Craig Jones has withdrawn a personal pledge of $48,000 intended to close the pay gap between men and women at ADCC 2026, citing a reason that has sent a fresh wave of concern through the grappling community, one of the event’s active competitors is currently listed on two separate arrest warrants.
In a video statement directed at female competitors preparing for the tournament, Craig Jones was direct about his decision.
“One of the competitors has an active open arrest warrant in Hayes County for s**ual assault,” he said. “February 26, he received a second arrest warrant against a second individual.”
That individual is Izaak Michell, a former member of the Kingsway gym and a well known figure in competitive submission grappling. Despite the warrants, Michell continues to appear on ADCC’s list of active competitors. Jones says he has been trying to get answers from the organization.
“ADCC are aware of this,” he said. “I’ve been asking them to no response.”
BJJDOC staff has separately asked for comment from both ADCC Poland publicist and official accounts. The answer has been a unified no response.
The decision to pull the pledge was not, Jones emphasized, a casual one. Earlier this year, Craig Jones had made a public commitment to personally match the disparity in prize money between the men’s and women’s divisions at ADCC 2026. His reasoning for walking that back now cuts to a more fundamental concern.
“I do not want to prop up an organization that doesn’t value women,” he said. “This isn’t virtue signaling like the majority of my audience. This is a safety issue.”
Jones also addressed what he sees as a failure of basic accountability within the sport’s governing structure.
“I really cannot understand how we’ve ended up here in this sport,” he said. “I cannot for the life of me understand why he sits on the ADCC active competitors list. Somebody explain it.”
Through a series of posts under his confirmed Reddit account, Jones has previously disclosed that more than twenty women have come forward with allegations against Michell. Michell currently resides in Queensland, Australia, beyond the reach of Texas law enforcement, and Jones has indicated that extradition is not expected due to budgetary limitations within the relevant agencies.
Jones has been clear that the $48,000 pledge will not simply disappear.
“I promise to you that that $48,000, we will find a way to give back to the women of the sport,” he said.
The pressure on ADCC to address Michell’s presence on its competitor roster is unlikely to ease.
