Alexander Volkanovski is set to take on Islam Makhachev in the main event of UFC 284. Following his victory over Charles Oliveira at UFC 280, Islam welcomed the challenge from Volkanovski. As such, the two will battle it out for the lightweight title and the #1 P4P ranking.
Coming into the fight, Islam Makhachev is the more favored fighter, due to the dominant fashion of his victory over Oliveria. As such, Volkanovski is well aware of the threat of Makachev’s wrestling and grappling and will have to find a way around it. Thus, as soon as the fight was announced, Volk began his work with Craig Jones.
For those unaware, Craig Jones is a renowned grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor and coach. The Aussie is the latest in a long lineage of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructors starting from the legendary Carlos Gracie. Moreover, Jones is also the head of B Team Jiu Jitsu, operating out of Austin, Texas.
As for his personal achievements, Jones is an IBJJF world No-Gi BJJ champion (purple belt), a two-time ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship silver medallist, and a three-time Polaris Pro Grappling champion. Notably, Jones has also gone up against and beaten the likes of Chael Sonnen, Gilbert Burns, and Donald Cerrone in grappling matches.
View this post on Instagram
As such, Jones is also a Polaris Pro Grappling Middleweight 205 lbs Champion (2018) and Light-Heavyweight 185 lbs Champion (2018/2019). Additionally, he is also a Submission Underground Absolute Champion (2019) and was in 2nd place at the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship (2019/2022), 3rd Place at EBI 11 Invitational (2017), 3rd place at Kasai 2 185 lbs Grand Prix (2018), and 3rd place at Kasai 5 205 lbs Grand Prix (2019).
Craig Jones is training Alexander Volkanovski for UFC 284
With a resume as impressive as his, it was almost a no-brainer for Volkanovski to seek Jones’ services. According to Jones, Volkanovski has made great strides with his grappling and ground game in camp. Already a fairly decent wrestler, Alexander “The Great” is now bigger in size as well.
In a recent video on Volkanovski’s channel, Craig is seen praising the featherweight champ. “Now his techniques, much better and a bit bigger. Like, he’s bit bigger in size. Now super tough for me to submit him. I really have to use all my strength against him.” Thus, it appears as though Volkanovski will be well-prepared for anything that Islam throws at him.
For the most part, Jones believes that Volkanovski’s ground game is now at a much higher level. Additionally, due to his new diet and bulked-up frame, Volk now possesses power, speed, and technical ability. Jones has also pointed out that Volkanovski’s grappling skills will definitely be put to the test against Islam, but the #1 P4P champ should be able to get the better of him.
Previously, the Australian champ felt as though he was being underestimated by Islam coming into the fight. However, with the work that Volk has been putting in, he considers himself the bigger threat out of the two. As for Islam, he has previously stated that he wishes to showcase his striking abilities a bit more, which could make for an interesting watch as well.
Do you think Craig Jones will be the difference maker for Alexander Volkanovski? Will we see Volk dominate Islam when it comes to grappling? What are your thoughts on Craig Jones as a specialist? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Discussion about this post