MARCH 27, 2025, the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) has just announced British black belt Faris Ben-Lamkadem as its new World No-Gi Champion after it was announced last week that Cassio Felipe Costa had failed the drug test by USADA following the tournament final back in December 2024.
Felipe Costa of team Six Blades was caught with Clomiphene in his system, a Specified Substance in the class of Hormone and Metabolic Modulators, which are prohibited at all times under the Code and the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing. USADA was able to determine that Costa’s positive test was caused by a medication prescribed for therapeutic purposes under the care of a physician. Although the substance was taken at the direction of a physician, Sousa Costa did not meet the criteria for a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE). Check full press release by USADA here. Felipe Costa is now the 18th Brazilian athlete caught by USADA using PEDs in an IBJJF event.
As Costa was stripped of his gold medal, Roger Gracie black belt Faris Ben-Lamkadem, the heavyweight finalist of the tournament alongside Felipe was awarded the title. Faris is now Britain’s first male adult black belt (pro division) world champion with the IBJJF, a historic moment for the London-based athlete.
