Craig Jones is a man on a mission – easily one of the most active grapplers on the pro circuit today, the Australian athlete has been traveling the globe in search of new challenges and opportunities.  

And he landed himself a doozy for KASAI Pro 3 in ACL-destroyer Rousimar Palhares. Read on to get Jones' thoughts on his most terrifying match up to date and what it might take to get the win.

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Rousimar Palhares is certainly a daunting opponent. What made you want to face him? Does the threat of a cranked submission add any heat to the match? 

I wanted to face him purely because it’s such a scary match and any time I’ve been nervous about facing a particular opponent it has elevated my performance. 

It makes me train harder and study more tape. Plus I couldn’t live with myself if I turned down a match out of fear (laughs). 

Without giving up your game plan, what weaknesses do you see in Palhares’ game?

I don’t see a whole lot of weaknesses: I just believe the leg lock game has progressed since he came on the scene.

That’s not an insult to him that’s how it is – it’s what makes jiu-jitsu so great – you have to adapt or get left behind. That being said, when you’re dealing with someone so powerful one mistake can cost you the match.

Were there any lessons learned from Rousimar Palhares match Garry Tonon match? Also, on that note, you're clearly a student of the game – could you tell us how you actually go about studying a match or individual?

There really is no secret to studying tape. It’s just a matter of trying to observe things that worked and things that didn’t work. Sometimes the entries work and the finishes fail, those to me are the most important areas to watch. The openings that almost finished the match. Garry had so many entries on Palhares for me to review, many of which were stopped by the edge of the mats or sheer willpower from Palhares. 

The size difference made it difficult to break Palhares leg, too.

Referencing your comments in the Stuart Cooper interview, could you explain the difference between outside vs inside heelhooks for us and why this particularly relevant in the case of Palhares.

Simply put, outside heel hooks are attacking the outside of the knee and inside heel hooks are attacking the inside. Quite often the inside will completely destroy the knee too, the outside not so much. 

Palhares specialty is outside heel hooks and transitioning to knee bars off the escape. Obviously very dangerous, Palhares' kneebar is actually more dangerous than his heel hook. 

The ruleset for your match is 10 minutes sub-only, with a 5-minute overtime round in the event of no submission – why did you favor OT instead of opting for a judges decision?

I like the idea of there being a well-defined score. If no submission occurs whoever finished the match with positional dominance will be the winner. It’s very clear-cut.

Predictions for the 8-Man Main Card? Any athletes in particular that you are looking forward to watching?

Man, that eight-man is absolutely stacked. Especially with the less well-known names entering. Jason Rau lost the qualifier yet is one of the best guys I’ve ever trained with. Consistently kicks my ass, I believe if he performs to his full ability he will be very difficult to beat. Another one is PJ Barch, the guy is a beast and it’s good to see him getting this opportunity. One of the most well-rounded grapplers at that weight, he has very good wrestling to back up his jiu-jitsu. 

Obviously, Vagner is going to be tough to beat too, he’s tough to beat under any rule set.