Victor Hugo has just become the latest elite competitor who was invited to ADCC 2024, but has now chosen to withdraw to compete at the Craig Jones Invitational instead. This is the latest in a series of blows to the lineup for ADCC 2024, as Hugo is yet another top contender who will be sorely missed. He has been at both ADCC 2019 and ADCC 2022, going 1-1 in his weight class on both times and going 1-1 in the absolute division. Although he has not reached the podium of ADCC yet, Hugo is one of the biggest names in the sport with 4 IBJJF World Championship gold medals to his name.
Hugo is undoubtedly one of the top grapplers of his generation in both gi and no competition, which is why he was invited to return to the over 99kg division once again at ADCC 2024. Now ADCC will have to find a replacement for him on just a few month’s notice, and the talent pool of potential competitors is definitely growing smaller in the heavier weight classes. Returning silver medalist Nicky Rodriguez already withdrew from the division to compete at CJI ad after originally deciding to move up in weight and enter the under 99kg weight class for the first time, Mason Fowler also withdrew to compete at CJI.
Both of these men will now be in the over 80kg division of the Craig Jones Invitational alongside Victor Hugo, making for an incredible lineup already. At the time of writing, the over 80kg division at CJI is still not even half full and there is plenty of room left for more elite grapplers. No doubt the majority of grappling fans around the world will be paying close attention as even more top contenders may be leaving ADCC 2024 in order to have the chance to compete for the incredible million-dollar grand prize at CJI.
The Craig Jones Invitational announced that Victor Hugo would be withdrawing from ADCC 2024 to compete at their event in a recent post to their official Instagram account, with the following statement attached:
“After talking to Craig (Jones) and his team for the past few days to better understand their mission I decided that I am 100 percent on board with them and I’m very excited to be part of the first CJI. As professional athletes the least we can ask or is equitable treatment to our peers in the industry, more transparency, and good business practices. United we are strong and this alone will push the sport in a way never seen before.”
”Yes, 1 million dollars is the highest prize ever seen in grappling and could be life changing, but I have been fortunate enough to have made good decisions under the mentorship of very accomplished friends. During the past few years I’ve been able to build good businesses and now have a live-able income outside of grappling competition (which many competitors do not)”
”So for me this decision is about standing up for what I believe is right. I’ve been one of the top athletes in this sport for a while and now I believe my name carries enough weight to make a stand that will help us change the future of the sport for the better. To me this is about the athletes uniting to advocate for themselves, without the athletes you have no sport, without the contenders there are no championships. A rising tide raises all ships and I see this tournament as a unique opportunity for grappling to take a major turn to becoming more professional and giving its athletes a better life beyond the mats.”