Serious question, not being a dick or trying to troll.
I keep seeing his name pop up on the forums, I know he's a BJJ practitioner, I see a few vids on YouTube. But what is the significants of this guy? I don't see a web page or wiki page to clue me in. So whats the deal?
I just got back from visiting Ryan's gym:
50/50 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Ryan Hall got popular through the advertising of Lloyd Irvin when he was a student of Lloyd's. Lloyd used to advertise Ryan as the Triangle machine, and Ryan has had over 200 victories via Triangle, many from the upside-down guard. He split from Lloyd's as a Brown belt and started his own gym, 50/50 BJJ, named after the guard (a term which Ryan also coined). Ryan didn't invent the guard position, but he was the first one to really start calling it the 50/50. As a Purple belt, he started doing a ton of reverse heelhooks from the 50/50 guard, and along with the Triangle, that became of of his go-to submissions.
He's had a lot of haters, because he's been so visible since being a blue belt. Everyone has gotten to see him grow in BJJ in front of the world, which has also given him a disadvantage as a competitor, because there is so much tape on him. Still, he's managed to win, mostly by submission, and went over 3 years undefeated at Grappler's Quest events.
Ryan is now a Black belt and a part of Team Brasa. His game has evolved well beyond the Triangle, upside-down guard, and the 50/50 guard. You can still see a lot of his matches on youtube, even though many were taken down by Lloyd Irvin after the split. Along with Jeff Glover, Ryan is the best American featherweight grappler of all time, and he's probably in the top 3-5 American grapplers alive pound-for-pound. I can say after training with him, that he's developed a way not not ht a ceiling with his training, and he is always improving. He is continuing to evolve with new skillsets, and right now he is becoming an absolute monster at taking the back, as well as fine tuning the Deep Half Guard, the mounted finish of the Darce/Brabo choke, and the Marcelo Guillotine.
He did not place at the Worlds this year, although he did fight Rafael Mendes and lost 2-5. He's the only person to score against Rafael Mendes and not get submitted. Mendes is going to be a huge hurdle for Ryan, and it's going to be fun to see if he can get a win someday. They're both young, and they both have a while to have some great matches with each other.
He has the best way to finish the Triangle choke. Marcelo has even said this, and that once you learn it, you will never Triangle another way:
Here are some of his creds taken off his website:
Over 300 victories in competition (over 275 via submission)
Over 200 victories in competition via triangle choke
2009 Abu Dhabi World Championships <65.9kg Bronze Medallist
2007 Abu Dhabi World Championships Alternate Match Champion
2009 Abu Dhabi North American West Coast Trials Professional Lightweight Champion
2009 CBJJ Mundial Bronze Medalist
2008 CBJJ Mundial Champion
2007 CBJJ No-Gi Mundial Champion
2008 CBJJ European Champion
2008 CBJJ Brasiliero Bronze Medalist
2007 US Open Champion
13x Professional Superfight Champion (NAGA, Grapplers Quest, NeverTap, US Grappling, et al)
#1 RATED Competitor Overall Nationwide for 2006
#1 RATED Advanced Submission Grappler Nationwide for 2006
#1 RATED Purple Belt Competitor Nationwide for 2006
#1 RATED Blue Belt Competitor Nationwide for 2005
Many times Grapplers Quest, NAGA, U.S. Grappling, Mission Submission Advanced Division Champion
Many times Grapplers Quest, NAGA, US Grappling Advanced Absolute (open weight) Division Champion
Here are some vids: