Nick Rodriguez recently spoke about Gordon Ryan’s use of steroids.
Former teammates turned rivals Nick Rodriguez and Gordon Ryan are waging a war of words.
In December 2022, the two top no-gi competitors squared off in an EBI-rules match at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 3 – a rematch of their meeting in the final of the heavyweight division at the 2022 ADCC World Championships. After a close and competitive regulation period, Ryan defeated Rodriguez by way of control time in overtime.
Shortly after that victory, Ryan complained that Rodriguez had greased, making it difficult for him to gain grips and advance his position from the bottom.
In a recent appearance on Mark Bell’s Power Project, Rodriguez was asked to speak about his former Danaher Death Squad teammate and what makes him so good.
Check out the full interview below.
Rodriguez is adamant that, in a sport steeped in steroids and PEDs, he remains a natural athlete. He also believes that he is the best pound-for-pound competitor in the world:
“I think once I beat Gordon I’ll be considered the best pound-for-pound. I think right now I am the best pound-for-pound, especially if you’re talking not using any bodily enhancements, I’m by far the pound-for-pound best. Some of the guys that do steroids in the sport, they literally coulnd’t compete at all if they weren’t…
“You’re talking guys that are naturally 175, 180 pounds, and in nine months they’re 230 pounds. It’s f****** insane… You can do that, but it’s harder doing it, building that muscle when you’re doing an hour-plus cardio every day, and it just takes much longer. I’m very confident that a lot of these guys couldn’t compete if they were natty, so I call myself the Natty King.”
Rodriguez also reflected on his most recent match against Ryan, in which he popped Ryan’s foot during a leg lock exchange. When the two met at the ADCC World Championships, Ryan submitted Rodriguez in relatively quick fashion:
“The best guy is Gordon Ryan currently and I just broke his foot, so we’re getting closer every time.”
Finally, Rodriguez had plenty to say about Ryan’s usage of PEDs and his accusation of greasing:
“If you ever watch Gordon, he’s got a ton of excuses…
“His biggest thing is steroids. You can’t gain 50 pounds of muscle and be like, ‘It’s irrelevent.’ No, it’s super f****** relevant. You wouldn’t be half the person you were if you didn’t do that.
“No disrespect, but you have somebody that preaches ‘technique is king, technique is king,’ then why are you trying to be so strong? That’s my point on it.
“And I honestly wouldn’t have even said that if he didn’t, after I match, be like ‘ah this guy’s f****** greasing.’ You’re talking about greasing, which I didn’t… That’s his excuse, he’s like, ‘He put lotion on.’ First of all, no, never cheated a f****** bit. And then on top of that, I’m a natural athlete going against a not-natural athlete and you still need excuses. I definitely wouldn’t have even called him out on that but it just irked me a bit that he’s like, ‘This guy’s f****** greasing.
“Bro I broke your foot, just live with it.”
As he’s wont to do, Ryan wasted no time in firing back on social media.
Ryan is slated to defend his Who’s Number One heavyweight title against rival Felipe Pena in a no-time-limit match on February 25.
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