Craig Jones has never shied away from pulling back the curtain on the BJJ world – and this time, he’s turned down one of its most high-profile opportunities.
According to Jones, he was offered the chance to coach opposite Mikey Musumeci on the UFC’s still-unannounced grappling reality series; an offer that would have culminated in a match between the two.
But in classic Craig fashion, he passed on it.
Over the past several months, there’s been growing confirmation that the UFC is laying the groundwork for a new grappling series.
Dana White has gone on record saying a show is in development, and multiple high-level grapplers have been linked to exclusive contracts as part of the rollout.
Initially, all signs pointed to Gordon Ryan and Mikey Musumeci as the leading coaching duo. Kade Ruotolo even let that pairing slip in an earlier interview.
But then Jones announced that he, not Musumeci, would be coaching opposite Gordon – a claim that Ryan never publicly confirmed.
And now it seems those plans may have been scrapped or reshuffled yet again.
As for Musumeci, he recently pulled out of a scheduled match citing a “huge project with the UFC” which further supports the idea that the show is still moving forward – just with a few substitutions behind the scenes.
Jones had shared the news about his offer decline via a Reddit comment:
I was meant to compete against Mikey and coach against him. Bad deal.
When asked if there was a chance for him to do Fight Pass Invitational with the contracts they offer, Jones answered:
Nothing 0 (percent chance), but I’d say not – given the terms offered weren’t constructive for the sport.
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