# Nicky Ryan ("Nicky")

> Black Belt | United States

## Overview

**Name:** Nicky Ryan

**Nickname:** Nicky

**Belt Rank:** Black Belt

**Nationality:** United States

**Gender:** Male

**Weight:** 70 kg


## Bio

Nicky Ryan was born on June 27, 2001, in New Jersey, United States of America.

Influenced by his older brother,  Gordon Ryan , Nicky started training jiu-jitsu at a local club when he was 8 years old. His first impressions of this combat sport were not optimal, training on-and-off for a while at a maximum of 2x per week until his interest faded away.

Seeing his brother’s career grow, and having Gordon pushing for him to return on a regular basis finally convinced Nicky to make a comeback, which happened in early 2015. This second turn was very different from his first attempt at grappling, as Nicky started enjoying it and adding more effort to his training. This workload brought his talent to the surface.

The training methodology, which included heel hooks from his very first month of training, proved fruitful and had Nicky Ryan winning adult tournaments at the age of 13(!), often making clean sweeps out of these events. These incredible achievements at such a young age were echoed in many grappling-based internet forums at the time, raising Ryan’s profile.

Although devoted to jiu-jitsu, being in high school conflicted with his training schedule, therefore, in 2016 Nicky Ryan decided to leave the traditional school system. In an interview with the BJJ Brick podcast, on September 19, 2016, Ryan explained he was being homeschooled, with his tuition handled by his jiu-jitsu coach,  John Danaher  – himself a Columbia University Philosophy major.

In 2016, at the ADCC East Coast Trials, Nicky Ryan leaped forward in name recognition after placing 3rd in the event – one of the toughest tournaments in the nation. He was 15 years old at the time. Ryan would repeat the podium the following year, at the East Coast trials. These two performances earned the teenager an invitation to the World Championships in Finland, in September 2017. Nicky was 16 years old when he entered the main show and there became the youngest athlete to ever compete in this championship, arguably the most important tournament in the sport.

Following coach John Danaher’s program, Nicky earned his purple belt on June 21st, 2017, at the age of 16. A rank that is seldom given to athletes in their teens. Nicky was later promoted to brown belt, on October 9, 2019, with his black belt promotion taking place on November 3, 2020, on the same day as his training partner Ethan Crelinsten.
## Gym Affiliations

- **B Team** (Austin, United States) — Instructor
- **Simple Man Martial Arts** (Austin, United States) — Head Instructor
## Specialties

- open guard
## Achievements

- Polaris Invitational 145 lbs Champion (2018, 2019)
- Youngest Athlete To Ever Compete in the ADCC (2017)
- 1st Place ADCC US West Coast Trials (2019)
- 2nd Place ADCC US East Coast Trials (2023)
- 3rd Place ADCC US West Coast Trials (2017)
- 3rd Place ADCC US East Coast Trials (2016)
## Lineage

- Carlos Gracie (Red Belt)
- Hélio Gracie (Red Belt)
- Carlos Gracie Junior (Coral Belt)
- Renzo Gracie (Black Belt)
- John Danaher (Black Belt)
## Links

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickyryanbjj/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nickyryanbjj/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nickyryanbjj

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**Last Updated:** September 08, 2026

**Data Source:** bjj.space (https://bjj.space/people/nicky-ryan)