Craig Jones has revealed that he was given an offer to coach opposite Mikey Musumeci and eventually compete against him, but he turned it down. It’s not the first time that Jones has shared information on the inner workings of the BJJ world with the public either. He’s known for being one of the most open figures in the sport and has previously exposed FloGrappling’s business practices, among many other things. It’s hard to tell just how serious he is with anything he says, but this revelation actually falls right in line with other information that’s come out in recent months.
Sources close to the situation revealed that the UFC was planning a new grappling show late last year and although there’s still no official announcement, it’s been confirmed publicly by key figures since then. Dana White himself confirmed that a grappling reality show was in the works, but there’s still several major details that are yet to be confirmed. The cast itself is still a mystery, but several top competitors have been offered exclusive contracts by the promotion. Kade Ruotolo accidentally revealed that Mikey Musumeci and Gordon Ryan were going to be opposing coaches, but it seems as though plans might have changed since that leak.
Jones then announced that he was going to be coaching opposite Gordon Ryan on the show but that was never confirmed by Ryan, and he must have more than enough on his plate lately with the opening of Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu headquarters. It seems as though the promotion is now working hard to put together a top-tier coaching duo for the show’s debut, so Mikey Musumeci vs Craig Jones would have been a great idea. Musumeci even withdrew from his upcoming match due to a ‘huge project with UFC’ so even if Jones isn’t going to be opposite him, it looks like they’ve found an adequate replacement.
Craig Jones shared the news that he turned down the offer to coach and compete against Mikey Musumeci in a recent comment on the BJJ subreddit:
