Pat Downey opens up about his opening round match against former UFC middleweight world champion Luke Rockhold in the opening round of the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational (CJI) in 2024.

Pat Downey breaks down a potential Jiu-Jitsu match with Nicky Rodriguez.

Pat Downey is an NCAA Division I All-American and a US Open National champion in wrestling before he transitioned to other combat sports. Pat is a Bellator MMA veteran and he has recently started to invest more time into his professional Jiu-Jitsu career, including an appearance at the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational. Pat is also currently preparing to compete at the IBJJF no gi world championship as a BJJ blue belt.

Jits Magazine spoke to Pat about his time in both wrestling and MMA, and whether he would ever return to either sport. We also broke down his appearance at the Craig Jones Invitational and how it felt to compete on such a big stage, along with his upcoming appearance at the IBJJF no gi world championship at blue belt. We spoke about his debut match against Gordon Ryan, his desire to face Nicky Rodriguez, and even his plans for the future with Polaris and other promotions.

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0:00 Introduction
0:24 IBJJF no gi world championship at blue belt
4:38 Debut against Gordon Ryan
7:04 Future matches at other promotions
10:38 Other wrestlers at no gi worlds
11:56 Returning to wrestling?
13:22 Returning to MMA?
15:45 The Craig Jones Invitational experience
19:19 Nicky Rodriguez
22:23 Other matches Pat wants
24:19 ADCC 2026
25:29 Coaching wrestling at Fight Sports
26:07 Thanks & signing off

Analyzing the electrifying guard passing game that Andrew Tackett displayed at CJI, he completely obliterated two of the best guard players in the world: Nicky ‘King of Cardio’ Ryan and Eugene ‘Owen’ O’Flanagan, with incredible pace, relentless pressure, and a touch of police brutality.

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Craig Jones reacts to Craig Jones Invitational and his win over Gabi Garcia.

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