Craig Jones is jiu-jitsu's most off-the-wall entertaining personality and his big tournament, the Craig Jones Invitational 2, is just days away. To continue his wild promotional tour, Craig appeared on The FloGrappling Show and dropped some big pieces of news. We pulled out seven reveals from the episode that grappling fans might want to know

• A Full List Of Teams & Grapplers For The Craig Jones Invitational 2 (CJI 2)
• Power Ranking Every Team & Weight At CJI 2: Who's The Favorite In Vegas?
• Who Are The Top Ranked Grapplers At The 2025 Craig Jones Invitational?
• Here's How CJI 2's Team Matches Will Work | CJI 2 Explainer

CJI 2 Team Tie-Breakers

We now know the rulebreakers for the matches and they are going to be a huge strategic factor in how coaches approach these matches. All matches that end in a tie will eliminate both athletes but that round will still be scored on a 10-9 system by the judges. So, if the match comes down to an even number of submissions it will be decided by that cumulative score. Matches that are more than one weight class apart can only be scored as a maximum of 10-9 (unless negatives are involved), but matches within that range can be scored 10-8 or even potentially wider. This scoring will not be open, instead only being revealed at the end if necessary.

How The CJI 2 Reveals Will Work

Craig talked specifically about how the matches will work without the orders set ahead of time. Each match will have ninety seconds in between. Coaches will have those first thirty seconds after the match to signal to the back who they want to send out next, depending on whoever they believe will be the best fit for the moment. Then it's another thirty seconds for replays and hand raises, etc. Only then will the new athlete that the coach picked come out and be revealed with a ten second timer.

Women's Bracket Format

The matches of the women's bracket will be the same CJI five minute rounds, with semifinals going 3 rounds and the finals going 5 rounds if needed. The bracket, which will include Adele Fornarino, Ana Carolina Vieira, Helena Crevar, and Sarah Galvão, is the biggest cash prize bracket in women's jiu-jitsu history. Each woman will also receive a show purse of $10,000. 

Some Hints About The Bracket

Craig talked about the possible team bracket as openly as I've heard anywhere yet, stating that New Wave and B-Team in the finals seemed like it would make the most sense given the team history at play. He also highlighted Atos as a team that he needs to figure out placement for as the likely third best team, but since they and New Wave both have two wildcards he can justify that as a semifinal. 

Mica Wasn't The First Wild Card New Wave Considered

Craig revealed that Roberto Jimenez was originally considered for the New Wave jiu-jitsu squad for CJI 2, in part because of his incredible skill but also his wild style lending itself to upsets (both giving and taking). When that wasn't able to come together, they ended up being able to use Mica Galvão. Craig also called Mica one of the few guys in the field who could potentially run out an entire team on his own.

Lachlan Was Nearly In CJI 1 (Or Was At Least Asked)

Craig said that he approached his coach and friend Lachlan Giles and asked the Australian grappling legend if he wanted to participate in CJI 1 - in the heavyweight class! Lachlan would have been a really interesting addition to that class but unfortunately he chose not to do it.

Gabi Was Always In On It

Craig revealed that all the lead up with Gabi Garcia was planned and agreed on, including their infamous kiss that 'reportedly' nearly endangered the match just days before CJI 1. While they had agreed to a small kiss, Craig was maybe more passionate than it was originally expected and this caught Gabi by surprise but she played along and had everyone guessing as one final piece of promotion. Craig also highlighted how celebrated Garcia felt after their match and how special a moment it was for her legendary career.

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