ADCC vs. Craig Jones Invitational
A million bucks to win a tournament??
"ADCC was a tournament I could never win. So I thought, you know what, let’s destroy the tournament, make our own tournament."
Craig Jones, BJJ black belt and co-owner of the B Team.
What is the deal with ADCC and the Craig Jones Invitational?
The 2024 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship tournament is going to be held on August 17-18 2024 at T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas, USA. It will be available to watch on FloGrappling with a paid subscription. The cost is $30/month or $150 annually.
The inaugural Craig Jones Invitational, the highest paying event in grappling history will be held August 16-17 at Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, USA. It will be available to watch free on YouTube.
The ADCC has been around since 1998, it’s been held every two years and historically has been the most prestigious submission grappling tournament a grappler can win.
For winning your division which would take 4 separate victories against the best grapplers in the world, you would earn $10,000 USD and the title of ADCC World Champion. Second place at ADCC earns you 5,000 USD, third place $3,000 USD, and fourth place $1,000 USD. If you do not place in the top four you don’t earn any money.
Two-time ADCC silver medalist, Australian BJJ black belt and one of the founders of the popular B Team, Craig Jones announced the Craig Jones Invitational event in May 2024. Two divisions. Under 80kg and over 80kg. Each winner will take home 1 million dollars USD. Moreover, just for showing up and competing Craig Jones is paying athletes $10,001. Exactly one dollar more than the ADCC first place prize money. No prize money has been announced for second or third place. Several athletes who were registered for ADCC have dropped out in favor of competing in CJI.
Fair Fight Foundation
The Craig Jones Invitational is associated with the Fair Fight Foundation. A link on the CJI Instagram pages directs you to the foundation which is described as follows,
'A Nonprofit dedicated to elevating sport and athlete compensation, while simultaneously raising money for charitable causes.’
Divisions
ADCC has five different male weight divisions (-66 kg, -77 kg, -88 kg, -99 kg, +99 kg) and three female weight divisions (-55 kg, -65 kg, +65 kg). A new female weight division is being added this year. Up until 2024 there has always been two female weight divisions. There are sixteen competitors in each ADCC weight division.
CJI has two divisions announced so far, with some possible female divisions or super fights to be announced.
Is there beef between ADCC and CJI?
Of course, ADCC is not happy about CJI. But according to Craig Jones Reddit account there is no beef. Note: Craig Jones Reddit account username is ‘Johnbelushismom‘.
Rules
CJI will be using the same pit wall used in karate combat fighting. This will prevent competitors from going out of bounds which happens a lot. Competitors can use the pit wall to their advantage. On Joe Rogan’s podcast Craig announced the matches will have 3x5 minute rounds with a one minute break in-between rounds. There will be judges using a 10-point must scoring system like boxing and MMA uses. There will be “open scoring” so that competitors and crowd will know after every round who is winning.
ADCC uses a ten minute regulation period with a five minute overtime if required. Finals are twenty minutes. Points are not scored in the first half of the match. Points only come into play in the last half of the match. You are able to get negative points for guard pulling and stalling.
Who’s paying for all this?
ADCC was created in 1998 by Sheik Tahnoun Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. He is the son of a former president of the United Arab Emirates. From 2019 to current ADCC has been organized by Mo Jassim. Mo is a BJJ black belt under JT Torres and often held private camps with Gordon Ryan and former Danaher Death Squad members.
Nobody is quite sure yet where CJI is being funded from. I’ve seen a few wild guesses online from Mark Zuckerberg to Karate Combat. Craig announced on JRE that he did indeed have a sugar daddy funding this but didn’t want to reveal who it was. His reasoning was so any negative feedback is directed at Craig Jones himself and not the financial backer.
Is Craig Jones competing?
Yes. Craig Jones announced that he has signed a contract to have a intergender grappling match against Gabi Garcia, the most decorated female BJJ athlete of all time. I believe this is the first time a female ADCC champion will fight a male ADCC silver medalist.
This all started a few years ago when another female competitor called out Gabi Garcia for a match. Gabi responded by saying she would compete against literally anyone who challenged her. Enter Craig Jones who knows how to cause a stir online. They tried to set this match up a few times over the last few years but couldn’t work out a deal financially with an organization. Finally it’s happening at CJI.
Craig Jones is six feet tall and listed at 205 pounds. Gabi Garcia is six foot two inches tall and listed at 210 pounds. Gabi has fought MMA at a weight of 225 pounds. Her MMA record is 6 wins and 0 losses. Gabi is a six time BJJ world champion and a four time ADCC champion.
