Craig Jones confirmed to face Olympic champ Gable Stevenson in CJI 2 Super Fight while taking shots at 'weak' wrestling

Craig Jones (left) confirms he will face Olympic champ Gable Stevenson (far right) at CJI 2 [Images courtesy: @craigjonesbjj on Instagram]
Craig Jones (left) confirms he will face Olympic champ Gable Stevenson (far right) at CJI 2 [Images courtesy: @craigjonesbjj on Instagram]

Olympic champion Gable Stevenson will compete at the Craig Jones Invitational 2 (CJI), hosted by his namesake. Jones initially made the announcement on April 1, causing fans to assume that the Australian was making an April Fools' joke.

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Given that Stevenson has trained with Gordon Ryan, Jones' arch-rival, in the past, fans did not believe that the CJI founder's announcement carried any weight. But in a follow-up announcement made by Jones, he confirmed that the Super Fight was, in fact, real.

During the Australian's recent post, he took aim at wrestling by labeling it as the "weakest" of all the combat sports. Given Stevenson's Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu athlete's comments are bound to ruffle some feathers.

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The CJI founder recently took to YouTube to confirm the first Super Fight for CJI 2, and said this:

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"I'll be facing Gable Stevenson in an effort to prove once and for all that wrestling is the weakest and the most feminine of all the combat sports. [Wrestling] gets so much credit in the UFC, 'Look at all our champions.' Look at all your champions who don't finish anyone. It's boring. We want finishes. That's what the game's about. Wrestling doesn't bring many of them. Actually, in the sport of wrestling you can't have a finish."
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Check out Craig Jones' comments on Gable Stevenson's match below (0:05):

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Gordon Ryan addresses speculation he will compete at the Craig Jones Invitational 2

Gordon Ryan and Craig Jones were once teammates before a fallout in 2021 led to the team splitting, with Ryan going one way and Jones the other.

However, there has recently been speculation that Ryan could compete at the second edition of the CJI, which will take place in August 2025. The tournament will see eight teams go to war for the chance to win $1 million. Jones recently confirmed that Ryan's BJJ team, New Wave, would compete at CJI 2.

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The news prompted 'The King' to make a statement addressing the speculation about his participation, as he wrote this on Instagram:

"Our team was invited to CJI 2, where I would be making less to win than I do to even show at other events. Moreover, if the prize was [$10 billion], on principle I'd rather take a shotgun blast to the face than compete. Good luck coming close to breaking even without me."
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Check out Gordon Ryan's statement on the Craig Jones Invitational 2 below:

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Edited by C. Naik
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