We are preparing for what is no doubt the biggest event of the year on October 2nd at WNO: Gordon Ryan vs Matheus Diniz, and arguably one of the biggest events of all-time. The main event pits two reigning ADCC champs against each other for their first ever meeting, in an extremely rare matchup between two current #1 ranked grapplers.

There are a lot of storylines here. ADCC champ vs ADCC champ, #1 vs #1 and the local rivalry between the Renzo Gracie/Danaher Death Squad and athletes from the Marcelo Garcia academy. I'll try to unpack a little of what exactly makes this match so big in this article, along with some of the possible rankings implications based on the outcome.

Matheus Diniz

After Gordon Ryan won the 88kg division at ADCC 2017 in Finland, he moved up in weight to 99kg for ADCC 2019. That left the division wide open, and Matheus Diniz stepped up to take control of the 88kg division that weekend in Anaheim.

Matheus had come into ADCC with some serious momentum, having recent victories over eventual silver and bronze medalists in the division Craig Jones and Josh Hinger. He went on to blank them 7-0 in the final two rounds, etching his name into history amongst the legends who have reached the top of the ADCC podium.

Watch: Matheus Diniz vs Craig Jones ADCC

Here are Matheus last six matches entering WNO, all against ranked opponents:

ADCC Final vs Craig Jones 2-0

ADCC Semifinal vs Josh Hinger 3-0

ADCC Quarterfinal vs Gabriel Arges referee decision

ADCC First Round vs Pedro Marinho 5-0

KASAI vs Josh Hinger rear naked choke

3CG vs Craig Jones 2-0

Gordon Ryan

"The King" has been exactly that over the last couple of years, reigning supreme over the no-gi grappling circuit since his gold medal at ADCC 2017. Gordon went on to win double gold at ADCC 2019, defeating Buchecha in the absolute final and setting up maybe the biggest match of all-time against Andre Galvao in the ADCC 2021 superfight.

Gordon has an incredible 81-5 career record, with a ridiculous 80% submission rate. He has conquered everything in the sport, short of the ADCC superfight title, at 25 years old. So far he has the three ADCC gold medals, double gold at both IBJJF No-Gi Worlds and Pans, along with four EBI titles earlier in his career.

Watch: Gordon Ryan vs Kyle Boehm WNO Dallas

Gordon is unbeaten in his last 37 matches, with 35 wins and 2 draws. Since ADCC 2019, Gordon is 7-0 with six of those matches ending by submission:

World Festival vs Rousimar Palhares referee decision

3CG vs Bo Nickal triangle

Quintet vs Aleksei Oleineik kneebar

SUG vs Gabriel Gonzaga heelhook

Sub Stars vs Tex Johnson katagatame

BJJ Fanatics vs Pat Downey verbal tap

WNO vs Kyle Boehm armlock

Rankings Implications

As stated earlier, both athletes are ranked first in the Official FloGrappling No-Gi Rankings. As they are in different weight divisions, the 88 and 99 rankings will most likely not be affected by the result in their superfight. What is very intriguing however, is what could happen to the P4P rankings should Matheus come away with the upset at WNO.

Matheus has slipped from 5th in the P4P rankings to 9th recently. This has been based on his inactivity, while athletes like Garry Tonon, Cyborg and Craig Jones have steadily competed during the COVID-19 period.

That P4P list is about to be shaken up though, before this match between Gordon and Matheus even takes place. Our rankings have a criteria that after being inactive for a period of one year, an athlete is no longer eligible to be ranked. That would remove Andre Galvao (#2) and JT Torres (#3) from the rankings on September 30th, followed by Augusto Mendes (#8) a week later. So Matheus will most likely enter WNO with the #7 P4P ranking, looking to move up at least to #6 the next week just based on athletes being removed.

That makes it pretty clear, the P4P top spot could be on the line in this WNO main event. Should it be a close match like a split decision for Matheus, there is an argument for Gordon remaining in the top spot based on his dominance over the last couple years. Should Matheus get the submission though, he would clearly be the P4P #1 ranked no-gi grappler going forward.

Even a solid performance by Matheus in a loss should be able to move him forward in the P4P rankings. Gordon is the match that nobody wants, most of the top athletes in the sport have no interest in becoming another one of his victims. Should Matheus put Gordon in serious danger in this match, he has an argument for jumping into the top five even in a loss.

Regardless, the real winners are the fans, and props are due for Matheus taking the match that so many are clearly scared of.

Watch WNO: Gordon Ryan vs Matheus Diniz On Demand On FloGrappling