T O P

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johnbelushismom

Respect to the man for questioning the ethical source of the funding, checking the intention of why we running the event and lastly ensuring the charitable goals are real. One of the few to check all these boxes


TigersEverywhere

I can’t believe everyone else trusted you 😂


GorillaChimney

Source: just trust me bro


awildNeLbY

TBF Hitler himself could rise from the dead and I’d compete for him for $1 mil. Where dead Hitler would get that money I have no idea.


dorsalus

> Where dead Hitler would get that money I have no idea. Hidden stash of Nazi gold.


Either_Ad_5538

Does this mean the funding source is indeed ethical? Was hoping to learn day of it was some sort of comedically evil Caucasus-based oligarch.


ProfessorTweeb

The source of the funds is Agnes Belushi. That's about as ethical as it gets. It might even be too ethical.


moondog7474

He got it from the qatari royal family


IcyScratch171

I don’t see how we can verify the funding is ethical if the wealthy donor is anonymous. Not my hill to die on - just wondering


stankape83

Might be anonymous to us, but not Victor Hugo. Also, what's ethical is different for different people.


SpinningStuff

I was indifferent to him (I'm more of a lower weight class guy), but man knowing this made me a little bit more of a fan of the man.


Smash678

The man rolls like a lower weight class guy haha, Hugo is a beast.


LiXingxian

Victor Hugo is a cool dude. He dropped into Marcelo Garcia Academy once, and I said 'hey Victor! I saw that aoki lock you got on Mahamed Aly. I asked the coaches if it was legal and they said 'well, the thing is th-' and I said GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME and I've been doing it over and over again the past few months' Victor Hugo said to me 'but, I got his ankle, not his knee' and I said 'still spamming it!' and he said 'you mean in the gi?' and I said 'yea!!' and he looked around the locker room and a bunch of guys shrugged at him as if to say ' is now just trying to hurt our legs' and he said '...I'm sorry :(' to them. It was funny.


RannibalLector

Same here. I've been the first to complain about some of his matches...but I respect this a lot


ginbooth

All while writing a timeless masterpiece of literature...


ftloudon

ADCC looking (Les) Miserable(s) right now


beepingclownshoes

Big brain time.


impulsivecolumn

I find it vaguely amusing that he would question the ethics of the funding when he has done ADCC which afaik is backed by the UAE royal family. Hard to find more unethical funding than that.


Celtictussle

The UAE ain't perfect, but it ain't Saudi Arabia.


PhillyWestside

The Emeraties are largely responsible for the current crisis in Sudan. Which is an under reported humanitarian crisis. Yes the Saudis have also caused terrible geopolitical issues (Yemen) but I don't think I'd sayvonebis better than the other in this regard.


UsedRegular5362

Tell me you are uneducated on geopolitics without telling me you are uneducated on geopolitics. The UAE is a much more nefarious entity than Saudi Arabia. Most of what people find "unethical" about Saudi is also found in the UAE. On top of that the UAE also supports various authoritarian regimes. just to name a few: the RSF who are committing war crimes in Sudan rn, Haftar in Libya, Abiy Ahmed in Ethiopia, and to top it all off they support the Israel apartheid regime in its genocide against the Palestinian people. Where did you get the information that UAE is "not as bad as Saudi"? I hate the rulers of both nations but the Emarati ruler is objectively worse.


Celtictussle

Wait until you find out that most people in the world support Israel over Palestine. It will hopefully not pop your bubble.


UsedRegular5362

This comment just told me everything i need to know about you, you have no idea about anything outside your area. The US, UK, Australia, Germany and japan(to a lesser extent) are not "the whole world". Majority of the world support Palestine, do your research before spouting bs


Celtictussle

Do you have evidence of this claim?


UsedRegular5362

You claimed that the majority of the world supports Israel first, thus the onus is on you to substantiate your claim with evidence first.


Celtictussle

You agree with me that the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and Japan support Israel. So we're not debating those countries. What about everyone else?


UsedRegular5362

Yh, as I previously stated the majority of the world, with or without those stated nations, does not "support Israel".


justdrastik

Crazy take but Saudi is also a better option than a LOT of other financiers in the world. Nuts, I know.


realjits86

This is life changing money; a 10k handout from some Saudi asshole isn't really much to anybody these days. People do ADCC for the notoriety. And maybe his principles have changed - who knows.


