This is going to be an incredibly niche blog post. I have a tepid interest in MMA. I wrestled in high school (Uncle Rico: until I shattered my elbow), and because of that I still have a pretty close connection with “combat sports”. And while I don’t keep up as well as I should with MMA in general, outside of the usual Jon Jones felony or McGregor fight (stay tuned for more on that), I really enjoy the world of Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ). The most prestigious BJJ tournament happens every two years – Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) Submission Fighting World Championship. And this year just happens to be a year ADCC falls on. The problem is, for the first time ADCC has legitimate competition. And that competition comes from one of its own – Craig Jones.
ADCC and Craig Jones – An Extremely Brief History
This blog isn’t meant to explain what is going on in the world of BJJ. But, I would be derelict as a blogger if I did not give someone who knows nothing a little bit of setup. As I said, this is pretty niche content in the whole of the sports world. And like the sports world, big personalities have led to big drama.
Just as a clear parallel, the world of BJJ is a bit more like the world of wrestling (Olympic, not professional) than the world of MMA. Instead of grapplers signing with certain promotions, like UFC in MMA, BJJ relies on tournaments and events. UFC hosts grappling events as well, but unlike its signed fighters, those grapplers are free to compete in other events throughout the world. And like wrestling, it’s usually easier for a grappler to fight more often than an MMA fighter, who can sometimes take years between fights.
I also should point out that there are two forms of BJJ – gi and no gi. Gi is the traditional style, where grapplers wear the gi, like kids in karate (this is not a diss, I just need to paint a mental image). Right now, the no gi style is the predominant style.
Craig Jones rose to fame in a group called the Danaher Death Squad (DDS); he was already known, but he became known known. The DDS was a group of grapplers under the tutelage of John Danaher, a man with a philosophy doctorate and a unique understanding of how to teach BJJ. The DDS was comprised of guys like Gordon Ryan (probably the pound-for-pound best in the world), Nicky Rodriguez, Garry Tonon, Craig Jones, and other grapplers who were already or became champions. To make a very long and convoluted and hush-hush story short, it split up in 2021 in Puerto Rico.
Surprisingly, some of the main players moved to Austin and set up two different schools. John Danaher opened New Wave Jiu-Jitsu, joined by Gordon Ryan and Garry Tonon. Craig Jones, along with Nicky Rod and Gordon’s brother, Nicky Ryan, started B-Team Jiu Jitsu. And B-Team, through YouTube, is how I discovered the world of BJJ, along with a friend of mine breaking down everything. Craig Jones lives by the Luka mentality – drink and do whatever but be a champion. And, if you want to know exactly why I loved B-Team content and Craig Jones – watch this Short.
That’s about all the setup that really matters, outside of the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI). To make another long story short, last week Craig Jones announced the CJI. The selling point was the high pay, where fighters even entering the CJI would get paid the same amount as the winners of ADCC. The catch – the CJI and ADCC are happening on the same weekend in the same city.
CJI Comes at the Perfect Time
To me, the CJI is happening at the perfect time and is doing the right thing going head-to-head with ADCC. The initial selling point of the CJI to fighters (and fans, to a lesser extent) was the high payouts. And not even payouts, just pay in general. Because, much like the UFC, BJJ also does not pay fighters as well as their talent may demand. While no BJJ tournament or promotion is making the billions that the UFC is making or the millions of other promotions are making, ADCC is apparently profitable now. But, the prize money has remained the same since the tournament’s inception – $10,000.
I’m not here to say that grapplers should make UFC money; there’s a reason pay between the NHL and the NFL is different. But, as the sport has grown, as ADCC has become profitable, it kind of sucks that the tournament money has remained the same. Because the real money in BJJ comes from seminars, sponsorships, schools, and, now, social media (the Four S’s as I dub it for the sake of this blog). But that leaves a lot of upcoming guys, or guys who just want to focus on tournaments, out in the cold. If you have the time, check out this series from Flo Grappling about a small school with a lot of potential.
And since the announcement of the CJI, there have been a lot of high-profile defections (just look at the announcements on the CJI Instagram). Though I don’t have the inside information, I would imagine the pay is the main point. As I lightly touched on earlier, fighter pay is a big point of contention within the combat sports world. Dana White has been called out multiple times, including by Jake Paul of all people, about how poorly he pays fighters. (Me watching Jake Paul make a great point). It’s pretty industry standard to pay fighters poorly, no matter how much money the promotion or tournament is bringing in. Which leads us to the CJI, where Craig Jones is taking a stance and paying fighters incredibly well.
So when I listened to Craig Jones on Joe Rogan, it was disappointing to hear Joe say that the CJI should be taking place at a different time. His reasoning is that the CJI is splitting the BJJ world and forcing people to choose. But that’s kind of the point. The point was to challenge ADCC and the pay for fighters. The point was to offer an alternative to the current regime and allow grapplers to make money while grappling. Craig Jones even says that if ADCC had raised their prize to $20,000, he wouldn’t have created the CJI.
This issue isn’t with management. The issue isn’t with ADCC leadership, personally. It’s about the pay. Right now, Michael Chandler is sitting at home realizing he waited for two years for a McGregor fight – the ultimate MMA payday – and it’s not happening (speculatively). He waited all that time for his payday, a payday only a few fighters will ever see. And in a moment it’s all gone. I get that’s just how the world works, but it sucks for Chandler. And his story isn’t unique.
The point of the CJI is to make an impact, and that can’t happen if it’s a month later. It’s about the choice grapplers are going to make with their bodies. Like Craig says on JRE, you can either have $10,000 and a gold medal, or $1,000,000. I imagine there will be a lot of young grapplers who haven’t competed at ADCC yet who are doing it for the love of the game. But sometimes the love of the game can’t outweigh the need for cash. If ADCC is profitable, why can’t it raise that prize money? Even $20,000 would have changed the situation. And there is no statement if there is a backseat.
The pay in combat sports has been in the cultural zeitgeist for a very long time. Look at something like Foxcatcher Wrestling in the 90s. Look at the UFC today. This is a problem that is not going away, and it’s up to the fighters to make it happen. Jesse Ventura has spoken about trying to unionize professional wrestling but being shut out by WWE management and Hulk Hogan. Now UFC and WWE are under the same roof. Sometimes its up to the people from within. There is either crab mentality from grapplers who have always lived this way. Or there is a new age, where grapplers force tournaments, especially profitable ones likes ADCC, to pay better than they did in the 90s.
Tickets for the CJI are yet to go on sale, but it will be interesting to see what happens. I looked at the ADCC tickets a couple of days ago, and it’s mostly sold out. But most of those were probably sold before Craig Jones made the announcement. Now, I’m incredibly interested to see sales and if the CJI is a success. And, if it is a success, how do ADCC and the rest of the BJJ world respond?
Follow Moon Stamp Sports on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook, and follow Jorden on Twitter/X. Check out other blogs by Jorden.
I was suggested this blog by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as no one else know such detailed about my trouble. You are amazing! Thanks!