What Experience Does Craig Jones Have in MMA? | Explained
Craig Jones is one of the best Jiu Jitsu practitioners in the world, but has he done MMA?
In this page, we will explain what experience Craig Jones has in MMA.
Table of Contents
- What Experience Does Craig Jones Have in MMA?
- Jones Brought in to Help UFC Champion
- Volkanovski Keeps Jones in Corner
What Experience Does Craig Jones Have in MMA?
Although Craig Jones has yet to partake in a professional MMA fight, Jones would be brought in by UFC champion Alex Volkanovski to help him elevate his Jiu Jitsu game.
Craig Jones would watch MMA by chance in the 2000's, and it would interest him so much that he'd make his way to a MMA gym.
However, training the different Martial Arts allowed him to realize that Jiu Jitsu is what he enjoyed the most.
Jones would then strictly focus on his Jiu Jitsu career, and become one of the best grapplers of his generation, most noticeably earning:
- World Gi No Champion
- Polaris 205 lbs Champion
- Polaris 185 lbs Champion
- 2nd Place ADCC World Championship
Craig Jones would really rise to the spotlight when he would pull off a shocking upset by not only beating, but submitting 5-time World Champion Leandro Lo (who was also a favorite to repeat as champion at the time).
Craig Jones Brought in to Help UFC Champion
Alex Volkanovski would bring in Craig Jones to help him prepare for his fight against another Brazilian Jiu Jitsu specialist, in Brian Ortega.
This would prove to be one of the best moves that Volkanovski could have made, as Volk would survive two different submissions during his fight with Ortega, that Ortega had locked in extremely deep.
Although Volk was dominating the fight, Ortega would suddenly catch Volk in an extremely tight mounted guillotine, that seemed to be seconds away from ending the fight with a massive upset.
Volkanovski would later confirm how tight the submission actually was:
It was tight, it was deep, the space I was trying to make -- I usually make that space before he's anywhere near that deep. But credit to him and how quickly he can wrap up the neck and legs, suck his hips right in on your belly. The grips he has, the arch he's got, the hips are in, the legs where they are positioned and locking my arms, [it was so quick].
After Volk survived the first submission, he would continue to pick back up where he had left off before the submission, put the pressure on and seemingly dominate.
That is until, Ortega would once throw up a desperation submission, and catch Volk in trouble once again.
It wouldn't be any ordinary submission, but he would catch him in a triangle choke, a choke that Ortega is so good at and so well known for, that his nickname is literally 'T-City' for Triangle City.
Volk would escape once again, and retain his belt.
Assistant Coach in the Ultimate Fighter
Prior to the Ortega fight, Volkanovski would also bring in Jones as an assistant coach, to help him coach his team in the Ultimate Fighter show.
During the Ultimate Fighter show, the two teams and coaches/fighters are around each other so much for 12 weeks, that they'll naturally begin to become irritated, as well as play pranks on one another.
It should be noted that on top of being a phenomenal grappler, Jones has his own unique and funny personality that makes him extremely likeable.
Jones couldn't help himself during the Ultimate Fighter show, and would play several pranks, one which would almost get him kicked out of the show completely.
Volkanovski Keeps Jones in His Corner
It's safe to say that Volkanovski sees great value in keeping Craig Jones around.
Volk would permanently keep Jones in his corner during his UFC bouts, which also means that Jones helps Volk during his training camps.
Jones would be seen in Volk's corner during his fight against the Korean Zombie Chan Sung Jung, and against Max Holloway, which would both result in wins.