“I’m a god damn karate guy” – Craig Jones appears to rule out ADCC 2024 World Champs due to lack of financial benefit 

Despite being one of the most well-known figures in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, it appears that Craig Jones will not be participating in the sport’s largest tournament, which is scheduled for later this year.

The biennial Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships are scheduled to occur in August at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Given his previous silver medal (99 kg) at the 2022 event, it would be expected for Jones to participate in this year’s tournament.

Despite the Australian’s recent post on Reddit, he has stated that he will not be participating in ADCC 2024. The 33 year old emphasized the lack of financial rewards as his main motivation for not competing in this year’s event.

A fan took to the BJJ sub-reddit to pose the following question:

“Did Craig Jones make a decision on ADCC? I thought I heard that he needed to take the invite by the end of March. Has he given an indication at this point if he’s going to compete?”

Upon receiving the response, Jones, also known by the username johnbelushismom, proceeded to write the following:

“Guys, call me crazy but Thomas and Mack Centre is 20k capacity for audience and [T-Mobile Arena] is 20k [capacity]. T-Mobile costs $2 million to rent and Thomas and Mack much cheaper. I think we the athletes deserve to be paid more than the guys that hit the drums. I ain’t doing ADCC. I’m a god damn karate guy.”

View the conversation that follows:

Comment byu/Salty_Investment_199 from discussionin bjj

Jones has recently uploaded a video on YouTube in which he critiques the prize money awarded for winning ADCC. The Australian highlighted that despite the significant rise in the competition’s popularity, the prize money has remained unchanged since his first participation in 2015.

To view Jones’ video, simply click here.

Craig Jones to Compete Against Russian UFC Fighter in Grappling Match in Dubai

Craig Jones is slated to participate in Karate Combat’s latest submission grappling competition, the Pit Submission Series, for the second time. He previously made his debut in the event, facing off against UFC welterweight Philip Rowe and securing a victory with an impressive flying triangle submission.

Jones is set to compete against Rinat Fakhetdinov, a UFC welterweight, in the main event of Pit Submission Series 4 on April 20th, which will take place in Dubai.

Considering the Australian’s mention of being a “karate guy”while discussing his potential participation in the ADCC event in 2024, it is probable that Jones will be offered a generous fight purse for his upcoming competition in Dubai later this month.

Check out the Instagram post below by Craig Jones: