Join us on an incredible journey as we share the inspiring story of Craig Jones, from his humble beginnings in Adelaide to becoming a BJJ legend!
In the world of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, you’ve got legends born in the famous gyms of Rio de Janeiro, and then… you have legends born in total obscurity, thousands of miles from where it all started. This is that second kind of story. It’s about a kid from Adelaide, Australia, who just wanted to be a UFC fighter but ended up changing modern grappling forever.
He’s a two-time ADCC world silver medalist, a multiple Polaris champion, and the guy who co-founded one of the most exciting teams in the sport.
But more than that, Craig Jones is that rare athlete who doesn’t just get to the top; he redefines what the top even looks like. He blends absolutely lethal technique with a personality that has somehow charmed a global audience.
This isn’t just about the wins and losses. This is the real story of how a self-deprecating Aussie with a vicious leg-locking game rewrote the rules and became one of jiu-jitsu’s most influential figures.
Section 1: The Ordinary World—The Adelaide Outsider
Craig Jones was born on July 17, 1991, in Adelaide, South Australia—a place a lot more famous for its wine than for producing world-class grapplers. Growing up, he was an active kid, playing Aussie rules football and basketball, and even did short stints in Taekwondo and Judo.
But by age 15, his dream was crystal clear: he wanted to fight in the UFC. That dream led him to his cousin Matt’s BJJ academy, ISOHEALTH, back in 2006.
In those days, the Australian BJJ scene was a tiny, isolated island compared to the sport’s epicenters in Brazil and the US. It was a small but dedicated community. Jones competed wherever he could, slowly making a name for himself locally, but the path to the world stage seemed impossibly long. He’s even called himself a ‘late bloomer’ by BJJ standards, since he didn’t get any international notice until way later than the prodigies who were stars in their teens.
For years, his training was pretty casual—just a couple of times a week, because his head was still in that MMA dream. The real turning point came when he was 21, on a trip to America. In 2013, he decided to enter the IBJJF San Francisco Open and, mostly to his own surprise, won gold as a purple belt. That win planted a seed.
But reality came crashing down at his very next tournament, the Pan, where he got submitted with a straight ankle lock in under 30 seconds. Jones calls this loss the rude awakening he desperately needed. It was the exact moment a hobby turned into a complete obsession, sending him back to Australia with a fire to dedicate his life to the art.
Section 2: The Call to Adventure & Meeting the Mentor!
With this newfound drive, Jones knew Adelaide wasn’t enough. He needed a higher level of training, so he packed up and moved to Melbourne, joining Maromba Academy, which would later become the famous Absolute MMA.
It was here that his real journey kicked off, under a man who would become another legend of Australian BJJ: Lachlan Giles.
Training with Giles, who wasn’t just a tough competitor but also a PhD-level coach with a super analytical mind, was a game-changer for Jones. Giles was already deep into the leg lock revolution, and his systematic way of teaching opened up a whole new dimension of jiu-jitsu. Jones’s style started to morph.
He began building the dynamic open guard and the brutal leg attacks that would become his signature. He went all-in on no-gi grappling, seeing the professional opportunities popping up in America with shows like the Eddie Bravo Invitational.
The results of this partnership were almost immediate. Jones started tearing through the colored belt scene. In 2014, he won both the NAGA World Championship and the AFBJJ Pan Pacific Championship as a purple belt.
Then, in 2015, he hit a massive milestone: he became the first Australian man to win an IBJJF No-Gi World Championship, taking gold at purple belt. This wasn’t just another medal; it was proof that an Aussie, training in Australia, could make it to the top. The win earned him his brown belt from Giles, who also made him an instructor at Absolute MMA. The foundation was set.
Section 3: The Breakthrough — The ADCC That Changed Everything!
By 2017, Craig Jones was a black belt under Lachlan Giles and had qualified for the most prestigious submission grappling tournament on the planet: the ADCC World Championships in Finland.
He walked in as a massive underdog, a mostly unknown Australian in a bracket filled with legends. What happened next sent a shockwave through the entire sport.
In the opening round of the 88-kilogram division, Jones was up against Leandro Lo, a five-time BJJ world champion and the number one seed. Lo was a living legend; almost nobody gave the Aussie a shot. The match started, and Jones immediately sat to his guard, playing his game.
After a few scrambles where Jones kept threatening with leg attacks, he masterfully spun to Lo’s back, sunk in a body triangle, and locked up a rear-naked choke for the tap. The grappling world was absolutely stunned. It was one of the biggest upsets in ADCC history.
But Jones wasn’t a one-hit wonder. He proved it by submitting another seasoned veteran, Murilo Santana, in the quarterfinals with a slick flying triangle. His incredible run eventually ended in the semifinals against Keenan Cornelius, but it didn’t matter. Craig Jones had arrived.
In one weekend, he’d gone from a nobody to the “Breakthrough Grappler of the Year.” He didn’t win the gold, but he won the attention of the entire jiu-jitsu world, and his life was never going to be the same.
