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Craig Jones Invitational

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Craig Jones Invitational
Competition details
DisciplineSubmission grappling
TypeYearly
OrganiserCraig Jones
Divisions
Current weight divisions
Men
  • +80 kg
  • -80 kg
Women
History
First winnerNick Rodriguez (over 80kg)
Kade Ruotolo (under 80kg)
Helena Crevar (openweight)

The Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) is an international submission grappling tournament organized by Craig Jones.

The inaugural tournament was held August 16–17, 2024 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States.[1][2] The event was streamed live on YouTube for free.[3] Nick Rodriguez won the 80kg+ division, and Kade Ruotolo won the −80kg division. The winner in each weight division received $1 million prize money.

The Craig Jones Invitational 2 (CJI 2) was held August 30–31, 2025, returning to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.[4] CJI 2 featured a $1 million team-based grappling tournament won by The B-Team, an openweight $100,000 women's tournament won by Helena Crevar, and a non-tournament superfight which saw Craig Jones defeat Chael Sonnen. The B-Team and Team New Wave initially fought to a draw in the team tournament final before The B-Team were declared the winners by decision; after controversy over the decision, both teams were to be awarded $1 million but Team New Wave were ultimately not given the prize money.[5]

2024

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Background

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Craig Jones from B-Team Jiu-Jitsu is a two-time ADCC silver medalist. Disappointed with athlete pay at ADCC, he decided to host a tournament in which all invited athletes receive a higher minimum payout ($10,001) than the male winner of ADCC ($10,000).[6]

The two men's divisions scheduled for the 2024 tournament were under 80kg and over 80kg, and the winner of each bracket was to be awarded $1 million. Each men's division bracket had 16 competitors. Each participant received $10,001 for competing.[7]

On JRE MMA Show No. 157, an episode of Joe Rogan's podcast, Jones brought $1 million in cash to promote the tournament.[8]

A best submission bonus of $50,000 was announced.[9]

The dates and location were selected to overlap with ADCC 2024, which was held August 17–18, 2024 in Las Vegas.

Separate from the men's divisions, Craig Jones was scheduled to face Gabi Garcia in an intergender superfight, and Ffion Davies was scheduled to fight Mackenzie Dern in the women's superfight.[10] A superfight with Mikey Musumeci was also announced,[11] but ultimately did not occur due to a lack of a contractual agreement with Musumeci's planned opponent.[12] Mason Fowler was scheduled to fight in the over 80kg bracket but later withdrew from the competition due to injury.[13][14]

Results

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Over 80kg tournament

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[15]

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Winner
United States Nick Rodriguez United States Nick Rodriguez United States Nick Rodriguez United States Nick Rodriguez United States Nick Rodriguez
Brazil Max Gimenis
United Kingdom Owen Livesey United Kingdom Owen Livesey
Brazil Mahamed Aly
United States Adam Bradley United States Adam Bradley United States Adam Bradley
United States Kyle Boehm
United States Luke Rockhold United States Pat Downey
United States Pat Downey
Brazil Victor Hugo Australia Lucas Kanard Brazil Inacio Santos Brazil Fellipe Andrew
Australia Lucas Kanard
Brazil Inacio Santos Brazil Inacio Santos
Brazil Pedro Alex
United States Daniel Greg Kerkvliet Brazil Fellipe Andrew Brazil Fellipe Andrew
Brazil Fellipe Andrew
Brazil Joao Gabriel Rocha Brazil Joao Gabriel Rocha
United States William Tackett

Under 80kg tournament

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[16]

