Craig Jones took part in an impromptu ‘Ask me anything’ on a reddit post that he made and he left some enlightening comments about CJI 2 and the possibility that his team’s rivals New Wave Jiu-Jitsu would be taking part. Although they are one of the most popular no gi competition teams on the planet, they were noticeably absent from the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. Fans have speculated that a large part of that was likely because Jones decided to go head-to-head with ADCC 2024 and New Wave’s biggest name, Gordon Ryan, had two superfights at that event and his teammates would stick with him.
CJI 2 will be taking place in August 2025, which means there will be no clash with ADCC this time around. That opens up the possibility for New Wave representatives to compete at CJI 2 but the biggest factor is that the event will be a team grappling tournament this time around. That makes it a huge opportunity for New Wave to prove that they’re the best no gi grappling team in the world and according to Jones, he thinks they’ll accept an invite:
“I’m confident New Wave will participate.”
He was asked about Gordon Ryan specifically and although he would undoubtedly be a huge boost to his team’s chances of winning, Jones isn’t anywhere near as confident about that happening:
“Gordon (Ryan) being on a team unlikely, though I bully him I don’t doubt he’s struggling with his health right now.”
He’s not wrong either, Ryan has been open about struggling with health issues over the last few years and they’ve kept him from being anywhere near as active as he’d like to be. The New Wave Jiu-Jitsu team will still be tough to beat at CJI 2 even without Ryan and he’s not the only big name unlikely to compete, as Jones revealed that he probably won’t be one of the five men in the B-Team Jiu-Jitsu roster:
“I’m more likely to do a super fight.”
Jones has also not been as active this year as he has been in previous years and it’s not exactly surprising, he’s had his hands full attempting to put on the biggest event in the history of the sport. Jones explained that this is what’s stopping him from joining his teammates:
“I sadly am not training much these days. These side projects are overwhelming me and I’m not nearly as good as I once was.”
Both New Wave and B-Team will be forces to be reckoned with at CJI 2, but there are plenty of other top teams who have the opportunity to compete as well. 10th Planet and ATOS will also be very tough to beat, while Gracie Barra and Checkmat would have plenty of elite competitors to choose from as well. There’s no news yet on which Jiu-Jitsu teams will be represented at the event, but fans are eagerly awaiting the first signs of who to expect in just 8 months’ time.
