Top pound-for-pound grappler Gordon Ryan is set to make his ONE Championship debut. On August 27, Ryan will square off with submission specialist and longtime MMA veteran Shinya Aoki in an open-weight grappling match. News of the bout was first reported by Marcel Dorff of MMADNA.
In March, ONE Championship announced that it had signed Gordon Ryan to a contract with the potential for Ryan to compete in MMA. Shortly thereafter, though, Ryan clarified that at least until the 2022 ADCC championship, he would continue to focus his efforts on grappling, with MMA eventually “on the table.”
Shinya Aoki is a veteran of well over 50 professional fights and is known for his grappling and submission prowess. He is the owner of an incredible 30 submission wins, including submissions on Joachim Hansen and former UFC champion Eddie Alvarez. Aoki is currently riding a four-fight win streak.
Although Aoki is one of MMA’s most dangerous submission artists, he is significantly smaller than Ryan, and has limited experience in submission grappling competition. Aoki has spent the vast majority of his career competing at either 155-pounds or 170-pounds. Ryan, on the other hand, typically weighs in over 200 pounds to compete.
Ryan last competed at Who’s Number One where he dominated and submitted Vagner Rocha. He is set to compete at the next Who’s Number One event on May 28 where he will face Luiz Panza.
The post Breaking: Gordon Ryan to Make ONE Championship Grappling Debut Against Shinya Aoki appeared first on Grappling Insider.The post Breaking: Gordon Ryan to Make ONE Championship Grappling Debut Against Shinya Aoki appeared first on Grappling Insider.