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The Craig Jones Invitational, founded by its namesake, almost saw an appearance from two of the biggest fan-favorites in MMA, namely Alex Volkanovski and Charles Oliveira. The CJI, a no-gi grappling tournament scheduled for 16-17 Aug., was founded to help improve athlete pay in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
The Adu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships, the world's most prestigious no-gi grappling tournament, is set to happen on 17-18 Aug. and will compete directly against the CJI.
But the incredible $1 million prize money for winning the CJI has seen many former ADCC champions and other BJJ stars jump ship in the hopes of securing a life-changing paycheck.
Ahead of the grappling competition, Jones appeared on the Lex Fridman Podcast, where he revealed that he attempted to secure a match between Volkanovski and grappling star Mikey Musumeci.
He said this:
"We were trying to get [Volkanovski] a grappling match at the CJI. I won't say the reasons it fell through, but we were setting one up with Mikey Musumeci. But we couldn't get it done... It would have been awesome."
Watch Craig Jones' interview below (1:58:25):
Earlier this month, Jones dropped a bombshell that he attempted to secure a match at the CJI between Charles Oliveira and BJJ legend Marcelo Garcia.
Craig Jones reflects on Joe Rogan's pushback on CJI and ADCC dates clashing
The Craig Jones Invitational has taken the BJJ world by storm, as the Australian grappler hopes to revolutionize athlete pay in the sport.
According to Jones, the prize money for winning ADCC had been the same since his first appearance in 2017, at $10,000, despite the tournament's exponential growth.
As such, he created the CJI with a whopping $1 million prize and scheduled the event on the same weekend as ADCC 2024. The Australian appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience in July as part of his CJI promotional tour. The podcast host expressed frustration several times about the clashing dates of ADCC and CJI.
Rogan is an official sponsor of ADCC, and Jones reflected on his pushback during an interview with TheMacLife, saying this:
"That's the thing with Rogan, right? If you build a career fighting the man, ultimately if you become successful enough, you kind of become the man... He didn't really grasp why we had to do it this way and cause a conflict. There has to be a conflict."
Watch Craig Jones' interview below (2:15):