Competitors announced for CJI
Under 80kg:
Andrew Tackett (ADCC 2024 trials winner)
Nicky Ryan (ADCC veteran)
Jozef Chen (ADCC 2024 European trials winner)
Over 80kg:
William Tackett (ADCC 2024 trials winner)
Luke Rockhold (Former UFC middleweight champion)
Nicky Rodriguez (ADCC 2022 silver medalist)
Mason Fowler (ADCC veteran)
Roberto Jimenez (ADCC veteran)
Also announced
Ffion Davies (ADCC 2022 world champion)
Craig Jones vs. Gabi Garcia (4x female ADCC champion)
Rumored to be on show
Marcelo Garcia in a super fight
GSP vs. Khabib
Competitors announced for ADCC 2024
Under 66 kg:
Diogo Reis (ADCC 2022 Champion, Invited) | Brazil
Owen Jones (1st European Trial winner) | England
Dorian Olivarez (East Coast Trials winner) | United States
Ethan Thomas (1st Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
Gairbeg Ibragimov (2nd European Trials winner) | Russia
Kennedy Maciel (1st South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Fabricio Andrey (2nd South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Ethan Crelinsten (Invited) | Canada
Deandre Corbe (West Coast Trials winner) | Canada
Kauã Gabriel (Invited) | Brazil
Ash Williams (Invited) | Wales
Keith Krikorian (Invited) | United States
Josh Cisneros (Returning Place Winner, Invited) | United States
Xu Huaiqing (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | China
Diego 'Pato' Oliveira (Returning Medalist, Invited) | Brazil
Gabriel Sousa (Returning Medalist, Invited) | Brazil
Under 77 kg:
Jozef Chen (1st European Trials winner) | South AfricaNicky Ryan (Invited) USAElijah Dorsey (East Coast Trials winner) | United States
Andrew Tackett (West Coast Trials winner) USAKenta Iwamoto (1st Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Japan
Tommy Langaker (2nd European Trials winner) | Norway
JT Torres (Invited) | United States
Luiz Paolo (1st South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Alexandre de Jesus (2nd South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Jonnatas Gracie (Invited) | Brazil
Kade Ruotolo (Returning Champion, Invited) | United States
Mica Galvao (Returning Medalist, Invited) | Brazil
Dante Leon (Returning Medalist, Invited) | Canada
PJ Barch (Returning Place Winner, Invited) | United States
Levi Jones-Leary (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
Oliver Taza (Invited) | Canada
Andy Varela (Invited) | United States
Under 88 kg:
Santeri Lilius (1st European Trials winner) | Finland
Jacob Couch (East Coast Trials winner) | United States
William Tackett (East Coast Trials winner) USAIzaak Michell (1st Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
Taylor Pearman (2nd European Trials winner) | England
Charles Negromonte (1st South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Pedro Marinho (2nd South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Tye Ruotolo (Invited) | United States
Jay Rodriguez (Invited) | United States
Gabriel Almeida (Invited) | Brazil
Luke Kanard (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
Elder Cruz (Invited) | Honduras
Under 99 kg:
Kaynan Duarte (ADCC 2022 World Champion, invited) | Brazil
Nicky Rodriguez (ADCC 2022 silver) USALuke Griffith (1st European Trials winner) | South Africa
Paul Ardila (East Coast Trials winner) | United States
Declan Moody (1st Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
Marcin Maciulewicz (2nd European Trials winner) | Poland
Cassio Felipe Costa (1st South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Henrique Ceconi (2nd South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Mason Fowler (Invited) | United StatesMichael Pixley (West Coast Trials winner) | United States
Cyborg Abreu (Invited) | Brazil
Roberto Jimenez (Invited) | EcuadorRafael Lovato Jr. (Invited) | United States
Daniel Schuardt (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
Eli Braz (Invited) | Brazil
Nicholas Meregali (ADCC 2022 silver medalist) | Brasil
Alex Grandy (Invited) | United States
Over 99 kg:
Heikki Jussila (1st European Trials winner) | Finland
Daniel Manasoiu (East Coast Trials winner) | Romania
Josh Saunders (1st Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
Mark MacQueen (2nd European Trials winner) | Scotland
Jose Inacio (1st South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Victor Hugo (Invited) | Brazil
Victor Honorio (2nd South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Mike Perez (West Coast Trials winner) | United States
Gutemberg Pereira (Invited) | Brazil
Nick Rodriguez (Returning Medalist, Invited) | United States
Mansur Makhmakhanov (2nd Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Kazakhstan
Felipe Pena (Invited) | Brazil
Super fight
Gordon Ryan vs. Yuri Simoes
Female under 55 kg:
Margot Ciccarelli (European Trials winner) | Italy
Ana Rodrigues (South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Ffion Davies (ADCC 2022 world champion) WalesMackenzie Dern (Invited) | Brazil
Mayssa Bastos (Invited) | Brazil
Jasmine Rocha (West Coast Trials winner) | United States
Adele Fornarino (Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
Female under 65 kg:
Aurelie Le Vern (European Trials winner) | French Guiana
Ana Carolina Vieira (South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Helena Crevar (West Coast Trials winner) | United States
Bia Mesquita (Invited, Returning Medalist) | Brazil
Brianna Ste-Marie (Invited, Returning Medalist) | Canada
Amanda Leve (Invited) | United States
Mo Black (Invited) | United States
Sula-Mae Loewenthal (Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
Female over 65 kg:
Gabi Garcia (4x ADCC world champion) BrazilNia Blackman (European Trials winner) | England
Maria Ruffato (South American Trials winner) | Brazil
Elizabeth Mitrovic (West Coast Trials winner) | United States
Nikki Lloyd-Griffiths (Asia & Oceania Trials winner) | Australia
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