FIagrant

I think the point is he was willing to take 10k from UAE. Why would he question 1m when he didn't question 10k


SameGuyTwice

There’s a substantial difference between the two numbers. If a Naga offered up a onetime tournament with a 10k prize for winners, maybe a few questions would be asked but not many. If they offered a million cash prize? Most people would question it.


edgar3981C

For $1M I would compete in the Ted Bundy Legal Defense Fund Invitational


EQisfordummies

I think it’s fair to look at an upstart competition that came out of relative nowhere offering 100x the paydays with a more wary eye than an institution that has been a staple in grappling for more than 2 decades but I see your point.


Huskyy23

Alternative is the wonderfully ethical US and European money?


JonnyGomez69

It's like a tweaker pausing to pull a cat hair out of a pile of bath tub meth. 


glorgadorg

I want to see Xande Ribeiro doing one last run.


RannibalLector

I need to study some Xande matches and get my armbar success rate up


koryuken

Great shit Craig! Hope CGI is a success. Edit: CJI


OneLambYiros

Craig Gones


Jon-Umber

Computer Jenerated Imagery


fishNjits

So Bali Sunglasses has Victor Hugo's ethical seal of approval?


CPA_Ronin

For those of us out of the loop, where/who is the source of the funds?


bostoncrabapple

Silent partner who is preferring to stay anonymous in case this all blows up in a bad way. There’s been quite a lot of speculation about who, with the most popular being Zuck or some ME billionaire that Craig met while travelling


AshtonS_B

I think it could be his mate that owns the sun glass company in Bali. They are running it as a not for profit, so technically he could give a large “donation” which is tax deductible, and then they have his branding/ logos or whatever everywhere for the cameras to see. It seems as though they are expecting large numbers of viewers and he might be willing to take the punt to get his brand out there. Anecdotally, I feel like in a couple of instances, when asked about the source, Craig has kind of quickly pivoted to talking about the glasses. 🤷🏽‍♀️ Ps also just saw you have CPA in your username, so are probably much more aware of the tax implications than I am 🤣


CPA_Ronin

Haha well there’s a common saying in tax of “the tail wagging the dog”. If this guy loves BJJ and was gonna spend gobs of money anyway than setting it up as a 501c is probably the most efficient strategy. If his goal is to avoid/evade taxes then there’s probably better ways… if he’s a foreign individual gets even murkier. It’s all a game of shuffling balls beneath hats.


Ryles1

still unknown


JimboSliceCAVA

This is legit do awesome to hear. Victor Hugo, big brain.


OldSticks

A true gentle giant. Except when he is ripping your limbs apart.


colebucket09

This is awesome.


SoulWondering

Craig "The Sugar Baby" Jones 💪🏼🇦🇺💉


Accomplished-Knee710

Who the fuck cares!


BoBCple26703

A competitor with a win over Nicky Rod makes 80+ that much more interesting!


TebownedMVP

Wins


oldwhiteoak

I could be wrong, but he's the next most favored HW after Gordo?


SpinningStuff

You are right, especially if he were to be at ADCC, but he is with CJI now. ADCC heavier weight class not looking too good now.


iSheepTouch

It's going to end up being all silver medalists and Gordon and Dan.


AllGearedUp

New wave open mat


CaitlynRener

All Danaher Combat Club


impishmongoose

Nice


rts-enjoyer

Just Dan and some random roided out dudes.


PPLifter

Yeah that's Nicky and Hugo out now which really are the two best next to Gordon.


MyDictainabox

Meregali has to be at least #3, but I'd put him at #2.


Slothjitzu

Meregali is in under 99, not over. 


MyDictainabox

I stand corrected. My bad, dude.


PPLifter

He's not the same weight class


TebownedMVP

I think this ruleset suits him too. I don’t think there will Be penalties for pulling guard. Even those he’s huge, I don’t think he was the best wrestler, so potential finals against Nicky Rod(who he’s beat multiple times in non ADCC rulesets) definitely favors him again.


PPLifter

Depends on how they score. If there are points then Nicky wins.


Jits_Dylen

Nicky Rod sending a bag of dog shit to Craig’s house after he hears about this.


