Rising grappling star Jozef Chen recently opened up about the knee injury he suffered during his highly anticipated match against Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa at the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) – offering new insight into the moment that ended his run at the event.
Speaking with Grapple Asia during his Malaysia Seminar Tour, Chen recalled the exact moment his knee gave out under the pressure of a submission attempt:
It sprained my ACL. It popped like buh-buh-buh-buh.
I was like: “Oh, wow.”And then there’s a minute where I was thinking about tapping…
And then I’m like: “Oh, it’s not popping anymore.”
Despite his initial hesitation, Chen made the tough call to tap, prioritizing long-term health over short-term pride:
I was thinking about: “Do I think this can get worse?”
And I was like: “Okay, yeah, maybe.”So, I’m not gonna mess with this.
Reflecting on his time at CJI, Chen praised the event’s structure and atmosphere, especially the format that allowed full focus on one match at a time:
I really like one match at a time. Everyone’s so focused on the match, everyone’s watching the same thing.
I thought that was pretty cool.
Watch the entire interview with Jozef Chen on the video below:
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