Video: Israel Adesanya rolls with Craig Jones to beef up jiu-jitsu skills
In a refreshing take, Craig Jones said his work with former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya is about riding the coattails of famous fighters so he can sell more jiu-jitsu instructional videos.
Adesanya doesn’t mind, because he’s working on beefing up his jiu-jitsu skills while on sabbatical from fighting. The former champ on Tuesday released a video of Jones’ work with City Kickboxing, the gym he brought into the MMA mainstream.
Jones, a disciple of John Donaher and Renzo Gracie, is a two-time ADCC champ who’s also worked extensively with UFC featherweight champ Alexander Volkanovski. Jones pitched Volkanovski’s UFC 294 rematch with Islam Makhachev as a fight between his jiu-jitsu and Makhachev’s sambo, which was sharpened by former UFC lightweight champ and Makhachev teammate Khabib Nurmagomedov. As it turned out, Volkanovski hardly used his grappling after Makhachev knocked him out with a head kick.
Check out the video above to see Adesanya working with Jones and other UFC vets Dan Hooker and Kai Kara-France.