Grappler profile: Craig Jones
Craig Jones is a well-known Australian BJJ black belt competitor and coach. He is a two-time ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship silver medallist and a three-time Polaris Pro Grappling champion. Jones has also won gold at the NAGA World Championship and gold at the AFBJJ Pan Pacific Championship.
Early Career and Background
Jones was born on July 17, 1991, in Adelaide, South Australia and started training Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 2006 at his cousin’s academy. After receiving his purple belt, he moved to Melbourne, where he began training under Lachlan Giles. In 2014, he won gold at the NAGA World Championship and the AFBJJ Pan Pacific Championship, which is held annually in Melbourne. Its also worth noting (and not many people know this) that Craig has a bachelors degree in Behavioural Science (psychology) .
Major Achievements
Jones qualified for the 2015 ADCC World Championships in the -88 kilograms (194 lb) division after winning the ADCC Asia and Oceania Trials. He won the IBJJF World No-Gi Championships in the purple belt division, becoming the first Australian male to win an IBJJF world championship. In 2016, he won bronze at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship in the brown belt division, and that same year, he was promoted to black belt by Giles while training at Absolute MMA Academy.
In 2017, Jones qualified again for the ADCC World and submitted some big names in the competition, such as Leandro Lo, Murilo Santana, and Chael Sonnen, before losing to Keenan Cornelius in the semi-final and taking third place in the tournament after losing to Alexander Ribeiro. In 2019, he won silver at the ADCC Submission Fighting Championship.
Recent Career
Jones faced UFC veteran Donald Cerrone 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, he returned to ADCC and won silver again after moving to the -99 kg division, defeating three-time World Champion Nicholas Meregali in the semi-final. Jones is a coach at B-Team Jiu-Jitsu in Austin, Texas, where he trains alongside Nicky Ryan, Nicky Rod, and Ethan Crelinsten. He is also the BJJ coach of UFC Featherweight Champion, Alexander Volkanovski, and served as the BJJ coach for Team Volkanovski on The Return of The Ultimate Fighter: Team Volkanovski vs. Team Ortega.
| Main accomplishments as black belt | Year |
|---|---|
| Polaris 6 Middleweight Champion | 2018 |
| Polaris 8 Light Heavyweight Champion | 2018 |
| 3rd Place EBI 11 Invitational | 2017 |
| Polaris 10 Middleweight Champion | 2019 |
| Submission Underground Absolute Champion | 2019 |
| 2nd place ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship | 2019/2022 |
| Polaris 17 Middleweight Champion | 2021 |
| 3rd place Kasai 2 185 lbs Grand Prix | 2018 |
| 3rd place Kasai 5 205 lbs Grand Prix | 2019 |
| Main accomplishments as coloured belt | Year |
|---|---|
| NAGA World Championship (purple) | 2014 |
| AFBJJ Pan Pacific Championship (purple) | 2014 |
| IBJJF World Championship NoGi (purple) | 2015 |
| ADCC Asian & Oceania World Trials | 2014/2016 |
| UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro (brown) | 2016 |
Post DDS and the start of b team
In 2020, Jones moved to Puerto Rico with Gordon Ryan and other members of the Danaher Death Squad. Soon after this the team split and he eventually relocated to Austin, Texas to found B-Team Jiu-Jitsu in 2021.
Craig is a highly accomplished grappler both as a BJJ competitor and coach. He has won numerous championships and competed against some of the best in the world. Jones continues to train and coach at B-Team Jiu-Jitsu, and his achievements in the sport of Brazilian jiu-jitsu will be significant for years to come. While he focuses more on coaching recently, he still competes often at major grappling events and exhibition matches.
On top of his competitive achievements he is also known as a personality in the sport due to his sharp Ozzy wit and constant banter with his team mates!
UPDATE MAY 11 2023: Recently Dana White announced that Craig will be competing against Felipe Pena at the upcoming Fight Pass invitational. For more check out this update from Grappling Insider.
Craig Jones’ Competitive Record Stats
Overall Stats
- Total Matches: 103
- Wins: 57
- By Points: 2 (4%)
- By Advantages: 0 (0%)
- By Submission: 46 (81%)
- By Decision: 7 (12%)
- By Penalties: 0 (0%)
- By EBI/OT: 2 (4%)
- Losses: 19
- By Points: 7 (37%)
- By Advantages: 0 (0%)
- By Submission: 3 (16%)
- By Decision: 3 (16%)
- By Penalties: 2 (11%)
- By EBI/OT: 4 (21%)
Wins by Technique
- Inside Heel Hook: 13 (28%)
- RNC (Rear-Naked Choke): 12 (26%)
- Outside Heel Hook: 5 (11%)
- Kneebar: 3 (7%)
- Terra Footlock: 2 (4%)
- Toe Hold: 2 (4%)
- Arm-in Guillotine: 1 (2%)
- Reverse Triangle: 1 (2%)
- Verbal Tap: 1 (2%)
- Violin Armlock: 1 (2%)
- Guillotine: 1 (2%)
- Triangle Armlock: 1 (2%)
- Flying Triangle: 1 (2%)
- Heel Hook: 1 (2%)
- Triangle: 1 (2%)
Losses by Technique
- Short Choke: 2 (67%)
- Katagatame: 1 (33%)
Social Links
If you want to stay up to date with Craig check out his channels and social media:
B Team Jiu Jitsu Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BTeamJiuJitsu
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/craigjonesbjj/
