Gordon Ryan has revealed that he may opt out of competing at the 2026 ADCC World Championships.

Speaking at a recent press conference, Ryan detailed the challenges he has faced recently:

I had an ACL and PCL sprain and then a grade 2 LCL tear in the first match, the match with Pena.
And then, my stomach – I always have a bellyache, so I am just trying to get that back to normal.

Despite these hurdles, Ryan chose to compete in the 2024 ADCC World Championships…
A decision he attributes to his respect for former organizer Mo Jassim and a personal goals:

I wasn’t going to do this ADCC this last time, but you know, I felt like I kind of owed it to Mo to do it.

I really thought that it would be important for me to break the all-time gold medal records for John (Danaher) as our coach, for him to say that he has a student that did that.

However, with Jassim stepping away from his role, Ryan has expressed uncertainty about his future involvement in the competition:

The next one, we’ll see how it plays out.

Number one, the main thing is my health, you know, just getting my stomach to a point where I can actually grapple well.
And then number two, we’ll see what ADCC becomes in 2026.