which can level the playing field regarding communication but also present unique hurdles for business development. For many Brazilians returning home, a million dollars represents life-changing wealth that transforms families, whereas making that same amount domestically might require selling instructional DVDs or seminars—a path not taken by most athletes due to market saturation and language limitations. Ultimately, Craig frames the current situation as an opportunity to test true equality within grappling rather than clinging to outdated notions of prestige. He suggests that fighting a woman is the ultimate test of fairness, aligning with his foundation's name, Fair Fire Foundation, which aims to push boundaries in gender equality. The conversation concludes by challenging athletes and fans to consider what they value most: the legacy of an old tournament or the tangible reality of life-changing money available elsewhere. By choosing between staying loyal to a potentially struggling event or embracing new opportunities that offer financial freedom without compromising skill levels, grapplers are forced to confront whether their loyalty is genuine or merely nostalgic. The episode ends with Craig promoting his own podcast and thanking listeners for tuning in, leaving the audience to ponder the future of ADCC's legitimacy versus the pragmatic realities of professional sports economics.
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would you let Gordon fight if he said
that he wanted to come over I'd let
anyone do it yeah you know obviously I
got the Custom Gold cig Jones
Invitational ring he'd have to kiss but
for sure I'd let him in you know what if
he said that he had to fight you would
you do it for a super fight I mean
you've already got Gabby on the table I
think I got a bigger match you know
we're doing something crossing the
mainstream Battle of sexist you
know this is gender
equality talk to me about sort of
Gordon's role as the figurehead for the
sport because he is super dominant you
know sort of the Lewis Hamilton a couple
of years ago in F1 where kind of wasn't
didn't really seem like that much of a a
competition um does this help to make it
more
interesting well what I think is most
funny about this so Gorden
unquestionably best grapper in the world
had many health issues disappeared he
comes and goes He battles health issues
comes back
competes beats everyone for sure beats
everyone but he's a controversial
figure uh just I mean he says crazy [ __ ]
online like he's got strong conservative
uh political beliefs but I mean if you
would to look at his Instagram it's a
Facebook dad Republican page you know
what I mean that's the sort of stuff
he's sharing nonstop and he's I would
say money obsessed and uh I would say
he's kind of um I would say insecure you
know I think anyone that takes offense
to jokes that are like light-hearted I
find them a little insecure or like uh
he bites he bites all the time and like
you would understand this Americans take
the baits we roast each other like I've
said worse things to my friends and
relatives than I've said about Gordon
Ryan but these guys take the bait and
that's the game for us you know we love
throwing something out someone
overreacts that's what I live for that's
that's fun to me so it's like Gordon in
terms of this tournament this tournament
is the ultimate bait because we're
talking about free Market competition
it's good according to his political
belief we're talking about money loves
money there's 100 times more money in
this but he has to choose to stay with
the old tournament or go to the
tournament of someone he hates does he
hate you I think so yeah I think so do
you hate him I don't hate him I love the
I love that he exists you know I love
that he exists It's Entertainment you
know I mean we used to train together we
used to I wouldn't say say we were
friends like we would train together we
wouldn't hang out after training or
anything so I think it's like we're
training Partners weren't close
friends what how much of Jiu-Jitsu
culture do you think is Downstream from
Gordon and John and kind of that culture
that they've created yeah for sure
massive influence probably for the last
seven seven eight years massive
influence on the sport um and it's they
really broke new barriers by making noi
more popular and more respected everyone
used to do the ghee and the ghee guys
used to win most of the noi tournaments
and then danah her's crew came along as
kind of noi only guys and started to win
and they started to use new techniques
so created a really cool story John is
like some serial killer that got away
with it he has a interesting like he
wears rash cards all the time he has a
weird personality you know but it's like
captivating Professor originally or
something wasn't he yes yeah so he he's
got I mean obviously with all the
university and college he can teach well
he knows how to teach people you know
and he he's coached GSB so he's a good
coach so like you throw in all these
factors and you create this Empire that
they have today and like he even uses
Japanese terminology you know it's like
whether it's intentional or not it's
really good marketing really good
marketing so lends sort of credibility
and Mystique a little bit to what's
going on
yeah he takes what people already doing
