Lex Fridman Podcast
#439 – Craig Jones: Jiu Jitsu, $2 Million Prize, CJI, ADCC, Ukraine & Trolling
Wed, 14 Aug 2024
Craig Jones is a legendary jiu jitsu personality, competitor, co-founder of B-Team, and organizer of the CJI tournament that offers over $2 million in prize money. Thank you for listening ❤ Check out our sponsors: https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep439-sc See below for timestamps, transcript, and to give feedback, submit questions, contact Lex, etc. Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/craig-jones-2-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback - give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA - submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring - join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other - other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: CJI tickets: https://lexfridman.com/cji CJI on B-Team's YouTube: https://youtube.com/bteamjiujitsu Craig Jones's Instagram: https://instagram.com/craigjonesbjj Craig Jones's Instructionals: https://bjjfanatics.com/collections/craig-jones B-Team's Instagram: https://instagram.com/bteamjj/ B-Team's Website: https://bteamjj.com/ SPONSORS: To support this podcast, check out our sponsors & get discounts: Eight Sleep: Temp-controlled smart mattress. Go to https://eightsleep.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. Go to https://drinkLMNT.com/lex BetterHelp: Online therapy and counseling. Go to https://betterhelp.com/lex NetSuite: Business management software. Go to http://netsuite.com/lex Shopify: Sell stuff online. Go to https://shopify.com/lex ExpressVPN: Fast & secure VPN. Go to https://expressvpn.com/lexpod OUTLINE: (00:00) - Introduction (12:20) - $1 million in cash (14:24) - Kazakhstan (16:49) - Ukraine (48:58) - Bali (56:18) - CJI (1:07:20) - Gabi Garcia (1:10:14) - The Alley (1:25:24) - Gordon Ryan and Nicholas Meregali (1:32:18) - Trolling (1:35:06) - ADCC (1:45:19) - Training camp (1:57:01) - Breaking legs (1:57:44) - Advice for beginners (2:04:23) - Volk (2:13:26) - Future of jiu jitsu (2:16:32) - Steroids (2:20:01) - Hope PODCAST LINKS: - Podcast Website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast - Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr - Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 - RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ - Podcast Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 - Clips Channel: https://www.youtube.com/lexclips
Full Episode
The following is a conversation with Craig Jones, martial artist, world traveler, and one of the funniest people in the sport of submission grappling. While he does make fun of himself a lot, he is legitimately one of the greatest submission grapplers in the world.
And underneath the veil of nonstop sexualized Aussie humor and incessant online trolling, he is truly a kind-hearted human being who's trying to do good in the world. Sometimes, he does so through a bit of controversy and chaos, like with the new CGI tournament that has over $2 million in prize money, and it's coming up this Friday and Saturday.
Yes, the same weekend as the prestigious ADCC tournament. The goal of CGI tournament is to grow the sport, so you'll be able to watch it for free online, live on YouTube, and other places. All ticket profits go to charity, mainly to cancer research. So I encourage you to support the mission of this tournament by buying tickets and going to see the event in person.
Craig gave me a special link that gives you a 50% discount on the tickets. Go to lexfriedman.com slash CJI and it should forward you to the right place. They're trying to sell the last few tickets now. It's a good cause. Go buy some. And also, let me say, as a fan of the sport, I highly encourage you to watch both CJI and ADCC and to celebrate athletes competing in both.
From CJI with Nicky Ryan, Nicky Rod, Rotolo Brothers, Fionn Davis, Mackenzie Dern, and more, to ADCC with Gordon Ryan, Nicholas Margali, Giancarlo Budoni, Rafael Lovato Jr., Mika Galvao, and more. I have a lot of respect for everyone involved.
I train with many of them regularly and consider many of them friends, including Craig, Gordon, and of course, John Donaher, who I will talk to many, many more times on this podcast. And now, a quick few second mention of each sponsor. Check them out in the description. It's the best way to support this podcast.
We got Asleep for naps, Element for hydration, BetterHelp for mental health, NetSuite for business stuff, Shopify for selling stuff online, and ExpressVPN for privacy on the interwebs. Choose wisely, my friends. Also, there's a bunch of ways to get in touch with me. If you want to give feedback, go to lexfriedman.com slash survey.
If you want to submit questions or videos or call-ins for me to answer on the podcast, go to lexfriedman.com slash AMA. And there's a bunch of other ways at lexfriedman.com slash contact. And now onto the full ad reads. As always, no ads in the middle. I try to make this interesting, but if you skip them, please still check out our sponsors. I enjoy their stuff. Maybe you will too.
This episode is brought to you by Eight Sleep and it's pod four ultra. It is a pretty interesting mystery of what's going on in the brain while we sleep, because it's not like the thing shuts off. It's actually a pretty active and dynamic process. It's also humbling. that we need sleep. It is a little death. It is a thing like food that our body requires, and that to me is humbling.
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