Craig Jones is the biggest name in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu right now. Whether or not he is the best is irrelevant, Craig is the newest name on the scene and has taken the BJJ community by storm. Many people have actually referred to Craig as the “new Eddie Bravo.” If you’re not familiar with whom Eddie Bravo is you may have been living under a rock. Eddie is infamous for going to the ADCC as an underdog with no name or reputation and tapping the biggest name, that being Royler Gracie. Nobody ever expected Eddie to be able to beat him; Royler had been winning everything to date. Eddie did not continue to win the ADCC but he had the biggest break out performance.

Craig has a similar story. Craig came into the ADCC in 2017 in Finland and virtually nobody had heard of him. Craig had what many consider one of the best performances of the tournament. He was able to catch some of the biggest names in his division. He actually was able to submit 5x Black Belt World Champion and favorite, Leandro Lo, and he submitted Unity BJJ coach and competitor, Murilo Santana.

This is no easy feat; Craig took the bjj world by storm with this breakout performance. There had not been an upset this big since Eddie competed at the ADCC against Royler. For somebody with minimal accolades when compared to someone like Leandro Lo to be able to accomplish this, it was unheard of. Craig had competed in EBI before and had won some prestigious events, but he was not famous among the mainstream bjj fans. The 26-year-old has earned submission victories over Leandro Lo, Murilo Santana, Nathan Orchard, Darrah Oconaill, and Chael Sonnen, and the future looks bright for Jones as the pro event invites keep coming. Jones has two sub victories in the Submission Underground promotion since May, one at SUG 4 over Micah Brakefield and another at SUG 6 against Ben Egli. He just recently competed in EBI 14 and made it to the finals against the red-hot Gordon Ryan, nearly tapping the ADCC Champ with a vicious armbar in overtime.

So these amazing performances beg the question, how does Craig do it? Well there are a number of things that play a role in his ability to compete so well, the first being his technique, the second being his will, and the third being his desire.