Gordon Ryan Costing His Team $1 Million
The fallout from CJI 2 has continued, with Gordon Ryan’s nonstop criticism of the organization and Craig Jones, which appears to have no end in sight.
Ryan has been insulting Jones and the organization nonstop for a while now, and it looks like it has cost his teammates their $1 million consolation prize
Here’s a quick breakdown of the events that have gone down over the last two weeks.
- The finals ended in controversy: New Wave won three of five matches, but the overall points were tied at 47-47. Officials applied a tiebreaker rule based on the final bout’s score (a 10-8 decision for B-Team’s Nick Rodriguez over New Wave’s Luke Griffith), awarding B-Team the $1 million prize.
- Gordon was livid about the results and began his tirade about CJI being a corrupt company that fixed the event.
- The anonymous CJI donor felt remorse and attempted to make amends by also donating $1 million to New Wave.
Gordon Ryan’s Insults and Escalation
Ryan, however, was not appeased. From the event’s conclusion through early September 2025, he unleashed a barrage of online insults targeting Jones and CJI nonstop.
Key examples include:
- Calling the event “corruption at its finest” and accusing officials of “making up rules on the spot” to guarantee B-Team’s win.
- Labeling Jones “Crooked Creg” (a derogatory nickname) and posting, “Good — and reverse the decision. Backwards f—k,” even after the payout offer.
- Claiming the judging was biased and threatening a “full breakdown” of CJI’s alleged misconduct, while dismissing the offer as insufficient.
- Earlier, Ryan had accused CJI of UFC sabotage (due to Gable Steveson’s last-minute withdrawal from a match against Jones) and mocked Jones’ promotion as a threat to ADCC.
These attacks weren’t isolated; Ryan has a history of nonstop criticism, including prior shots at Jones’ character (e.g., calling him a “terrible person” indirectly through proxies) and CJI’s legitimacy.
His posts amplified the drama, drawing in figures like Gabi Garcia, who defended Jones and called Ryan out: “You are a terrible person.”
Even New Wave coach John Danaher issued a more measured critique of the scoring, but Gordon Ryan’s aggressive tone dominated the narrative.
He has even created a full essay on why CJI and Craig are crooks in an Instagram post consisting of 18 pics, and he has turned the comments off.
The Reversal: How Ryan’s Behavior Cost New Wave the $1 Million
The turning point came between September 8th and 9th, 2025, when the anonymous donor reversed the offer. In a public statement, they admitted to being “misled” about the rules and facts, concluding that B-Team’s win was legitimate under official regulations (clause 4.2 of the tiebreaker).
Crucially, the donor cited Gordon Ryan’s “loud complaining or threatening” behavior as a key reason for pulling the plug: “I’m not gonna let a bunch of loud people complaining or threatening get rewarded for that behavior.”
In essence, Ryan’s relentless, unfiltered insults—while defending his team—backfired spectacularly. The $1 million was within reach as a conciliatory prize, but his behavior convinced the donor it would reward bad faith, costing New Wave the windfall.
This episode underscores how personal vendettas can have real financial consequences in the professional BJJ world, where promotions like CJI rely on goodwill and optics to sustain high payouts.
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.