Rivals turned teammates? Quickly after they confronted off at UFC FPI 10, five-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) world champion Victor Hugo may simply be becoming a member of Nick Rodriguez and the B-Workforce crew on the Craig Jones Invitational 2 (CJI 2).
On a current video, Craig Jones made a number of bulletins for his upcoming CJI 2 occasion, however determined to censor the audio on among the information he realized shouldn’t be revealed simply but. The most important information he spoke about — however tried to edit out — was the roster for his personal B-Workforce squad in CJI 2’s $1 million staff grappling occasion.
Photograph by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC
We stole Victor Hugo! – B-Workforce roster for CJI 2 leaked early
Craig Jones bleeped out the audio on his video, however it wasn’t exhausting to lip learn and decipher the names he was mentioning as those that will characterize B-Workforce at CJI 2. This included 4 fairly apparent decisions from B-Workforce steady, together with one shock addition as their “wild card” decide.
“We’ve the soar, we do have the house floor benefit right here. So we stole [Victor Hugo],” Jones stated on the video, with the audio bleeped out. “We stole him, so we put him as our [+99].
“So our staff will likely be [Ethan Crelinsten, Jozef Chen, Chris Wojcik, Nicky Rod and Victor Hugo.] So it’s a powerhouse staff I believe. It’s going to be a tricky staff to beat,” Jones revealed.
The load divisions of the members talked about are fairly easy as properly, with many of the grapplers taking their pure divisions. Rodriguez must reduce some weight to make -99 kg (218 lbs.), however it appears doable as he has confirmed up for his final three openweight matches at UFC Struggle Move Invitational weighing, 226 lbs, 231 lbs and 234 lbs.
Ought to Jones’ announcement show to be closing, the B-Workforce roster ought to appear like this:
B-Workforce Roster
66 kg: Ethan Crelinsten — Polaris champ
77 kg: Jozef Chen — 2023 ADCC Trials winner
88 kg: Chris Wojcik — 2024 PGF Silver medalist
99 kg: Nick Rodriguez — CJI 1 openweight champion
+99 kg: Victor Hugo — 5-time IBJJF world champion (Wild card decide)
Coach: Dima Murovanni
Whereas CJI 1 champion Nicky Rod rebounded from that UFC FPI 10 loss to Hugo by beating ADCC 2024 double champ Kaynan Duarte, he has all the time had bother that grappling type. The largely dominant Rodriguez has one way or the other gone 0-4 towards Victor Hugo, however it appears to be like like he gained’t have to fret about competing towards him this time round at CJI 2.
With Nicky Rod working along with his regular foil, plus different proficient lighter teammates, this line up Jones listed ought to certainly be one of many “powerhouse” favorites to win the $1 million money prize.
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CJI 2 to have WWE Royal Rumble-style entrances
Additionally on the video, among the many precise meant bulletins for CJI 2, Craig Jones defined the function of coaches and the occasion having “Royal Rumble” type entrances.
The CJI 2 staff grappling format could have winners from every match staying on the mat to compete towards a brand new opponent. As an alternative of a pre-arranged order of grapplers to ship out like Quintet has, Jones revealed that on CJI 2, coaches will be capable of strategize and resolve on the subsequent competitor to convey out on actual time.
So as to add some thriller and aptitude, Jones says CJI 2 could have a Royal Rumble type entrance and countdown timer to disclose the subsequent opponent.
“What makes it a lot extra thrilling, and makes the coach a lot extra vital, is that is what we’re borrowing from Royal Rumble,” Jones revealed.
“We’ll see the replay of the end, after which it’s going to be a ten second timer on the display screen. As that goes all the way down to zero, clearly Nicky Rod (for instance) is trying involved on who’s coming subsequent,” Jones defined. “The followers, the folks reside, the commentary sales space, you guys gained’t have any concept, so everybody will likely be like ‘who’s subsequent?’
“So it’s actually going to emphasise that pleasure,” Jones said.
The $1 million eight-team event on the Craig Jones Invitational 2 goes down over two days from August 30-31, 2025, inside Thomas & Mack Heart in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Test right here for the complete struggle card and updating listing of opponents for CJI 2.
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