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The Craig Jones Invitational (CJI): The Least You Need To Know

Hot Picks, Matchups to Watch, and More in the Event Changing Jiu-Jitsu History as We Know It

By E.M. Dash

editors note - I can’t sort out how I feel about this event. The match ups look awesome even if the ruleset doesn’t.

On one hand, I love that someone has a big enough voice to stand up to  Mo, Gordon and Gepetto. But…on the other hand, I just don’t think Craig is as funny as most people in the community. Leopard shorts, loving Gabi, and nose beers humor doesn’t have a lot of life for me.

The facts are currently Craig is diluting two tournaments by holding his event on the same weekend as ADCC.
He’s also diluting ticket sales, there are only so many grappling dollars to go around. From what I’m seeing both venues are struggling to sell tickets. Seats may get filled by handing out freebies to drunks on the strip but that does nothing to provide metrics for potential sponsors.

Streaming free on Youtube may very well backfire. I’m not in advertising so I have no idea how many views a sponsor would want to see to sponsor an event, but if CJI falls short the narrative will be “you couldn’t fill the venue and you couldn’t get enough people to even watch for free.”
Sure, ADCC  has made some changes to pay structure, no doubt in response to CJI, but for CJI to actually grow the sport and force ADCC to improve its offering we’ll need more than just a pile of cash. No matter how rich you are, you either want to see a return or you get tired of burning cash. To do that we’ll need some solid business chops behind the operation, not just Craig’s cult of personality cheering for nose beers and mixed gender matches.
I’m not sure if Craig is actually trying to “grow the sport, bro” or if he’s being petty and spiteful. I think the event works better if he’s just being petty. I’m a fan of that.
Just one man’s perspective.

On August 6 via YouTube Stream, Craig Jones revealed the brackets and seeding for the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational, letting fans vote for the top four seeds in each of the divisions.

Below is a breakdown of the brackets, opening matchups, and what to look out for when the action begins on August 16-17, 2024 at the Thomas and Mack Arena in Las Vegas, streaming live from on YouTube and Facebook. 

-80 kg Division

Top seeds (fan-selected)

1. Tye Ruotolo

2. Kade Ruotolo

3. Nicky Ryan

4. Jozef Chen

Hot Takes on Opening Matches

Tye Ruotolo vs Jason Nolf: Ruotolo takes it, but 3x US National Wrestling Champion Nolf should keep it interesting. Nolf has been training with Izaak Mitchell as part of Mitchell’s camp for ADCC, which can’t hurt Nolf but it probably won’t help him against Tye, who took third in the Absolute at ADCC 2022 and, thanks to ONE, has plenty of experience imposing subs on opponents no matter their grappling style. The pit and rule set will make this interesting. Nolf won’t have to sacrifice his neck shooting doubles. If he can pick up a single and run Tye into a wall he may be able to win rounds there.

Roberto Jimenez vs Levi Jones-Leary: “A bolo a day keeps the haters at bay,” but Jones-Leary will need more than that to take down Jimenez, the bigger, longer fighter by a mile in this fight. Jimenez has already had a solid no gi crossover and a No Gi World Championship under his belt, but Jones-Leary had an impressive performance at Polaris earlier this year, where he took a rare win over Jozef Chen and gave PJ Barch a run for his money. With Lachlan Giles in his corner, Jones-Leary’s no gi stock continues to rise. This could be the most interesting test for the Aussie since Lucas Lepri in the 2019 Europeans final.  

Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa vs Kenta Iwamoto: Kenta’s got some killer standup, but Hulk’s got the power and submission skills to complement his comfort on the feet. A two-time ADCC medalist and multi-time No Gi World champion, Barbosa has a battle-tested track record, and he’s likely to take this match. Nevertheless, it’ll be a fun one to watch. 

