John Danaher passes a no-holds-barred verdict on Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) nearly four years after Death Squad split

John Danaher recently shared his thoughts on the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), nearly four years after the highly publicized split of the Danaher Death Squad (DDS). Once the most dominant team in the grappling circuit, DDS fractured amid rising tensions, leading to the formation of Craig Jones’ B-Team.

Since then, Jones has carved his own path in the grappling world, and CJI marked his boldest move yet. The tournament, a direct competitor to the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, offered a groundbreaking $1 million prize to the winners of each division. The tournament set new standards in athlete compensation and event production.

Despite past tensions, Danaher had nothing but praise for the inaugural CJI event. He acknowledged the immense effort it took to put together a high-caliber show in such a short time. He also spoke about the logistical and bureaucratic challenges involved in organizing an international tournament.

Speaking about the event on the Jake Shields' Fight Back Podcast, Danaher said:

"That was a fantastic show. They did an incredible job... They did an incredible job against all the odds. The show wasn't even conceived until a relatively short time before it was put in place... Now, you ask anyone who's even put on a local martial arts show—just some show in a local high school gymnasium—it’s tough."

He added:

"You’ve got to do a lot of work, you’ve got to get a lot of little bureaucratic things done. And to put on an international-level show, I think they had like three or four months to get it ready, it’s not long at all. And to get it that good on the first attempt, it was impressive.”

Check out John Danaher's quotes below (1:44:50):

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John Danaher dismisses rumors of rifts with Craig Jones

John Danaher went on to address rumors of a rift with Craig Jones in the aforementioned podcast episode with Jake Shields, claiming that he never had personal issues with him.

He praised Jones and his team for organizing an impressive grappling event under challenging conditions. Danaher commended the athletes, organizers, and cameramen for their contributions, acknowledging the event as a major step forward for the sport.

Speaking about the last text Jones sent him, Danaher said:

"We never actually had a fallout. Well, I could read you a text that he sent. It was his last text he sent to me, and you'll see that there was no falling out. But whatever happened after that, you'd have to ask Craig.”