December 21, 2024 • 7 mins
In today’s episode, Dave dives deep into the upcoming Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) 2025, an event set to redefine the grappling landscape. From revolutionary setups like the slanted walls to the high-stakes team competition, Dave covers all the buzz surrounding the event and reflects on how CJI is shaping the future of jiu-jitsu tournaments.
Key Topics Discussed:
CJI 2024 Recap
- Introduction of slanted walls and "the pit," revolutionizing safety and competition dynamics.
- The million-dollar prize, which raised stakes and competition intensity.
- How the pit could inspire future gym designs for safer training.
CJI 2025 Highlights
- Team Format: Eight elite teams competing for a million-dollar prize.
- Confirmed teams include: New Wave, Atos, Checkmat, B-Team, 10th Planet, and potentially others like Alliance or Gracie Barra.
- Super Fights: Speculation about Craig Jones facing Gordon Ryan in a headline-grabbing match.
- Will Gordon compete in an event named after Craig?
- The history of their matchups and the hype surrounding their rivalry.
Jiu-Jitsu Landscape Comparison
- High-profile events like Polaris, Quintet, and UFC Fight Pass versus traditional IBJJF tournaments.
- IBJJF’s rigorous competition structure versus the entertainment value of modern invitational events.
Athletes to Watch
- Jo Chen: A rising star known for his technical prowess and respectful demeanor.
- How training with top gyms like B-Team and Vanguard catapulted his career.
- The importance of making a name in the gym alongside competition performance.
Event Excitement
- Dave’s predictions for team winners—New Wave and B-Team as top contenders.
- The health of Gordon Ryan and its impact on the competition.
Listener Engagement:
- Which team are you rooting for in CJI 2025? Let us know in the comments!
- Super Fight Predictions: Will Craig Jones and Gordon Ryan finally settle their rivalry?
Closing Thoughts: CJI continues to push the boundaries of what grappling events can be, blending high stakes, innovation, and entertainment. Whether you’re team New Wave, B-Team, or just here for the spectacle, there’s something for everyone to look forward to in 2025.
Follow & Subscribe:
- Drop a comment and share your predictions.
- Stay tuned for more episodes as we count down to the big event!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome back to the Power Witch Boy Dave on Social BJJ.
(00:04):
Today we're going to be talking about CJI 2025.
In order to fully talk about CJI 2025, we've got to talk about 2024.
A little bit anyway, not too much detail.
2024 was super exciting. It was like the first time you're ever going to see the slanted walls, the pit if you will, the alley as they call it.
And it kind of revolutionized grappling. I envision Jiu Jitsu gyms building out their gyms to have that pit just because of the issues of falling into concrete or whatever the case might be.
(00:37):
Obviously if the gyms are already established they're not going to have that, but newer gyms, when they build in newer gyms to have a pit like that, man, you don't got to worry about almost anything if you got something like that.
Obviously it might damage if guys are too heavy, too strong running into it consistently. You're going to have to maintain it over time.
But that type of event, man, it changed so many things about it. It makes normal tournaments so boring after it.
(01:06):
Not only do every tournament guys are competing their hardest, but now you've got a million dollars on the line. Everyone's really, really fighting. Everyone's fighting.
And now for CJI 25 they're talking about making it for team events. So it's going to be eight teams and they're going to be competing against each other for a million dollars.
(01:27):
So you got New Wave, Atos, Checkmat, B-Team, 10 Planet, and I don't know what the other two ones are.
I'm not sure if it's been confirmed that all of those teams are actually going to be joining. I would imagine a Hensels team would be there. Maybe even a Gracie Baja would be there too, I'm sure.
(01:51):
Like massive gyms or Alliance. I don't know how they're going to narrow these down.
But could you imagine New Wave, all the monsters that they got there, if Gordon's healthy? Oh man, that would be really, really interesting to watch.
Not sure if Craig is going to be competing for B-Team, but if he's competing with B-Team, oh man, that would be fire.
(02:16):
And there's going to be a super fight. He announced that he's going to be fighting somebody who is woman-like. He said he wouldn't be fighting a woman, but someone who is woman-like.
So that can only make me think, with all the trolling that he has done. I'm pretty sure everyone is going to think that it's going to be Gordon for a super fight.
(02:38):
But would Gordon compete on something that is called Craig Jones Invitational? You know what I mean? Would he really compete on something like that?
And that would be super, super exciting because Craig talks a lot of smack. He talks so much smack. And Gordon is going to want to put it on him.
But Craig is no slouch, obviously, but he did lose three times to Gordon. So it's just something to look forward to.
(03:06):
You know, I mean, when you're thinking about it, worlds just passed recently, but unless you're really, really, really, really, really into Jujitsu, really into Jujitsu, who cares?
