Craig Benjamin Jones (born July 17, 1991) is an Australian

grappler Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling is ...

and

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting ( ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

black belt competitor and coach. An IBJJF world No-Gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion as a purple belt, Jones is a two-time ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship silver medallist and a three-time

Polaris Pro Grappling Polaris Pro Grappling is Europe's longest running large-scale professional grappling event. As of November 2019 Polaris has organized 12 events featuring both Gi and Nogi matches all of which have been held in the UK. Polaris has attracted so ...

champion. Jones trains out of

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...

& is the head of B-Team Jiu-Jitsu.

Biography

Craig Jones was born on 17 July 1991, in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. In 2006 Jones started training

(BJJ) at his cousin's academy. After getting his purple belt, Jones moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

where he started training under Lachlan Giles. In 2014 Jones won gold at the NAGA World Championship and gold at the AFBJJ Pan Pacific Championship, a tournament held annually in Melbourne. The following year, in 2015 Jones qualified for the 2015 ADCC World Championships, a submission grappling tournament held every 2 years and often referred to as the "Olympics of grappling", after winning the ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials in the - division. Jones lost ADCC World first round by submission to

Romulo Barral Rômulo Barral (born May 3, 1982, Diamantina-MG) is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor. He is a black belt under Vinicius Magalhaes and competes for Gracie Barra, where he has won numerous championships. Rômulo Barral ...

but won the IBJJF World No-Gi Championships in the purple belt division, the first Australian male to win an IBJJF world championship. A year later in 2016 Jones won bronze at the

Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship The Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship (ADWPJJC), often simply called the Abu Dhabi World Pro, and from 2009 to 2014 known as the World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Cup (WPJJC), is an international Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition that ...

in the brown belt division. In 2016 Jones was promoted to black belt by Giles while training at Absolute MMA Academy. In 2017 Jones qualified again for the ADCC World, this time during the Championship Jones submitted 5x Black Belt World Champion

Leandro Lo Leandro Pereira do Nascimento Lo (11 May 1989 – 7 August 2022), better known as Leandro Lo, was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor. A record holder with eight IBJJF world championship titles in five different weight classes, as we ...

, Unity BJJ coach Murilo Santana and

Chael Sonnen Chael Patrick Sonnen (; born April 3, 1977) is an American submission grappling promoter, mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst, and retired mixed martial artist. Beginning his MMA career in 1997, Sonnen competed for the Ultimate Fighting Champions ...

before losing the semi-final to

Keenan Cornelius Keenan Kai-James Cornelius is an American martial artist. His competitive achievements include what has been called a "grand slam" in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having won double ...

and the 3rd place to Alexander Ribeiro. In 2019 Jones won silver at the ADCC Submission Fighting Championship. Jones faced UFC veteran

Donald Cerrone Donald Cerrone (born March 29, 1983), known professionally by his nickname "Cowboy", is an American retired mixed martial artist, actor, and former professional kickboxer. He competed in the Lightweight and Welterweight division for the Ult ...

in a Combat Jiu-Jitsu superfight at the Combat Jiu-Jitsu Featherweight World Championships on December 19, 2021 and submitted him with a rear-naked choke in regulation time. In 2022, Jones returned to ADCC and won silver again after moving to the -99 kg division, defeating 3 x World Champion

Nicholas Meregali Nicholas Meregali (born 27 May 1994) is a Brazilian submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor. A multiple time world, Pan, European and Brazilian champion at colored belts, Meregali is a 3x IBJJF black belt World Ch ...

in the semi-final He was booked to compete in a rematch against Meregali at Who's Number One on February 25, 2023 but had to withdraw and the match was postponed. Jones currently trains at B-Team Jiu-Jitsu in

alongside Nicky Ryan, Nicky Rod and Ethan Crelinsten. He is the BJJ coach of UFC Featherweight Champion,

Alexander Volkanovski Alexander Volkanovski (born 29 September 1988) is an Australian mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Featherweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is the current UFC Featherweight Champion. He is al ...

. He also served as the BJJ coach for Team Volkanovski on The Return of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Volkanovski vs. Team Ortega.

Grappling competitive summary

Jones' main accomplishments as black belt: *

Middleweight 205 lbs Champion (2018) * Polaris Pro Grappling Light-Heavyweight 185 lbs Champion (2018/2019) * Submission Underground Absolute Champion (2019) * 2nd Place

ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship The ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, is an international submission wrestling, submission grappling competition, organised by the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC). The inaugural tournament was held in Abu Dhabi, UAE in 1998. It has been ...

(2019/2022) * 3rd Place

EBI Ebrahim Hamedi ( fa, اِبراهیم حامدی, also Romanized as "Ebrāhim Hāmedi"; born 1949), better known by his stage name Ebi (Persian: ), is an Iranian pop singer who first started his career in Tehran, gaining fame as part of a ban ...

11 Invitational (2017) * 3rd Place Kasai 2 185 lbs Grand Prix (2018) * 3rd Place Kasai 5 205 lbs Grand Prix (2019) Main accomplishments in coloured belts: * IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2015 purple) * AFBJJ Pan Pacific Championship (2014 purple) * ADCC Asian & Oceania World Trials (2014 / 2016) * NAGA World Championship (2014 purple) * 3rd Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro (2016 brown)

Personal life

Jones has also completed a

Bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in Behavioural Science (Psychology). In 2020, Jones moved to Puerto Rico with

Gordon Ryan Gordon Ryan (born July 8, 1995) is an American submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu 1st degree black belt, considered to be the greatest no–gi grappler of all time due to his accomplishments and dominance. Ryan is a Five–time ADCC ...

and other members of the Danaher Death Squad, before he eventually relocated to Austin, Texas to found B-Team Jiu-Jitsu in 2021. Jones operates an

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account, and has made appearances on several popular podcasts like

The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It launched on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and producer un ...

and

InfoWars ''InfoWars'' is an American far-right conspiracy theory and fake news website owned by Alex Jones. It was founded in 1999, and operates under Free Speech Systems LLC. Talk shows and other content for the site are created primarily in stu ...

with

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcast ...

.https://jitsmagazine.com/craig-jones-appears-on-infowars-with-alex-jones/

Instructor lineage

Carlos Gracie Carlos Gracie (September 14, 1902October 7, 1994) was a Brazilian martial artist who is credited with being one of the primary developers of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Along with his younger brother Hélio Gracie and fellow students Luis França an ...

→

Helio Gracie Helio may refer to: * Helio AU-24 Stallion * Helio (wireless carrier), a defunct American wireless communications provider (2005–2010); originally a joint venture between SK Telecom and EarthLink, purchased by Virgin Mobile USA in 2008 * ...

→

Carlos Gracie Jr Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

→

Jean Jacques Machado Jean Jacques Machado (born February 12, 1968) is a Brazilian Jiu jitsu practitioner. He is one of the five Machado brothers ( Carlos, Roger, Rigan and John). Machado is nephew of BJJ co-founder and Grandmaster Carlos Gracie, and learned ...

Rigan Machado Rigan Machado (born 2 July 1966) is an 8th degree red and White belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, earning his rank under Carlos Gracie, Jr. He is a former Pan American Champion (1996, 1997 weight and absolute) and a veteran medalist of the ADCC. Mac ...

→ John Will → John Simon → Lachlan Giles → Craig Jones

Notes

References

External links

B-Team Jiu-Jitsu
1991 births Living people Sportspeople from Adelaide Sportsmen from South Australia Australian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Australian submission wrestlers Australian male sport wrestlers People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Submission grapplers {{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Craig