The 2024 Craig Jones Invitational concerned a sensational conclusion last night as not just did 2 of the sport's most skilled stars end up being millionaires, however the occasion itself made history as one of the most-watched grappling competitions the world has actually ever seen.
Whilst the intergender grappling match in between Craig Jones and Gabi Garcia may have been questionable in its accumulation, there's no doubt that the 2024 Invitational has actually been a rip-roaring success for both the sport and its greatest super stars.
Image by B-Team Jiu Jitsu/YouTube screengrabCraig Jones Invitational Results: Two million dollars and a location in the history books
The 2024 Craigh Jones Invitational culminated in 4 great matches last night; 2 incredibly battles and 2 competition finals– the latter of which each held a grand reward of $1 million money.
In the over 80kg finals, Nicky Rod beat Fellipe Andrew by means of rear-naked choke in the preliminary; his 4th successive RNC submission win in the competition, with Kade Ruotolo making the UD win over Levi Jones-Leary in the under 80kg classification.
In the very first of 2 incredibly battles, Ffion Davies had the ability to protect the second-round armbar submission win over UFC fighter Mackenzie Dern; with Craig Jones likewise making a round 2 win over Gabi Garcia in a match that's been appropriately classified as the ‘most seen occasion in grappling history'.
Craig Jones requires Gabi Garcia to ‘tap-out' in the 2nd round of their exhibit match by means of rear naked choke, marking the first-ever “inter-gender” jiu-jitsu match at this occasion– Craig Jones Invitational (#CJI).
The match tape-recorded a turning point 150,000 audiences. And Craig Jones … pic.twitter.com/CHo8kW6Ol7
— Nosy Buzzer (@NosyBuzzer) August 18, 2024
Craig Jones commemorates the success of the 2024 Invitational
Talking to press reporters after the conclusion of the occasion, Craig Jones would commemorate not just the submission win over the famous Gabi Garcia however likewise the success of the 2024 Invitational in general as a history-making occasion for battle sports.
“It feels excellent, certainly Gabi's a legend for delving into this– I suggest this is simply for the professional athletes truly, individuals that presently run ADCC do not actually deal with the professional athletes effectively and Gabi's involvement in this has actually robbed her of her Hall of Fame when she's currently won 4 world titles.
“But more than that, that was to attract the mainstream audience; I'm delighted we're able to protect financing to pay Nicky Rod a million dollars … This occasion was insane, a million dollars got everybody hyped and I could not request much better energy than this.”
Whilst there had actually been a specific expectation that Jones would make the triumph through his trademarked leg-lock, the Australian practically secured a tornado before ultimately discovering the RNC in the 2nd round.
Fortunately,
