Whenever Craig Jones pops up online, the grappling world usually leans forward. The Australian has built CJI (Craig Jones Invitational) into a genuine alternative space for high-stakes grappling, complete with a ruleset, pit, and vibe that doesn’t feel like a watered-down side quest to MMA. So when he dropped the announcement that Craig Jones vs. Dillon Danis will headline CJI 3 for the title of “Greatest Grappler in the World”, it landed loudly, but not without some doubts from the fans.

This matchup carries two very different kinds of baggage. On one side, Jones is still one of the most active, connected technicians in no-gi grappling, even after flirting with retirement last year. He’s traveled the world training fighters like Jack Della Maddalena, hosting CJI 1 in 2024 and CJI 2 in 2025, and even publicly feuding with the UFC’s new grappling push.

On the other hand, Danis is an accomplished grappler. But his history of late pullouts, fight cancellations, and public chaos has turned any ‘Dillon Danis fight announcement’ into a conditional sentence. That context matters because fans have already felt the sting of a late main-event collapse. CJI 2 lost Craig Jones vs. Gable Steveson days before showtime, with Steveson citing a toe injury as he pivoted toward an MMA debut shortly after.

The event still delivered because of the $1 million team tournament and Chael Sonnen stepping as a last-minute replacement for Steveson, but the headliner evaporating at the finish line created a trust gap. Now the next main event is tied to someone whose résumé includes withdrawing from a boxing match against KSI twice and getting pulled from a Misfits event after a cageside brawl at UFC 322.

So here’s the real question fans are wrestling with: is this a brilliant, high-risk booking that could spike attention for CJI 3, or another main event that feels like it’s penciled in with an eraser nearby? And that tension is exactly what came flooding in with the reactions online!

Fans remain wary of Dillon Danis actually competing as Craig Jones announces the main event of CJI 3

One fan wrote, “If Dillon loses this s—, I never want to hear of him again.” There’s fatigue baked into this reaction. Dillon Danis’ name carries constant noise, but not a steady stream of actual performances. Fans aren’t asking him to be quiet; they’re asking him to be present. A clean loss to Craig Jones would at least anchor the conversation back to grappling, even if he disappears from the public consciousness afterwards.

Another skeptical viewer added, “If this is real I’m watching. But chances are someone will pull out before the match.” This is the most honest middle ground. The fight is compelling on paper. Jones and Danis is a real stylistic clash on the mats. But CJI 2 trained fans to expect turbulence. It’s not cynicism as much as pattern recognition. Fans want to buy in; they just don’t want to get burned again at weigh-ins week.

The concerns kept coming as this fan wrote, “So given their last main event guy pulled out, they now go with the next most reliable guy… Dillon Danis?” The sarcasm lands because it points at risk stacking. CJI is building an alternative lane to UFC BJJ and exclusive contracts, which is admirable. But main events need anchors. Booking Danis right after a history of high-profile pullouts feels like doubling down on volatility. If this works, it’s genius. If it doesn’t, it reinforces the idea that CJI’s biggest obstacle isn’t talent, it’s dependability.

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Someone else wrote, “More exposure than Dillon deserves. I’ll now wait for the update that he pulled out. Psyched for CJI3 tho.” This reaction splits the debate with skepticism toward Danis and optimism for the event. That’s important. Fans still believe in the CJI product. The pit, the ruleset, the money, the vibe, it’s clearly working. The frustration isn’t with Craig Jones’ vision. It’s with whether this particular headliner helps or hurts the credibility of the showcase. What do you think?

And finally, someone else added, “Isn’t Gordon better than both? Someone inform me, thought he beat them both as well.” Gordon Ryan does hold wins over both Jones and Danis, so the “greatest grappler” label naturally pokes the bear. But this isn’t happening in a vacuum. Jones and Ryan have personal baggage dating back to their Danaher Death Squad days, and that feud has only escalated since.

The Aussie grappler recently even released bodycam footage tied to Ryan’s wife, Nathalia Santoro’s arrest, which reignited public shots from Ryan. In that context, the idea of Gordon Ryan headlining a Craig Jones event isn’t just unlikely, it’s borderline impossible right now.

Still, Craig Jones is clearly swinging big with CJI 3, trying to keep his invitational loud, relevant, and impossible to ignore in a space where the UFC is now pushing its own grappling lane. On paper, Jones vs. Danis is a headline that cuts through the noise. In practice, it only works if both men actually show up.