he teaches in a really high level way
changes the name a little bit really
good really good marketing and obviously
his students back up that with results
yeah if you didn't have a guy that was
super dominant it would just be a bloke
using weird terms that weren't effective
exactly and that's the funny thing is
like he's like a car he's like your
cheesy martial arts character that
you're like his personality should be
that of a guy that's not a good coach
cuz most of the time guys like that with
that eccentric personality he's got
injuries so he never competed he can't
train like guys like that in martial
arts typically raise a lot of red flags
but his students produce good results so
it becomes this conundrum of like like
the legitimate Steven Seagal exactly
yeah he's it's like a he has a Steven
too mythology about him but the results
back it up what do you think Gordon will
do because if you rip the ass out of
everyone that's competitive at ADCC the
legitimacy of the ADCC competition then
goes away what's left to do he'll still
do ADCC is that your if you were to put
money on the T some of your big wads of
cash yeah that's not in my house anymore
for the record um yeah he will still do
ADCC it's uh it's funny a lot of people
like uh have loyalty to what they have
accomplishments in you know like when
noi started booming a lot of the ghee
guys were worried that their
accomplishments were suddenly going to
be forgotten now because if you create a
new event with a new name you're
prestigious title
potentially 20 years people be like what
the [ __ ] that you know like so there's
always going to be push back when
something new comes in and steals well
not steals but just gives athletes the
choice so it's like there's always going
to be push back I mean even Gordon's mom
was in my inbox talking about how
prestigious ADCC is I know Gary tonin's
mom was commenting on some post and I
was just like I personally think your
tournament's in trouble if your mom's
defending it you know what I
mean I'd kill my mom if she was the
defending my 20m line I'd be like hey
[ __ ] turnone it down that's I'm 32
years old I can look after myself yeah
[ __ ] hell
um yeah it's I think it's it's created a
really fascinating story
between the decision of this lineage and
it it asks you genuinely does might have
to ask John for the answer but it asks a
interesting sort of philosophical
question around what does prestige and L
AG actually mean like what are people in
this spot for when there is something
very sort of real and tangible placed in
front of them which is seven figures of
cash yeah it's like it's life-changing
money and like one of Go's arguments was
that like he's like million dollar
that's easy to make you know he's like
do some seminar sell some instructionals
but the reality is is like I mean if you
come from Brazil uh you do have a
disadvantage in the markets in which we
make the most money because you have a
language barrier sometimes these guys
have Visa barriers you know like Gordon
grew up in New Jersey close to John
Dano I'm not denying that he put in the
work to get where he is but that's lucky
that's lucky for me I grew up in
Adelaide I didn't even train with a
black belt to Purple belt like I wasn't
exposed I just wasn't in the vicinity of
a mind like John danaher to shape me
from a younger age I had to work a lot
of jobs side hustles so Wonder way to
get to where I am today and if I think
about the Brazilian in the sport they
can win ADCC but if they can't utilize a
marketable style and they can't express
themselves well in interviews the idea
of them making a million dollars is
going to be very difficult and even if
they grew up in sort of poorer areas
they're not going to have access to
people to teach them business skills
marketing skills those things are much
more difficult for them and a million US
Dollars going back to Brazil is going to
go a long way that's going to change
their family's lives so it is a Tang
lifechanging amount of money for them
for Gordon a million really is probably
a million instructional sell but the
amount of people that do that not many
so for him to criticize those guys for
leaving the tournament that he's in I
think it's kind of a bit unfair to those
cits that need money the issue that the
Brazilians have with the communication
barrier their ability to use executive
function is actually probably the same
of a lot of the more autistic athletes
that are from America that's true that
kind of levels the playing field in some
way that's true and I think obviously
covid vaccine has swayed the level of
autism's in countries you know like
that's be the argument there do you know
if the uptake in Brazil was higher or
lower than usual because I kept giving
it to me but uh I couldn't increase it
so I've capped out that's why I'm
retiring and going into promoting you
know well no you're not you're coming in
you're like some football manager that
also wants to step like play a coach
wants to step out on the field of play
against a woman yeah put I mean you run
the tournament you give yourself a
favorable match I think that's only fair
you know and really test the waters of
equality true equality is fighting a
woman I think and that's why we call our
foundation the fair fire Foundation
there's no fair fire than that I think
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