Craig Jones drops bombshell about trying to sign Charles Oliveira vs. BJJ legend at his invitational tournament

Craig Jones has set the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world on fire with his recently founded Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), a submission grappling tournament. The aim of the competition is to help raise the standard of athlete pay in BJJ.

The Australian has taken a stand against the most prestigious no-gi grappling competition in the world, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships.

As a former 2x ADCC silver medalist, Jones announced earlier this year that he would not be competing at ADCC due to lack of financial incentive. Claiming that since 2017, the prize money for winning your division had been the same, at $10,000, despite the sport's enormous growth.

After announcing his withdrawal from ADCC 2024, he then announced the creation of the CJI, which will feature two weight divisions, -80KG and +80KG, as well as two super fights.

The CJI takes place on Aug. 16-17, and during Jones' recent announcement for the brackets for the tournament, he revealed that he tried to sign UFC star Charles Oliveira to a super fight against one of the best BJJ athletes ever, Marcelo Garcia.

Jones said:

"Marcelo Garcia, I don't know what I can say, we tried. I'll say we gave it a red hot try. Honestly, I was trying to book Marcelo vs. Charles Oliveira. That's what I was trying to get done."

Watch Craig Jones' video below (9:25):

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Breaking down the drama between ADCC and Craig Jones

Craig Jones recently created the CJI to help increase the average athlete pay in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

ADCC has long been the most prestigious no-gi grappling competition globally, but Jones has pointed out that winning the competition does not guarantee any substantial income.

ADCC 2024 will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the same venue used by the UFC, and the ADCC organizer Mo Jassim proudly stated that the arena cost at least $2 million to hire.

But Jones pointed out that the hefty hiring fee would be better spent on the athletes, and put his money where his mouth was and created the CJI. The winner of each division at the CJI will receive a life-changing $1 million.

Furthermore, the CJI will take place on the same weekend as ADCC 2024 in August. The massive prize money at the CJI has seen many athletes who were originally scheduled to compete at ADCC 2024 jump ship.

Jones' competition has severely angered organizers from ADCC, so much so that Seth Daniels even sent the Australian death threats.