Craig Jones may have gone too far in the build-up to his grappling match against Gabi Garcia! The CJI (Craig Jones Invitational) is set to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from August 16 to 17. Jones’ venture has been the cause of much upheaval in the grappling world as it is directly competing with the prestigious ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club) tournament.

So why did Jones, a former 2-time ADCC silver medal winner, decide to set up his own event? In his appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, the Australian grappler explained, “Ultimately, what I want and what I wanted from day 1 was just athletes across everything in Jiu-Jitsu to be compensated just a little bit more.”

The CJI will feature names like Luke Rockhold, Mackenzie Dern, Kade and Tye Ruotolo, Nicky Ryan and more competing for $1 million dollars. However, the main bout everyone has been talking about is the ‘superfight’ between Craig Jones and Gabi Garcia. But it appears that the bout may have been cancelled due to Jones’s antics. In a recent video shared on Instagram, Jones and Garcia face-off before the Australian suddenly kisses her.

With an angry Garcia chasing him, Jones runs away, leaving the Brazilian grappler fuming. In the caption for the post, Jones stated, “Fights cancelled. I guess Brazilians can’t take a joke.” The interaction has drawn a flurry of reaction from fans and many prominent names in the UFC. Here’s a look at what the netizens had to say!

Fans and Gabi Garcia slam Craig Jones for his actions ahead of CJI as UFC stars also chime in

Gabi Garcia herself responded in the comments by indicating that she wasn’t happy with what transpired. A four-time ADCC gold medal winner, Garcia is a highly decorated grappler in her own right. In an interview with MMA fighting ahead of the now possibly cancelled bout, Garcia had proclaimed, “It’s been a long time… He’s pissing me off for so long I want to smash him.”

 “U cross the line! Enjoy your show”

Meanwhile, UFC bantamweight Adrian Yanez cheekily claimed that Craig Jones had to use a “ladder” to be able to reach Garcia. Towering over Jones at 6’2, Garcia had also revealed in the MMA Fighting interview that she had already, “…trained with Craig a few times and he hasn’t submitted me”.

“What you don’t see is the 2 step ladder (laughing emoji)”

Marlon ‘Chito’ Vera, had a different opinion on the video as he claimed that the interaction was a display of “love” between Jones and Garcia.

“That’s love (heart emoji)”

Other UFC stars like middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis, Michael Bisping, Rafael dos Anjos and Sean Strickland all couldn’t contain their laughter as they all shared laughing emojis in the comments.

Rafael Dos Anjos: “(4x laughing emoji)”, Dricus Du Plessis: “(7x laughing emoji)”, Sean Strickland: “Lmao!!!!”, Michael Bisping: “(3x laughing emoji)”

But not everyone found the situation funny. One fan pointed out that Jones’s actions made them feel “uncomfortable” and that the fight being cancelled due to the Australian grappler’s antics was called out as a “whack move”.

“Anyone that doesn’t find this uncomfortable is just weird. I find Craig jones funny but this is just wrong and the fact that is caused the fight be to cancelled total whack move on jones part”

Other fans were left scratching their heads as they were unable to discern whether the video was a promotional stunt or an actual face-off gone wrong.

“Can’t tell the difference between real and acting anymore. So wild.”

Many even called the entire affair between Jones and Garcia “cringe”. Jones has been putting out a large amount of content to build up hype for this fight and recently, he even shared a post on Instagram where he’d placed a massive bet on himself. Sharing a screenshot of a $100,000 bet, Jones had proclaimed, “In case you thought I was going to take it easy on her. 100k of my own money on the line” as he claimed he’d win by a leg lock!

“Cringe jones”

In the end, what started as a much-anticipated showdown at the Craig Jones Invitational has spiralled into chaos! The mixed response to Jones’s antics, with UFC fighters laughing it off and fans calling it “uncomfortable” has now cast a shadow over the hyped-up ‘superfight’. As such, it remains to be seen what’s next for the CJI, with the clash between Garcia and Jones now possibly being cancelled. What are your thoughts on Craig Jones and Gabi Garcia’s latest interaction? Were you looking forward to their grappling match? Let us know in the comments below!