Joe Rogan has become the thing he fought against, says Craig Jones, who reflects on pushback for ADCC vs. CJI: “There has to be a conflict"
Craig Jones recently reflected on his appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience, and has called out Rogan for "becoming the man" he once fought against. The Australian appeared on the JRE to promote his upcoming grappling tournament and was met with some resistance from the podcast host.
The Craig Jones Invitational was created as a way to help improve athlete pay in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The CJI will take place on the same weekend as the most prestigious no-gi BJJ tournament in the world, the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships.
ADCC takes place every two years, with the latest edition set to happen on 17-18 Aug. in Las Vegas. The CJI will instead take place on the 16-17 of Aug., also in Sin City. Earlier this year, Jones announced he wouldn't be competing at ADCC 2024, citing a lack of financial benefit as the main reason.
He stated that since 2017, the prize money for first place had remained at $10,000 despite the tournament's immense growth. Jones then created the CJI, which features two weight divisions, with the winner of each receiving a $1 million prize.
The eye-catching prize money saw many of BJJ's best athletes jump ship from ADCC 2024 to the CJI and that has frustrated Rogan, who sponsors ADCC.
During Jones' appearance on the JRE, the podcast host noted several times how frustrating it was that the two grappling tournaments happened on the same weekend. But the Australian believes that it was a necessity.
During a recent interview with TheMacLife, the 33-year-old reflected on Rogan's comments, saying this:
"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."
Watch Craig Jones' interview below (2:15):
Craig Jones reveals he tried to sign Charles Oliveira for the CJI
The Craig Jones Invitational has taken the BJJ world by storm and ruffled the feathers of ADCC's organizers to the point that Jones has been sent death threats.
Ahead of the CJI, the 33-year-old has revealed that he attempted to sign Charles Oliveira, one of the best grapplers in MMA, to his BJJ tournament against the legendary Marcelo Garcia.
During a recent YouTube video on his channel, the Australian said:
"I'll say we gave it a red hot try. Honestly, I was trying to book Marcelo vs. Charles Oliveira. That's what I was trying to get done."
Watch Craig Jones' video below (9:25):