In a recent appearance on the Jits and Giggles Podcast, Australian submission grappler Craig Jones made his feelings about the current state of competitive jiu-jitsu abundantly clear.
When host Alysa pressed him on a quote he had given her previously, Jones did not hesitate.
“Jiu-jitsu was going up. We did CJI. UFC saw that, copied it, and nobody watches it.”
It was a blunt summary of what he sees as the sport’s trajectory, and he showed little optimism about reversing it.
When asked whether he, as a public figure, could bring it back, his answer was simply: “I don’t think so. Honestly, it’s d3ad. Who the f**k cares?”
For Jones, the core problem comes down to exclusive contracts. His CJI was designed to be something special, an annual event modeled on accessibility and neutrality.
“We wanted to be the Super Bowl. We wanted to be middle ground, where everyone could support us and we’d be nonpartisan.”
The goal was also charitable.
“I thought if I were to do a tournament and give away a million dollars and donate the profits to charity, maybe we could have an event once a year.”
Instead, exclusive contracts blocked access to the top athletes, and CJI 2.5 was ultimately canceled. He floated a now-infamous alternative.
“I was going to compete against seven Uber drivers for ten million dollars because exclusive contracts ruined our event.”
The logic, delivered with a straight face, was that Uber drivers are not under exclusive contracts to any promotion, so they would qualify. He was eventually talked out of it, though he seemed only mildly disappointed.
Jones was candid about what UFC BJJ has done to the landscape of recognizable personalities in the sport.
“UFC BJJ is making sure there’s less famous people in the sport,” he said, not as hyperbole but as an observation about how centralized control limits the emergence of new stars.
Interestingly, Jones did not dismiss the athletes currently competing under the UFC banner. When Alysa pointed out that several competitors she had interviewed were thrilled with the exposure and pay, Jones acknowledged the tension.
His grievance is structural rather than personal. The issue is not that those athletes are wrong to be satisfied, but that a format built around exclusive control cannot sustain a healthy, broad ecosystem for the sport.
