The stage has been set for Gordon Ryan’s ONE Championship debut.
Ryan, one of the most decorated competitive grapplers of all time, will face MMA legend Shiny Aoki in an “an openweight grappling super match” on Aug. 27, according to an announcement from ONE CEO Chatri Sityodtong on Monday.
The rules of this contest are still to be announced, but this will not be the first grappling match that Aoki has been a part of for ONE. He also welcomed Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Garry Tonon to the promotion in a grappling super match in May 2017, that Tonon won via heel hook. Tonon currently competes as a featherweight in ONE’s MMA division.
It is not yet known if Ryan plans to compete in MMA. He recently told MMA Fighting that while he has trained for a possible transition, a knee injury in 2019 resulted in him refocusing on grappling, which remains his priority.
Among his many grappling accolades, Ryan has won three gold medals at the ADCC World Championship, five gold medals competing for the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, and four Eddie Bravo Invitationals.
Aoki is coming off of a first-round armbar submission of Eduard Folayang at ONE on TNT 4 in April. The former ONE, DREAM, and Shooto champion has won four straight and eight of his past nine MMA bouts.
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