$1 million on the line, twice. A brand new 10-point-must scoring system, rarely utilized in jiu-jitsu. Open scoring, with your name and score announced at the end of every round to 8000 people in attendance and 100,000 watching the stream. A razor-close finals match. Imagine the pressure that the judges selected for the role would feel.
That is what Legion instructors, judo and jiu-jitsu black belts, Justin Flores and Miha Perhavec took on this past weekend.
Getting selected for the judging roles
The organizers of this revolutionary event wanted to not just change the game by offering a prize pool of 2.5 million dollars, they also wanted to do it with a new ruleset, similar to MMA to attract a crowd that typically does not closely follow submission grappling.
Justin Flores is one of the most respected takedown coaches in the entire world. His background in elite judo and collegiate wrestling helped him transform into MMA coach to the stars. Some of his clients include Ronda Rousey, Dominic Cruz, Paddy Pimblett, Jeremy Stephens and many more. At Legion he coaches the pro team in an invite-only class, focusing on No-Gi takedowns.
Miha Perhavec, Legion co-founder and judo black belt in his own right takes that class and credits it with further sharpening his already formidable takedown skills. Miha has also competed in some of the biggest tournaments in the sport and understands the pressure and skill level of a competition like CJI well.
Read Miha’s account of the full experience here
Footage of Craig Jones Invitational
If you’re already a grappler or not, it does not matter, tune in and enjoy a few matches.
