Be it one of the fastest submissions in ADCC against Roosevelt Sousa or an impeccable victory over Josh Saunders, the heel hook got Gordon Ryan to the top of the ground games. In addition to his 7-time ADCC championship victories, Ryan has also talked quite a bit about tapping out to prevent injuries. However, injuries are a part of the game, and BJJ fighters often get hurt during championships. That was the case for Pat Downey. Seems like their YT video competition in accordance with the ADCC scoring won’t be happening anytime soon, because Downey got himself caught in a heel hook and injured his MCL. 

Taking to Instagram, the former NCAA champion shared a visual of himself using a cane to walk after getting injured by a heel hook at a local tournament. In the caption, he wrote, “I guess [Gordon Ryan] was right & leg locks do work. Can’t spell TAP without PAT 🤪 I’ll be back ASAP‼️ No more black belt absolute divisions for a while. Tough day in the office showed I still have a lot to improve 🦿.” He had suffered a grade 2 MCL tear, which means he’ll be out of action for 4-6 weeks. Downey had to wear a brace to let the ligament heal up, but that didn’t stop him from bringing humor to his misery. 

When Ryan stumbled across the post he took to the comments section and joined in the fun. He wrote, “My man has a cane,” followed by a laughing emoji. He also shared the news on his IG Story and dropped three laughing emojis in reaction. Nevertheless, Downey was proud of his performance, even though he fell short in the semi-finals. The injury wouldn’t be pulling him out of the grappling world anytime soon. 

Heel hooks were illegal for quite a long time. But March 2021 saw the legalization of the heel hooks as the Dallas No-Gi Open Tournament entertained the world. But are the heel hooks as dangerous as people claim them to be? Let’s see what the King of BJJ had to say about it. 

Gordon Ryan talks about the dangers of heel hooks

Back in 2020, when the legalization of heel hooks was announced, Ryan joined BJJ Fanatics and weighed in on the dangers of heel hooks. He said, “Heel hooks are a little bit different. I mean, if you get an armbar, you feel oh, my arm’s gonna break. If you get put in a heel hook, you don’t really feel that. You just feel like more of a pressure build up and then your ankle or your knee pops. Usually, unless your mechanics aren’t great, they’re not catastrophic injuries.” 

They are nothing but simple pops in the ankles or knees, and the injuries usually heal up within a few weeks. But heel hook wasn’t the most dangerous submission technique in the world of IBJJF. Ryan claimed that he had seen far worse injuries from flying guard pulls, and that was more common in IBJJF than heel hooks. On top of that, kimuras tend to dislocate the elbow and keep it dislocated. But one thing was certain. One needs to tap out to prevent injuries and Ryan has been preaching that for ages. 

What are your thoughts on Downey’s injury and Ryan’s reaction? Do you think heel hooks should remain legal? Let us know what you think in the comments down below.