Gordon Ryan had an interesting time at UFC’s invitational. Ryan had a tougher opponent than he initially anticipated. Ryan was set to face UFC and ADCC veteran Vinny Magalhaes initially but was instead matched with the much younger and way more athletic Nick Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was the first to seriously compromise Ryan since his loss to Felipe Pena back in 2017.
A new video angle of the submission emerged online and it features cringe worthy audio where you can actually hear the ankle crackling with the break.
The referee’s reaction is particularly noteworthy.
“Because it was so slippery. And while I was doing that, he, like, put on a toehold. And I was like, I’ll be fine. And then, like, he just ripped it as hard as he could, and my leg broke, and I was like, Oh, well, I guess that’s broke. My may as well just let it go. And then he used that opportunity to pull the leg out.”
“As I was trying to go for a heel hook, I switched the Achilles and the leg was just to slippery it slip right out. And then I was like, Welp, I just didn’t hold on to his leg. Got by only like broken. And now we’re back in neutral as it’s perfect, but luckily it’s nothing I didn’t see on crutches or a brave enough and you’re good and now it’s fine.”
The action continued due to Ryan’s unwillingness to tap. The two would end up going into overtime at which point Ryan scored the win via fastest escape time.