Andy Varela vs Jozef Chen: This is a semis-worthy matchup in the opening round. Varela could dictate this fight so long as he dictates the pace across the three rounds—Chen is known for being a technical savant, not for having a stellar gas tank. If Chen holds up to Varela’s assertiveness and capitalizes on an opening, Chen takes it, but Varela has an equally strong path to victory.

Kade Ruotolo vs Matheus Diniz: CJI delivers what ADCC cannot in this matchup between two veteran ADCC champs of different weight classes (-77kg and -88kg, respectively). Diniz will be the bigger and beefier of the two, and as someone walking naturally heavier, he’ll have to work hard to match Kade’s pace. Kade is fearless, creative, and keeps getting better as he grows from boy to man. Diniz is my dark horse for this bracket. 

Renato Canuto vs Tommy Langaker: Canuto is explosive as hell and, local to Vegas, is sure to bring some entertainment worthy of his home city. Most of his recent performances are marked by highlight-reel submissions and nonstop action  (see his latest AIGA run). Langaker has a more measured style with an impassable guard and heavy passing on top. Don’t be surprised if Canuto goes for a flying triangle at some point in the match, and don’t be surprised if Tommy brings some Viking energy, shutting down Canuto’s breakneck pace with ice-cold Nordic pressure. 

Magid Hage vs Eoghan O’Flanagan: “Gorilla Hands,” meet leg lock extraordinaire. If O’Flanagan brings his ADCC 2022 energy to CJI and doesn’t get caught in Hage’s T-shirt (an alleged requirement for his participation), “Gorilla Hands” will be using his massive paws to tap out. 

Andrew Tackett vs Nicky Ryan: An opening match worthy of a final, don’t blink as the middle Tackett brother foregoes his -77kg West Coast Trials win for a shot at CJI glory against B Team’s golden boy. Look for wrestling from both boys, vicious, well-capitalized leglocks from Ryan (see his WNO run against JT Torres), and slick wedging back takes–along with a seemingly-infinite gas tank–from Tackett. 

Who Goes the Distance?

Whoever wins between Nicky Ryan and Andrew Tackett makes it to the semis, at least. There’s a definite version of events where the finals of CJI ends up being a Ruotolo sibling rivalry a la the finals of Brown Belt Worlds 2021. Given the matches here, whoever takes the $1 million wholly deserves it. 

+80 kg Division

Top seeds (fan-selected)

1. Nicky Rod

2. Victor Hugo

3. William Tackett

4. Luke Rockhold

Hot Takes on Opening Matches

Nicky Rod vs Max Gimenis: Respect to Max, but Nicky’s out of his league. Rodriguez likely devours Gimenis with the fervor of a tourist at a Las Vegas buffet–and is ready for seconds without breaking a sweat. 

Owen Livesey vs Mahmed Aly: Livesey has some tremendous standup, but Aly’s a monster. People forget Aly since he’s been off the IBJJF scene for a bit, but the World Champion grappler-turned-MMA fighter is a force to be reckoned with. We haven’t seen Aly on the mats since IBJJF Grand Prix superfights, and he’ll be great to watch again. 

Adam Bradley vs Kyle Boehm: Boehm’s a strong leg locker and one of the pride and joys of 10th Planet. Bradley is well-rounded and, by most social media accounts, got robbed of a win over Michael Pixley in the -99kg finals of ADCC West Coast Trials. This opening match could be an interesting opportunity for Bradley to prove he’s been criminally overlooked–or an opportunity for Boehm to prove that his 2-point loss to Bradley in the West Coast Trials semis was a fluke. 

Pat Downey vs Luke Rockhold: This is the match you tell your friends and girlfriend about–it’s easily the one with the most appeal outside the world of jiu-jitsu. Former UFC Middleweight Champion, Bare Knuckle Fighter, and Ralph Lauren model, Rockhold has quite the resume outside of CJI, and when it comes to submission grappling, he’s the real deal. There are countless training room stories of his immense…skill set. Downey’s NCAA D1 wrestling pedigree is top notch and he’s no stranger to the cage himself, but Rockhold’s got more proven fluency to finish the fight on something other than a tech fall. 

