It looks like the king may have to temporarily his abdicate throne as the best in the world.

On Feb. 2, Gordon Ryan suffered a severe tear of his lateral collateral ligament in a winning effort against Joao Gabriel Rocha at Kasai Super Series and it looks like the damage might well be worse than anticipated. Ryan injured his knee during a saddle entry against Rocha, but he was able to take home a points victory.

Ryan announced on Facebook that he will be undergoing reconstructive surgery next week and a timeline for his return is not known at the time of writing.

LCL reconstructive surgery is no small matter and it is likely that Ryan will be out for a number of months. One similar case we can look at is Tony Ferguson, who suffered a similar tear prior to his scheduled match with Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 223. Ferguson managed to get back to competing in 6 months, so there still might be a chance that we will see Ryan at ADCC in September.

GrapplingInsider.com will keep you posted on all the news regarding Gordon Ryan and his road back to the mats.