Tag: Craig Jones Invitational

Video: Mackenzie Dern is Submitted by Ffion Davies with an Armbar

Ffion Davies Submits Mackenzie Dern CJI ArmbarUFC athlete Mackenzie Dern was taken down and submitted by Ffion Davies during their match at the Craig Jones…

Ffion Davies Submits Mackenzie Dern CJI Armbar

UFC athlete Mackenzie Dern was taken down and submitted by Ffion Davies during their match at the Craig Jones Invitational hosted in Las Vegas this past weekend. Millions of dollars were awarded to the winners of the event, but Wales’ Ffion Davies took the headlines with her impressive throw and grappling work.

Ffion Davies

The Welsh-born Ffion Davies is carving a name for herself as being one of the all-time greats in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Ffion Davies has achieved remarkable success in grappling competitions. She won first place at the ADCC in 2022 and secured the top spot at the IBJJF World Championship in both 2022 and 2023. In the NOGI category, she claimed first place at the IBJJF World Championship in 2018, 2021, and 2023. Additionally, she succeeded at the IBJJF European Open in 2019 and 2020, as well as at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2019. Davies also took first place in the UAEJJF Grand Slam in London in both 2019 and 2020.

Ffion Davies

Mackenzie Dern

The American-Brazilian Mackenzie Dern is a UFC fighter but comes from an incredibly decorated background in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Mackenzie Dern has an impressive list of achievements in the world of grappling. She secured first place at the ADCC Championship in 2015 and also won the IBJJF World Championships that same year. In the NOGI category, she took first place at the IBJJF World Championships in 2015. Dern continued her winning streak by claiming first place at the IBJJF Pan American Championships in both 2015 and 2016.

Mackenzie Dern

Ffion Davies vs. Mackenzie Dern

Despite her background in grappling, the UFC’s Mackenzie Dern was out of her element when it came to rolling against Ffion Davies at the CJI. In the second of their meeting, Davies tosses Dern with a very impressive head and arm throw, then angles to achieve a perfect inverted armbar forcing the tap.

See the highlights below:

Kade Ruotolo and Nicky Rod take home $1 million in CJI tournament finals – Craig Jones Invitational Highlights

Kade Ruotolo and Nicky Rod take home $1 million in CJI tournament finals - Craig Jones Invitational HighlightsThe first-ever Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) returned to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Saturday night…

Kade Ruotolo and Nicky Rod take home $1 million in CJI tournament finals - Craig Jones Invitational Highlights

The first-ever Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) returned to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas on Saturday night with eight grapplers vying for two million-dollar prizes and a pair of intriguing superfights.

CJI

Kicking off Day 2 was the Over 80kg semifinal match between Nicky Rod and Adam Bradley. While the pace was slow, it was clear from the get-go that Rod was in complete control, handily taking the first two rounds via the disclosed scorecards. With roughly three minutes left in the third, Rod climbed into mount. Bradley eventually gave up his back allowing Rod to slap on a body triangle and cinch his arm under the chin, securing his third-straight RNC submission of the tournament.

Joining Rod in the tournament final was Fellipe Andrew who scored a heel hook submission against Inacio Santos in the second round of their entertaining clash.

With the Over 80kg tournament final set, attention turned to the Under 80kg semifinals. First up was Levi Jones-Leary who scored a stunning upset against reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo in the quarterfinal round on Friday.

Jones-Leary landed his third win of the tourney, besting Lucas Barbosa via unanimous decision, putting him one win away from being a millionaire.

But if Jones-Leary hoped to take home the seven-figure prize, he’d have to go through yet another Ruotolo brother.

ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo delivered a solid showing in his exciting back-and-forth scrap with Andrew Tackett, walking away with a decision victory and a ticket to the Under 80kg final.

Ffion Davies and Craig Jones score submission victories in their CJI super fights

Before getting to the tournament finales, the Craig Jones Invitational had not one but two epic superfights pitting some of the best grapplers in the world against one another. First up was two-time IBJJF and 2022 ADCC world champion Ffiona Davies against UFC strawweight fan favorite Mackenzie Dern.

Their opening exchange saw Davies push Dern to the wall before dragging her down to the mat. Davies quickly transitioned to side control and attempted to mount, but ended up in Dern’s half-guard. Davies went back into full guard before once again passing to side control where she would remain for the remainder of the round.

Seconds into the second, Davies put Dern on the canvas with a head and arm throw. Dern did her best to scramble but ended up allowing Davies to slap on a reverse triangle and before long, forced the UFC star to tap out via armbar.

In the second superfight of the night, Craig Jones met nine-time BJJ world champion Gabi Garcia in an intergender submission grappling showdown.

Despite the size discrepancy, Jones was in control for the majority of the matchup and appeared to be playing with his food at times. After winning the opening round with 10-9 scores across the board. With two minutes to go in the second, Jones goes for a heel hook, but Garcia no-sells it works on an ankle lock. Unable to cinch in the maneuver, Jones was able to snatch a rear-naked choke that forced Garcia to tap out with less than 30 seconds to go in the round.

