Gordon Ryan and Craig Jones were once part of an elite Brazilian jiu-jitsu squad known as the Danaher Death Squad (DDS), formed and led by coach John Danaher.
The DDS reigned supreme over the BJJ no-gi grappling world for years, with revolutionary techniques and an insatiable work ethic being the main ingredients of their success.
But the DDS split up in 2021 after growing tensions within the team, with Ryan and Danaher maintaining their working relationship. While Jones, alongside younger brother of ‘The King’, Nicky Ryan and several other members of the DDS created their own team, the B-Team.
There was an agreement from both parties that they would not air their dirty laundry for the world to see. However, as the verbal sparring has continued online since their split, former DDS members have struggled to remain tight-lipped about their fallout.
Ryan recently appeared on the Fight Back podcast, hosted by Jake Shields, where the 29-year-old went off on Jones’ fake persona online. He said this:
“Craig’s whole thing is that if he can’t beat you, if he can’t beat something or win at something, he’ll try and destroy it. He couldn’t beat me, so he joined the [Danaher Death Squad] and then he broke the team up. He couldn’t win ADCC so he tried to crush ADCC, he’s just a very vindictive. Craig’s Instragram persona is the exact opposite of what Craig is in real life.”
Gordon Ryan joins Jon Jones for his training camp ahead of Stipe Miocic fight
Jon Jones and Stipe Miocic are scheduled to clash in a bonafide “legacy” fight at UFC 309 in November. The fight has been labeled by many as the greatest MMA figher ever versus the greatest MMA heavyweight fighter ever.
The pair were set to fight in UFC 295 in 2023 before Jones suffered a torn pectoral muscle several weeks before fight night.
With the two-division champion now fully recovered, he has been joined by the world’s best no-gi grappler, Gordon Ryan, and Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling, Gable Stevenson.
Ryan posted a series of photos of him training alongside both men, with fans online erupting at the sight of such a talent-rich training room.
