This article is part of our Craig Jones Invitational 2024 coverage. To get live results, play by play, and commentary, we’ll have a live updates article running all weekend.
Mahamed Aly has just become the latest competitor to join the Craig Jones Invitational in the over 80kg division. Aly is a fantastic addition to the roster as he has won several of the biggest tournaments in the BJJ world, including both an IBJJF World Championship title and an IBJJF No Gi World Championship title over the years. He’s also known for being one of the most exciting competitors in the heavier weight classes and is a two-time ADCC veteran. Fans will no doubt be eager to see him back in action too, because he hasn’t competed in professional grappling since the IBJJF Grand Prix in 2021.
He’s been focusing on a slightly different venture since then, as Aly has spent years developing the rest of his combat sports skills ahead of embarking upon an MMA career. Aly had a kickboxing match during this time but he struggled to find opponents for an amateur MMA fight due to his intimidating grappling resume. Aly eventually decided to skip that stage of his career and jump straight into professional MMA, winning his debut by knockout at the beginning of the year. He’s already racked up another first-round finish as well and he is now sitting at 2-0 in professional MMA, waiting on his next fight.
Now Mahamed Aly will be returning to grappling again after 3 years away, joining the incredible lineup for the Craig Jones Invitational. It’s a huge opportunity for Aly of course, as he will be competing for the biggest prize in the history of the sport. Not only will he be taking home $10,001 just for entering the tournament but he also has the opportunity to win the million-dollar grand prize. There’s a mixture of exciting rematches and interesting new opponents awaiting Aly in the bracket and one thing is for sure, he’ll be leaving everything on the mats in every match.
The Craig Jones Invitational announced the news that Mahamed Aly was joining the over 80kg division in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
