Craig Jones BJJ is an Australian grappling specialist and a former part of the Danaher Death Squad who currently competes under the banner of B-Team Jiu Jitsu.
Jones is a rare BJJ fighter who doesn’t fish for backtakes by any means necessary. He is a well-rounded fighter, equally dangerous from every position, and a devastating finisher since most of his victories happened via submission.
This post provides several BJJ facts about Craig Jones that you may not be aware of. It will highlight Craig’s tournament exploits, best grappling skills, and other astounding feats.
Graig Jones Brazilian Jiu Jitsu History
Craig Jones is a formidable Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competitor. In 2006, he began training in this fantastic martial art at his cousin’s academy in Adelaide.
After earning his purple belt, Jones relocated to Melbourne and began training under the guidance of Lachlan Giles.
In 2014, Craig won the NAGA World Championship and the AFBJJ Pan Pacific Championship, establishing himself as a top athlete.
In 2015, Jones reserved his first pass for the ADCC World Championships after winning the Asia and Oceania Trials. Unfortunately, his knockout of the ADCC world in the first round by Romulo Barral.
On the other hand, Craig Jones finished 2015 by becoming the first Australian to win the IBJJF World No-Gi Championships at the purple belt level.
In 2016, Jones earned the black belt under Giles while training at Absolute MMA Academy.
In 2017, Jones returned to the ADCC World and created a name for himself by submitting Black Belt World Champions Leandro Lo, Murilo Santana, and Chael Sonnen before finishing fourth.
In 2019 and 2022, Craig Jones achieved silver at the ADCC Submission Fighting Championship.
Craig Jones Born Date and Location
Craig Jones BJJ was born on July 17, 1991, in Adelaide, a cosmopolitan coastal city and the capital of South Australia.
Adelaide is famous for its many renowned museums and parks along the Torrens River.
But that’s not all: as part of the yearly Adelaide Festival, the city hosts many cinema screenings and thrilling events.
Craig Jones Childhood Sports Addition
Jones was a very active and healthy kid who trained in many different sports. He took part in rugby, Judo, Taekwondo, and basketball.
Indeed, Craig dreamed of becoming a UFC fighter when he was a kid because he was fascinated with mixed martial arts around the age of 15.
Therefore, he joined his cousin Matt Jones’ BJJ academy (2006) called ISOHEALTH.
He kicked off with grappling competitions in the Australian circuit and made an excellent name for himself.
Then, after some time, he joined the Maromba Academy in Melbourne, which later changed its name to Absolute MMA.
Craig Jones Belt in BJJ
Craig is a black belt under Lachlan Giles. He attained this status in 2016 while still training at the Absolute MMA Academy in Melbourne.
Otherwise, he earned his brown belt after performing superbly at IBJJF World No-Gi Championships in 2015.
Craig Jones Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gyms
Craig Jones trained in several Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gyms in his career. He first started at his cousin’s gym in 2006.
After earning his purple belt, he relocated to Melbourne, Australia, and began training at Absolute MMA Academy under Lachlan Giles BJJ.
Jones’ talents blossomed under Giles’ tutelage, and he soon progressed through the ranks, becoming one of the world’s best BJJ contenders.
Later, Craig started training with Robert Drysdale at Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu, a facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, after a few years of training with Lachlan Giles at Absolute MMA Academy.
Also, Craig Jones trained with renowned BJJ instructor John Danaher at the Renzo Gracie Academy from 2010 to late 2020. And he was a member of the Danaher Death Squad before its split.
Jones has trained with elite BJJ and MMA fighters like Garry Tonon, Gordon Ryan, Eddie Cummings, and others.
Currently, Craig is enjoying training and coaching Brazilian jiu-jitsu at B-Team Gym in Austin, Texas.
Craig Jones Top BJJ Techniques
BJJ fighters are usually good on their knees. Jones’ trademark is the open guard that offers him entries to leg locks, k-guard, z-guard, triangle chokes, and other effective submission techniques.
Jones likes to sit on his knees and look for his partner’s vulnerabilities. Indeed, his fight IQ is pretty solid, and he’s good at changing positions and transitioning from defense to offense.
Otherwise, in some cases, Jones intentionally grabs the opponent’s knees, pulls the guard, and starts working on triangle choke or Omoplata submissions.
This position has the most significant number of options for Craig Jones. He likes to stay in the open guard for some time, then he explodes, shifts to side control or postures up to stack guard, and tries to remain in the dominant spot.
If you look at his record, you will see that Craig Jones was winning via so many different submissions—inside and outside heel hook, rear-naked choke, kneebar, terra footlock, heel hook, triangle, toe hold, arm-in guillotine, even flying guillotine!
