Gordon Ryan brawled by 15 rivals at ADCC worlds while cornering his fighter in Krakow

Gordon Ryan was set upon by a group of roughly 15 men at the 2026 Abu Dhabi Combat Club World Championships in Krakow, Poland, after his fighter Dorian Olivarez defeated Bezkat Kapashov in the opening round of competition.

Ryan, the most decorated competitor in ADCC history, was attending the event as a coach rather than a competitor. After Olivarez finished Kapashov, members of the Kazakh fighter’s team confronted Olivarez and Ryan at the mat, and the situation rapidly escalated into a full brawl. Ryan was tackled, had his legs grabbed, and was struck repeatedly in the head by multiple assailants — including punches and soccer kicks — before the melee was broken up. No major injuries were reported. Both Olivarez and Kapashov were disqualified from the event.

Ryan recounted the incident in detail on Instagram, explaining that he had anticipated trouble while still coaching another fighter, Dominick, on a nearby mat.

“So, obviously, I’m coaching Dominick — I have no idea what’s going on, I’m just coaching Dominick, and Dorian and the Kazakh kid are competing,” Ryan said. “I do know that it’s just John, Mike, and Dorian. John and Mike are in their 50s, 60s. So it’s just the three of them and like 15 Kazakh guys.”

Ryan said he repositioned his chair toward the other mat in anticipation of a confrontation the moment the match ended. When the fight broke out, he intervened immediately.

“I jump in, I crack the first guy, the second that one of them sees me, a couple of them start yelling, ‘Gordon, Gordon, Gordon!’ So they all turn towards me because they realized I was there,” he said. “They immediately tackled me, two guys grabbed my legs and pushed me over so I just fell over. Then like five or six of them started hitting me in the head.”

Despite being outnumbered and on the ground, Ryan said he fought back to his knees and was attempting a single-leg takedown when the brawl was finally separated. He then returned to his coaching duties without missing a beat.

“Thanks to the Kazakh guys for the scrap. That was fun,” Ryan said. “And always remember, I’m fight of the night, every night.”