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Let’s take a little trip through MMA & Grappling over the years. From Rickson Gracie dominating MMA with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in the early 90s; to now, with the dominance of Gordan Ryan in competive BJJ, shall we?
Picture this: it’s the early days of MMA. The Octagon still looks like some underground experiment, and fighters are stepping in wearing karate gis, wrestling shoes, or, sometimes, just their swim trunks. And there’s one name making waves everywhere: Rickson Gracie.
Back then, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) wasn’t just effective. It was a revelation. Rickson, the mysterious samurai of the Gracie family, was the embodiment of what BJJ could do. He was a ghost in the cage, submitting opponents effortlessly and proving that technique could conquer brute force. Including his unique breathing philosophy. To many, Rickson was BJJ personified.
But the sport of MMA doesn’t stand still. Fast forward a couple of decades, and you get a whole new breed of grappler, someone like Gordon Ryan. Where Rickson was an elusive legend, Gordon is a no-BS technician with a YouTube channel and Instagram presence that rivals influencers. He’s brash, technical to a scary degree, and a student of the game in a completely modern sense.
So, how did we get from the quiet dominance of Rickson to the systematic destruction of opponents by Gordon Ryan-style grapplers? Let’s break it down and talk about how BJJ has completely changed the MMA grappling scene in the last ten years.
The Old School BJJ in MMA: Graceful, Simple, and Deadly
In the early days of the UFC, BJJ was magic. Royce Gracie walked into the Octagon and dismantled much larger, stronger, and meaner fighters with what looked like the martial arts version of wizardry. It was technical, but more than that, it was new to most people.
You had mount, guard, and back control all fundamental positions that weren’t fully understood outside the BJJ community. A triangle choke from the bottom could finish a match, and the closed guard was like a bear trap. Most fighters didn’t know how to escape.
Back then, if you had solid jiu-jitsu fundamentals, you could dominate.
Rickson and Royce laid the groundwork. But as more fighters started cross-training, the mystique started to fade. Wrestlers learned submissions, strikers practiced sprawls, and jiu-jitsu players had to adapt.
And that’s where things started getting really interesting.
The Middle Ground: Wrestle-Jitsu and the Grind Era
In the 2000s and early 2010s, MMA grappling shifted. Jiu-jitsu alone wasn’t enough to dominate a fight. Fighters like Georges St-Pierre, Frankie Edgar, and Cain Velasquez blended wrestling with basic BJJ concepts, and they were hard to beat.
This was the era of top control, ground-and-pound, and positional dominance. Jiu-jitsu moved away from the gi and became more about function over form. Submissions weren’t flashy; they were strategic.
Guys trained just enough BJJ to not get caught, but they didn’t live in the guard. In fact, some coaches told their fighters to avoid going to the ground unless they were on top. The philosophy became: control first, submit later (if ever).
But while BJJ in MMA was getting more conservative, something different was happening in the world of pure grappling.
The Rise of No-Gi and the Gordon Ryan Effect:
Now enter Gordon Ryan. If Rickson was BJJ’s philosopher-king, Gordon is its algorithm. He didn’t just learn techniques; he broke them down, mapped them, and reassembled them in a way that felt… inevitable.
He came up through the Danaher Death Squad, trained under John Danaher (aka the Professor X of grappling), and became the most dominant no-gi grappler of his generation.
So, what does this have to do with MMA?
Everything.
Gordon Ryan-style grappling is all about control, pressure, and predictability. Leg locks, heel hooks, and back takes from unusual angles suddenly became mainstream. Traditional jiu-jitsu didn’t emphasize these techniques, especially for MMA. But the modern no-gi scene, led by Gordon and his teammates, embraced them and turned them into weapons.
And MMA started paying attention.
From Guard Pulling to Leg Locking: What Actually Changed in the Last Decade?
In the last ten years, BJJ in MMA has gone through a second revolution.
Here’s what’s changed:
Leg Locks Became Normal
A decade ago, most MMA fighters didn’t mess with leg locks. They were considered risky and too complicated. Now? Fighters like Ryan Hall, Garry Tonon, and others have shown that if you’re good enough, leg locks are not only effective but match-ending.
