Slamming Million Dollars to Stun Joe Rogan, Bold Move by JRE Host in ADCC vs Craig Jones Invitational Rivalry Comes to Light

Craig Jones has shaken up the grappling world, and he has Joe Rogan to thank for it. The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor has decided to challenge the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) tournament this year, the first real challenge in its over two-decade history. ADCC, of course, is the premiere tournament for BJJ, and is quite commonly called the Olympics of grappling.

But since the ADCC doesn’t pay its fighters, Jones came up with the idea to hold a rival tournament on the same week in the same city as the ADCC. This year will be the first edition of the Craig Jones Invitational tournament that will take place in Abu Dhabi on 16-17 August.

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CJI will have a $1 million grand prize for the winner, which Jones had carried with him and shown in a briefcase on Rogan’s podcast, in a moment that has gone viral. And Jones, in a recent interview, tipped his hat to Rogan for giving him a platform despite the podcast host’s affinity for BJJ maestro Gordon Ryan and financial support for ADCC.

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“I mean that’s the thing with Rogan right. So if you build a career fighting the man, ultimately, if you become successful enough you kind of become the man. So I would say Joe Rogan was super generous giving me his platform to sell the event considering obviously the platform he has, and his love for the sport and him supporting ADCC. So I can’t thank him enough for really allowing me to do that and slam the million dollars on the table and go viral,” Jones said in a recent interview.

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