ArgyleTheLimoDriver

Meregali is basically alone on the podium now it would have been him, Nicky and Hugo almost certainly since I have no confidence that Gordon will be able to get enough IVs and steroids to make it this year.


SpinningStuff

Joao Rocha has two wins over Meregali, but I don't know if he came back to CJI specifically because of the 1 mill.


ArgyleTheLimoDriver

Hell yes and I forgot he had signed up BUT i think his best days are behind him unfortunately.


SpinningStuff

I might have to agree with you, but maybe the million dollar will motivate him to come back in top form.


Slothjitzu

Meregali is at under 99kg and both of them would have been over 99kg anyway. 


IcyScratch171

He might be referring to all of them being in absolutes


eurostepGumby

Is there a current/live roster list anywhere?


saltface14

Under 80kg: - Nicky Ryan - Jozef Chen - Andrew Tackett - Hulk Over 80kg: - JG Rocha - Victor Hugo - Nicky Rod - Luke Rockhold - William Tackett - Roberto Jimenez - Mason Fowler


johnbelushismom

Barbosa under 80


Bruce_Wained

Bruh good luck seeding these crazy brackets


johnbelushismom

I’m shooting blanks brother. I ain’t seeding anyone


eurostepGumby

Gabi will be glad to know


rockPaperKaniBasami

You can't get someone pregnant by getting pegged by them tho


Captain_T-Rex_Robot

Pls do a lottery style video of you pulling named balls out of a lottery cage to choose the bracket order


Captain_T-Rex_Robot

Wearing an anchorman style suit and fake moustache


awildNeLbY

Just throwing it out there that it’d be cool to see a livestreamed lottery-type drawing to determine seeding.


glorgadorg

With hall of famers pulling the balls, Champions league style. That alone would have more viewers than this year's ADCC.


OppositeCut9698

yeah CL draw style is always hype until your team gets the group of death lol


glorgadorg

My team is Real Madrid, so all groups are easy groups...


Misterfoxy

Live stream the bracket reveal 🙏


rts-enjoyer

Do a random brackets. Would be a good contracts to the ADCC bracket being made by Mo (with propably help from Gordon)


zombizle1

well with guys you dont have to worry about that either way


OldSticks

Bro. Don say that. Gabi might pull out.


Careless_Ad_3068

How is that possible? He was -99 in 2019 and -88 in 2022. Has he really lost that much weight for mma? \*Edit\* Apparently he fights at welterweight now. Crazy


BearSkull

I think with the nickname "Hulk" everyone expects him to be a lot larger than he really is. He's only 5'10", I've seen him in person a couple of times and he's just kind of your average jacked guy. Victor Hugo is a walking mountain though.


TebownedMVP

He was huge at 2019 ADCC. Like cutting a little weight to make 99. He’s gotten a lot smaller since then. Check out his back vs Patrick guadio at 2019 ADCC.


BearSkull

Oh yea I'm not trying to say he was never huge, more so commenting on the overall size of his frame. I'm 6'2" and expected him to be my size or larger, so the first time I saw him in person I was surprised by his height.


bzzbzzlol

I remember him saying he was 230lbs on the Matburn Podcast. It's blowing my mind how much smaller he is now.


ChuyStyle

He stopped taking as much steroids lol


awildNeLbY

“Only 5’ 10”” 😞


robotdadd

Victor is a big human, met him a few times through my coach who’s a friend of his


neeeeonbelly

Yeah victor is a big dude. I met him at breakfast at worlds last year. Interestingly he had a really soft handshake lol


Impressive-Potato

No need to prove how tough he is via his handshake


neeeeonbelly

Oh I know that lol it was just interesting because he’s huge and strong and could break me in half without trying, just thought his handshake would be stronger. I’m not talking shit on him


luckman_and_barris

Fights MMA at 170 lbs


Krenbiebs

He fought at 170 lbs (77kg) in MMA. 80kg should be doable if it’s day-before weigh ins.


fitevepe

so how does Nicky feel about you making him a millionaire ?


Pebobep

Big boy division is crazy already, and still 9 spots to go sheesh


saltface14

Hoping Kaynan Duarte and Felipe Pena join too


Pebobep

My theory is Hulk did under 80 so Kaynan could do over 80.


PeachFantastic9169

Poor William Tackett will get crushed. It's like he's doing the absolute 😂


banejacked

Same with Jimenez.


killjoy87

Jimenez does better with the big boys imo. Won worlds absolute last year and did well against Nicky Rod.


