Dana White’s rise to dominance in the sports world has earned him plenty of enemies, but his rivalry with Craig Jones exists on a whole different level. Last year, Jones uploaded a video on Instagram blowing up a mannequin with White’s face using a rocket launcher, sparking a huge sensation online. The BJJ star turned promoter accused Dana White & Co. of stealing his ideas for a UFC BJJ event from his CJI event. Although tensions eventually eased, Jones refused to let the matter go and has now announced his biggest CJI event so far.

“$10,000,000 on the line, CJI 2.5,” Craig Jones wrote on Instagram. “8 people, one night. 10 million dollars.”

Craig Jones will hold the third installment of the Craig Jones Invitational in July, and this time he will call it “CJI 2.5” instead of CJI 3. Interestingly, the 10 million prize sounds staggering for a single night; however, he has not yet revealed how he will divide the money. Nevertheless, looking at past events, we can get an idea of how he might structure the payouts.

CJI built its reputation by paying fighters significant amounts. For example, the first installment, held in 2024, featured a 16-man tournament with a total prize of 1 million, where every competitor took home $10,001, and the divisional winner received $1,000,000.

Similarly, the second event, also held in Las Vegas, featured an 8-team tournament with a total prize of 1 million, along with submission bonuses. How Craig Jones will distribute the money this time remains a mystery, but it will attract top grapplers and other UFC BJJ stars. This matters because UFC BJJ has restricted its fighters from competing in other major BJJ events like ADCC, making UFC BJJ contracts “exclusive.”

Consequently, many BJJ stars have fewer opportunities to compete elsewhere, which makes Craig Jones’ event even more appealing. Therefore, it will be interesting to see how Dana White & Co. respond to this latest CJI prize increase, especially since the UFC has faced criticism for underpaying its athletes.

Notably, figures like Jake Paul have openly called out White for pay disparities, and Craig Jones has also criticized the UFC’s “exploitative” contracts.

BJJ star Craig Jones criticizes Dana White & UFC’s restrictive fighter deals

Dana White’s rivals have never shied away from taking digs at him. Most recently, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn laughed out loud after reviewing UFC heavyweight champ Tom Aspinall’s contract, which Hearn called a “f***ing disgrace.” Last year, BJJ legend Craig Jones joined the criticism, targeting UFC for strict contracts that prevent fighters from pursuing opportunities outside UFC BJJ.

“Hey I know the money isn’t good, but we’re going to pay you in exposure,” Jones said on YouTube. “That is very bad,” Jones said about those BJJ contracts. “Think about it, if you were offered a contract for a boxing fight and you lost half your money unless you knocked the guy out, or if you were offered a contract for a wrestling match and you were offered half the money unless you pinned the guy — that, I believe, is an exploitative contract.”

Craig Jones escalates his rivalry with Dana White beyond strict contracts. In addition, he claims that UFC copied his patented CJI-style pit for their UFC BJJ events, which intensified the tension between them.

However, no one has confirmed this, and no lawsuit has appeared yet. Consequently, many are eager to see how the situation unfolds in the future.