Penn State’s Nittany Lion Wrestling Club member Jason Nolf earned his spot in the Paris Olympics by defeating 6x world champion Jordan Burroughs. However, Nolf has already decided where he’ll compete even before stepping foot on the Olympic wrestling mat. The 28-year-old announced on June 14, that he’ll compete in the Craig Jones Invitational after the Olympics.

However, it seems the 74 kg NCAA Division 1 champ won’t get everyone’s support even if he wins Olympic gold. Established Brazilian Jiu-jitsu black belt Mathew Veiga made it clear that he won’t be on the wrestler’s side. “As a jiu-jitsu guy talking to everybody in the CGI… Do not let a wrestler win these f***ing million dollars,”  Veiga said during the BJJ Balance Podcast.

He was quite serious while speaking about wrestlers like Jason Nolf being a threat to the BJJ athletes. He even called out Craig Jones, saying the ADCC legend should not make rules favoring wrestlers. “You will go from the hero of jiu-jitsu to absolutely doing one of the most blasphemous things to the sport, period!” added the 1st-degree BJJ black belt. Yet, why the animosity?

Matthew Veiga explained that athletes and fans of wrestling and BJJ have been “butting heads,” for decades. It’s a “hidden battle” that’s found common ground in MMA. However, unlike MMA, the Craig Jones Invitational will be a submission grappling event, with no striking. Besides BJJ athletes, wrestlers and even MMA fighters have signed up for the CJI.

Hence, Veiga hopes that Jones has made rules that do not favor other disciplines over BJJ. The OSS NATION BJJ funder also hoped that world-class athletes such as Kade and Tye Ruotolo, Mathew Diniz, and other ADCC champs would prove too much for wrestlers such as Jason Nolf. However, you may be wondering why the Olympian decided to compete in a BJJ-based tournament.

Why Jason Nolf signed up for this unique event

“It’s official! In August, I will be competing in Las Vegas in the @cjiofficial for a chance at $1 million! Can my wrestling get it done?? I think this is so awesome and such a great opportunity for the grappling community,” wrote Nolf in his Instagram announcement post. However, the massive prize money isn’t the only draw for the wrestler, but also what the tournament stands for.

Founder Craig Jones intentionally decided to overlap CJI with the 2024 ADCC World Championship, to raise awareness about the athlete pay. The reason CJI exists is that the 2x ADCC silver medalist hopes to usher in a change in tournament prize money. Jason Nolf, who made his BJJ debut at Paradigm Open 3, was stoked to back this noble cause. He is even training for it separately.

Besides the Olympian, several other prominent star athletes including Jones himself, Gabi Garcia, UFC icons Mackenzie Dern, Luke Rockhold, and others will also compete in the CJI. Do you think Jason Nolf has what it takes to win back-to-back gold in the Olympics and the CJI? Tell us in the comments.