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BJJ Meets Sambo? Gordon Ryan’s Insane Khabib Nurmagomedov-Like Look Sends Fans in Frenzy: “Thought It Was Khabib”

Published 01/08/2023, 5:08 AM EST

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Khabib Nurmagomedov is undoubtedly considered one of the greatest fighters of all time in the UFC. Undeniably, his command over sambo is impeccable. However, the ‘Eagle’ seemingly has a doppelganger from the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Gordon Ryan, the king of BJJ has an uncanny resemblance with the former UFC lightweight world champion. However, the resemblance is not in their fighting styles, but their appearance. Fans got him confused with the Dagestani champion as a picture showed him with his father.

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The BJJ contender has won 5 ADCC championships. Furthermore, many consider him the best no-gi submission grappler. Although the BJJ fighter has never stepped inside the Octagon, he stands at the peak of his sport, just like Nurmagomedov.

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Fans find resemblance between Gordon Ryan and Khabib Nurmagomedov

Recently, the Brazilian mixed martial artist, Renzo Gracie, took to Instagram and posted a picture of the BJJ King with his father. The picture showed the father and son duo in the front seats of a car. It was captioned, “The Ryan’s: Big Gord & Gordon Ryan.” Furthermore, Ryan did not have a mustache in the photograph. But that did not stop him from flaunting his short cropped hair and beard. The appearance in fact aligned with Nurmagomedov’s facial features.

Without any delay, the fans overtook the comments section and declared the similarity between the former UFC champion and the BJJ King. The fans indeed mistook Ryan for the ‘Eagle’. However, the fans didn’t fail to praise the legendary grappler. The respect the fighter has amassed is undeniably one of the greatest achievements for him.

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Here is what the fans had to say about the photograph:

  • I thought it was khabib for a second
  • Khabib is you?
  • Finally a decent picture of big gord, he always looks shocked or scared in pics
  • Open up a Chobani for the legend
  • Legend 
  • Beautiful champ

Gordon Ryan could not step into ONE Championship

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In an episode of ‘The MMA Hour’ with the famed MMA reporter, Ariel Helwani, Ryan discussed the real reasons behind the MMA debut that never happened. It was indeed a big deal for Ryan to step inside an MMA cage. However, the global pandemic due to COVID-19 halted the fighter’s debut in the ONE Championship.

Ryan said, “With ONE I felt so bad because I just signed with them, I think, in the beginning of the, it was 2020. And then… COVID happened, so I wasn’t able to compete. And then, right when everything was starting to open up again, my stomach hurt so bad that I couldn’t compete anymore.

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Do you think Ryan’s appearance resembles that of Nurmagomedov? Let us know in the comments down below.

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Written by:

Krushna Prasad Pattnaik

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Krushna Pattnaik is a UFC writer at EssentiallySports. Coming from a pharmaceutical background with a master's degree in the same and multiple scientific publications, his passion for combat sports and writing brought him to EssentiallySports, where both of his passions met in a beautiful collaboration. He is an instrumentalist and has a profound love for books.
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