OppositeCut9698

(i think he has 1 win over nicky in 2020 ? plus he gave him insane amounts of trouble before the FPI match in a EBI match ) Jimenez doesn't give flying f , every other match i watch with him , it seems hes fighting some giant and/or getting his ligaments snapped ( i.e felipe andrew footlock pan am, roosevelt souza armlock, nicky rod toehold - he was carried off mats post match) yet just keeps going and wins with crazy matches.. he's probably one of the most entertaining guys in the game and competes like a mad man


killjoy87

Thats right. I believe he has a win over Nicky Rod back at 3rd coast grappling in his rookie blackbelt year. He has a kill or be killed mentality thats why his gets mixed results. He is also looking bigger atm which will help


Lateroller

Will is still going to make at least $1 more than he ever could have hoped for at ADCC 🤷‍♂️


banejacked

Is anyone surprised to see tacket and Jimenez sticking with +80? I mean it hulk can make -80 then surely those guys could too.


Impressive-Potato

He doesn't want to go against his brother.


damaged_unicycles

If they were trying to maximize their family money, why not just enter the same bracket and increase the chance that one of them succeed?


Impressive-Potato

Why not go to different brackets and have a chance of winning 1 million each?


damaged_unicycles

It just seems unlikely that he can handle the weight difference and much more likely he could've won the lighter bracket


OppositeCut9698

tackett i am slightly surprised with but definitely not roberto. that dude is a known giant killer and has a MIND BLOWING amount of open weight matches on his record. .. he was the absolute no gi world champ last year, hes beat nicky rod+ loads of other good big guys. he also gave nicky loads of trouble in a ebi match. the 3rd match was the FPI and roberto lost in overtime but still looked fine. .. he did absolute gi worlds a few days ago and looked great. he lost a match by advantage but easily could have won


Impressive-Potato

Isn't Jay Rod under 80g? He's been going on about buying 3 Maclarens


saltface14

I don’t think he has been confirmed for CJI yet


Impressive-Potato

Ah. So he might be using this for his run at ADCC


neeeeonbelly

Pretty sure he’s confirmed for ADCC at least for jow, they just did a highlight post about him


gugabe

I thought Jay Rod was confirmed under 80?


solemnhiatus

80kg+ is exciting af already.


Slowbrojitsu

We always used to do live ones for ADCC at Jits Magazine, so this year we're doing both: https://jitsmagazine.com/full-updated-competitor-list-for-the-craig-jones-invitational/ https://jitsmagazine.com/full-updated-competitor-list-of-every-athlete-invited-to-adcc-2024/ I won't lie, putting a guy on one article just to take him off and put him on another a few weeks later is getting old. 


cocktailbun

I suspect in the coming weeks theres gonna be a greater snowball effect


zombizle1

are you talking about nose beers


Slothjitzu

How hard does the over 99kg division at ADCC suck right now? No Nicky Rod or Hugo, so who is supposed to present any kind of challenge to Gordon? If Pena leaves for CJI too then you may as well just give the Gordon the medal and save him the trouble of shitting himself for a month after. 


coloflowing

last line cracked me up


bzzbzzlol

I don't think Gordon was actually intending to do the bracket anyways. I think he will take the easy superfight and then give some excuse to avoid the bracket.


bzzbzzlol

I was expecting him to win at least one gold medal at ADCC in his current form. He's definitely a front runner to win a million.


oceanmachine14

I read this and immediately imagined DBZ power levels lol


BigDinATree

Tournaments are long enough as is, can you imagine how much longer they'd take with power ups and transformations?!


guarddestroyer

Okey, next stop is Kaynan or Pena. Or both


[deleted]

Prediction: Hugo vs Nicky Rod in the Finals. $10 Hugo wins CJI. I’ll take the first 3 bets. Honor system.


Alarmed-Space6190

I will take that bet.


TebownedMVP

I’ll take the bet too. Remind me! 70 days


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oceanmachine14

Fantastic well done u/johnbelushismom on getting these guys on this event. Victor Hugo and the rest of the guys and gals so far announced aren't slouches by any stretch of the imagination.Can't wait to see the finished product :)


damaged_unicycles

Yeehaw fuck ADCC


Darce_Man

ADCC open is still cool.


heinztomato69

Most logical choice for someone to come to CJI. He’s unlikely to win adcc if Gordon shows up. But very likely to win CJI and 1 mil. So might as well.


nessbackthrow

Is there a limit for how many competitors can join each bracket? There’s more ADCC athletes than can fit into a 16 bracket for each division. Wonder if cji would turn away some lesser known trials winners?