It was an unnecessary, but wholly entertaining matchup between the two BJJ stars.

Nicky Rod and Kade Ruotolo take home Million-dollar prize

In the Over 80kg tournament finale, Nicky Rod completed his perfect run at the inaugural CJI, earning a rear-naked choke submission just past the three-minute mark of the third round against Adam Bradley. It was Rod’s fourth-straight finish by way of RNC as he clean sweeps his way to a million-dollar paycheck.

In the Under 80kg tournament final, reigning ONE lightweight submission grappling world champion Kade Ruotolo finished off his run with an entertaining back-and-forth scrap between the man who took out his brother in the quarterfinals.

Unfortunately, Levi Jones-Leary wasn’t able to complete the dream-like run, coming up short on all three scorecards.

Craig Jones Invitational Day 2 Quick Results:

Over 80kg Semifinals:
  • Nicky Rod def. Adam Bradley via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:12 of Round 3.
  • Fellipe Andrew def. Inacio Santos via submission (heel hook) at 4:39 of Round 2.
Under 80kg Semifinals:
  • Levi Jones-Leary def. Lucas Barbosa via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 29-27)
  • Kade Ruotolo def. Andrew Tackett via decision (29-28, 29-27, 27-29)
Super Fights:
  • Ffion Davies def. Mackenzie Dern via submission (reverse triangle armbar) at 0:44 of Round 2.
  • Craig Jones def. Gabi Garcia via submission (rear-naked choke) at 4:38 of Round 2.
CJI
Tournament Finals:
  • Nicky Rod def. Fellipe Andrew via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:28 of Round 1 to win the Over 80kg tournament.
  • Kade Ruotolo def. Levi Jones-Leary vis unanimous decision (49-46, 48-47, 48-47) to win the Under 80kg tournament.
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Nicky Rod and Kade Ruotolo shine on Day 1 of inaugural CJI tournament – Craig Jones Invitational Highlights

Nicky Rod and Kade Ruotolo shine on Day 1 of inaugural CJI tournament - Craig Jones Invitational HighlightsDay 1 of the Craig Jones Invitational delivered some exciting finishes and a few shocking upsets as the festivities…

Nicky Rod and Kade Ruotolo shine on Day 1 of inaugural CJI tournament - Craig Jones Invitational Highlights

Day 1 of the Craig Jones Invitational delivered some exciting finishes and a few shocking upsets as the festivities officially kicked off in Las Vegas.

Nicky Rod was undoubtedly the star of the show, scoring a pair of rear-naked chokes against Max Gimenis and Owen Livesey to punch his ticket to the semi-finals of the Over 80kg bracket. Rod will face Adam Bradley on Day 2 after Bradley earned split decisions against Kyle Boehm and Bellator prospect Pat Downey.

Joining Rod and Bradley on the other side of the semi-final bracket are Inacio Santos and Fellipe Andrew, who worked their way to the penultimate round with a series of hard-fought victories.

Perhaps the biggest shocker came in the Under 80kg quarterfinal when reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo suffered a decision loss against Levi Jones-Leary. Ruotolo got his tournament off to a great start, tapping out decorated wrestler Jason Nolf with a kneebar in the third round.

Facing Jones-Leary nearly five hours into the show, Ruotolo struggled with his guard while Jones-Leary fished for a heel hook throughout the match. In the end, Jones-Leary’s aggressiveness was enough to snatch a unanimous decision win, depriving us of the opportunity to see Tye Ruotolo square off with his twin brother and fellow ONE world champion, Kade Ruotolo.

ONE World Champion Kade Ruotolo fights his way to craig jones invitational under 80kg semifinal

Kade Ruotolo was able to get the job done on the other side of the bracket, locking in a nasty straight ankle lock with mere seconds left in the opening round against ADCC gold medalist Matheus Diniz.

Ruotolo went on to dominate Tommy Langaker in his quarterfinal match, earning a unanimous decision against the Norwegian BJJ star. In the last 14 months, Ruotolo has bagged three wins against Langaker with two of them coming under the ONE Championship banner.

Kade Ruotolo will meet Andrew Tackett in the semifinal contest after the young American bested Nicky Ryan and Eoghan O’Flanagan via decision.

Check out all the action from Day 1 of the CJI, including full results and the updated brackets for Day 2 below:

Over 80kg first round Results:

  • Nicky Rod def. Max Gimenis via submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:45 of Round 2.
  • Owen Livesey def. Mahamed Aly via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Adam Bradley def. Kyle Boehm via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Pat Downey def. Luke Rockhold via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 30-26)
  • Lucas Kanard def. Victor Hugo via submission (heel hook) at 1:10 of Round 1
  • Inacio Santos def. Pedro Alex via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Fellipe Andrew def. Daniel Kerkvliet via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Joao Gabriel Rocha def. William Tackett via unanimous decision

Over 80kg quarterfinal Results:

