A Tony Ramos vs Nicky Ryan BJJ scrap immediately grabs attention. And when FloGrappling announced this WNO match, set for next month (Oct. 2) fans were excited. But many of us were left scratching our heads after reading the ruleset. The match will be 15 minutes in sub-only style and will go to a judge’s decision if there is no submission.
The consensus in the community seems to be that a match like this – where a wrestler is crossing over into Jiu Jitsu – should be ADCC style. That is, sub-only for the first half and then allowing points in the second half. This would take into account aspects that are valued in both disciplines (takedowns, guard passing, back control etc.) while also dedicating time to sub-only. Instead, the match will come down to submissions.
If you know anything about Ramos, you know he thrives at being the underdog. It didn’t stop him from winning the National Championship for the University of Iowa in 2014 or later beating Olympic gold medalist Henry Cejudo.
Still, there are questions on everyone’s mind. Can the Hawkeye defend a leg lock? Where does he train? Can he even get adequate training during a pandemic?
I reached out to Ramos to get these answers and he agreed to an interview with GI. Here is what he had to say.
