The return: Tomorrow night in Austin Texas, Gordon Ryan will step out on stage again in an exhibition match against talented UFC middleweight Philip Rowe. Mr Ryan has been locked in the toughest fight of his career against a lingering and debilitating stomach illness that has over time time taken over his ability to train and prepare professionally for matches, prompting a time away from the game in an attempt to get it under control. Most of his biggest matches and victories have been fought under the shadow of this vexing problem – a testament to his ability to shrug off difficulties and focus on the win, but in the last year it has gotten to a point where daily training has been severely disrupted. He wants to stay active during this time and so exhibition matches are a good means of doing so. The rule set is actually quite interesting – almost like sparring in the gym as the two athletes will try to amass as many submissions as possible in the fifteen minutes allowed. This allows a full length match and incentivized both athletes to take submission risks as you can get a second or third chance if it backfires. Thanks as always to @flograppling and wno for putting on great shows with interesting rule sets so that athletes can showcase their skills in what has become the premier industry event outside of the ADCC World Championships. @tazagarami and @bjjdamien will be stepping on stage against very talented opponents among many top level Jiu jitsu stars on this great card!
