Billy Crafton & CRAIG JONES: AIGA Champions League

Last month the AIGA Champions League showcased some of the best Jiu Jitsu competitors around the world in Kazakhstan for the 10th Planet Jiu Jitsu vs. Pitbull. Craig Jones highlighted the event, while Seth Belisle and myself rounded out the rest of the USA lineup.

With a tagline of COMPETE AGAINST THE BEST IN THE CENTER OF EURASIA, this event was definitely something special.

The top card featured Craig Jones (USA) vs. Eldar Sayidov (Russia). According to ajptour.com, Eldar (Brown Belt) won 8 of his last 9 matches, picking up two Golds and one Silver in his last three competitions. Meanwhile, Craig Jones is a somewhat legendary Black Belt who is well known for turning “many heads his way at the 2017 ADCC finals by submitting the tournament’s 88-kilogram #1 seed, Leandro Lo. Jones,” per bjjheroes.com.

I competed vs. Abil Karimkhanov (Kazakhstan). Abil is a Brown Belt currently ranked #8 in Asia in his class.

My friend Seth competied vs. Aidar Tuleibaev (Kazakhstan) in the 70 kg class.

Click here for the full match over on the Billy Crafton Jiu Jitsu Tumblr page.

— Billy