I can't even say the organization is named properly. IBJFF, or IJBFF. It's like, who cares about that organization? It's so boring.
(03:37):
Maybe because of the gi. I mean, if you're a competitor, of course, you're going to care a lot because you want to compete in those tournaments.
But honestly, realistically, when we're talking about matches, we're talking about flow grappling, the events that they put on, UFC Fight Pass, the events that they put on, Quintet, Polaris.
You know, we're talking about the high profile matches. We're not talking about opens. Those, now, to be fair, IBJFF, I think that's how you say it.
(04:04):
I'm pretty sure that they're going to be a lot more, it's a lot harder to win because you got to go through a lot more people to win these prestigious events that I'm mostly talking about, like these eight-man events.
You know, maybe a 16-man bracket or whatever the case may be. These are like the top 16 guys, right? You got to go through all of these tournaments in order to qualify to be up there and get your name there.
(04:29):
So I shouldn't really crap on those events too much. But at the same time, it's like, are there other ways to make it in Jiu Jitsu?
Like, you know what I mean? Something to wonder about, if you go to B-Team, you go to a lot of these gyms, and you train your butt off, and you train with the pros, and you're able to hang with the pros, and maybe even catch the pros.
(04:50):
I mean, look at Joseph Chen. Like, he competed too, don't get me wrong, he competed too. But I mean, he went to the Vanguard, he went there by Jason Rao, he went to Vanguard, trained up there a little bit with him, then went to B-Team, trained over there with them, and just made a name for himself.
Obviously he was competing too, but when you make a name for yourself by being at B-Team, for example, and holding your own against the monsters that they have in that gym, and then you go and you compete, like you already got a name, you already got hype behind yourself, but obviously you got to win.
(05:22):
You got to win the tournaments, you got to win the tournaments. There's no if, ands, or buts around it, you got to win. You have to win, and he does that on an extremely high level.
He's one of my favorite grapplers to watch, he's very technical, he's very smooth, and he just has a real cool demeanor, a real down to earth. He's not one of those guys that's looking to embarrass you when you get a submission, he's very respectful.
(05:46):
I actually enjoy that, I don't really like all the, like, thumb under, like crossing over your throat, x, and just like backflips, like, come on, let's be real, we're not MMA, we're not fighting each other, you know what I mean? It was just grappling.
Like, alright, you got the submission, cool, like you've been working hard for it. Now I don't mind people celebrating when they get gold, like, when you win a medal or something like that, yeah, I don't mind, but every single match you go, hahahaha, all that, like, come on, get out of here with that, bro.
(06:19):
But, back to CJI, super, super, super fun, I'm looking so, looking forward to this event. Let me know what you guys are thinking about it, what, like, what team do you guys think is gonna win? Do you think it's gonna be B-Team? New Wave? I feel like, I don't know, maybe New Wave might take it?
I don't know, we got a long, long ways to go, we gotta see, hopefully, Gordon can get his stomach right, you know, not just for him to compete, but just as a human being, like, you never wanna have, like, stomach issues, like, I hope nothing but the best for him, regardless of all the stuff, and there's a lot of hatred on him and things of that nature.
(07:00):
I'm not really here for the hatred, I'm more here to just, I wanna see the best, I wanna see the best of the best, you know what I mean? Like, I don't want something because of a stomach issue that he's not gonna be there, so, let me know what you guys think, see you guys tomorrow, have a good one, deuces!
Welcome back to the Power Witch Boy Dave on Social BJJ.
(00:04):
Today we're going to be talking about CJI 2025.
In order to fully talk about CJI 2025, we've got to talk about 2024.
A little bit anyway, not too much detail.
2024 was super exciting. It was like the first time you're ever going to see the slanted walls, the pit if you will, the alley as they call it.
And it kind of revolutionized grappling. I envision Jiu Jitsu gyms building out their gyms to have that pit just because of the issues of falling into concrete or whatever the case might be.
(00:37):
Obviously if the gyms are already established they're not going to have that, but newer gyms, when they build in newer gyms to have a pit like that, man, you don't got to worry about almost anything if you got something like that.
Obviously it might damage if guys are too heavy, too strong running into it consistently. You're going to have to maintain it over time.
But that type of event, man, it changed so many things about it. It makes normal tournaments so boring after it.
(01:06):
Not only do every tournament guys are competing their hardest, but now you've got a million dollars on the line. Everyone's really, really fighting. Everyone's fighting.
And now for CJI 25 they're talking about making it for team events. So it's going to be eight teams and they're going to be competing against each other for a million dollars.
(01:27):
So you got New Wave, Atos, Checkmat, B-Team, 10 Planet, and I don't know what the other two ones are.