Victor Hugo vs Lucas Kanard: Kanard is a last-minute substitute for Mason Fowler, who withdrew from CJI due to injury. He had a fine trials run in the Asia and Oceania trials, but is unlikely to be more than a warm-up match for Victor Hugo. Even if Hugo weren’t a fan seed, he’d be a top seed for this bracket. “Big Man Flow” should take over the entire right side of this bracket, if not the whole darn thing. 

Inacio Santos vs Pedro Alex: These are some big boys. Don’t be surprised if the whole Thomas and Mack Arena shakes if one of these guys drops the other. In a snoozer filled with stalling, “Bom Bom” lost to Santos at No Gi Pans by ref’s decision last year. Here’s hoping the rules of CJI force the heavies into action. 

Daniel Greg Kirkvliet vs Fellipe Andrew: Unless Kerkvliet is a master of the rule set and has some submissions in his back pocket, his elite wrestling can only go so far. Andrew’s grappling is excellent, and even though he’s less known for no gi, his footlocks and katagatames will serve him well if he can get a bite on Kerkvliet’s neck or legs. If not, Kerkvliet is built like a refrigerator and I can see this ruleset working to his advantage.

oão Gabriel Rocha vs William Tackett: The Eldest Tackett takes on the big boys while the middle Tackett takes on the younger division. This is a David and Goliath situation at its finest, and if there’s someone who can make the most of the spotlight with an exciting, scrappy run in this division, it’s William Tackett. 

Who Goes the Distance?

Is Les Misérables on tour in Vegas? Because this performance is gonna go to Victor Hugo–on the right side of the bracket if not the whole damned thing. A massive man with the technique and flow of a featherweight, he’s got the skills and the size to shut down anyone in this bracket having a less-than-perfect day. 

Nicky Rod likely takes the left side of the bracket and we see a Rodriguez vs Hugo final, with odds favoring Hugo–unless Rodriguez has privileged intel on how to manage the ruleset of CJI. The two faced off at WNO 22 earlier this year for a non-stop 15 minutes (rather than 3, 5-minute rounds). While Hugo didn’t get the sub, he drove the pace and positions for most of the fight and should perform even better with the rest-and-reset every five minutes. 

While Nicky Rod’s grappling has improved, (he did manage to pin Hugo in WNO) and his recent showings on UFC Fight Pass have been impressive (especially his notorious pop on “Nicky Ryan’s brother”), he’s unlikely to out-tech Hugo. For Nicky to win, it’s likely from making a CJI final into a gritty scrap more than a technical exchange. 

Hot Takes on the Superfights

• Ffion Davies vs Mackenzie Dern: This is a true clash-of-generations fight: when Dern crossed over into the Octagon, Ffion effectively ascended to the jiu-jitsu throne. Dern, former ADCC champ, has been focused more on her MMA career, recently winning a bout within 2 weeks of CJI, where she looked good, was in the best shape of her career, and one has to wonder: is she focused on this superfight? Davies, fellow ADCC champ, put aside her ADCC defense to jump into the action at CJI for a bigger payout, but always had her eye on the ball for a whole year focused on her no gi grappling. It’ll be a good match, a landmark one for the ladies. With all respect to the grappling trailblazer and legend that is Mackenzie Dern, between Ffion’s size, focus, skill, and relative age–not to mention head damage–odds are strong that this one goes to Davies. 

• Craig Jones vs Gabi Garcia: An internet beef-turned-”romance”-turned into a fundraiser, anything could happen. This might be the most hyped kink in Vegas outside of the usual entertainment on the strip. I don’t know what to expect here aside from a lot of jokes about P.E.D.s and gender-bending. One thing is certain: no matter who wins this fight, these two are already real winners of CJI. When it comes to dollars earned and social media eyeballs gained, these two have already gotten their payout.