Xande Ribeiro says Gordon Ryan never tested himself in gi

“His problem is the frustration that he will always be the no-gi champion,” says the seven-time world champion, who faced Ryan at ADCC 2017

Redação VF Comunica October 22, 2026, 9:00 am · 2 min read

Xande Ribeiro says Gordon Ryan never tested himself in gi — Foto: Instagram @xanderibeirojj

A seven-time world champion and IBJJF Hall of Famer, Xande Ribeiro praised Gordon Ryan‘s game in a 2022 interview with VF Comunica, but pointed to what he sees as the big gap in the American’s career: Ryan never tested himself in the gi at the highest level.

“I think Gordon’s Jiu-Jitsu is incredible. People don’t even know how to analyze him. His Jiu-Jitsu is actually very similar to mine in some ways, we do a lot of the same things. John Danaher, I see a lot of his posts, very coherent in a lot of what he says. We share a lot of the mindset.”

Their match at ADCC 2017

Xande knows that game up close. The two met in the under-88 kg semifinal at ADCC 2017 in Espoo, Finland, and Ryan won a 0-0 referee decision. The American went on to win the division, while Xande took bronze by beating Craig Jones in the third-place match. In February 2026, at 30, Ryan announced his retirement from competition.

The gi gap in Gordon Ryan’s career

For Xande, Gordon will never be remembered as a Jiu-Jitsu champion in the full sense, because he never tested himself in the gi at the highest level.

“His problem is the frustration that he will always be the no-gi champion. He won’t be the Jiu-Jitsu champion. He loves Jiu-Jitsu, but it’s a distant love. Maybe he’s even very good in the gi, I don’t doubt it. But he’s a guy who never tested himself. So for eternity, you’ll just be a no-gi guy. You’ll be Jiu-Jitsu’s man without a country.”

Competition strategy: choice or limitation

Later in the conversation, Xande said the issue is not choosing a safer path to win, but when that choice becomes the only thing an athlete knows.

“Then it’s a choice, not a limitation. The problem is people are turning competition tactics into a limitation, not a choice. He chose to be that way because he thought it was much safer for him to win like that. He said, ‘Foot against foot is tough, it’s a lottery, I won’t get into that.’ And he became the great champion he is.”