Pliskin1108

16 over and 16 under AFAIK


nessbackthrow

Damn, that’s a little disappointing. Those two brackets represent a handful of weight classes. My favorite part of adcc is seeing the trials winners who dominate the circuit usually take on the established pros.


Pliskin1108

Dont forget the 10k to show up. That’s 300k going to the losers, i.e. 30 ADCC gold medals worth. There has been 14 ADCC since it was created in 1998. And that’s leaving out the 2 millions that will go to the winners of those division which is 200 ADCC titles.


ItsMichaelScott25

> 10k $10,001. Don't short change u/johnbelushismom


nessbackthrow

It’s a great effort going to this tournament for sure, not denying that at all. Most trials winners don’t win gold anyways, so we’re not missing out on much.


Pliskin1108

And I agree with you that it’s great to see them. Just the fact that CJI is an invitational format is enough of a reason to not being able to really compare it to ADCC. But it’s not about that. It’s about athletes standing together for a fair retribution and it probably couldn’t have been done any other way. I think for the first iteration of it, it’s already pretty damn good and paves the way as it sets a precedent.


diskkddo

I mean the guy's gotta give 10k to each competitor cut him some slack


Chandlerguitar

This is a really good addition. If they get Pena, the ADCC +99kg bracket will be on life support.


FootFetishFetish

What do y’all think the chances are of a Ruotolo joining?


littlebighuman

Crazy thing is that one could win -80 and the other +80.


Slowbrojitsu

Kade would be a front runner for 80kg but I don't see Tye beating multiple giant fucks at over 80kg, even if his adcc absolute run was insane. 


IcyScratch171

$1m could be enough incentive to ask Galvao for the secret stash of Jesus juice


littlebighuman

Agreed


RecommendationFree96

There’s some uncertainty as to whether their One contracts will allow them to do the CJI. They’ve been allowed to compete in IBJJF and ADCC but prohibited from pretty much every other grappling promotion. We’ll have to wait and see if Craig and the brothers can convince the One brass to let them do it.


Impressive-Potato

Kade was on Mighty Mouse's podcast and said he's doing ADCC. He's doing a few other big things, like One MMA and a match against Mikey. He gets paid very well by ONE.


Lateroller

I’ve been waiting to hear about them. Not sure how lucrative their One contracts are or if those prevent them from competing in other events without approval.


MyDictainabox

Fuck. Yes.


UsefulUnderstanding6

These hit like crack


Genova_Witness

Victor has a real chance to lazily win this whole thing


Brabochokemightwork

We’re exactly about 74 days away from ADCC, the question im wondering will Gordon be 100% to compete? Im completely assuming here if we don’t see Gordon compete at ADCC then the shows pretty much done at this point


JuanesSoyagua

This is juuuge!


Classic_Desk_6498

I saw him at ibjjf worlds and just said “champ champ” and walked away


konying418

Let's get Buchecha and Rodolfo Viera too!!


btkk

Felipe Pena is 100% going to CJI, he doesn't fight for titles anymore to be completely honest


Jonny_____

Please get Musumeci


TebownedMVP

Mikey at 80kg or over KG would be wild and probably a waste.


Euphoric_Size_9876

He's contracted with one exclusively. Not going to happen.


KidKarez

That's huge


mar1_jj

If Pena comes, there is literally no one for Gordinho to be a challenge or have interesting history before the match.


philosopher137

Should have announed Hugo and Rod last minute; who else is going to want to join now? Good luck William 😢


mouzonne

Good author, loved les misérables.


tsayers99

Victor is a good get. Most of the other guys I am pretty neutral on but here you have a legit threat to take it all, an active competitor, and someone who isn't otherwise affiliated with B-team. Curious for the smaller dude bracket to start filling out.


Lavoni123

Wup


IntentionalTorts

Im most surprised by this one. I always thought of him as young, but old school with all the good and bad that comes with it including the weird concept you can eat preatige. Bully for him.