The Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) is a professional grappling tournament created by Australian black belt Craig Jones in 2024. 

The event was launched after Jones publicly called for higher athlete payouts in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. To accomplish this, Jones organized his own event that took place in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center. 

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The inaugural CJI awarded $1 million to winners in two weight classes and $10,001 to every competitor. Held in Las Vegas, the first edition was widely attended by top grapplers and fans, with matches taking place in “the pit,” a slanted-walled competition area designed to keep the action continuous.

In 2025, CJI returns with a new team-based format, an openweight women’s bracket for $100,000, and a high-profile super fight between Craig Jones and Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson.

Craig Jones Invitational 2025 Format and Rules

• Dates: Aug. 30-31, 2025
• Location: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Team Size: Five competitors, one possible wildcard per team
• Match Length: Eight minutes
• Elimination: Submission or draw
• Prohibited Techniques: Spiking on the head/neck, eye gouging, hair pulling, strikes, and other dangerous tactics

CJI’s Partnership With Quintet

CJI 2 incorporates elements of Japan’s Quintet format. Athletes face off in order chosen by coaches, with winners staying in until submitted or eliminated by a draw.

Craig Jones Invitational Schedule

The first day of the event is set for Saturday, Aug. 30 and concludes on Sunday, Aug. 31. 

CJI 2 Day 1 Schedule

Doors open at 7 p.m. ET with the preshow starting at 8:30 p.m. and the first matches at 9 p.m.

CJI Day 2 Schedule 

Doors open at 7 p.m. ET with the preshow starting at 8:30 p.m. and the first matches at 9 p.m.

How To Watch The Craig Jones Invitational 2025

The CJI 2 is streaming live on the B-Team Jiu Jitsu YouTube account for free. The embedded YouTube stream will be available to watch on the FloGrappling website. 

What Are CJI Rules?

CJI rules are an attempt to make grappling as accessible for fans of MMA as possible, so the matches follow the same time and scoring format as bouts in the UFC or other organizations. Three rounds of five minutes each where a submission ends the match at any time. CJI matches also happen in the pit, a slanted walled surface that aims to keep action continuous. The pit walls can be used for any submission or technique that you can think up.

What Are Quintet Rules?

The matches at CJI had scoring but if they follow true Quintet rules for CJI 2, those scores won't be necessary. In Quintet rules, any two people from each team begin the match and compete against each other. If no one wins by submission, the match is declared a draw and both are eliminated. If someone does win by submission, they stay and take on the next member of the opposing team until they either get submitted or compete to a draw. It's possible one person can go through an entire team by themselves. If both teams end up with everyone eliminated, there are traditionally tie-breaking criteria around penalties and aggression to help determine a team winner.

It has been confirmed that CJI 2 tournament matches will be eight minutes long. It remains to be seen what, if any, other changes that CJI 2 makes to the Quintet system.

What Are The Teams For CJI 2?

Here are the team rosters for the Craig Jones Invitational.

10th Planet

• -66kg: Geo Martinez
• -77kg: Alan Sanchez
• -88kg: PJ Barch
• -99kg: Ryan Aitken
• +99kg: Kyle Boehm

Coach: Eddie Bravo

New Wave Jiu-Jitsu

• -66kg: Dorian Olivarez
• -77kg: Mica Galvão
• -88kg: Giancarlo Bodoni
• -99kg: Luke Griffith
• +99kg: Vagner Rocha

Coach: John Danaher

B-Team Jiu-Jitsu

• -66kg: Ethan Crelinsten
• -77kg: Jozef Chen
• -88kg: Chris Wojcik
• -99kg: Nick Rodriguez
• +99kg: Victor Hugo

Coach: Nicky Ryan & Damien Anderson

Team Australia/Asia

• -66kg: Fabricio Andrey
• -77kg: Kenta Iwamoto
• -88kg: Lucas Kanard
• -99kg: Declan Moody
• +99kg: Belal Etiabari

Coach: Lachlan Giles

Team Americas

• -66kg: Gavin Corbe
• -77kg: Deandre Corbe
• -88kg: Elijah Dorsey
• -99kg: Taylor Pearman
• +99kg: Pat Downey

Coach: Greg Souders

Team Europe

• -66kg: Owen Jones
• -77kg: Pawel Jaworski
• -88kg: Paul Ardilla
• -99kg: Charles Negromonte
• +99kg: Marcin Maciulewicz

Coach: Faris Benlamkadem

Team Atos

• -66kg: Diego Pato
• -77kg: Ronaldo Junior
• -88kg: Lucas Barbosa
• -99kg: Kaynan Duarte
• +99kg: Felipe Pena

Coach: Andre Galvão

Pedigo Submission Fighting

• -66kg: Max Hanson
• -77kg: Dante Leon
• -88kg: Jacob Couch
• -99kg: Michael Pixley
• +99kg: Brandon Reed

Coach: Heath Pedigo

Women's $100k Bracket

CJI will hold its first women's bracket for $100,000, featuring four of the best in the world competing in an open weight bracket. They will be:

• Adele Fornarino
• Helena Crevar
• Ana Carolina Vieira
• Sarah Galvão

Top Ranked Grapplers At CJI 2

Based on the most recent FloGrappling World Rankings from Aug. 4, these are the top grapplers that will be competing at CJI. Each is listed with their most recent weight class ranking, except Mica Galvao, who is ranked No. 2 in Flo’s pound-for-pound ranking. Here is the list of top-ranked competitors at CJI. 

• No. 2 Mica Galvao - Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu - 77KG
• No. 1 Diego Pato - Team Atos - 66 KG
• No. 2 Fabricio Andrey - Team Australia/Asia - 66 KG
• No. 3 Dante Leon - Pedigo Submission Fighting - 77 KG
• No. 4 Deandre Corbe - Team Americas - 77 KG 
• No. 9 Ethan Crelinsten - Team Americas - 66 KG  
• No. 10 Max Hanson - Pedigo Submission Fighting - 66 KG 
• No. 13 Owen Jones - Team Europe - 66 KG 
• No. 6 PJ Barch - 10th Planet - 88 KG
• No. 9 Jozef Chen - B-Team Jiu Jitsu - 77 KG
• No. 12 Elijah Dorsey - Team Americas - 88 KG 
• No. 3 Ronaldo Junior - Team Atos - 77 KG
• No. 5 Chris Wojcik - B-Team Jiu Jitsu - 88 KG
• No. 6 Jacob Couch - Pedigo Submission Fighting - 88 KG
• No. 8 Charles Negromonte - Team Europe - 99KG
• No. 10 Ryan Aitken - 10th Planet - 99KG 
• No. 14 Paul Ardilla - Team Europe - 88 KG 
• No. 15 Taylor Pearman - Team Americas - 99 KG

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