Position Over Submission (With a Twist)
While old-school BJJ emphasized position first, modern grapplers like Gordon see submissions as a chain. You pass guard not to just dominate; but to set up traps. Everything is connected. Mount leads to back takes. Leg entanglements lead to sweeps and finishes. It’s like watching someone play 4D chess.
Wrestling with Jiu-Jitsu Logic:
Old jiu-jitsu didn’t worry too much about takedowns. Now, if you want to survive in MMA, you need wrestling. Modern BJJ grapplers are building wrestling into their game—but not just regular wrestling. It’s wrestling with jiu-jitsu intent. Snapdowns into front headlocks, wrestling from the seated guard, and takedowns that lead directly to leg entanglements.
More Submissions from Everywhere:
You used to need the “perfect” position to finish a fight. Full mount, back control, etc. Now, fighters are hitting submissions from transitions, scrambles, and even while defending. MMA fighters are using BJJ like a dynamic toolkit, not a rigid structure.
Grappling-Savvy Fighters of the Modern Era
Let’s talk names.
Charles Oliveira: He went from a dangerous-but-erratic fighter to one of the most feared submission artists in UFC history. His aggressive BJJ game, especially off his back, has made high-level strikers fear taking him down.
Brian Ortega: Even when he’s getting beat up on the feet, he can flip the fight with a sneaky guillotine or triangle.
Islam Makhachev: Not a BJJ guy by traditional standards, but his sambo-ground control is infused with modern submission awareness. He dominates positionally but can finish with BJJ-level precision.
Garry Tonon: Straight out of the no-gi scene, he brought leg locks and creative submissions into MMA with ONE Championship.
These fighters don’t just know jiu-jitsu. They understand it in a way that integrates into their overall MMA strategy.
Technology, Data, and the Grappling Renaissance
Let’s not forget: technology has changed how people learn BJJ. Instructionals are everywhere. You can learn Gordon Ryan’s entire game from your laptop. Grappling has become like coding. You study, troubleshoot, and refine. It’s not just training hard; it’s training smart.
Ten years ago, there were a handful of BJJ instructionals. Now, it’s a flood. Platforms like BJJ Fanatics exploded. Fighters are no longer limited to what their local gym teaches. They’re watching the latest ADCC matches, studying frame-by-frame breakdowns, and drilling sequences that were unheard of a decade ago.
Even MMA fighters with limited jiu-jitsu backgrounds are catching up quickly, thanks to these tools.
MMA Grappling Isn’t Just BJJ Anymore
It’s important to say this: BJJ is still the backbone of MMA grappling. But it’s evolving. Today’s grapplers mix jiu-jitsu with wrestling, sambo, catch wrestling, and judo. It’s a stew of styles, and that’s why it works.
Modern MMA demands adaptation. You can’t just pull guard and hope for the best. You need wrestling to get the fight where you want it, jiu-jitsu to finish it, and the awareness to know when to strike and when to shoot.
This kind of hybrid grappling is what guys like Gordon Ryan represent not in the cage directly (yet) but through influence. He’s shifted the mindset of a whole generation of fighters.
What Does the Future Look Like?
Expect more specialists. More guys like Kade Ruotolo, Nicky Rodriguez, and Mikey Musumeci are flirting with MMA careers. Expect a new generation of fighters who didn’t start with karate or boxing, but with grappling.
The evolution won’t stop.
Training will get more analytical. Game plans will center around scrambles. Submissions will come earlier and faster in fights. You’ll see fewer decisions and more tap-outs.
And who knows? Maybe Gordon Ryan himself will make the jump to MMA. If he does, it could mark a new chapter in this already wild story.
Wrapping It All Up (No Bow Required)
From Rickson’s quiet, spiritual dominance to Gordon Ryan’s savage, scientific breakdowns, BJJ has morphed in a big way inside the MMA cage. The last ten years have seen the rise of data-driven training, leg lock revolutions, and submission-savvy fighters who treat grappling like both art and science.
The MMA Historian 