2017 KASAI Pro

KASAI Books Incredible Rematch: Murilo Santana vs. Craig Jones

KASAI Books Incredible Rematch: Murilo Santana vs. Craig Jones

Middleweight matchup marks rematch of duo’s thrilling ADCC encounter from August, which Jones won via flying triangle.

Nov 27, 2017 by FloGrappling
KASAI Books Incredible Rematch: Murilo Santana vs. Craig Jones

KASAI Pro has added a huge rematch to its main card with the announcement of a no-gi grappling superfight between ADCC breakout star Craig Jones and Murilo Santana on Dec. 9 in New York.

Jones, a 26-year-old Aussie black belt, landed two of the most memorable submissions at the 2017 ADCC when he submitted Santana via a flying triangle and Leandro Lo via rear-naked choke. Qualifying for the tournament as an unheralded ADCC Asian Trials winner, Jones’ two shock wins propelled his name into the minds of fans around the world. Lo is always considered among the favorites of any tournament he enters, but Santana is especially known for his durability and experience.

Santana, who is the head instructor at Unity Jiu-Jitsu in Manhattan, is a world no-gi silver medalist and a multiple-time Brazilian national championships winner. Santana’s loss to Jones was only his second submission defeat in 10 years.

“This is a story of redemption against validation as KASAI ushers in the next era of competitive jiu-jitsu,” said Rolles Gracie, KASAI president. “No fight on KASAI Pro captures the international flavor, diversity, and cross-generational appeal of jiu-jitsu quite like Santana versus Jones.”

After moving to New York in 2015, Santana launched Unity Jiu-Jitsu School, developing new talents including KASAI Pro competitors Mansher Khera and "Junny" Ocasio.

Khera and Ocasio will both compete in a one-night, eight-man, no-gi KASAI World Lightweight Championship tournament that also features internationally-renowned competitors Garry Tonon, Gianni Grippo, Celso Vinicius, AJ Agazarm, Enrico Cocco, and Renato Canuto.

KASAI Pro is headlined by an openweight superfight pitting ADCC 88kg (194lb) champion Gordon Ryan against 99kg (218lb) champion Yuri Simoes.

Watch Craig Jones vs. Murilo Santana on KASAI Pro on Dec. 9 LIVE or On Demand ONLY on FloGrappling. 


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