After raising several gripes on athlete pay and treatment against the top BJJ organizations like ADCC and FloGrappling, grappling star Craig Jones decided to put his money where his mouth is. By launching his own “CJI” promotion at the same city and weekend as the biennial ADCC world championships, Jones thoroughly disrupted the BJJ scene in the last few months.
After offering far bigger purses plus a million dollars each to the winners of his two tournaments, over 20 BJJ stars and champions decided to ditch the “prestige” of ADCC and defect to the Craig Jones Invitational for its guaranteed money. Even athletes that didn’t get to join CJI also benefited from Jones’ efforts, with ADCC reportedly offering large “show money” to various BJJ stars to stay in their event, along with female grapplers now having their prize money increased to match their male counterparts as well.
ADCC and its biennial events have long been known as the top no gi grappling promotion, and outside of improving athlete pay, Craig Jones’ disruption also led to fans getting two excellent events to look forward to this weekend.
CJI will host two super-fights and two $1 million dollar tournaments, with their under 80 kg division in particular looking like one of the most stacked divisions ever. The best part of this all, is that the two-day event is available for free on YouTube.
Join us live starting Friday, 6 p.m ET for Day 1 of the Craig Jones Invitational, and check below for results, highlights, live stream, and just about everything you need to know about the inaugural CJI event.
Related: Biggest winners from CJI and ADCC 2024
CJI Day 1-2: Craig Jones Invitational 2024 free live stream, how to watch
Day 1 starts August 16, 2024 at 6 p.m. ET, and the live stream can be watched for free on the YouTube embed below.
Day 2 free live stream is available below starting around 8 p.m. ET:
CJI Day 2 recap: Kade Ruotolo and Nick Rodriguez win $1 million tournaments
Day 2 of the Craig Jones Invitational crowned the winners of their two $1 million dollar tournaments.
The stacked under 80 kg division ended up with a clash of styles and an absolutely technical match between Kade Ruotolo and Levi Jones-Leary in the finals. The Australian started out strong, but Ruotolo seemed to have eventually figured out Jones-Leary’s puzzling guard. Kade won key rounds late and a well deserved unanimous decision. After beating Matheus Diniz, Tommy Langaker, Andrew Tackett, and Levi Jones-Leary to win one of the most stacked tournaments ever, Kade Ruotolo is now a million dollars richer.
Nicky Rodriguez was absolutely dominant in the +80 kg tournament. He won four matches, and submitted every opponent including Fellipe Andrew in the finals. After winning the final, he also called for a rematch with BJJ great Gordon Ryan, asking to bet his newly earned million dollars in a winner take all match.
Outside of the tournaments, top female grappler and reigning ADCC champ Ffion Davies absolutely dominated and submitted UFC star Mackenzie Dern in her return to grappling. In the other super fight in the evening, Craig Jones submitted Gabi Garcia as both had fun in their intergender exhibition.
CJI Day 1 recap and highlights: Two massive upsets early!
Two major upsets happened in both million dollar tournaments on the very first day. Over 80 kg favorite Victor Hugo got quickly heel hooked by a huge underdog in Lucas Kanard in the very first round. The Australian then failed to follow up on his huge upset, as he dropped his next match to Inacio Santos.
At the deep under 80 kg division, Tye Ruotolo put on a show when he decided to wrestle and eventually submit decorated wrestler Jason Nolf. In the second round though, the top seeded Ruotolo struggled to deal with berimbolo expert Levi Jones-Leary’s guard and lost a decision that left him badly limping after.
Fortunately for the Ruotolo family, the other twin Kade kept their million dollar dream alive as he shined on the other side of the bracket. Kade Ruotolo submitted former ADCC champion Matheus Diniz and ran through Tommy Langaker to make it to the semis.
After two fun (and long) opening rounds, semifinals for Day 2 are set. It will be Nick Rodriguez vs. Adam Bradley and Fellipe Andrew vs. Inacio Santos at +80 kg. For the stacked -80 kg division, it’s Levi Jones-Leary vs. Lucas Barbosa and Kade Ruotolo vs. Andrew Tackett.
Craig Jones Invitational Updated Brackets
Below are the brackets for the two 16-man tournaments at CJI after Day 1.
CJI Day 1 live results and highlights
-80 kg opening round results
Tye Ruotolo def. Jason Nolf by submission (kneebar), R3
Levi Jones-Leary def. Roberto Jimenez by submission (heel hook), R1
Lucas Barbosa def. Kenta Iwamoto by unanimous decision
Jozef Chen def. Andy Varela by unanimous decision
Kade Ruotolo def. Matheus Diniz by submission (foot lock), R1
Tommy Langaker def. Renato Canuto by unanimous decision
Eoghan O’Flanagan def. Magid Hage by submission (heel hook), R1
Andrew Tackett def. Nicky Ryan by unanimous decision
-80 kg quarterfinals results
Levi Jones-Leary def. Tye Ruotolo by unanimous decision
Lucas Barbosa def. Jozef Chen by submission (knee crush), R3
Kade Ruotolo def. Tommy Langaker by unanimous decision
Andrew Tackett def. Eoghan O’Flanagan by unanimous decision
+80 kg opening round results
Nick Rodriguez def. Max Gimenis by submission (RNC), R2
Owen Livesey def. Mahamed Aly by unanimous decision
Adam Bradley def. Kyle Boehm by split decision
Pat Downey def. Luke Rockhold by unanimous decision
Lucas Kanard def. Victor Hugo by submission (heel hook), R1
Inacio Santos def. Pedro Alex by split decision
Fellipe Andrew def. Daniel Kerkvliet by unanimous decision
Joao Gabriel Rocha def. William Tackett by unanimous decision
+80 kg quarterfinals results
Nick Rodriguez def. Owen Livesey by submission (RNC), R1
Adam Bradley def. Pat Downey by split decision
Inacio Santos def. Lucas Kanard by unanimous decision
Fellipe Andrew def. Joao Gabriel Rocha by unanimous decision
CJI Day 2 results and highlights
Super Fights
Ffion Davies def. Mackenzie Dern by submission (reverse triangle armlock), R2
Craig Jones def. Gabi Garcia by submission (RNC), R2
-80 kg semifinals
Levi Jones-Leary def. Lucas Barbosa by unanimous decision
Kade Ruotolo def. Andrew Tackett by split decision
+80 kg semifinals
Nick Rodriguez def. Adam Bradley by submission (RNC), R3
Fellipe Andrew def. Inacio Santos submission (heel hook), R2
-80 kg finals
Kade Ruotolo def. Levi Jones-Leary by unanimous decision
+80 kg finals
Nicky Rodriguez def. Fellipe Andrew by submission (RNC), R1