Cji 2

The Craig Jones Invitational 2 (CJI 2), held in August 2025 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, represents a pivotal shift in the professional grappling landscape, moving from individual brackets to a team-based Quintet-style format FlograpplingMoyabrand. While the event faced early financial headwinds with projected losses of $800,000, it ultimately broke even, highlighting the challenges of sustainable high-stakes combat sports promotion BjjeeMoyabrand.

Market & Product Insights

• Commercial Sustainability: CJI 2 struggled with high production costs and athlete payouts, leading to a pivot away from the free-to-watch YouTube model to a FloGrappling paywall for later stages SubstackMoyabrand.
• Merchandise Ecosystem: Moya Brand emerged as a key apparel partner, reflecting a trend toward high-end, limited-edition grappling gear tied to major events Moyabrand.
• Industry Disruption: The proposed $10 million follow-up event (CJI 2.5/3) was officially canceled in 2026 due to the UFC's aggressive expansion and exclusive athlete contracts MoyabrandSubstack.

Technical Grappling Trends

CJI 2 acted as a proving ground for new "meta" developments in No-Gi grappling Substack:

• "New Ankle Lock Technology": A shift toward Aoki and modified ankle locks that utilize lateral force to target ligaments, increasing submission finishing rates Substack.
• Dynamic Passing: The dominance of loose, mobile passing styles over traditional heavy pressure, focusing on minimal attachment to avoid the supine guard Substack.
• Format Strategy: The team format incentivized defensive "survival mode" in mismatches, sparking debate over how scoring systems influence athlete engagement Substack.

Craig Jones has indicated a transition from event promotion toward media-focused projects, citing the difficulty of competing with established corporate giants under current market conditions MoyabrandSubstack.