Craig Jones jokes about teaching Islam Makhachev the rear naked choke for $200
Islam Makhachev's resilient win over Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 284's main event was not an easy feat for the lightweight champion. The unanimous decision victory was closely contested and it was a fight of margins with regards to striking and grappling.
The loss broke Volkanovski's 12-fight win streak in the UFC and 22-fight win streak overall. It also broke Makhachev's streak of five straight finishes, four of which were submissions. 'The Great' showed a marked improvement in his ground game and thwarted his Dagestani opponent's famed wrestling to a significant degree.
This led Islam Makhachev to have a chat with Brazilian jiu-jitsu specialist Craig Jones, who was part of Alexander Volkanovski's corner for the lightweight championship bout. Jones took to Instagram to post a clip of Makhachev and his interaction and made a joke about it. He stated that the victorious fighter had a question on how to finish a rear-naked choke and, in turn, Jones demanded payment for the advice:
"Islam 'Brother how do you finish the rear naked choke?' Craig 'That will be $200 through @bjj.fanatics mate'"
Check out Craig Jones' hilarious post on Instagram:
Craig Jones was roped in by Volkanovski for his fight camp and headed the wrestling training for the City Kickboxing team.
Islam Makhachev reacts to the pound-for-pound rankings update that keeps him behind Alexander Volkanovski
Islam Makhachev managed to defend his title but failed to uproot Alexander Volkanovski as the pound-for-pound king in the aftermath of UFC 284.
The updated rankings reflected no change at the top of the men's pound-for-pound list. Makhachev reacted to the rankings in an interview upon his arrival back in Russia and cited bias towards fighters from the region.
He also thanked fans back home for their support and said:
"Thank you for congratulations. The road home is always good, no matter how long you fly. About the rankings, I never expected justice and still don't. Because we saw on the example of our other fighters, [Magomed] Ankalaev, Petr Yan, saw the attitude towards us always. The main thing [is] I flew 13,000 kilometers. There defeated their champion, they raised my hand. And with a raised head, confidently with a belt, flew home."
Watch Islam Makhachev's comments on Instagram: