Nicky Ryan’s older brother, 20-year old black belt Gordon Ryan has won the sixth edition of The Eddie Bravo Invitational tonight. The Garry Tonon protege stepped-in to compete in the 16-man, single elimination, open weight tournament on two week’s notice after his training partner Eddie Cummings, the EBI 4 Champion, bowed out due to injury. Ryan won $25,000 by submitting Jacen Flynn by rear naked choke in the first round and Marcello Bergo by knee bar in the second round. In the semi-finals, Ryan avenged his mentor Tonon, a three-time EBI champion, by defeating by submitting ADCC champion Yuri Simoes with a rear naked choke in overtime. Ryan controlled Simoes’s back for over five minutes before cinching in the choke for the win. Simoes defeated Tonon in overtime by having the faster escape time during their second round match. In the finals, Ryan submitted ADCC bronze medalist Rustam Chsiev in overtime with a rear naked choke. Ryan’s victory marks the fifth time a John Danaher trained grappler has won an EBI title.
Ryan, a native of Monroe Township, New Jersey, first started training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Haz Ibrahim at Brunswick Jiu-Jitsu when he was 15-years old. Through the school’s affiliation with the Ricardo Almeida Academy and Renzo Gracie Academy, Ryan has been mentored by numerous black belt coaches including Garry Tonon, Tom DeBlass, Bobby Johnson, Dante Rivera, Ricardo Almeida, Frankie Edgar, and Greg Amici. Since graduating from high school, Ryan has trained and coached BJJ full-time out of several schools in the New York and New Jersey area. His recent championships have included the IBJJF Brown Belt NoGi World Championship, Grapplers Quest Championship, NAGA World Championship, and PGL Championship.
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