# Craig Jones Invitational

The Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) is an international submission grappling tournament organized by Craig Jones.
The inaugural tournament was held August 16–17, 2024 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States. The event was streamed live on YouTube for free. Nick Rodriguez won the 80kg+ tournament, while Kade Ruotolo won the −80kg tournament. The winner in each weight division received $1 million prize money.
CJI 2 is planned for August 2025.

## Background

Craig Jones from B Team Jiu Jitsu is a two-time ADCC silver medalist. Disappointed with athlete pay at ADCC, he decided to host a tournament in which all invited athletes receive a higher minimum payout ($10,001) than the male winner of ADCC ($10,000).
The two men's divisions scheduled for the 2024 tournament were under 80kg and over 80kg, and the winner of each bracket was to be awarded $1 million. Each men's division bracket had 16 competitors. Each participant received $10,001 for competing.
On JRE MMA Show No. 157, an episode of Joe Rogan's podcast, Jones brought $1 million in cash to promote the tournament.
A best submission bonus of $50,000 was announced.
The dates and location were selected to overlap with ADCC 2024, which was held August 17–18, 2024 in Las Vegas.
Separate from the men's divisions, Craig Jones was scheduled to face Gabi Garcia in an intergender superfight, and Ffion Davies was scheduled to fight Mackenzie Dern in the women's superfight. A superfight with Mikey Musumeci was also announced, but ultimately did not occur due to a lack of a contractual agreement with Musumeci's planned opponent. Mason Fowler was scheduled to fight in the over 80kg bracket but later withdrew from the competition due to injury.
On December 8, 2024, Jones announced a second Craig Jones Invitational tournament to be held in August 2025, with the 2025 tournament adopting a Quintet-inspired team format.

## 2024
### Results
#### Over 80kg

| First Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Winner |
| Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez |
| Max Gimenis | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez |
| Owen Livesey | Owen Livesey | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez |
| Mahamed Aly | Owen Livesey | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez |
| Adam Bradley | Adam Bradley | Adam Bradley | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez |
| Kyle Boehm | Adam Bradley | Adam Bradley | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez |
| Luke Rockhold | Pat Downey | Adam Bradley | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez |
| Pat Downey | Pat Downey | Adam Bradley | Nick Rodriguez | Nick Rodriguez |
| Victor Hugo | Lucas Kanard | Inacio Santos | Fellipe Andrew | Nick Rodriguez |
| Lucas Kanard | Lucas Kanard | Inacio Santos | Fellipe Andrew | Nick Rodriguez |
| Inacio Santos | Inacio Santos | Inacio Santos | Fellipe Andrew | Nick Rodriguez |
| Pedro Alex | Inacio Santos | Inacio Santos | Fellipe Andrew | Nick Rodriguez |
| Daniel Greg Kerkvliet | Fellipe Andrew | Fellipe Andrew | Fellipe Andrew | Nick Rodriguez |
| Fellipe Andrew | Fellipe Andrew | Fellipe Andrew | Fellipe Andrew | Nick Rodriguez |
| Joao Gabriel Rocha | Joao Gabriel Rocha | Fellipe Andrew | Fellipe Andrew | Nick Rodriguez |
| William Tackett | Joao Gabriel Rocha | Fellipe Andrew | Fellipe Andrew | Nick Rodriguez |

#### Under 80kg

| First Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | Winner |
| Tye Ruotolo | Tye Ruotolo | Levi Jones-Leary | Levi Jones-Leary | Kade Ruotolo |
| Jason Nolf | Tye Ruotolo | Levi Jones-Leary | Levi Jones-Leary | Kade Ruotolo |
| Roberto Jimenez | Levi Jones-Leary | Levi Jones-Leary | Levi Jones-Leary | Kade Ruotolo |
| Levi Jones-Leary | Levi Jones-Leary | Levi Jones-Leary | Levi Jones-Leary | Kade Ruotolo |
| Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa | Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa | Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa | Levi Jones-Leary | Kade Ruotolo |
| Kenta Iwamoto | Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa | Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa | Levi Jones-Leary | Kade Ruotolo |
| Jozef Chen | Jozef Chen | Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa | Levi Jones-Leary | Kade Ruotolo |
| Andy Varela | Jozef Chen | Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa | Levi Jones-Leary | Kade Ruotolo |
| Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo |
| Matheus Diniz | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo |
| Renato Canuto | Tommy Langaker | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo |
| Tommy Langaker | Tommy Langaker | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo |
| Magid Hage | Eoghan O’Flanagan | Andrew Tackett | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo |
| Eoghan O’Flanagan | Eoghan O’Flanagan | Andrew Tackett | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo |
| Andrew Tackett | Andrew Tackett | Andrew Tackett | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo |
| Nicky Ryan | Andrew Tackett | Andrew Tackett | Kade Ruotolo | Kade Ruotolo |

#### Superfights

* Ffion Davies def. Mackenzie Dern
* Craig Jones def. Gabi Garcia

### Reception

The event raised $500,000 for Tap Cancer Out charity. The event's free YouTube stream was seen by over 100,000 concurrent viewers on both days of competition.
The Craig Jones Invitational won both the Promotion of the Year and Fight Card of the Year awards at the 2024 Jits Magazine BJJ Awards. Kade Ruotolo vs. Andrew Tackett from the event's −80kg tournament won Jits Magazine's Match of the Year award.