Section 4: The Reward & The Road Back—New York and the Danaher Death Squad!
That explosive performance at ADCC 2017 blew every door wide open. It wasn’t long before he got the invitation: a chance to train with the most feared and mysterious team in grappling, the Danaher Death Squad, in the blue basement of Renzo Gracie’s New York City academy.
Led by the brilliant and eccentric coach John Danaher, the “DDS” was a team of killers, including the already dominant Gordon Ryan. Jones packed his bags for the US, ready to dive into that infamous room of obsessive killers.
Training under Danaher, a man known for his deeply philosophical and system-based approach, sharpened Jones’s already lethal game to a razor’s edge. Now he was in a room with the best no-gi grapplers on the planet, pushing himself every single day in an environment of pure, uncut obsession.
While Lachlan Giles built his foundation, his time with Danaher refined his submission systems, especially his leg locks.
The move clearly paid off. He became a multi-time Polaris Pro Grappling champion and returned to the ADCC World Championships in 2019 to claim the silver medal he’d been chasing. He wasn’t the underdog anymore; he was a legit threat to anyone in the world.
But this period of intense growth was also heading toward a massive turning point—one that would see the most dominant team in grappling history crumble.
Section 5: The Resurrection—The Birth of B-Team!
In 2021, after a team move to Puerto Rico during the pandemic, John Danaher announced that the Danaher Death Squad was officially breaking up. The news shocked the jiu-jitsu community, as clashing personalities and training philosophies led to a split, creating two new super-teams in Austin, Texas.
Gordon Ryan and John Danaher started New Wave Jiu-Jitsu, while Craig Jones, along with Nicky Ryan, Nick Rodriguez, and Ethan Crelinsten, forged their own path. They called themselves the B-Team.
The name was pure Craig Jones self-deprecating humor, but their mission was dead serious. B-Team Jiu-Jitsu was founded with a totally different vibe. Where the DDS was known for its rigid, almost cult-like focus, B-Team built a more open, collaborative, and fun environment. They mixed world-class grappling and wrestling with a simple philosophy of always trying new things.
Almost overnight, B-Team became a powerhouse and a magnet for top talent, establishing itself as one of the best grappling gyms in the world. This move proved Jones wasn’t just a world-class athlete but a leader who could build something new from the ashes.
In 2022, he cemented his spot at the top by taking silver again at the ADCC World Championships, this time at a heavier weight class of -99 kg. He had survived the breakup of a legendary team and came out even stronger, now at the head of his own.
Section 6: Craig Jones Coaching UFC Champs!
As B-Team’s reputation grew, so did Jones’s influence in the world of mixed martial arts. He became the go-to grappling coach for elite UFC fighters, most notably the Featherweight Champion Alexander Volkanovski. Jones was instrumental in preparing Volkanovski for some of his toughest challenges, including title fights against opponents with dangerous submission skills.
This was never more evident than at UFC 266, in Volkanovski’s legendary title defense against Brian Ortega. In the third round, Ortega locked in a guillotine choke that many believed was a fight-ender.
Volkanovski’s corner, including Jones, had drilled escapes for these exact situations just minutes before the fight. Volk survived, only to be caught in a tight triangle choke moments later. He escaped that as well, a testament to the specific and rigorous anti-jiu-jitsu training he had done with Jones.
Jones’s coaching provided the technical solutions that, combined with Volkanovski’s incredible grit, allowed the champion to retain his belt in one of the most memorable rounds in UFC history.
Section 7: Craig Jones’s Own BJJ Promotion!
By 2024, Jones decided to take on the establishment in a new way. Frustrated with what he saw as insufficient pay for athletes in the sport’s biggest tournaments, he launched his own event: The Craig Jones Invitational, or CJI.
The mission was simple: pay the athletes what they’re worth. In a direct challenge to ADCC, which paid its winners $10,000, CJI offered every competitor a minimum of $10,001 just for showing up.
The inaugural event in August 2024 was a massive spectacle, streamed for free on YouTube and featuring two 16-man brackets with an unprecedented prize of one million dollars for each winner. Jones famously promoted the event by appearing on Joe Rogan’s podcast and dumping a million dollars in cash on the table.
The event was a roaring success, shaking up the professional grappling scene and proving that a more athlete-focused model was possible. Following its success, a second event was announced for August 2025, this time with a team-based format and another million-dollar prize pool.
Craig Jones’s story is a perfect example of how to change a sport from the inside out. His journey from a quiet gym in Adelaide to the grappling hub of Austin shows what’s possible when you combine a relentless work ethic, a brilliant technical mind, and a personality that people can’t get enough of.
So, who’s another athlete you can think of who completely remade their sport? Drop their story in the comments below. And if you liked this deep dive into a jiu-jitsu legend, make sure you subscribe and hit that notification bell so you don’t miss the next one.
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