Craig Jones will forgo a spot in this year’s ADCC tournament to compete at his own event, the Craig Jones Invitational, emanating from Las Vegas between August 16-17.
There, the Australian-born jiu-jitsu star will engage in a Battle of the Sexes with hulking BJJ icon Gabi Garcia. Jones first revealed the matchup months back during an in-studio interview with Ariel Helwani.
“I’m actually competing [at the Craig Jones Invitational] as well,” Jones said on The MMA Hour in May. “I dip my fingers in many things, obviously I’m the promoter and I’ll compete for the same event and I’ll be competing against the giant woman, Gabi Garcia. 6’4″, 240 plus-pounds. She’ll be [an] ADCC Hall of Famer, but that’s who I’ll compete against. [It is] signed, done. Signed in crayon and then she ate it.”
A week before their highly anticipated encounter, Jones and Garcia went face-to-face. Well, more like chest-to-face as Garcia practically hovered over the 6-foot-tall Aussie.
According to Flo Grappling, Garcia holds a record of 71-8 and is a multi-time ADCC world champion competing in the +60kg division.
“You’re gonna have to go through hell, worse than any nightmare you’ve ever dreamed,” Garcia wrote on Instagram. “But when it’s over, I know you’ll be the one standing. You know what you have to do. Do it. Do it!”
Garcia also claimed that no white man has ever finished her, though we suspect she may have been referring to something unrelated to jiu-jitsu.
Mackenzie Dern Offers Her Take on Craig Jones vs. Gabi Garcia
Though most fight fans know Mackenzie Dern for her work inside the Octagon—among other assets—the BJJ black belt is a multi-time champion on the submission grappling scene, topping the podium at the IBJJF World Championships, as well as being a World Pro and ADCC gold medalist.
Ahead of her latest win over Loopy Godinez, Dern shared her thoughts on the upcoming clash between Jones and Garcia.
“You know, I actually haven’t seen like the comparison size-wise, them next to each other,” Dern said at a UFC on ABC media event. “I remember Gabi is really, really big but Craig Jones… I’m not remembering his size compared to her. But I really think that if he doesn’t take care she can just like hug his head and put her weight on him and it will be really hard for him.”
Aside from the blatant height difference between the two, Dern also finds herself intrigued by the male vs. female aspect.
“Of course he’s a guy, so I’m interested to see how that will be,” she added. “I think obviously too if she messes up some position he can catch her back or submit her but yeah, for sure I think it’s not like an easy fight for him at all. I’m excited…”
Mackenzie Dern offers her thoughts on Craig Jones vs. Gabi Garcia. pic.twitter.com/Pb0yJan9UD
— The Mac Life (@TheMacLife) August 1, 2024
