‘Once In A Lifetime’

Grappling superstar Gordon Ryan injured his rib and was unable to compete at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 event last Sunday night (Dec. 10, 2023), held at the UFC APEX facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

That’s the bad news.

The goods news is, Ryan is expected to make his return to the mats in early 2024. With that in mind, his former UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 opponent, Mason Fowler, is willing to keep himself on the bench for the next few months.

After all, competing against Ryan in jiu-jitsu is like scoring a Conor McGregor fight in UFC.

“That’s kind of where my head was at [waiting] when [Gordon Ryan] dropped out,” Fowler said at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5’s post-event press conference. “It was something we talked about — potentially waiting to not risk losing that big match. The position I am in now — I’m 30 years old and I feel like I am in my prime — if I were to lose the shot with Gordon, who knows if I’ll be able to get it again, right? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Fowler remained on the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5 card to submit towering B-Team grappler Haisam Rida. Casual fight fans may remember the Ghanaian “Giraffe” as the Austin-based jiu-jitsu ace who stretchered a would-be car thief back in June.

“That was about as perfect of a performance as you can have for Mason,” Ryan added during the post-event presser. “That’s a match I’ve been trying to make, we’ve been trying to make for a long time and logistically, it just hasn’t really added up. So I’m really excited to get out there in 2024 and make that match happen.”

Here’s more from Ryan:

An exact timeline for Ryan’s return has yet to be established.

“If [Ryan is] going to be ready in March or April [2024] then I am fine with sitting out and waiting,” Fowler continued. “Some guys like to compete every weekend, I like to put together a real eight-week training camp. I came from MMA, so I like doing that full training camp. We’ll see. It depends, really, on when he will be ready. If it’s six or seven months, then I might think about doing another competition, but, if it’s going to be three or four [months] then I can wait.”

Check out his full interview below:

Fowler has won nine of his last 10, six by way of submission.

Ryan was in talks to headline ADCC 2024 against reigning ADCC absolute champion Yuri Simoes; however, the Brazilian was just defeated by Nicky Rodriguez at UFC Fight Pass Invitational 5, which may (or may not) throw a wrench into those plans.

Stay tuned.