On the MMA Hour show with Ariel Helwani, Craig Jones, the leader of the grappling “B-team” and the IBJJF world No-Gi BJJ purple belt championand a 2-time ADCC silver medalist, shared his thoughts in the week before upcoming UFC 298 main event. Craig is a teammate in Alexander Volkanovski’s corner. In addition to discussing his prediction and opinion on Illia Topuria, he talked about his recent experience in Kazakhstan, his plan for filming a worldwide martial arts series and his upcoming events
Craig said that Volkanovski has been training very hard and is highly motivated to prove his dominance in the division. Craig was impressed by how hard Volkanovski trains, especially compared to himself as a jiu-jitsu athlete. This time, Volkanovski has taken it up a notch again, leaving Craig even more surprised.
Craig acknowledged that Illia is a talented fighter who hasn’t yet faced the top fighters in his division. Therefore, it is difficult to gauge how good he could potentially be based solely on the caliber of opponents he has faced so far.
Regarding Craig’s expert MMA opinion, for his final prediction, Craig thinks Volkanovski will finish Topuria by flying triangle in the first round. He says he pushes Volkanovski every fight for it although he knows his legacy is on the line but says to him, “just think about my instructional sales”.
Unfortunately, Volkanovski did not listen to Craig and ended up losing his belt as Illia knocked him out before he could attempt a flying armbar. But at least you can learn a lesson, listen to Uncle Craig.
Craig In Kazakhstan
Craig has two upcoming events: his Karate combat debut against Phil Rowe in Mexico City on February 23rd and a UFC fight pass invitational match against Rafael Lovato on March 3rd. To prepare and focus for these events, Craig went to the mountains of Kazakhstan. He has close friends there because of the ADCC trials held there in the past, but he went there mainly for the adventure as Craig admits that he wants to do the bare minimum and enjoy his bonuses as much as he can. He received the contract for the Lovato bout while he was in the mountains, but he didn’t even read the rules or the weight division he was fighting in. While in Kazakhstan, Craig delved deep into Kazakhstani culture during a photoshoot. He said he is working on filming a travel series for martial arts, filming “wild stuff,” and that Kazakhstan is definitely on the map.
