CJI 2 Preview

CJI 2 is right around the corner and this time things will be a bit different. The 2025 edition will be using Quintet format, so this will be a team event. Each team will have 5 members at -66kgs, -77kgs, -88kgs, -99kgs and +99kgs. However the fights won't be confined to these specific weight classes and a -77kgs fighter could go up against a +99kgs fighter. This should make things really interesting and we'll see interesting matches that you won't see outside of this event. The matches will also be a bit shorter than what we normally see as well, not to mention the matches are in the pit. Due to these and other factors, it is hard to predict how the matches will go. If there isn't a submission, both people will be eliminated, so often you see a great fighter eliminated because they can't finish their opponent. Anything can happen and that adds to the excitement, but let's take a look at the teams and their strengths and weaknesses. 

Teams

Below I've listed each team along with all their members. I've also given a bit of background on each as well as a chart showing their strengths and weaknesses. The chart is based on 5 factors, "Sub Offense" how well they can submit people, "Sub Defense" how well they can avoid submissions, "Consistency" how well they perform up to their potential, "Size Handling" how well they can deal with people bigger or smaller than them, and "Stamina" how long they can keep going. I looked at each member of the team and gave them a rating between 0-3, then added them all together to get the team score. Of course these are my own personal opinions, but I tried to be as objective as possible and looked at stats while doing this. Anyway, hopefully this will be useful when comparing the various strengths and weaknesses of each team.

• -66kg: Dorian Olivarez
• -77kg: Mica Galvão
• -88kg: Giancarlo Bodoni
• -99kg: Luke Griffith
• +99kg: Dan Manasoiu  Vagner Rocha

New Wave(now King's Way) is one of the favorites of this tournament. They have a very strong team and I think their biggest strength is their submission offense. Everyone on the team is capable of submitting other high level players. Mica is IMO their best submission artist, but all of them are able to finish others. On top of that the team is very well rounded with almost everyone being able to play top and bottom, having good leglock defense and offense and being able to impose their game on others.

If this team has a weakness it would be consistency and their ability to handle different sized people. Luke and Giancarlo have all lost to people that they should beat on paper. Sometimes they look amazing and other times they are flat. Big Dan is now out and has been replaced by Vagner Rocha. This will actually help them in stamina and sub defense, but will likely hurt their submission offense. With only one big man now, the team might be a bit undersized or at least won't have the size advantage they previously had.  

• -66kg: Geo Martinez
• -77kg: Alan Sanchez
• -88kg: PJ Barch
• -99kg: Ryan Aitken
• +99kg: Kyle Boehm

10th Planet was the first team to sign up for CJI 2 and announce their lineup. 10P has a long history of team events and many of the people here have experience in Quintet style events, which should give them a slight edge strategically. I think one of their biggest advantages is the fact that PJ, Kyle and Ryan can all hit people with subs out of nowhere, especially leglocks. PJ is especially good at this because his game isn't leglock heavy and he will lure people into a false sense of security. Ryan Aitken is also underrated and could easily win because his opponents underestimate him. I think many of the other teams might be looking past 10P and could easily lose because of a lack of focus or bad strategy. 

On the other hand 10P's team is a bit small and they could easily be overpowered by one of the teams with larger people. Also none of the people on this team(except maybe Ryan Aitken) have that ironclad sub defense that can stop anyone from scoring on them. That paired with their smaller size might make them vulnerable to getting subbed by the other teams and then not being able to come back. Geo is also getting a bit older and both him and Kyle Boehm aren't competing much anymore. 

• -66kg: Diego Pato
• -77kg: Ronaldo Junior
• -88kg: Lucas Barbosa
• -99kg: Kaynan Duarte
• +99kg: Felipe Pena

ATOS also has to be one of the favorites to win. They have multiple world champs on the team and are overall very strong along with having one of the best coaches in the game on their side. They recently added Deigo "Pato" Oliveria to the team and this was an excellent addition. He can easily sub people in his weightclass and maybe a weightclass above him as well. He is also known to have a nearly impassable guard. Kaynan Duarte can also easily run through an entire team by himself and submit almost anyone else in this tournament. Pena is also extremely tough, hard to sub and dangerous. Ronaldo Junior has been looking good recently and can pull a sub out of his hat when he wants to. Hulk is always tough and consistent. 

