MMA legend Demetrious Johnson recently spoke about the possibility of doing a superfight at CJI 2, although his thoughts might not be to the fans’ liking. He was actually in attendance for the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself, and it’s not as if he’s a stranger to Jiu-Jitsu competition. The first edition of the event focused on two tournament brackets at under and over 80kg, but it also had a pair of superfights as well. With the second edition right around the corner, there are going to be several spaces available for superfights this time around too.
That’s why the idea of having Johnson competing in a superfight has been floated around lately and after he announced his decision to continue competing in Jiu-Jitsu after retiring from MMA, it seemed as though it might actually happen. The first event set an incredibly high standard for big superfights so it didn’t seem too far-fetched to think that Craig Jones might pull this one off. Demetrious Johnson didn’t miss a beat when he was asked about the possibility if being at CJI 2 though:
“As a spectator, absolutely! As for competing, no. I only train two or three times a week, and I’m more predominantly in the gi. No gi is kind of not my thing, even if I come from a no gi background.”
He’s not wrong either, all of his recent competition appearances have been in the gi and in masters divisions. Although he’s had some very impressive performances at that level, there’s a world of difference between that and the guys who will be competing at CJI 2. Johnson was very aware of that himself when he dropped in to B-Team Jiu-Jitsu for some training:
“These guys are the cream of the crop. They train every single day. All they do is no gi grappling, so I know my skill level.”
One of the key figures behind CJI, Seth Belisle, seemed much more upbeat about the possibility of Johnson doing a superfight at their second event:
“Hopefully we can get him a super-fight. I was thinking him and Gabi (Garcia) in the gi. We’d kill it but we’ll see, I don’t know. He’s on the fence but he’ll be in attendance hopefully.”
The full footage of Demetrious Johnson training at B-Team Jiu-Jitsu, where he discusses the idea of competing CJI 2, was uploaded to the team’s official YouTube channel:
