Fired? ADCC replaces the chief organizer, who then challenges Craig Jones to a fist fight

Hot on the heels of the 2024 ADCC World Championships – and its public feud with the Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) – the prestigious grappling promotion will now replace its main organizer. In fact, Mo Jassim – who has been a sponsor and public face of the Abu Dhabi Combat Club (ADCC) in recent years, is no longer with the company.

ADCC replaces chief organizer Mo Jassim

Jassim announced the surprising news on his personal Instagram page, explaining that he and ADCC had separated.

“I would like to announce that I have decided to step down as the main organizer of the ADCC,” Jassim wrote. “I would like to thank Sheikh Tahnoon for giving me the opportunity to be the only person organizing three ADCC worlds. Many thanks to Guy Neivens for enabling me to progress from bracelet boy to chief organizer. Thank you Seth Daniels and Shawn Fowler, we gave everything we had to every event we organized and I am very proud of the work we did. Thank you to FloGrappling for supporting me and ADCC, they were great to deal with.

“Thank you to all the athletes I have worked with over the last 20 years. Thank you also to all the media who supported us and helped promote ADCC and the sport.

“The sport has never been in a better position to break the mainstream, which has always been the end goal.” I will always remain loyal to ADCC, but any organizer or event that helps the sport grow can receive my full support if needed . I’m looking forward to being just a fan again.”

ADCC has always been highly regarded in the grappling scene, but Jassim really deserves a lot of credit for significantly expanding its events during his tenure and helping the sport reach a much wider audience.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) shows were once only attractive to fellow practitioners of the sport, but the professional grappling scene has grown exponentially since then. The biennial ADCC World Championships were at the forefront, with Jassim playing a large role in not only retaining top talent, but also significantly increasing production value to appeal to a more casual audience.

After this growth was achieved, concerns were raised about a lack of improvement in athlete pay. This sparked the rivalry between ADCC and CJI, and Jones eventually started his own promotion to disrupt the sport and highlight these issues. He held CJI in the same city and on the same weekend as ADCC 2024, then poached several BJJ stars by offering show money equal to ADCC’s tournament prize, plus $1 million for the winners.

The situation was tense.

Nevertheless, the rivalry resulted in many athletes being paid significantly more this weekend. CJI distributed record prize money in BJJ, and due to competition, ADCC also increased salaries for women and offered show money for the first time to retain key stars.

Perhaps it is partly due to these events that led to the restructuring of the ADCC?

Fired? Craig Jones and Mo Jassim continue to trade contradictions

Jassim recently stated that he would like to do things differently “if” he gets the chance to host another ADCC World Championship, so perhaps the decision was already clear.

However, as expected, Jones continued to criticize Jassim online, stating that it was not his decision to “step down” from the ADCC.

“You can’t fire me, I’m quitting,” Jones wrote on Instagram.

After seeing this, Jassim decided to challenge Jones to a fistfight when he replied in the comments section.

Jones then wrote a comment and filmed an entire skit in response, in which he took another swipe at ADCC athletes’ salaries and made people compete for notoriety and “prestige.”

There is no information yet about Jassim’s successor, but Jones hasn’t stopped trolling there. The CJI promoter says he is ready to take on Jassim’s role himself.

“I have decided to take over ADCC and restore it to its former glory,” Jones wrote in a series of jokes and digs at Jassim. “I’ll even let Mo Jassim be the bracelet boy again. I don’t hold any grudges.”

The next ADCC World Championships are scheduled to take place in 2026. However, trials and qualifications will take place the year before, so it may not be long before supporters in Abu Dhabi make a decision on the next main organizer. It will also be very interesting to see if there will be any major changes in the way the action is run under different leadership.

Click here for the latest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) and grappling news Here.