Ryan Bow

Ryan Bow is a retired mixed martial artist from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He moved to Japan alone at the age of 17 to study martial arts and the Japanese language. He's a veteran of more than 30 professional fights and has competed in MMA events around the world. In 2001, Ryan signed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship to fight Jens Pulver for the inaugural Lightweight World Championship. Unfortunately, the fight was canceled. Bow was deemed unfit to fight after disclosing the handicap he has suffered from since birth. Ryan continued competing, primarily in Japan. He went on to become the Number 1 World Ranked fighter in the World Shooto organization before retiring from competition in 2009. In 2014, Bow moved to the United Arab Emirates where he was hired as the head MMA coach at Team Nogueira Dubai under the guidance of former Pride and UFC Heavyweight Champion Rodrigo Nogueira and former BJJ World Champion Rafael Haubert. Present day, Ryan is a coach, an author, and an entrepreneur. He resides in Seattle, WA where he is the owner and head coach at Fight Gods Mixed Martial Arts Academy. Recently, Bow has recounted his triumphant story from being born with a disability to becoming a mixed martial arts world champion in his screenplay, Fighting Blind