Luke Rockhold took part on Day 1 of the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI), a no-gi grappling tournament held on Aug. 16-17 in Las Vegas. The former UFC champion is known for having slick wrestling and Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills, and featured in the competition’s +80 KG division.
Rockhold faced former U.S. national wrestling champion Pat Downey in Round 1 of the bracket, with the pair providing fans with an exciting start to the CJI. But the relentless grappling of Downey proved to be too much for his opponent, and he walked away with a decision victory.
Given the mammoth $1 million prize money up for grabs, tensions in their match were understandably high. So much so that during Rockhold and Downey’s match, the pair were captured almost coming to blows.
Footage of their near-scuffle was uploaded to X by @cjs_posts, who wrote this:
“Pat Downey and Luke Rockhold with the match of the tournament so far nearly ending in a fist fight. The CJI is blowing my socks off. This is such a great format. Rule set. And competitors.”
Watch the footage of Rockhold vs. Downey below:
Take a look at the CJI Day 1 results, featuring Luke Rockhold, Nicky Rodriguez and more
The Craig Jones Invitational has seen many of the world’s best grapplers opt to compete for a massive $1 million prize, instead of competing at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) World Championships.
ADCC, the most prestigious no-gi grappling competition in the world, takes place every two years, with the latest edition occuring on Aug. 17-18. With the CJI also taking place during the same time, the scheduling conflict has caused numerous elite BJJ athletes to choose money over prestige.
Day 1 of the competition took place in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center, with Luke Rockhold among the notable names for MMA fans. The former UFC champion took part in the +80KG division, and was defeated by Pat Downey.
