On Friday, March 25, one of the best grappling events on the planet returns to FloGrappling — Who’s Number One. This event will be headlined by Gordon Ryan vs. Jacob Couch. We will go into details in this WNO: Couch vs Ryan preview.
You can catch all the action live on FloGrappling beginning at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET.
WNO: Couch vs Ryan Preview
The king of grappling, Gordon Ryan wasn’t expected to compete on this card, however, after his brother, Nicky was forced out of action against Jacob Couch, he stepped in. It has been almost one year since Ryan last stepped foot on the professional grappling stage and he will be going up against a young, hungry brown belt in ‘The Hillbilly Hammer’.
Couch’s original bout against Nicky was a 15-minute co-main event match, however, since moving into the main event slot against Gordon, it has now been scheduled for 30-minutes.
In his last outing, Gordon Ryan predicted and submitted Vagner Rocha by triangle choke. After recovering from health issues, he was expected to return at this year’s ADCC against Andre Galvao, so coming back at this point has fans salivating.
Size could definitely come into play, as Gordon will outweigh Couch significantly. When the match was first announced, the Pedigo Submission Fighting product had already made the 185-pound weight, with Gordon well over 225-pounds.
Couch has no problem being the underdog in this match, as he’s been categorized as that on many occasions. He was one of the largest underdogs at the WNO Championship and was able to defeat Roberto Jimenez in the process.
This is arguably Couch’s biggest test to date and even if he is not able to beat Ryan, it will catapult his status with a successful showing on the mat on Friday evening.
Prediction: Gordon Ryan via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)
Co-Main Event
A 15-minute match is in place in the co-main event, as Micael Galvao takes on Dante Leon.
Galvao has been on a competing rampage and impressed at the ADCC South American Trials. He was able to submit all four of his opponents in just over 5-minutes.
Leon is coming into this match as the betting underdog, however, he has all the skills needed to beat the fast-paced Brazilian. At the 2019 ADCC event, Leon was able to take fourth place after an impressive performance.
Either of these guys could capture a victory. As they say, styles make match-ups and this one has all the makings of fireworks on the mat.
Prediction: Galvao via Decision
The full WNO: Couch vs Ryan card is stacked. Check it out below.
WNO: Couch vs Ryan
MAIN CARD (FloGrappling)
Jacob Couch vs. Gordon Ryan
Micael Galvao vs. Dante Leon
Nicholas Meregali vs. Arnaldo Maidana
Elder Cruz vs. Haisam Rida
PRELIMINARY CARD (FloGrappling Facebook/YouTube)
Jessie Crane vs. Sophia Cassella
Joe Dierkhising vs. Luke Griffith
David Garmo vs. Benji Silva
