Gilbert Burns would compete at Craig Jones Invitational over “juiced to the head” ADCC; reflects on attending both competitions in August
Gilbert Burns is regarded as one of the best Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners in the UFC. The former title challenger has won BJJ world championships at both brown belt and black belt, and also took part in the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships in 2015.
The ADCC event, held every two years, is the most prestigious event in no-gi grappling. 'Durinho' had a superb showing during his lone appearance at ADCC, winning three of his four matches, including an impressive armbar victory over Lachlan Giles.
But ADCC 2024 saw the emergence of a new rival, the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), founded by his namesake.
The CJI was created to help improve athlete pay in the sport. According to Jones, the prize money for winning ADCC had been the same since 2017, at $10,000, despite the sport's, and competition's, immense growth.
Burns is scheduled to take on Sean Brady, a fellow elite grappler, in the main event of UFC Vegas 97 on Sept. 8. Ahead of the fight, 'Durinho' was asked whether he would compete at CJI or at ADCC, and said:
"I think the CJI was awesome... But overall I like ADCC too... I liked CJI a lot, and I heard they're probably gonna do it every single year, so it's amazing to see how big jiu-jitsu got and keeps getting bigger." [6:20-7:20]
He continued:
"I loved the CJI ruleset... I would love to do the CJI. ADCC is kind of like, those guys are juiced to the head and the rules, I might get cut, I might get hurt. But three five-minute rounds at the CJI, I do that a lot. I like it better that the ADCC [rules]." [9:28-10:05]
Watch Gilbert Burns' interview below:
Gilbert Burns eager to test grappling skills against Sean Brady
Gilbert Burns and Sean Brady are arguably the best BJJ athletes in the welterweight division, and the pair will go to war in the main event of UFC Vegas 97 on Sept. 8.
With Brady holding a BJJ victory over Craig Jones, one of the world's best grapplers, the American has proved he is elite on the ground.
Ahead of the clash, 'Durinho' was interviewed by Michael Bisping, where he welcomed the grappling challenge of his upcoming opponent. He said:
"If he wants to grapple, let's grapple. He's a black belt from Daniel Gracie, a lot of respect to Daniel Gracie. [Brady] is tough, I'm not gonna [play him down], the guy is tough."
Watch Gilbert Burns' interview below (1:05):