“During the Initial Split, We Definitely Hated Each Other”: Brother Nicky Ryan Opens Up on Ugly Split With BJJ G.O.A.T. Gordon Ryan

Gordon Ryan is one of the biggest submission grappling athletes in the world. He is a 1st-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and at the age of 27; he has already become a multiple-time world champion. Moreover, his brother, Nicky Ryan, followed in similar footsteps but they ended up having a conflict with each other. The younger of the two recently opened up about his ugly split with his elder brother.

Nicky Ryan has always looked up to his brother. He recently made an appearance on ‘Lex Friedman’s podcast and mentioned that he and his brother did not want to engage in full-time jobs.

Nicky Ryan said, “Both me and my brother never wanted to work a full-time job, doing something that we hate.” He added, “He [Gordon Ryan] was always a very confident person. So he went for it, fully started pursuing Jiu-Jitsu.” Nicky Ryan mentioned that he was happy to follow in his brother’s footsteps. However, he also mentioned the conflict he had with Gordon Ryan.

Gordon Ryan and his brother didn’t speak to each other for two years

When the ‘Iron Dragon’s Danaher Death Squad spilt up in  2021, the brothers stopped talking to each other for a couple of years. He said, “During the initial split, we [Nicky and Gordon] definitely hated each other at the beginning.” However, things have started to calm down between the two brothers. “But it’s definitely started to calm down,” said Nicky Ryan.

The younger Ryan brother also mentioned that the ‘Iron Dragon’ reached out to him while he was engaged in a social media beef with Nick Rodriguez. He said, “Just prior to all this social media drama that’s going on currently, he [Gordon Ryan] reached out to me. And it was literally the first time we actually talked since the split happened. So we didn’t talk to each other for, what is now, almost two years.” 

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Things seemed to have calmed down over the years with the brothers, according to Nicky Ryan. Moreover, the brothers are back to the older ways of cracking jokes and having fun with each other.

What are your thoughts on the Gordon brothers’ fight? Let us know in the comments below.

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