In the aftermath of one of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu’s most controversial tournament decisions, John Danaher has broken his silence regarding New Wave’s disputed loss at the Craig Jones Invitational 2 finals. The legendary coach’s response comes following intense allegations from his student Gordon Ryan, who accused the event of corruption and rule manipulation.
The drama centers around the $1 million team tournament finale between New Wave and B-Team, which concluded in unprecedented fashion. After all five matches ended in double eliminations with no submissions, the judges’ scorecards showed a perfect tie at 47-47 across all three officials. However, B-Team was declared the winner based on what organizers called a “last match” tiebreaker, stemming from Nick Rodriguez receiving a 10-8 round score against Luke Griffith in the final bout.
Danaher’s Instagram post struck a notably diplomatic tone compared to Ryan’s scathing accusations. Rather than crying foul, the coach focused on celebrating his team’s achievements while subtly questioning the judging inconsistencies that decided the outcome.
“We won 3 out of five matches, but in a rather perplexing final decision the teams were judged as a draw because one of the B team’s victories was judged a 10-8 round, apparently disregarding one of our athletes victories which was almost identically dominant but judged only 10-9,”
Danaher wrote.
The coach specifically highlighted what many observers noted as glaring scoring disparities. While Rodriguez received a 10-8 for what Gordon Ryan characterized as “a single guard pass and holding a body lock for 2 minutes,” Dorian Olivarez’s dominant performance against Ethan Crelinsten—which included multiple guard passes—only earned a 10-9 score.
“We talked briefly with the judges over the apparent inconsistencies in scoring but it did not shed any light on the situation,”
Danaher added, suggesting the team sought clarification but received unsatisfactory answers.
Despite the controversial circumstances, Danaher maintained his characteristic composure and sportsmanship. He congratulated all competing teams and praised individual performances, particularly highlighting Giancarlo Bodoni, Luke Griffith and Dorian Olivarez for their exceptional showings.
The coach also took time to acknowledge his collaborative partners, thanking Mica Galvão, Melqui Galvão, Vagner Rocha and Diogo Reis for their contributions to the team’s preparation and performance.
Ryan shared the following screenshots:
In terns of rules, the rule which awarded the victory to B team has been on the CJI website all along as such that’s probably not valid criticism.
Strictly subjectively, there was possibly a lot more excitement and audience engagement in the final match which may have played a part in skewering the referee choice. When the final clock hit the buzzer, it was unclear who had won to both teams. Both Nicky Ryan and Danaher looked gloomy and unsure.
On a brighter note, Danaher celebrated Helena Crevar’s victory in the women’s division, where she submitted Sarah Galvão with a devastating leg lock to claim $100,000 in what he called
“the biggest prize money in female Jiu jitsu history.”
The measured response stands in sharp contrast to Gordon Ryan’s inflammatory accusations, which included claims that the tournament was
“corrupt from start to finish”
and that rules were fabricated to deny New Wave their rightful victory. Ryan posted what appeared to be contractual evidence suggesting the team with more bout victories should have won, contradicting the “last match” tiebreaker that was ultimately applied.
While Danaher chose not to engage in direct accusations of corruption, his carefully worded statement acknowledges the scoring inconsistencies while maintaining respect for the sport and his opponents. The veteran coach’s approach reflects his philosophy of focusing on controllable factors and maintaining dignity in both victory and defeat.
Danaher’s measured response may prove more effective than inflammatory accusations in promoting necessary reforms to ensure fair competition in future events.
Ultimately, despite the difficulties CJI 2 Day 2 was a success in terms of metrics. The broadcast peaked at over 120,000 live audience. Currently CJI 2 stats are on par with the blockbuster first event with Day one counter hitting 1.5M, and Day 2 on track to go over 1M before the deadline hits and the event gets paywalled.
