In many way the bjj community is a small world where everybody knows everybody. This is something that came to bite Gordon Ryan.
His latest bout of ungentlemanly behavior lost his event the support of James Sexton Law Offices – a sponsor prominently featured in the promotional materials.
Interestingly the same sponsor had no issue investing in a fight starring Vagner Rocha who wasn’t only ungentlemanly in his words but also in his actions – having sparta kicked and subsequently injured previous opponent AJ Agazarm.
Statment of James Sexton:
“Law Offices of James J. Sexton, PC has withdrawn our sponsorship of the previously scheduled “superfight” next weekend between Todd Mueckenheim and Gordon Ryan.
The firm remains a supporter and sponsor of the Grappling Industries Manhattan event and is always proud of the excellent work Grappling Industries and David Aguzzi are doing for the art/sport we love. We also look forward, as a firm, to sponsoring a fight for Todd in the future as we appreciate the hard work he did to prepare for next weekend.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu isn’t the UFC. It isn’t the WWE. Athletes in this art should be professional and mature in their public dialogue and on social media when speaking of other respected athletes. They should also demonstrate the high levels of respect and professionalism that their teachers and their teacher’s-teachers have embodied for their entire careers.”
However a different sponsor quickly fell in and the fight is back on.
After James sexton removing our match from the card…The show will go on. Mo Jassim has agreed to sponsor the match since he feels it’s unfair to the fighters to not have the match. See you soon Todd 🙂 venue and date will be posted soon.
But the event changes don’t stop there – Jake Shields has offered to step in for Rocha (out due to injury). As per Grappling Industries honcho David Aguzzi’s facebook:
And there’s a definitive sense of respect between Khera and Rocha as proven by this exchange:
