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CJI 2024 - Shaping the future of Submission Grappling?

Probably Yes!


Hi, I’m Brice, a BJJ purple belt training under the guidance of Chris Collins - affiliated with the Gracie Allegiance team. I recently launched Grappling Roads, an app to collect and organize your BJJ and grappling content! And today, I would like to share some thoughts on the impact of CJI on the future of Submission Grappling.


Disclaimer: this article does not cover techniques breakdown and matches analysis from the competition.


Was this weekend the biggest in Grappling History? The answer is probably yes! Beyond the magnitude of the ADCC & CJI events, it may very well be a game-changing milestone in the world of submission grappling. So what does this first edition of CJI mean for the future of Jiu Jitsu?

Context - ADCC: The ‘Olympics of Jiu Jitsu’


Two years after the previous ADCC edition, the sport is drawing more attention. This increase in popularity seemingly hasn't increased fighters' pay, which causes issues for some fighters.

As a reminder, at ADCC, everyone losing before the semi-finals reportedly doesn’t get paid for competing (or at least this used to be the setup). The winner of each division gets USD 10,000. The silver, bronze, and fourth-place finishers receive USD 5,000, USD 3,000, and USD 2,000, respectively. There's also controversy over the rights to use footage and highlight reels from the competition, with restrictions imposed by FloSports, ADCC's broadcast partner.

CJI: An Answer from the Fighters


In response to this situation, Craig Jones initially proposed raising money to pay all athletes who would lose in ADCC's first couple of rounds. Ultimately, he secured USD 3 million from secret investors to organize another competition instead. The Craig Jones Invitational was born, bringing elements that could change the sport for the better and forever. Let’s dive into this.

1. The Future of the Athletes Looks Brighter (At Least More Money in the Bank!)


  • More money for everyone. Any fighter invited and competing at CJI will get paid USD 10,001 (1 more dollar than the ADCC winner). There are also two bonus prizes: the most exciting fighter gets USD 20,000, and the best submission earns USD 50,000.
  • Even more money for the winners. Life-changing money. Each winner of the two brackets will receive a USD 1 million prize.
  • Two super fights were also organized to draw more attention to the sport:
  • The first, an intergenerational match-up between current PFP women's #1 Ffion Davis and legend-turned-MMA fighter Mackenzie Dern. Her last UFC fight was just two weeks before CJI. It's cool that she's still committed to promoting submission grappling.
  • The second, an inter-gender fight between Craig Jones and Gabi Garcia. It wasn't very competitive but raised awareness in the sport and showed Garcia emotionally thanking Jones for his efforts for the athletes.
  • More details about the fighters' prize money in this Essentially Sports article.
  • With more money involved, CJI is paving the way for a brighter future for athletes, thanks to a crafty marketing strategy.


2. A ‘Think Different’ Trolling Marketing Strategy Drawing More Attention


  • Craig Jones' marketing strategy was simple yet efficient and could be summarized in three words: F^*k you ADCC 😂. It reminds me of Apple's 'Think Different' campaign from the 90s, but more aggressive.
  • Some trolling tactics by Craig Jones include:
  • Organizing the event the same weekend in the same city, making it convenient for athletes and their coaches.
  • Getting many athletes supposed to compete at ADCC to join CJI instead, from ADCC trial winners to defending champs.
  • Paying everyone USD 10,001—1 dollar more than the ADCC winner, which is hilarious.
  • Giving away a Mazda Miata to an attendee. The car was supposed to be Gordon Ryan’s car given away at ADCC Worlds in 2022, but it seems they got a brand new one instead.
  • Offering fans a chance to win USD 5,000 if they take a picture at ADCC with CJI-branded items.
  • What does this mean for athletes? More efficient marketing means more attention, ultimately leading to more money. Healthy competition has always favored the market, so a newcomer challenging the status quo is positive for athletes.
  • Side note: This doesn't take away from what ADCC did for submission grappling, but it's not the topic of this article.


