OCTOBER 26, 2024. To the shock of very few, yet another jiu-jitsu athlete has been suspended for Performance Enhancement Drugs. The uniqueness of this sanction is that, unlike the previous 4 Brazilian competitors banned earlier this year by the IBJJF, this decision has come from the UAEJJF, the United Arab Emirates Jiu-Jitsu Federation.
Although known by very few, the UAEJJF has ran its own anti-doping protocol for a number of years, but unlike the IBJJF who hire USADA to run its drug testing operation, the well-known United Arab Emirates jiu-jitsu governing body uses the respected UAE National Anti-Doping Agency, also known as NADA.
Yesterday, October 25, it came to our attention that the agency had released a new list of banned athletes which included a BJJ athlete, Julia Alves. The European and Abu Dhabi World Pro champion received a 3-year ban for the use of Oxandrolone. As far as we can ascertain, this sanction only applies to UAEJJF events.
Link to UAE NADA page.
