Craig Jones couldn’t have scripted the CJI 2 team tournament any better.
New Wave and B-Team, with former teammates that splintered off the original Danaher Death Squad, started in opposite sides of the bracket. Both talented Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) teams eventually found their way to the finals, where they settled their rivalry a final time, all for $1 million.
New Wave beat Team Americas and Atos to advance to the final, while B-Team eliminated Daisy Fresh and Team Australasia.
With both New Wave and B-Team moving on and rebranding to Kingsway and Simple Man Martial Arts, respectively. This event was the last chance for them to face each other, and fans got the final match up they wanted.
The final decision also came with a bit of drama.
Nicky Rod’s crucial tie breaker leads B-Team to win over New Wave at CJI 2
After the first four match ups ended in double eliminations as they didn’t get a finish, it left the entire $1 million dollar CJI 2 tournament to be decided in a final match between New Wave’s Luke Griffith, and B-Team’s Nick Rodriguez.
New Wave seemingly won three of the first four matches, and it looked like Nick Rodriguez needed a finish to carry his team over the line. Nicky Rod scrambled for a submission and absolutely dominated throughout eight minutes, but Griffith survived to the final bell and it went to the judges’ scorecards.
Surprisingly, all three judges scored it a 47-47 tie. According to CJI rules, when scored a draw, the final match up’s score will serve as the tie-breaker. This was Nicky Rod’s match up, which was revealed to be a unanimous 10-8 over Griffith.
Nicky Rod’s 10-8 performance not only caused the 47-47 draw, it also was the one that put them over the top in the tie breaker. Rodriguez once again established himself as the CJI champion, as he won his team a million dollars.
Craig Jones may have named it the B-Team as a joke on how he always came in second, but at least on the final time we will see B-Team, they’re the ones that beat their longtime rivals and came out as number one.
Craig Jones also competed himself, submitting Chael Sonnen twice in a friendly — and hilarious — exhibition.
In the other tournament on CJI 2, Helena Crevar beat fellow teen prodigy Sarah Galvao to win the highest purse in women’s BJJ history.
Check here for more highlights and full results of the individual matches from CJI 2.
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