Never one to hide his opinions, Gordon Ryan recently turned his criticism towards the IBJJF for the way they handled Nicholas Meregali. In short, Meregali was disqualified from their Worlds competition for flipping off the corner of Victor Hugo at the weekend. The decision was met with controversy and many fans didn’t agree with it. Including Gordon Ryan.
Posting on Instagram afterward, Gordon wrote “The same organization that had gang fights break out every single tournament just DQ’ed its currently most marketable athlete for giving the finger. What world are we in? I wanna see the best combat athletes compete, not a tea party. Who gives a damn if he flipped anyone off? IBJJF let Cyborg slap me in the face for 9.59 and waited until 1 second left to DQ him. They let Buchecha talk smack while competing across the mat. This is so 2021”
This isn’t the first time that Gordon Ryan has criticized the IBJJF either. He has previously been vocal about the illegal use of heel hooks in no gi competition, a rule which has since been revoked. He also took on Instagram to praise Mikey Musumeci for his gold at Worlds whilst also poking fun at his rival, Felipe Pena.
