Sorry Nicky, But ‘Steroids Are Not Illegal In Jiu Jitsu’

Nick Rodriguez, better known as “Nicky Rod” on the jiu-jitsu circuit, captured the $30,000 grand prize by defeating Dan Manasoiu in the eight-man absolute tournament at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 on Thurs. night (June 29, 2023) at APEX in Las Vegas.

After his big night in “Sin City,” which also included victories over Roberto Jimenez and Vagner Rocha, Rodriguez called for a rematch against longtime nemesis Gordon Ryan, but demanded strict USADA testing before and after their proposed matchup.

“You see this physique right? You’ve got this guy named Gordon Ryan, who keeps accusing me of being on steroids, right? So let’s do this. All the accusations, let’s go 10-minute match, EBI overtime, but with a catch,” Rodriguez said. “Let’s both pass USADA tests before and after competition. Pretty fair right? He’s accusing, I’m showing up and competing. Let’s get it done.”

Ryan, who spent the better part of 2023 sidelined with health issues, was in attendance for last night’s grappling festivities. The 27 year-old super heavyweight was unimpressed by the offer from Rodriguez and has no plans to face him outside of a major tournament.

“King” has two previous wins over Rodriguez (with one submission).

“Everybody wants a payday,” Ryan continued. “Me and Nicky Rod will compete again for sure, but it’s gonna be in a tournament where he gets no relevancy off my name and he doesn’t make any money losing to me for the third time in a row. He’s trying to make the rules. You’re a brown belt and you want a random tournament? You don’t call the shots and you’re not making any more money off my name. Nicky Rod literally has no money so calling me out is actually the easiest way to make some money and move out of my sauna and actually buy himself a house or rent an apartment.”

As for that challenge to undergo USADA testing?

“First of all, no, because steroids are not illegal in jiu-jitsu,” Ryan said. “And number two, I actually have a contract coming to Nicky Rod from USADA and WADA testing from now until the next ADCC, it will be interesting to see if he’s gonna sign that. I make the rules, I name the time, I name the place, I name the ruleset because I’ve earned that. I can actually win matches. Nicky Rod winning three matches in a row is actually impressive because he’s literally never done it before. If you actually follow statistics, he sucks. If you actually look at his jiu-jitsu during regulation, he literally doesn’t know a single move.”

Here are the full results from UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4:

Craig Jones def. Felipe Pena by escape time
Glover Teixeira def. Anthony Smith by unanimous decision.
Nicholas Meregali def. Roberto Abreu by armbar in overtime
Roman Bravo-Young and Alex Perez fought to a time limit draw
Helena Crevar def. Emily Fernandez by rear naked choke at 7:26

Tournament Finals

Nick Rodriguez def. Dan Manasoiu by rear naked choke in overtime

Tournament Semifinals

Nick Rodriguez def. Vagner Rocha by rear naked choke in overtime
Dan Manasoiu def. Fedor Nikolov by inverted kneebar at 0:38

Tournament Quarterfinals

Nick Rodriguez def. Roberto Jimenez by escape time
Vagner Rocha def. Fellipe Andrew by inside heel hook at 6:18
Fedor Nikolov def. Haisam Rida by escape time
Dan Manasoiu def. Gabriel Arges by outside heel hook at 3:20

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