First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final Winner
United States Tye Ruotolo United States Tye Ruotolo Australia Levi Jones-Leary Australia Levi Jones-Leary United States Kade Ruotolo
United States Jason Nolf
Ecuador Roberto Jimenez Australia Levi Jones-Leary
Australia Levi Jones-Leary
Brazil Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa Brazil Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa Brazil Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa
Japan Kenta Iwamoto
South Africa Jozef Chen South Africa Jozef Chen
United States Andy Varela
United States Kade Ruotolo United States Kade Ruotolo United States Kade Ruotolo United States Kade Ruotolo
Brazil Matheus Diniz
Brazil Renato Canuto Norway Tommy Langaker
Norway Tommy Langaker
Brazil Magid Hage United Kingdom Eoghan O’Flanagan United States Andrew Tackett
United Kingdom Eoghan O’Flanagan
United States Andrew Tackett United States Andrew Tackett
United States Nicky Ryan

Superfights

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Reception

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The event raised $500,000 for Tap Cancer Out charity.[20] The event's free YouTube stream was seen by over 100,000 concurrent viewers on both days of competition.[21]

The Craig Jones Invitational won both the Promotion of the Year and Fight Card of the Year awards at the 2024 Jits Magazine BJJ Awards. Kade Ruotolo vs. Andrew Tackett from the event's −80kg tournament won Jits Magazine's Match of the Year award.[22]

2025

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Background

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On December 8, 2024, Craig Jones announced a second Craig Jones Invitational tournament to be held in August 2025, with the 2025 tournament adopting a Quintet-inspired team format.[4] The event streamed live for free on the FloGrappling YouTube channel.

The Craig Jones Invitational 2 (CJI 2) was held August 30-31, 2025 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. CJI 2 was a two-day event, featuring an eight team tournament, an openweight women's tournament, and a superfight between Jones and Chael Sonnen (replacing an injured Gable Steveson). A total of 46 athletes were scheduled to compete at the event.

Teams in the $1 million team-based grappling tournament consisted of five grapplers, each representing a different weight class. Eight teams of five athletes competed; participating teams were: Team 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu, The B-Team, Team New Wave, Team Atos, Team Europe, Team Pedigo Submission Fighting, Team Americas, and Team Australasia.

The $100,000 four-woman tournament featured: Helena Crevar (Polaris and WNO Champion), Adele Fornarino (2024 ADCC double gold medalist), Ana Vieira (2024 ADCC Champion, 6x IBJJF World Champ), and Sarah Galvão (2025 IBJJF Grand Slam Winner).[23]

Gable Steveson later claimed that he withdrew from the event not because of an injury but rather because Jones asked him to throw their superfight.[24] Jones denied Steveson's claims,[24] with Jones alleging that Steveson's withdrawal was orchestrated by the UFC as an attempt to interfere with CJI2.[25]

Teams

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Coaches

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[26]

Athletes

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[26]

  • Team Americas
    • United States Gavin Corbe
    • United States Deandre Corbe
    • United States Elijah Dorsey
    • England Taylor Pearman
    • United States Pat Downey
  • Europe Team Europe
    • England Owen Jones
    • Poland Pawel Jaworski
    • Colombia Paul Ardila
    • Brazil Charles Negromonte
    • Poland Marcin Maciulewicz
  • United States Team Pedigo Submission Fighting
    • Canada Max Hanson
    • Canada Dante Leon
    • United States Jacob Couch
    • United States Michael Pixley
    • United States Brandon Reed
  • Australia Team Australasia
    • Brazil Fabricio Andrey
    • Japan Kenta Iwamoto
    • Australia Lucas Kanard
    • Australia Declan Moody
    • New Zealand Belal Etiabari

Results

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[27][28]

Team tournament

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Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
United States Team New Wave
Team Americas
United States Team New Wave
Brazil Team Atos
Brazil Team Atos
Europe Team Europe
United States Team New Wave
United States The B-Team
United States The B-Team
United States Team Pedigo Submission Fighting
Australia Team Australasia
United States The B-Team
United States Team 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu
Australia Team Australasia

Women's tournament

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[27][28]

Semifinals Final
      
United States Helena Crevar
Australia Adele Fornarino
United States Helena Crevar
United States Sarah Galvão
Brazil Ana Vieira
United States Sarah Galvão