3. The Business Model: A Question Mark


  • CJI organizers are betting on a slightly different business model than ADCC’s. Revenue comes from venue tickets and sponsors for both. However, their broadcast approaches differ.
  • ADCC has an exclusive broadcast deal with FloSport, with content behind a paywall requiring a FloGrappling subscription.
  • CJI, on the other hand, live-streamed for free on YouTube. They have over 3 million views and hope to generate:
  • More revenue from sponsors in future editions based on these numbers.
  • More revenue from online ads on platforms like YouTube.
  • The big question: is this business model profitable for CJI? If they want to expand to more divisions and add prize money, how can this model support those costs? Craig Jones has proven to be an outstanding entertainer, marketer, and businessman, and we can only hope the numbers add up.
  • What does this mean for the sport's future? An event with stars and exciting match-ups streamed for free will increase the audience and sport's popularity. If successful, it can only be beneficial.

4. The Execution: A New Kind of Event?


  • The event's organization could be a game changer for the sport. While I haven't heard athletes' opinions, the event's execution made it great for viewers.
  • The production and broadcast teams were on point, surprisingly so for a first event! Congrats to the organizers for putting it together. Let me know if you have info on the production team—I haven't read about it yet.
  • The two brackets helped create dream match-ups of grappling superstars, breaking barriers between more granular divisions. This doesn't favor smaller athletes, though. Very few (if any) of the ADCC -66kg bracket moved to CJI. Great for viewers, less so for athletes.
  • The Alley. I can't say enough good things about it. I've seen it at Karate Combat Championship events, but this weekend was eye-opening. It keeps the action going, preventing stalling against a cage or wall and unintentional interruptions by going off mats. It also encourages athletes to be more creative—Andrew Tackett certainly enjoyed it. The only one who didn't seem to like it was Mahamed Aly. For me, it's the best recent improvement in competition jiu-jitsu (though I haven't followed it for long 😂). I hope it becomes a standard setup.
  • Similarly, the rules and scoring system favored action. Each match is three 5-min rounds (five for championship matches) with open scoring between rounds. Athletes see scores between rounds, reducing stalling, especially if one competitor leads on points. It opens up the fight, allowing a trailing competitor to push the action and catch up in the next round.
  • The combination of the Alley and rules led to one of the most exciting grappling matches ever: Kade Ruotolo vs. Andrew Tackett. Go check it out if you haven’t seen it.
  • A fun addition to the organization: bracket boards where competitors could hand-write their names as they advanced. That was cool.
  • What does this mean for the sport's future? The setup and ruleset make it more exciting. Submission Grappling is reaching new heights technically and entertainment-wise, leading to more viewers. The only issue, raised in the Open Note Grappling newsletter, is that yet another Jiu Jitsu competition standard is created. We're at a point where the sport needs more consistency and unified rules so the audience doesn't get lost. We are slightly deviating from the plan, hopefully to reach better alignment soon.


5. Transparency for (Almost) Everything


  • We never know what's hidden until it's uncovered, but Craig Jones played the full transparency card here. Let’s break it down.
  • Transparency about the money, though some questions remain.
  • Fighters’ pay was clear except for Super Fight competitors. Out of the USD 3 million, over USD 2 million is for fighters.
  • Craig mentioned he isn't getting paid.
  • There's a bigger context with UFC athletes' pay (trial in progress—read this Open Note Grappling article for more details).
  • The source of the money remains a mystery.
  • Transparency of the scoring system between rounds, which seemed to work well and pushed the action.
  • Transparency of performance. The team published some event numbers after the competition. This shows sport growth and potential value for sponsors.
  • Fun fact: The two USD 1 million suitcases were also transparent.
  • What does this mean for Jiu Jitsu's future? Transparency generates trust, and we can be confident that more sponsors and investors will be willing to invest in the event.


6. Fighting for a Cause


Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the entire event aimed to raise money for the Fair Fight Foundation, in partnership with Tap Cancer Out. It wasn't just a quick note at the event's end. The donation QR code was regularly displayed between fights for people to support the cause.

Whatever happens in the future, the first edition of the Craig Jones Invitational will leave a mark on submission grappling. The early reactions are enthusiastic—people are pumped! There are definitely more exciting competitions coming our way soon! Let’s stay tuned!


Thank you guys for reading this article, that’s a wrap!



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