Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Gordon Ryan shared his assessment of UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall‘s grappling abilities during his appearance on Ariel Helwani show.
Ryan, widely considered one of the greatest grapplers of all time, offered a measured analysis of Aspinall’s ground game, acknowledging the British champion’s skills while pointing out areas for potential improvement.
“He’s definitely got good takedowns. He’s got decent jiu-jitsu,” Ryan said. “The one time I saw him losing, he actually got heel hooked, and the heel hook wasn’t particularly tight.”
The grappling superstar was quick to note that this observation came from an older competition, adding,
“That was a long time ago, and Tom obviously has gotten a lot better since then.”
Ryan believes grappling exchanges could favor his team, particularly given his training partner Jon Jones‘s background.
“So grappling is definitely a situation where I think that we can win the exchanges, especially because Jon already has a grappling background, and he’s very good at putting guys down, very good at mixing everything up, very good at holding guys down. So I think that grappling is definitely a place where we can win the exchanges. But I think that Tom’s grappling is up there with the rest of the guys.”
he explained.
Despite highlighting these tactical advantages, Ryan concluded his analysis by placing Aspinall’s grappling skills in context with his peers:
This assessment comes at a significant time in Aspinall’s career, as the heavyweight champion continues to demonstrate his well-rounded skill set in the octagon.
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“As fast as Jon would beat him in MMA, Gordon would beat him in jiu-jitsu, but probably faster and worse,”
AG stated.
He went on to emphasize Ryan’s technical prowess, saying
“Gordon has a thousand ways to do it. A thousand.”
AG dismissed common criticisms about Ryan’s success being solely attributed to his physical attributes.
“When people say like, what’s so good about him? People do that lazy, well, he’s big, he’s strong. Everyone’s big and strong.”
Instead, AG painted a picture of Ryan as a technical mastermind, describing him as a “supercomputer” and stating that
“Gordon’s a master at every single possible movement the human body can make.”
While Jones is widely recognized for his wrestling background and overall MMA accomplishments, AG’s comments suggest that in a pure grappling context, the skill gap would heavily favor the multiple-time ADCC champion Ryan.