It is almost impossible to anticipate his next move. He can roll to the right or shrimp, pass your guard, and finish you with a great arm submission. He is one of the most unpredictable guys you’ll ever see.
Craig Jones Competition Weight Class
Craig Jones competes in the medium-heavy weight class (-88.3 kg). Depending on the tournament, he can also move to 185 or 205 pounds (Polaris), but his basic weight class is around 195 lbs.
Craig Jones Submission Loss Stats
Craig Jones didn’t lose many matches; it happened to a powerful grappler every time. His first submission loss came against Kaynan Duarte in 2019 via a short choke.
Legendary Gordon Ryan finished the Australian powerhouse via precisely the same move. His third defeat came against Ryan again, but the legend finished the battle via kesa-gatame.
Yet, Jones’ bouts rarely go the distance, and he reminds me of Jordan Wright (MMA fighter) or BJJ—kill or be killed.
You will finish him inside the distance, or Craig will play mind games with your limbs. You choose, but if you’re on the mat with this guy, one of you will probably have to tap sooner or later!
Craig Jones Most Dangerous BJJ Submissions
The open guard gives you a ton of opportunities… Jones brought something from his previous team, as there are vast chances of tapping as soon as he gets a hold of your lower limb.
Many heel hook victims are under his belt: Nathan Orchard, Chael Sonnen, Bob Firas, Marcel Goncalves, Richie Martinez…
Like most BJJ specialists, Craig Jones is extremely dangerous when he locks you into a body triangle and gets a hold of your neck.
Moreover, there are 12 rear-naked choke wins under his belt, including the ones over Micah Brakefield and legendary Leandro Lo.
His sweeps and transitions are excellent, but the open guard leaves too many potential finishing opportunities for this top-notch all-around mat warrior.
But the accurate description of his fighting style is that he is an all-around fighter. There are no weak spots in Craig Jones’s game, so you must be one step ahead of him if you plan to defeat him. It can be hard sometimes, can it?
Craig Jones B-Team Jiu Jitsu
Jones trained with legendary John Danaher, but when the beef escalated, he chose to stay with his teammates Nicky Ryan, Ethan Crelinsten, and Nicky Rodriguez.
They later opened the new “B-team” gym. After picking his training partners’ side, Craig continued his career in Austin, Texas.
Jones Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Game Strategy
Let me guess your question… what the heck does this mean? Nick Rodriguez is a perfect example of an “active control.”
This is because he likes to stay on the tips of his toes. Otherwise, he constantly adds pressure to your chest or other areas of your body, disabling you from escaping the position.
On the other hand, fighters who stay on their knees and stall or shrimp and explode to switch BJJ positions are the experts of “passive control.” Thanks to their skill sets, they don’t press too much, but you’re having difficulty escaping.
Please look at Craig Jones’ videos when he’s on top of his opponents. What is he doing?
Well, he mostly stays on his knees, works off the top, tries to fish for a submission finish, or earns points via control or dominant position.
However, he does everything way differently than, for example, Nick Rodriguez, who comes from a Greco-Roman wrestling background.
Craig Jones ADCC World Championship
The ADCC World Championship is one of the world’s top grappling events. As a result, it attracts the top professional wrestlers from across the globe every two years.
Many grapplers have become legends due to their victory in the ADCC event. Craig Jones has never won this World Championship, but his best achievement was winning the silver medal in 2019.
Yet again, in 2022, Craig failed to win the ADCC World Championship despite performing admirably before losing in the final to Kaynan Duarte in the -99 kg weight division.
Conclusion
Craig Jones is a technical, well-rounded fighter with tricky, hard-to-anticipate moves that give him a hard time with every opponent.
Here is the list of Craig’s BJJ achievements:
Main Achievements:
- Polaris 205 lbs Champion in 2018;
- Polaris 185 lbs Champion in 2018 and 2019;
- ADCC World Championship (2nd Place in 2019 and 2022);
- EBI 11 Invitational, 3rd Place in 2017;
- Kasai 2 185lbs Grand Prix 3rd Place in 2018;
- Kasai 5 205lbs Grand Prix 3rd Place in 2019.
Main Achievements (Colored Belts):
- IBJJF World Championship NoGi Winner in 2015 (purple Belt);
- AFBJJ Pan Pacific Championship Winner 2014, both in weigh division and absolute (purple belt);
- ADCC Asian & Oceania Trials Winner in 2014 and 2016);
- NAGA World Championship Winner in 2014 (purple belt);
- UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro Winner in 2016 (brown belt).
Craig is a very dedicated martial artist, but he also has a Behavioural Science (Psychology) degree. He scored wins over Brent Primus, Tye Ruotolo, Davi Ramos, and other masters.
But he hasn’t won a big tournament in the last three years. So, let’s hope it will change in the months to come!
