MARCH 08, 2023, sadly, another year, another positive doping test spree among jiu-jitsu athletes. This time with an all-time record of 5 athletes in one single event, all of which have now accepted their penalties from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) as a result of positive testing and intelligence from the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World No-Gi Championship event in December 2022. For a full statement from USADA, please check here.
SUMMERY OF USADA’S STATEMENT:
IGOR FELIZ (R1NG): Igor Nascimento da Costa Feliz, 24, of Port San Lucie, Fla., tested positive for exogenous testosterone and its metabolites as the result of an in-competition urine sample collected on December 11, 2022, at the World No-Gi Championships. He accepted a three-year period of ineligibility that began on January 24, 2023, the date he was provisionally suspended from competition.
JONNATAS GRACIE (ATOS HQ): Jonnatas Gracie Araujo da Silva, 25, of San Diego, Calif., tested positive for 19-norandrosterone (19-NA), a metabolite of nandrolone and other prohibited 19-norsteroids, and exogenous testosterone and its metabolites as the result of an in-competition urine sample collected on December 11, 2022, at the World No-Gi Championships. He accepted a three-year period of ineligibility that began on January 25, 2023, the date he was provisionally suspended from competition.
ROBERTO “CYBORG” (FIGHT SPORTS): Roberto de Abreu Filho, 42, of Miami, Fla., tested positive for exogenous testosterone and its metabolites as the result of an out-of-competition urine sample collected on December 20, 2022. He accepted a three-year period of ineligibility that began on January 27, 2023, the date he was provisionally suspended from competition.
HENRIQUE “CECONI” (KMKZ): José Henrique Cardoso, 29, of Santa Catarina, Brazil, tested positive for 19-NA, 2a-methyl-5a-androstan-3a-ol-17-one (a drostanolone metabolite), epitrenbolone (a trenbolone metabolite), methasterone, and exogenous testosterone and its metabolites as the result of an out-of-competition urine sample collected on January 24, 2023. He accepted a three-year period of ineligibility that began on February 1, 2023, the date he was provisionally suspended from competition.
VAGNER ROCHA (FIGHT SPORTS): Vagner S. Rocha, 40, of Davie, Fla., refused to submit to sample collection after being notified by a USADA doping control officer during an out-of-competition test on December 23, 2022. He accepted a three-year period of ineligibility that began on January 11, 2023, the date he was provisionally suspended from competition.
Under Article 10.8.1 of the Code, an athlete who faces an anti-doping rule violation that carries a period of ineligibility of four or more years may receive a one-year sanction reduction if the athlete admits the violation and accepts the asserted sanction within 20 days of notification of the alleged anti-doping rule violation charge. Per the rule, all five athletes qualified for a one-year reduction to the otherwise applicable four-year period of ineligibility.
In addition, all the athletes have been disqualified from competitive results achieved in competitions sanctioned by the IBJJF, or any Code signatory, on and subsequent to December 11, 2022, the date the 2022 IBJJF World No-Gi Championships started.
