Day 1 of the Craig Jones Invitational delivered some thrilling finishes and some surprising upsets because the festivities formally kicked off in Las Vegas.
Nicky Rod was undoubtedly the star of the present, scoring a pair of rear-naked chokes in opposition to Max Gimenis and Owen Livesey to punch his ticket to the semi-finals of the Over 80kg bracket. Rod will face Adam Bradley on Day 2 after Bradley earned break up selections in opposition to Kyle Boehm and Bellator prospect Pat Downey.
Becoming a member of Rod and Bradley on the opposite aspect of the semi-final bracket are Inacio Santos and Fellipe Andrew, who labored their solution to the penultimate spherical with a collection of hard-fought victories.
Maybe the largest shocker got here within the Beneath 80kg quarterfinal when reigning ONE welterweight submission grappling world champion Tye Ruotolo suffered a call loss in opposition to Levi Jones-Leary. Ruotolo acquired his match off to a fantastic begin, tapping out adorned wrestler Jason Nolf with a kneebar within the third spherical.
Dealing with Jones-Leary practically 5 hours into the present, Ruotolo struggled together with his guard whereas Jones-Leary fished for a heel hook all through the match. In the long run, Jones-Leary’s aggressiveness was sufficient to grab a unanimous determination win, depriving us of the chance to see Tye Ruotolo sq. off together with his twin brother and fellow ONE world champion, Kade Ruotolo.
ONE World Champion Kade Ruotolo fights his solution to craig jones invitational underneath 80kg semifinal
Kade Ruotolo was capable of get the job achieved on the opposite aspect of the bracket, locking in a nasty straight ankle lock with mere seconds left within the opening spherical in opposition to ADCC gold medalist Matheus Diniz.
Ruotolo went on to dominate Tommy Langaker in his quarterfinal match, incomes a unanimous determination in opposition to the Norwegian BJJ star. Within the final 14 months, Ruotolo has bagged three wins in opposition to Langaker with two of them coming underneath the ONE Championship banner.
Kade Ruotolo will meet Andrew Tackett within the semifinal contest after the younger American bested Nicky Ryan and Eoghan O’Flanagan by way of determination.
Try all of the motion from Day 1 of the CJI, together with full outcomes and the up to date brackets for Day 2 beneath:
Over 80kg first spherical Outcomes:
Nicky Rod def. Max Gimenis by way of submission (rear-naked choke) at 1:45 of Spherical 2.
Owen Livesey def. Mahamed Aly by way of unanimous determination (29-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Adam Bradley def. Kyle Boehm by way of break up determination (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Pat Downey def. Luke Rockhold by way of unanimous determination (30-27, 30-25, 30-26)
Lucas Kanard def. Victor Hugo by way of submission (heel hook) at 1:10 of Spherical 1
Inacio Santos def. Pedro Alex by way of break up determination (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Fellipe Andrew def. Daniel Kerkvliet by way of unanimous determination (30-26, 30-27, 30-27)
Joao Gabriel Rocha def. William Tackett by way of unanimous determination
Over 80kg quarterfinal Outcomes:
Nicky Rod def. Owen Livesey by way of submission (rear-naked choke) at 3:41 of Spherical 1.
Adam Bradley def. Pat Downey by way of break up determination (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Inacio Santos def. Lucas Kanard by way of unanimous determination (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Fellipe Andrew def. Joao Gabriel Rocha by way of unanimous determination
Beneath 80kg first spherical Outcomes:
Tye Ruotolo def. Jason Nolf by way of submission (kneebar) at 4:16 of Spherical 3
Levi Jones-Leary def. Roberto Jimenez by way of submission (inside heel hook) at 1:53 of Spherical 1
Lucas Barbosa def. Kenta Iwamoto by way of unanimous determination
Jozef Chen def. Andy Varela by way of unanimous determination (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)
Kade Ruotolo def. Matheus Diniz by way of submission (straight ankle lock) at 4:43 of Spherical 1
Tommy Langaker def. Renato Canuto by way of unanimous determination (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
Eoghan O’Flanagan def. Magid Hage by way of submission (outdoors heel hook) at 1:41 of Spherical 2
Andrew Tackett def. Nicky Ryan by way of unanimous determination (30-24, 30-24, 30-25)
Beneath 80kg quarterfinal Outcomes:
Levi Jones-Leary def. Tye Ruotolo by way of unanimous determination (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Lucas Barbosa def. Jozef Chen by way of submission (knee crush) at 3:34 of Spherical 3
Kade Ruotolo def. Tommy Langaker by way of unanimous determination (30-26, 30-26, 30-27)
Andrew Tackett def. Eoghan O’Flanagan by way of unanimous determination (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