The main weakness of this team is consistency. Pena and Ronaldo Junior are hot and cold. They can both sub many people in this tournament, but they could also get subbed or just have a bad performance. You don't really know what you're going to get out of them. The biggest weakness however is Kaynan. He could beat everyone himself or lose the anyone at CJI 2. He is a multiple time gi and ADCC champion, but he has so many head scratching losses nobody can bet on him to do anything. If everything is hitting on all cylinders I expect ATOS will win, but they could easily lose in the first round to one of the weaker teams as well. It will all depend on what type of mindset and focus these athletes have the day of the event. 

• -66kg: Ethan Crelinsten
• -77kg: Jozef Chen
• -88kg: Chris Wojcik
• -99kg: Nick Rodriguez
• +99kg: Victor Hugo

The B-Team is also one of the favorites to win things. Their HWs are stacked with Nicky Rod and Victor Hugo working together. The other spots are also very solid too. B-Team's well roundedness is one of its biggest strengths and I think most people on the team can deal with people bigger or smaller than them. Most of them also are proficient in leglocks which will help them deal with some of the larger competitors. 

One area where I think they might be weak is in their ability to submit people. Of the people on the team Chris Wojcik might be only person able to get flash subs. Everyone else is a bit more methodical and that isn't always a good strategy in this format where the time is short. I don't think they have as many consisteny problems as other teams, but I think there is a chance that they might not be able to get any subs, which could lead to their downfall. 

• -66kg: Max Hanson
• -77kg: Dante Leon
• -88kg: Jacob Couch
• -99kg: Michael Pixley
• +99kg: Brandon Reed

Daisy Fresh has gone from an unknown team in the midwest to one of the biggest names in Nogi grappling. They put together one of the few teams without any wildcards and honestly they are looking very solid. They should have a wrestling advantage over most teams and that will let them dictate the pace of the matches. Jacob Couch has amazing submissions and he can put them on at a moments notice, which might help them pull ahead of the other teams. They have fairly good stamina and they might be able to leverage that into some wins by wearing people down for draws. 

I think their biggest weakness is their submission defense. I think everyone on the team besides Dante Leon is susceptible to submissions. This format is really needs people who can submit others fast and avoid submissions at all costs, but unfortunately I don't think many of these athletes have the game to pull that off. If they aren't able to fend off subs it will be a short night for Pedigo submission fighting.   

 

• -66kg: Fabricio Andrey
• -77kg: Kenta Iwamoto
• -88kg: Lucas Kanard
• -99kg: Declan Moody
• +99kg: Belal Etiabari

The Asia-Australia team was one of the only teams to do trials and they put together a fairly good team. Their original -77kgs team member, Levi Jones-Leery, dropped out, but he was replaced by the equally impressive Kenta Iwamoto. I think this teams biggest strength is its ability to deal with various sized opponents. Kenta, Lucas Kanard and Fabrico have shown they can deal with bigger people, which will be a big help in this format. 

I think the easiest hurdle this team will have to overcome is sub defense. I'd be worried about someone on this team getting subbed and then not being able to catch up before they run out of team members. Belal Etiabari is a bit of a wildcard as I don't think we have much info on him and he doesn't have much high level experience. It isn't just him though. Almost all of the people on this team have had mixed results or no results against others on the highest level. This doesn't bode well to their chances and they'll have to stay focused and employ good strategy. 

• -66kg: Owen Jones
• -77kg: Pawel Jaworski
• -88kg: Paul Ardilla
• -99kg: Charles Negromonte
• +99kg: Marcin Maciulewicz

The European team also had a trials event to put together their team and they even have an American on it. This team has a very high level in leglock ability and I think this might help them against some of the larger teams. Many of the athletes can also hit subs at anytime which makes them dangerous and gives them an edge over some of the other teams. Everyone on the team is dangerous with leglocks which can help them against some of the larger teams.