  • Nicky Rod def. Owen Livesey via submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:41 of Round 1.
  • Adam Bradley def. Pat Downey via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Inacio Santos def. Lucas Kanard via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Fellipe Andrew def. Joao Gabriel Rocha via unanimous decision
Craig Jones

Under 80kg first round Results:

  • Tye Ruotolo def. Jason Nolf via submission (kneebar) at 4:16 of Round 3
  • Levi Jones-Leary def. Roberto Jimenez via submission (inside heel hook) at 1:53 of Round 1
  • Lucas Barbosa def. Kenta Iwamoto via unanimous decision
  • Jozef Chen def. Andy Varela via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)
  • Kade Ruotolo def. Matheus Diniz via submission (straight ankle lock) at 4:43 of Round 1
  • Tommy Langaker def. Renato Canuto via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
  • Eoghan O’Flanagan def. Magid Hage via submission (outside heel hook) at 1:41 of Round 2
  • Andrew Tackett def. Nicky Ryan via unanimous decision (30-24, 30-24, 30-25)

Under 80kg quarterfinal Results:

  • Levi Jones-Leary def. Tye Ruotolo via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Lucas Barbosa def. Jozef Chen via submission (knee crush) at 3:34 of Round 3
  • Kade Ruotolo def. Tommy Langaker via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
  • Andrew Tackett def. Eoghan O’Flanagan via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Craig Jones

Craig Jones kisses Gabi Garcia during CJI weigh-Ins faceoff: ‘You crossed the line’

Craig Jones kisses Gabi Garcia During CJI weigh-ins faceoff: ‘You crossed the line’Australian grappler, Craig Jones has confirmed his intergender grappling match against veteran Brazilian submission ace, Gabi Garcia is off…

Craig Jones kisses Gabi Garcia During CJI weigh-ins faceoff: ‘You crossed the line’

Australian grappler, Craig Jones has confirmed his intergender grappling match against veteran Brazilian submission ace, Gabi Garcia is off ahead of tomorrow’s invitational event – after the former controversially kissed her during yesterday’s face-off.

Jones, a dominant grappling star, will go head-to-head with the ADCC World Championships tomorrow, as he hosts the Craig Jones Invitational grappling event – with two division winners landing themselves whopping $1,000,000 grand prizes for their respective successes.

craig jones 1

Craig Jones kisses Gabi Garcia during CGI face-off

As for Garcia, the 38-year-old Porto Alegre grappling veteran was supposed to face off with Adelaide native, Jones in an intergender grappling super fight at the invitational event across the weekend, however, following a controversial moment at yesterday’s staredown, in which Jones forcibly kissed the Brazilian – the bout was cancelled according to Jones.

Reacting to Jones’ controversial stunt, Garcia claimed the Australian grappler had “crossed the line” with his actions – before the outspoken Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu star appeared to reveal how their super fight match was now officially off.

gabi garcia

“Fights cancelled,” Craig Jones said of the matchup. “I guess Brazilians can’t take a joke.”

craig jones

A four-time ADCC world championship gold medal winner, Garcia has also competed in professional mixed martial arts competition – as recently as 2018.

Taking on Barbara Nepomuceno at Rizin 14 in Japan, Garcia turned in an impressive opening round keylock submission win to improve her unbeaten professional record to seven straight fights. 

Joe Rogan Is Now What He Once Opposed Says Craig Jones: ‘You become The Man’

Craig Jones Invitational Joe RoganJoe Rogan was once a piece of counterculture, but now, at least according to Craig Jones, Rogan is now…

Craig Jones Invitational Joe Rogan

Joe Rogan was once a piece of counterculture, but now, at least according to Craig Jones, Rogan is now the man.

Joe Rogan

The popular talk show host Rogan hosts the biggest podcast in history with millions of monthly listeners. He began his career as an actor and a comedian. The UFC has worked closely alongside Rogan who has been one of their broadcast professionals for decades, even while MMA was outlawed.

Craig Jones

The Australia-born Jones is one of the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu grapplers currently active. He has twice earned silver in ADCC, the premier organization in submission grappling. But recently, he started his own event with tons of impressive talent competing.

Craig Jones Invitational

The CJI and ADCC 2024 will both be hosted on the same weekend and both in Las Vegas. For the CJI, there are a million dollars in prizes to be won. But, Joe Rogan is not happy with this setup. Rogan, who sponsors the ADCC, wasn’t too happy about the clash and mentioned his frustration on the podcast.

Craig Jones

The Australian Jones recently talked about his experience on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, where he faced some pushback from Rogan himself. Jones was there to promote his new grappling tournament which he started to boost athlete pay in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

Jones, however, thinks the conflict is necessary to push for better pay for athletes. He pointed out that Rogan, who built his career challenging the system, might not see why shaking things up is important. He is looking to set a new standard for athlete compensation.

In an interview with TheMacLife, Jones explained:

“That’s the thing with Rogan, right? If you build a career fighting the man, ultimately if you become successful enough you kind of become the man… He didn’t really grasp why we had to do it this way and cause a conflict. There has to be a conflict.”