Craig Jones is one of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s most likable and charismatic characters. On the mat, he is also a killer and is known for his technical leg lock game from Z-Guard. The story of Jones and his rise to the top is quite an interesting one, spending his earlier 20s in relative obscurity outside of Australia. Here’s a list of interesting Craig Jones facts.
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How old is BJJ’s Craig Jones?
Craig Jones was born in 1991 and did not get international recognition until his shock ADCC 2017 run where he tapped out Leandro Lo and Chael Sonnen. Interestingly, most BJJ practitioners who are elite are known in their teens and even during their childhood.
This was not the case for Jones who was something of a ‘late bloomer’ outside of Australia. Since then, he’s made up for lost time and has become one of the best nogi grapplers of his generation.
Who gave Craig Jones his black belt?
In 2016, Lachlan Giles promoted Craig Jones to black belt. At this point, Jones was one of the biggest names in Australian Jiu Jitsu and was promoted at Lachlan’s ‘Absolute MMA’ gym in Melbourne. A fun fact is that for most of Jones’s lower belt career he was actually known for triangle chokes and competed in the gi.
However, around brown belt he began to switch his attentions to nogi and one year after his promotion to black belt he made a name for himself at the 2017 ADCC. To this day, Jones and Giles remain good friends.
What happened to Craig Jones hand?
In 2021, Craig Jones broke his hand during a training session. This resulted in him missing out on several high profile BJJ superfights and competitions. During this time, Jones still trained regularly and at a good pace. However, he would often be seen wearing a bandage around his right hand whilst sparring. Whilst training when injured is not advised in BJJ, if you’re a professional like Craig Jones, then it’s understandable.
Who beat Craig Jones?
Craig Jones has been beat by various BJJ competitors and is known as ‘coming second’. This means that he often wins silver at elite competitions, but never does quite enough to win gold. Perhaps the most famous losses of Craig Jones’s career are against former team mate Gordon Ryan and Mason Fowler.
At an EBI event, Jones successfully took Ryan to overtime and nearly beat him. From the back he had Gordon Ryan in a deep armbar, and it looked to do damage and nearly snap Ryan’s arm. Nonetheless, Ryan escaped and went on to choke Jones to win the match.
Against Mason Fowler, he lost twice in two SUG competitions. Again, Jones suffered at the hands of EBI overtime. The first match saw Jones tap to a controversial choke, where he believed the ref interpreted a noise he made as a verbal tap. Months later though, Fowler successfully tapped Jones from the back yet again, this time proving his win was no fluke.
Is Craig Jones the best grappler?
As previously stated, Jones has a habit of getting silver medals in BJJ competitions, which is a success but it isn’t gold. In nogi, most people consider Gordon Ryan as the best ever, but Craig Jones isn’t far off. After defeating Chael Sonnen at ADCC 2017, Sonnen eventually put Jones in his SUG events and even went on record to say that Jones was the best grappler in the world at the time.
Although this was a bold claim, Sonnen is known for making dramatic statements. Nonetheless, the point is that Jones is still an elite grappler and is incredibly skilled in nogi.
Is Craig Jones going to MMA?
Although Craig Jones was part of fellow Australian Alexander Volkanovski’s team on UFC’s Ultimate Fighter, Craig Jones is not going into MMA. At this time, Jones was already 30 years old with no MMA fights under his belt and had his sights firmly set on winning more grappling medals.
Financially, it’s no secret that Craig Jones has done really well in terms of marketing himself and has made a lot of money from selling BJJ DVDs and teaching seminars. Therefore, there would be no financial motive for Jones to switch from BJJ to MMA.
How big is Craig Jones BJJ?
Craig Jones stands at 6’2 inches tall and is roughly the same size of Gordon Ryan. In terms of weight, he typically competes around the 90KG mark, meaning his walkaround weight may be slightly higher (remember, BJJ weight cuts aren’t as intrusive as those practiced in MMA).
Like many BJJ practitioners, Jones has put on muscle and size over the years. In his early days as a black belt, he would compete at under 77KG, meaning he was a lightweight. Before this, he was also known as a welterweight and had quite a lanky, skinny frame in his earlier years.
Who is Craig Jones coach?
Throughout his time training, Craig Jones has been taught by two main coaches. His first was Lachlan Giles which is when he lived in Australia and trained with him. Here, he got his black belt and made a name for himself. He then moved to the USA and married an American woman. At this point, he began training with John Danaher in New York City, before joining him in Puerto Rico.
After this, he moved to Austin, Texas and began his own gym, meaning like many BJJ black belt practitioners, he is now without an official coach.
Is Craig Jones in the DDS?
For a few years, Craig Jones was a member of the Danaher Death Squad. Here, he enjoyed great success and won silver at ADCC 2019. His game also evolved from being known as a leglocker, to someone who could also use all sorts of submissions and he improved his wrestling.
After the DDS split up and moved back to mainland USA from Puerto Rico, Jones joined ‘The B-Team’, which included himself, Nicky Ryan, Nick Rodriguez, and Ethan Crelinsten. This meant the Danaher Death Squad was officially no more.
Has Craig Jones won ADCC?
As mentioned several times, Craig Jones has never won ADCC. In 2019, he got a silver medal where he lost in the final to Matheus Diniz. During this competition, Diniz didn’t have a single point scored on him which was an incredible run. Since then, Jones has looked forward to ADCC in 2022 to earn his first ever gold at ADCC.
Is Craig Jones sponsored by OnlyFans?
In 2021, Craig Jones started producing his own rash guards that said “Subscribe to my OnlyFans” which featured the same font and logo as the adult entertainment company. This was a joke that showed his Australian humor but it soon spread. Eventually, he started selling these rash guards which had a huge, global demand.
Later on, Jones did actually join the website. Here, he charges fans for shoutouts and technique videos along with similar content. To answer the original question though, Craig Jones is not sponsored by OnlyFans.
What gym does Craig Jones train at?
Craig Jones currently trains at ‘The B-Team’ in Austin, Texas. This is the gym of Jones, alongside his friends. He previously trained under John Danaher in Puerto Rico and before that trained with Danaher in Renzo Gracie’s gym in New York. Before joining the USA, Jones originally trained under Lachlan Giles for a number of years in his native Australia.
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