Rivalry · 4 recorded meetings

Gordon Ryan vs Vagner Rocha

Head-to-head record

Gordon

Vagner

1 draw

Gordon

Vagner

2016 → 2021, oldest first

Did you know?

In 4 recorded meetings Ryan went 3-0 with 1 draw, and all 3 of his wins came by submission.
Ryan finished 77% of his recorded wins by submission, more than double Rocha's 36%.
Their 2016 meeting at Sapateiro 2 is the only one that did not end in a Ryan submission, going to a draw instead.
Ryan used three different finishes across the series: a rear naked choke at EBI 11 in 2017, then a reverse triangle and a triangle choke in their 2021 matches.
Both men are listed out of the US but compete in different divisions, with Ryan at Super-Heavy and Rocha at Peso Medio.

The rivalry

Gordon Ryan and Vagner Rocha have met 4 times on record, and the ledger is one-sided. Ryan holds 3 wins with 1 draw, and Rocha has yet to take a match off him. The one that got away for both was their earliest meeting at Sapateiro 2 in 2016, which ended in a draw. Everything after that went Ryan's way, and every one of those wins came by submission.

The stylistic gap shows up in the finishes. Ryan closed the EBI 11 final in 2017 with a Rear Naked Choke, then returned to submit Rocha twice in 2021, once with a Reverse Triangle and once with a Triangle Choke. That range of finishing positions fits the wider record: Ryan submits 77% of his wins, while Rocha's submission rate sits at 36%, with more of his game built on grinding and positional work.

The size difference is real too. Ryan competes at Super-Heavy and Rocha at Peso Medio, so these were matches where Rocha was giving up weight to a finisher who tends to punish any opening. Against that backdrop the meetings tell a consistent story rather than a back-and-forth rivalry.