Gordon Ryan Hospitalized, Undergoes Surgery

Gordon Ryan is out of action and expected to remain that way for the foreseeable future.

The 27 year-old grappling sensation has been dealing with severe throat issues after his recent trip to Abu Dhabi, to the point where “King” was bouncing on and off different antibiotics for more than 40 days — with little relief from his clueless doctors.

That led to a slew of new (and old) problems and yet another surgery.

“Hi everyone, quick update for everyone who has been asking,” Ryan wrote on Instagram. “I’m not sure when I’ll be competing again. When I got back from my Abu Dhabi trip I came down with a severe case of strep throat which ended with me in the hospital because my throat swelled shut. Doctors also couldn’t figure out how to cure it since no one ever fails penicillin for a strep infection. In all, I did seven days of amoxicillin and within a day my throat was back to square one. Then, I did 10 days of penicillin and within two days off I was in the hospital with my throat swollen shut. In the hospital, they gave me a shot of penicillin and another 10 days of penicillin, which i failed. Then I switched to 14 days of clindamycin, which worked. So all in I was on over 40 days of antibiotics straight plus a shot of penicillin.”

Ryan has not competed since a short-notice victory over longtime rival Nicky Rodriguez at Fight Pass Invitational 3 last last year. “King” was supposed to return against Felipe Pena at Tezos WNO earlier this year but recurring stomach issues forced him to withdraw.

“During this time I was contagious and everyone were in big camps so I couldn’t even go to training in fear I would infect them as well,” Ryan continued. “In addition, my ears were in so much pain from my throat that I couldn’t elevate my heart rate at all without having them want to explode and getting a pounding headache. So I’ve been completely inactive for a longer time than I ever have since I started training. As expected, my stomach has relapsed pretty bad and my nausea and lack of appetite have re-appeared, so I’ll need to deal with that, but first I’m headed into surgery today for a tonsillectomy and to fix my severely deviated septum. Just wanted to update everyone on what my competition schedule looks like. I’m hoping to be back in the next few months.”

Considering his ongoing issues, 2024 sounds like a more realistic timeline.