Superfight

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References

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  1. ^ "Dates And Location Announced For Inaugural Craig Jones Invitational". jitsmagazine. 2024-06-01.
  2. ^ BJJ stars leave ADCC 2024 for $1M CJI prize MMA Uncensored, Anton Tabuena, May 30, 2024
  3. ^ "Craig Jones announces $2 million tournament on same weekend as ADCC". grapplinginsider. 2024-05-24.
  4. ^ a b Jones, Phil. "Craig Jones Announces CJI 2 Confirmed For 2025 After Funding Secured". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
  5. ^ Gilpin, Joe. "CJI 2 Donor Rescinds $1 Million Offer To New Wave". FloGrappling. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  6. ^ Jiu Jitsu Fighters Are Grappling With Exploitation Jacobin, Jack Bedrosian, June 2024
  7. ^ "Legendary Jiu-jitsu Star Craig Jones Waging War On ADCC With Competing Invitational Tournament". deadspin. 2024-06-01.
  8. ^ "Joe Rogan podcast guest flashes $1 million cash during interview to promote Jiu-Jitsu tournament: video". nypost. 2024-06-01.
  9. ^ "Craig Jones Invitational Announces $50,000 'Best Submission' Bonus". jitsmagazine. 2024-06-23.
  10. ^ UFC star Mackenzie Dern ‘couldn’t say no’ to Craig Jones Invitational paycheck MMA Mania, Alexander Behunin, August 11, 2024
  11. ^ "Full Updated Competitor List For The Craig Jones Invitational". jitsmagazine. 2024-06-01.
  12. ^ Jones, Phil. "Mikey Musumeci Is Out Of CJI Superfight". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Mason Fowler Leaves ADCC 2024 For Craig Jones Invitational". jitsmagazine. 2024-06-01.
  14. ^ "Mason Fowler Withdraws From Craig Jones Invitational". jitsmagazine. 2024-07-27.
  15. ^ "Craig Jones Invitational 2024 Live Results, Play-by-play, Analysis, Highlights, More". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  16. ^ "Craig Jones Invitational 2024 Live Results, Play-by-play, Analysis, Highlights, More". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Ffion Davies Chooses Craig Jones Invitational Over ADCC 2024". jitsmagazine. 2024-06-01.
  18. ^ "Mackenzie Dern Booked Against Ffion Davies At Craig Jones Invitational". jitsmagazine. 2024-06-13.
  19. ^ "Craig Jones Announces Intergender Match Against Gabi Garcia For Craig Jones Invitational". jitsmagazine. 2024-06-01.
  20. ^ de Souza, Diogo. "CJI Announces Over $500,000 Raised For Tap Cancer Out". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  21. ^ Williams, Jackson. "Viewership Figures For Inaugural Craig Jones Invitational Announced". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
  22. ^ "The Jits Magazine 2024 BJJ Awards". Jits Magazine. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
  23. ^ Gilpin, Joe (July 22, 2025). "A Full Running List Of Teams & Grapplers For The Craig Jones Invitational 2". Flograppling.
  24. ^ a b Riggs, Drake (September 15, 2025). "Gable Steveson claims Craig Jones asked him to take a dive in cancelled CJI 2 match; Jones responds". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
  25. ^ "Craig Jones Suggests UFC Influenced Gable Steveson To Pull Out Of CJI 2". BJJ Eastern Europe. August 30, 2025. Retrieved September 27, 2025.
  26. ^ a b Tabuena, Anton (August 29, 2025). "CJI 2 brackets released: Everything to know about the biggest BJJ event of 2025". MMA Mania. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  27. ^ a b Tabuena, Anton (August 31, 2025). "CJI 2, Day 1: Live results, video highlights $1 million team tournament and women's semis". MMA Mania. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
  28. ^ a b c Tabuena, Anton (August 31, 2025). "CJI 2, Day 2: Live results, video highlights Craig Jones vs. Chael Sonnen". MMA Mania. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
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