The much-awaited Craig Jones Invitational is underway, with stars from MMA, wrestling, and BJJ lining up in the stands. So the excitement went through the roof as stars such as Nate Diaz, Demetrious Johnson, and others geared up to watch Penn State wrestler Jason Nolf take on the prodigious Tye Ruotolo in a clash between wrestling and BJJ.

The opening minutes of the match lived up to all the hype, as Nolf took on one of the brightest stars in competitive BJJ. The Nittany Lions member not only kept pace with Tye Ruotolo but also made the match competitive, scoring multiple takedowns. However, the 21-year-old ended the contest with 44 seconds left on the clock with a slick knee bar. Yet despite knocking Nolf out of the $1 million race, the former world champion made some startling claims.

The official B Team Jiu Jitsu page on X shared a snippet of Tye Ruotolo’s post-match interview, where he accused Jason Nolf of greasing his legs. “I felt like I was just gripping on the freaking bar of soap,” said Ruotolo about trying a single-leg takedown on the wrestler. “Did you grease your legs? I asked him. He’s like, ‘Yeah.’ I can’t even believe he admitted it, you know. You’re not supposed to do that,” the 21-year-old claimed in the interview.

The ADCC bronze medalist also explained why he didn’t notice the issue early into their matchup. “I didn’t notice it for the first few minutes, you know because it’s all up top,” said the grappler. However, the Penn State wrestler didn’t make any comments. While Ruotolo said the 28-year-old admitted to greasing, he didn’t confirm his opponent’s claim.

Such accusations could have serious repercussions for Nolf’s future in CJI. If the committee decides to investigate and determine whether the freestyle wrestler indeed committed the offense, they may penalize him despite already losing. Nolf, on the other hand, looked quite disappointed after bowing out in the first round.

Jason Nolf’s back-to-back disappointments

After a great start to 2024, the rest of his season doesn’t seem to be going too well. After the high of beating Olympic legend Jordan Burroughs in the Challengers series, he fell short against Kyle Dake. The fellow Penn State wrestler, who eventually won Olympic bronze in Paris, eliminated the 28-year-old from the U.S. Olympic trials in April.

However, Jason Nolf was in high spirits despite missing out on the Olympics, as he had the CJI to look forward to. The 3x NCAA gold medalist even trained BJJ with Izaak Michell. Michell vouched for the grappler’s abilities on August 15 during the Nickals and Dimes podcast. Unfortunately, the wrestler needs to go back to the drawing board before deciding his next move.

It remains to be seen what comes of Tye Ruotolo’s claims or whether CJI decides to look deeper into the accusations. However, Jason Nolf seems to have earned the fan’s respect for giving one of the best BJJ athletes on the planet a run for his money. Do you believe Nolf had a chance against Tye Ruotolo? Let us know.