Gord Ryan Rises to New Heights

Fighter profile of Gord Ryan by Jason Swanson

 This is the story of a fighter with a long road which has recently peaked in a #3 PFP in the world ranking at the prestigious Synchronicity Org. From humble beginnings filling in fight cards at Caged Dragons Fight Club to competing at the 2022 AWC tourney he has met all comers with a straight ahead, hard punching style.

An early victim of the punching power of the former champ Willie Diggs, perhaps no one has benefited more from the early departure of the former champ. Ryan has nothing but praise for the now retired Diggs, as he feels those matches had everything to do with forging him into the fighter he is today. Kane Thoupos was supposed to defend vs Diggs at Rise, but Ryan proved he was not a fighter to be overlooked. Kane was winning the bout on all the judges scorecards when Gord shocked the crown with a left hand that crumpled the champ cold.

Ryan moved on to Apex and got his second taste of a championship there facing Ivan Raikov, and once again scoring a straight KO after the grappler went for one too many takedowns and got caught by a big right hand landing flush to the head.

A brief stop at Horizon had Gord meet up with Jack Cango for what would become a second rivalry in his career. Ryan won that first meeting with yet another KO before moving on to the big time with a contract with the storied Syn City organisation. He worked his way up the ranks, finally earning a title shot versus the storied Joe Exotic. A tough match, and the only one ending in a decision at this point in his career, Gord managed to secure his first open ID belt. Feeling like he'd finally arrived and perhaps looking ahead to a long run as champ he ran smack into an old opponent again in his next fight in Jack Cango. Things ended differently than he'd imagined, getting caught early in the first by a barrage of blows that led to him embarrasingly tapping out under strikes. Ryan recommitted himself after that fight, and with some hard work in the gym battled his way over the next few fights to earn a rematch, albeit with no title on the line vs Cango. Fighting to prove something to himself, Ryan landed a KO a mere 31 seconds into their third career matchup setting himself up as the main contender at 185 once again.

Pushkin would be the next obstacle in his path, a grappling machine holding the Syn belt. Gord took the first round, while the finesse of Pushkin leading to Ryan spending the second round on his back evened the score. The third round had Ryan ready for the takedown attempts though, and catching Pushkin on the way in led to another KO victory and a return of the Middleweight belt.

One more fight was left in the year heading into the final weekend of December, with Kostov looming as an obstacle that Ryan has yet to overcome - a successful title defense. Kostov seemed to have the measure of Gord in the first, punishing him at every opportunity. The tide seemed to turn in the second when Kostov initiated a clinch, where Ryan went to work landing several significant shots before breaking to fight at range once again. A short exchange later was fairly even before Ryan once again landed a devastating left hand sending Kostov scrambling before succumbing to a series of blows.

Ryan has faced adversity, fought some of the best middleweights in the world and reached a new height in his career. What lays ahead of him is unknown at this point, but it seems likely it will be in a cage with someone on the ground. He aims to endure.

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