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  • Photo: Tony Rotundo

    Photo: Tony Rotundo

    Wrestlers at the Craig Jones Invitational

    This weekend the first-ever Craig Jones Invitational will take place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The two weight class winners of the submission grappling event will take home $1 million in prize money. Scattered throughout those two brackets are some names that will be rather recognizable to wrestling fans: Jason Nolf, Pat Downey, and Greg Kerkvliet. Outside of those names, the event is likely to raise some questions for those who do not follow grappling. What exactly is this event? How did it come about? What are the rules? How can I watch it? What chance do the wrestlers have? The following attempts to answer those questions.

    Event background

    Since its inaugural event in 1998, the pinnacle of no-gi grappling has been the Abu Dhabi Combat Club Submission Fighting World Championship more commonly known as ADCC. Winners of the event are often considered the best in the grappling world and some have used the event as a launching point for decorated MMA careers.

    Craig Jones, the founder of the Craig Jones Invitational, is a two-time ADCC medalist. He took second in the under 88 kg division in 2019 and returned in 2022 to score another silver medal, this time in the under 99 kg weight class.

    Per the ADCC website, the top four placers in the five men’s weight classes are rewarded with the following prize money: $10,000 for first, $5,000 for second, $3,000 for third, and $1,000 for fourth.

    Jones scoffed at what he considered paltry prizes and decided to launch his own event. Perhaps out of spite, it will take place on the same weekend, and in the same city, as this year’s ADCC. Reportedly, all 32 entries in the CJI, 16 in the under 80 kg division and 16 in the over 80 kg division, will receive $10,001 for simply appearing, while the champions will each take home $1 million.

    The event will stream live and free on YouTube. Day one starts Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET, and continues Saturday at 8:00 p.m. ET.

    Rules

    For those not familiar with competitive submission grappling, the rules can vary drastically from one event to another. This event will certainly continue that trend with the implementation of an entirely new set of rules. 

    Tournament bouts prior to the finals will be scheduled for three five-minute rounds, and the finals of each division will be five five-minute rounds. Unlike most grappling competitions, the bouts will be scored on the 10-point must system, which is used in MMA and boxing. The winner of each round will receive 10 points, while the loser will receive nine or fewer based on the level of domination.

    The judges will use the following criteria, in order, to determine a round winner: initiating action, close submissions, dynamic action, and positional control/dominant control. The full rules document is available here.

    It is difficult to predict how the new rules will help or hurt the chances of wrestlers with limited submission grappling experience since this will be the first tournament conducted under the regulations. InterMat spoke with combat sports journalist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Raphael Garcia on how this new and innovative ruleset could impact the wrestling-based entrants.

    “Expert wrestlers may come into CJI with high-level skills in that specific area, but the CJI rules immediately put them at a disadvantage,” Garcia said. “The lack of opportunity to run up the score by taking your opponent down immediately puts you in the wheelhouse of the more experienced submission grapplers and puts you in a position where the danger is most prevalent. This tournament is filled with Jiu Jitsu players that can get off their back and into attacking positions, leaving even the best wrestler on the defensive or worse, locked into a submission they don't know how to escape.”

    First Round Matches

    Jason Nolf (+700) vs. Tye Ryotolo (-1000)

    In the first round of the under 80 kg division, Nolf will take on perhaps the tournament favorite in Tye Ruotolo. Back in June, Nolf made his grappling debut against former NAIA All-American Andrew Simmons. The former Penn State wrestler scored an early takedown and eventually worked his way into a match-ending arm-triangle choke. While that was a solid dip into the pond, he will be jumping into the deep end at CJI.

    Ruotolo is only 21 years old, but he has already put together an extensive resume highlighted by a bronze medal-winning performance at the 2022 edition of ADCC. He is also the current ONE Championship welterweight submission grappling world champion. 

    under_80_bracket_600x600.webp

     

    Pat Downey (+220) vs. Luke Rockhold (-280)

    In the over 80 kg division, Downey has drawn one of the most recognizable names in the field. The former Iowa State wrestler will face off against former UFC and Strikeforce middleweight champion Luke Rockhold. While Rockhold did come up as a grappler, he has been away from the sport for quite some time. He left the UFC in 2022 after three straight losses. Since then, he has dropped a bare-knuckle boxing match against Mike Perry and won a Karate Combat fight over kickboxer Joe Schilling.

     

    Daniel Kerkvliet (+350) vs. Fellipe Andrew (-450)

    In his grappling debut, Kerkvliet will face off against the 2023 IBJJF world champion Fellipe Andrew. The IBJJF, which stands for International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, world event is considered the pinnacle of GI grappling. Andrew won the tournament in the under 94 kg division and followed that up with another victory at the 2024 Pan American Championships. Since losing to Rayron Gracie earlier this year, Andrew has gone on a 12-match winning streak that includes a submission victory over Anderson Munis less than 20 days ago.

    over_80_bracket_600x600.webp

    All odds courtesy of BetOnline.AG. Raphael Garcia is on Twitter (X) at @RGarcia_Sports.

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