When Craig Jones alleged Jon Jones got paid UFC bonus-level money just to attend ADCC and watch Gordon Ryan compete
Craig Jones has been at odds with former teammate Gordon Ryan for quite a while. MMA legend Jon Jones attended Ryan's recent ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) showcase. Speaking of which, Craig alleged that Jon was given a lucrative payday to grace the ADCC event.
Craig conceptualized the first-ever CJI (Craig Jones Invitational), a Jiu-Jitsu tournament deemed as a direct competitor to the traditional ADCC World Championship that takes place every two years. The CJI was organized on Aug. 16-17, 2024, whereas this year's ADCC tournament transpired on Aug. 17-18.
Notable athletes like UFC women's strawweight and former ADCC champion Mackenzie Dern, former UFC middleweight champion Luke Rockhold, BJJ ace Gabi Garcia, and more, partook in the CJI due to the reportedly greater financial rewards. A few other prominent grapplers like Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena stuck with the ADCC.
Gordon Ryan secured points victories against Felipe Pena on Aug. 17 and Yuri Simoes on Aug. 18 in their superfights at the 2024 ADCC. Ryan made an Instagram post, which featured a photo from the ADCC event of himself and UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones who's likely to return to the octagon soon.
'The King's' statement in the post alluded to Jones being his friend and attending to watch him compete. Having previously trained with 'Bones,' Ryan wrote:
"All my friends are here to watch me make history"
As reported by BJJ Eastern Europe, Craig Jones subsequently claimed that Jones received a $50k payday from ADCC to attend the event. A payout in that range is generally given by the UFC to its fighters as a bonus for a great performance/stoppage. In a now-deleted video, Craig stated:
"The c*nt literally got paid 50 racks to show up and watch you mate. You don't have any f**king friends. ADCC, that's pathetic [that] you would pay Jon Jones to watch you compete."
A look at Craig Jones and Gordon Ryan's feud
Australia's Craig Jones is respected in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and broader combat sports realms for his exceptional grappling prowess. Craig's training-partner-turned foe Gordon Ryan is beheld as one of the world's best BJJ practitioners and submission grapplers.
Craig trained with Ryan and other BJJ savants under the tutelage of Jiu-Jitsu genius and revered coach John Danaher a few years ago. Around July 2021, the famed 'Danaher Death Squad' disbanded. Craig formed his own team, B-Team Jiu-Jitsu, with some of Danaher's other ex-students.
As evidenced by the screenshots of their alleged DMs, displayed in Craig's Instagram post below, Craig and Ryan relentlessly trade barbs.
Gordon Ryan has defeated Craig Jones thrice in submission grappling, besides also beating Nicky Rodriguez. Craig's fellow B-Team Jiu-Jitsu member Rodriguez, who's also a former member of the 'Danaher Death Squad,' recently challenged Ryan to face them under the CJI banner.
For his part, Ryan fired back at Craig and Rodriguez with the following Instagram post, warning he'll beat both of them on the same night.