This is also the biggest obstacle. This team isn't particularly big with Charles, Paul and Marcin are all around the same size. They will be outsized by most of the other teams and that could really cost them. Against teams with bad leglock defense or cardio they might have a lot of success, but unfortunately I think they will have trouble with someone of the bigger teams with good sub defense. 

• -66kg: Gavin Corbe
• -77kg: Deandre Corbe
• -88kg: Elijah Dorsey
• -99kg: Taylor Pearman
• +99kg: Pat Downey

The American misfits team was one of the last to be put together, but they have a good mix of skills that will help them get the victory. This team generally has good wrestling and that will let them dictate the pace and keep control of the matches. On top of that they have good leglocking skills that could help them sub some of the larger players in this tournament. They will also likely have a stamina advantage over most teams in this tournament as well. 

One thing they don't have working for them is size. They are one of the smallest teams and most of the member will be moving up a weight class. Of course that doesn't really matter here, but they don't have any true heavy weights to help deal with the size and power of the other teams. Another problem is their submission offense. Only Taylor Pearman is known as a consistent submission taker and Pat Downey is likely to get no submissions. They're going to be fighting an uphill battle and they'll need some really good strategy to pull off some upsets at CJI 2. 

Women's Tournament

• Adele Fornarino
• Helena Crevar
• Ana Carolina Viera
• Sarah Galvao

This is the largest prize in female grappling history and it will come down to 1 of these 4 women. They are actually fairly evenly matched and it might be hard to pick a favorite here. Basically we have 2 women in Adele and Helena who are guard pulling submission hunters, while Ana and Sarah or positional top players. The $100,000 is up for grabs and anyone could take it. 

Adele Fornarino has been looking very good recently and she has proven that she can deal with women larger than herself. She has a good mix of submissions and is a known finisher. She is very tough as well and one of the few women that has a solid leglock game. Unfortunately for her she will be the smallest woman here. If she can get her game going she can win, but if she gets stuck on the bottom and can't get the sub, it might be a short night for her. We'll have to see how she deals with the strength of the other athletes. 

Helena Crevar recently received her black belt and has shown she can beat women at the highest levels of the sport. She has the most dangerous leglock game in the women's division and she is very big and strong. It isn't only her leglocks though, she has very dangerous chokes and armlocks as well. She is a constant threat and is relentless with her attacks. One thing we have to acknowledge is that she has recently lost to 2 of the women in this tournament. Both Sarah and Ana were able to shut her down. Helena isn't that great from the standing position and if she can't get anything going from her back, she might get stopped early.

Ana Carolina Viera is a BJJ legend and won ADCC last year. She is big, strong and hard to sub. Not only is she tough, but she is also the most experienced person in this tournament. She is very crafty and just knows how to win. The rules of CJI aren't in Ana's favor though. CJI prioritizes aggressiveness and submission hunting, which isn't really Ana's game. I don't know if she can turn it up to match some of these other women in that aspect. If she can't it won't matter how good her positioning and sub defense is. She's going to need to make some tactical adjustments to get the win here and if she can't she'll go home early.

Sarah Galvao has been having a great year and is an up and coming grappling star. She has good takedowns and amazing passing. She knows how to control her opponents and make them play her game. She also might be the most athletic person in the division and is the youngest I believe. Along with being the youngest, she is also the least experienced and credentialed in nogi. She beat Helena in the gi, but can she do it in nogi where heelhooks are allowed. On top of that she'll have to try to beat Ana at her own game, which is quite a task for a young woman that doesn't have much experience at this level. 

Overall

This is looking to be an amazing event. Due to the rules anyone could win and I think that is what makes this format so interesting and fun to watch. Make sure to check this blog again soon for the Stats after the event.

Who do you have winning?