I'm not sure if it's been confirmed that all of those teams are actually going to be joining. I would imagine a Hensels team would be there. Maybe even a Gracie Baja would be there too, I'm sure.
(01:51):
Like massive gyms or Alliance. I don't know how they're going to narrow these down.
But could you imagine New Wave, all the monsters that they got there, if Gordon's healthy? Oh man, that would be really, really interesting to watch.
Not sure if Craig is going to be competing for B-Team, but if he's competing with B-Team, oh man, that would be fire.
(02:16):
And there's going to be a super fight. He announced that he's going to be fighting somebody who is woman-like. He said he wouldn't be fighting a woman, but someone who is woman-like.
So that can only make me think, with all the trolling that he has done. I'm pretty sure everyone is going to think that it's going to be Gordon for a super fight.
(02:38):
But would Gordon compete on something that is called Craig Jones Invitational? You know what I mean? Would he really compete on something like that?
And that would be super, super exciting because Craig talks a lot of smack. He talks so much smack. And Gordon is going to want to put it on him.
But Craig is no slouch, obviously, but he did lose three times to Gordon. So it's just something to look forward to.
(03:06):
You know, I mean, when you're thinking about it, worlds just passed recently, but unless you're really, really, really, really, really into Jujitsu, really into Jujitsu, who cares?
I can't even say the organization is named properly. IBJFF, or IJBFF. It's like, who cares about that organization? It's so boring.
(03:37):
Maybe because of the gi. I mean, if you're a competitor, of course, you're going to care a lot because you want to compete in those tournaments.
But honestly, realistically, when we're talking about matches, we're talking about flow grappling, the events that they put on, UFC Fight Pass, the events that they put on, Quintet, Polaris.
You know, we're talking about the high profile matches. We're not talking about opens. Those, now, to be fair, IBJFF, I think that's how you say it.
(04:04):
I'm pretty sure that they're going to be a lot more, it's a lot harder to win because you got to go through a lot more people to win these prestigious events that I'm mostly talking about, like these eight-man events.
You know, maybe a 16-man bracket or whatever the case may be. These are like the top 16 guys, right? You got to go through all of these tournaments in order to qualify to be up there and get your name there.
(04:29):
So I shouldn't really crap on those events too much. But at the same time, it's like, are there other ways to make it in Jiu Jitsu?
Like, you know what I mean? Something to wonder about, if you go to B-Team, you go to a lot of these gyms, and you train your butt off, and you train with the pros, and you're able to hang with the pros, and maybe even catch the pros.
(04:50):
I mean, look at Joseph Chen. Like, he competed too, don't get me wrong, he competed too. But I mean, he went to the Vanguard, he went there by Jason Rao, he went to Vanguard, trained up there a little bit with him, then went to B-Team, trained over there with them, and just made a name for himself.
Obviously he was competing too, but when you make a name for yourself by being at B-Team, for example, and holding your own against the monsters that they have in that gym, and then you go and you compete, like you already got a name, you already got hype behind yourself, but obviously you got to win.
(05:22):
You got to win the tournaments, you got to win the tournaments. There's no if, ands, or buts around it, you got to win. You have to win, and he does that on an extremely high level.
He's one of my favorite grapplers to watch, he's very technical, he's very smooth, and he just has a real cool demeanor, a real down to earth. He's not one of those guys that's looking to embarrass you when you get a submission, he's very respectful.
(05:46):
I actually enjoy that, I don't really like all the, like, thumb under, like crossing over your throat, x, and just like backflips, like, come on, let's be real, we're not MMA, we're not fighting each other, you know what I mean? It was just grappling.
Like, alright, you got the submission, cool, like you've been working hard for it. Now I don't mind people celebrating when they get gold, like, when you win a medal or something like that, yeah, I don't mind, but every single match you go, hahahaha, all that, like, come on, get out of here with that, bro.
(06:19):
But, back to CJI, super, super, super fun, I'm looking so, looking forward to this event. Let me know what you guys are thinking about it, what, like, what team do you guys think is gonna win? Do you think it's gonna be B-Team? New Wave? I feel like, I don't know, maybe New Wave might take it?
I don't know, we got a long, long ways to go, we gotta see, hopefully, Gordon can get his stomach right, you know, not just for him to compete, but just as a human being, like, you never wanna have, like, stomach issues, like, I hope nothing but the best for him, regardless of all the stuff, and there's a lot of hatred on him and things of that nature.
(07:00):
I'm not really here for the hatred, I'm more here to just, I wanna see the best, I wanna see the best of the best, you know what I mean? Like, I don't want something because of a stomach issue that he's not gonna be there, so, let me know what you guys think, see you guys tomorrow, have a good one, deuces!
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