‘A selfish decision’ – Craig Jones blasts Ffion Davies, Mikey Musumeci for signing with UFC BJJ
Craig Jones criticized Ffion Davies and Mikey Musumeci for signing with UFC BJJ.
Craig Jones has made it no small secret that he thinks exclusive contracts are bad for the sport of grappling, and UFC BJJ is the newest major grappling promotion on the scene that’s offering exclusive contracts to some of its athletes.
In a recent appearance on Demetrious Johnson’s “Mightycast,” Jones explained why he’s against exclusive contracts and specifically criticized top competitors Ffion Davies and Mikey Musumeci for signing with UFC BJJ.
According to Jones, exclusive contracts rob athletes of their bargaining power. By locking down top talent into exclusive contracts, organizations like UFC BJJ can then force other athletes to sign less-than-ideal contracts if they want to face those top grapplers:
“We’re not like MMA today. There’s not a monopoly over grappling, but by signing these exclusive deals, you’re setting us on a path towards that territory where we’ll have less power as a group of athletes…
“If they crush all the competition, you have nowhere else to go. What incentive do they have to pay you more? That’s my concern with this.”
Jones wasn’t shy about calling out Davies – widely recognized as the sport’s top pound-for-pound female grappler – for her part in signing with UFC BJJ. Davies competed in the main event of the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 11, where she scored a split decision victory over reigning ADCC champion Adele Fornarino.
Jones said:
“When they signed Ffion Davies, they signed arguably the best female grappler in the world. And my problem with Ffion, and again, she was always pro-women’s grappling as a whole. And I’m like, alright, if you want women’s grappling to grow, I understand the mindset of ‘attach yourself to the UFC.’
“But for the other female competitors that are really, really good, they might get offered s*** money. Now the only opportunity they have to test themselves against you, is to sign potentially a s***** contract. So I think you’re hamstringing the sport as a whole.
“We need events like CJI where the best face the best. And we need an area where you can go to other organizations, you can shop your match offer. If you’re about the money, you can shop that offer around and potentially get more money.”
Jones also spoke about reigning UFC BJJ bantamweight champion Mikey Musumeci, who has been one of the promotion’s biggest stars. After coaching across from Rerrison Gabriel on the UFC BJJ: Road to the Title reality show, Musumeci submitted Gabriel at the inaugural UFC BJJ event to claim the belt. Jones was quick to point out that Gabriel had never before competed in no-gi as a black belt.
Again, Jones explained that exclusive contracts limit the talent pool to only athetes willing to sign those contracts, so if Musumeci might have trouble facing the best competition available:
“Right now, we as individual athletes have a ton of power by saying no to exclusive contracts. If the UFC wants to do a grappling event, they will sign one off deals. They will do it… We have an opportunity now to hold the line. We’re putting the onus on the UFC to meet us at our standards, because as it stands now, they’ve got good athletes. They’ve got an American targeted audience. They’ve secured very good American grapplers.
“But I want to know why Mikey sort of did that deal. He’s endorsing these exclusive contracts that I don’t think are a necessity… If Mikey wants to face the best guys in the world, he’s not doing that. My big problem with these guys that sign with the UFC, now you will only face who’s willing to sign with the UFC. So you might not face the best grapplers in the world…
“If those other grapplers don’t want to sign these exclusive deals, then you’ll be forced to face – [Rerrison Gabriel] had never had a no-gi match. Like, have you just sold out completely?… Don’t sit here and pretend that by signing with the UFC you’re the number one grappler in the world and you’re gonna face the best grapplers in the world… It’s a selfish decision to make.”
