On record, Gordon Ryan leads Nick Rodriguez 2-0 across 2 meetings, both in 2022 and both no-gi. The first came at 2022 UFC Fight Pass Invitational 3, decided in overtime. The rematch came in the final of the 2022 ADCC World Championships, where Ryan finished with a Heel Hook. So the two meetings tell you two things: it can go the distance, and it can end on the leg.

The styles line up as a clear contrast. Ryan is a submission-first grappler with a 93% win rate and 77% of his recorded wins by submission. Rodriguez comes from a heavy wrestling base, sitting at a 71% win rate with 48% of his wins by submission. Against Ryan, that wrestling foundation was enough to stretch the first meeting to overtime but not enough to keep the match off the mat in the second.

Both men favor the rear naked choke, with Ryan holding 22 wins by that finish and Rodriguez 16. The overlap in finishing preference makes the head to head more telling: when they met, Ryan controlled where the fight went, and the decisive finish came from a leg attack rather than the choke either man leans on elsewhere.