Allan Goes, a 7th-degree coral belt with real MMA experience, says the berimbolo-heavy style that made Gordon Ryan the best grappler alive would not hold up once strikes enter the picture. The debate says a lot about what actually transfers to a real fight.
Reviewed by BJJ Gyms · Updated 2026-07-27
Figures reflect Allan Goes's biography as reported by BJJ Eastern Europe and Wikipedia.
Allan Goes has the kind of resume that gives his opinion real weight: a 7th-degree coral belt who trained under Carlson Gracie, won eight Brazilian national titles, and then actually stepped into the cage himself across stints in Pride FC, the UFC, and IFL. So when he questions whether today's top sport grapplers could hold up in MMA, it comes from someone who has actually made that jump.
Goes's specific target was the style that made Gordon Ryan the most dominant no-gi grappler of his generation, built heavily around berimbolo entries and lapel-based control. His argument is not that Ryan lacks skill. It is that the specific tools built for a pure grappling ruleset were never designed for an environment where the other person is also trying to hit you.
Goes points to Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida, one of the most decorated competitors in IBJJF history, as a real-world data point. Almeida's move into MMA with ONE Championship has been rockier than his sport jiu-jitsu dominance would predict, and Goes argues that gap is exactly what happens when techniques optimized for a mat-only ruleset meet an opponent who is allowed to strike.
The core of his argument is simple: positions and entries that work beautifully against a compliant grappling opponent can fall apart once takedowns get stuffed by punches, or once a scramble happens under the threat of getting hit rather than just getting swept.
It is worth noting that this whole debate is somewhat hypothetical. Gordon Ryan has said publicly, more than once, that a jump to MMA does not currently make sense for him. He has acknowledged receiving serious offers, but points to his already lucrative grappling contracts and a stated goal of helping jiu-jitsu become a mainstream sport in its own right as reasons to stay put.
That context matters. Goes is not responding to an announced Ryan MMA debut, he is weighing in on a hypothetical that keeps circulating because Ryan is, by a wide margin, the most dominant grappler of his era, and fans naturally wonder how that dominance would hold up under a different rule set.
Whatever side of this argument you land on, there is a genuinely useful lesson buried in it for anyone training jiu-jitsu with self-defense or MMA in mind. Positions that look dominant in a gi or no-gi tournament do not automatically transfer to a scenario where strikes are live. If your goals include MMA or self-defense, it is worth training positions and transitions specifically with strikes in the equation, not just pure grappling exchanges.
That does not mean sport jiu-jitsu is a waste of time, far from it. It means a smart training plan matches the ruleset to your actual goals. A good gym will have coaches who understand that distinction and can guide your training accordingly. Find a BJJ gym near you and ask directly how their program bridges sport grappling and live, strikes-included scenarios.
The debate over Gordon Ryan's hypothetical MMA readiness points to a broader lesson about which grappling skills actually hold up once strikes are involved.
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Goes argued that Ryan's dominant sport jiu-jitsu style, built around techniques like the berimbolo, is not built for a ruleset where strikes are involved, and used Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida's MMA transition as an example.
Not currently. Ryan has said publicly that a move to MMA doesn't make sense for him right now, citing his existing grappling contracts and his focus on growing the sport.
No. It means training goals should match the ruleset you actually care about, and a good gym will help you bridge sport grappling with live, strikes-included scenarios if MMA or self-defense is the goal.
A jiu-jitsu veteran under Carlson Gracie who holds a 7th-degree coral belt, won eight national titles in Brazil, and later fought professionally in Pride FC, the UFC, and IFL.