Felipe Pena has long been considered one of the best BJJ competitors in the world and he’s just revealed that he wants a space on one of the teams in the CJI 2 roster. He would be a fantastic addition to any team of course and he’s able to compete at either the under or over 99kg weight classes with equal success. He had one of the best performances of his career just last year, as he won the over 99kg division at ADCC 2024 with three submissions in four wins. It was a great weekend for Pena personally but magic was happening elsewhere in the same city at the same time, as the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational broke records with the biggest prize money in BJJ history.
Although Felipe Pena chose to compete at ADCC instead of CJI last year, that conflict doesn’t exist in 2025 and he was very clear about his desire to do CJI 2:
“I definitely want to compete, of course. It’s like probably the biggest event of the year. There’s no ADCC this year.”
There’s still space remaining for two whole teams that haven’t been confirmed yet and if Gracie Barra take one of those slots then Pena is pretty much guaranteed his place. Unfortunately, there are many other teams who would want the opportunity to compete at CJI 2 and Pena isn’t sure if GB will be there:
“I just need to figure out how it’s going to be about the teams. You know, if Gracie Barra is going to have a team or not, and how that’s going to play out because it’s different than the other events. Not only the athlete but it’s the whole team you know.”
If GB don’t secure a place then all hope is not lost for Pena, as there is also ‘Team Misfits Americas’ that Pena would be eligible to compete for as a Brazilian. The competition for the heavier weight classes there would be a bit tougher, but Pena still stands out as one of the best possible choices. He also has another chance after that, as each team is allowed one ‘wildcard’ competitor that they can draft in from elsewhere and there are many teams out there that would love to bring Pena in. The competition will be very fierce with a million dollars on the line and Pena would be a valuable addition to any team.
CJI 2 is already shaping up to be one of the best grappling events ever and Pena thinks the format itself is what’s going to make it so special:
“CJI in this format, they can bring together I think it’s eight teams right? Eight teams and five athletes each team, I think. So imagine that’s 40 athletes, like the best 40 athletes in the world. It’s a different format. Like when you do UFC (Fight Pass) Invitational or Who’s Number One, these types of events have around six fights, eight fights, maybe five top fights. That’s like 10 guys, 10 top fights. On the CJI, it will be like 40, so that definitely brings a lot of attention.”
The full interview with Felipe Pena where he shares his thoughts on CJI 2 was uploaded to the official YouTube channel of The Grappler’s Perspective podcast:
