- Rider Zuchi stripped of IBJJF world title: the IBJJF has erased his 2026 heavyweight championship and named Nicholas Maglicic the official champion.
- The revised IBJJF Worlds podium promotes Leonardo Silveira Ferreira to silver and adds Francisco Papasidero as a second bronze medalist next to Luiz Felipe Assis dos Santos.
- Zuchi tested positive for drostanolone and 19-norandrosterone, a nandrolone metabolite, in an in-competition sample collected on May 31, 2026.
- He accepted a three-year period of ineligibility, reduced from four, beginning July 1, 2026 — keeping him off IBJJF mats until July 1, 2029.
- The reshuffle also lifted AOJ onto the adult male team podium.
The official record of the 2026 IBJJF Worlds now tells a different story from the one that unfolded on the mat. The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation has rewritten its adult black belt heavyweight results, removing Rider Zuchi from the top of the podium and elevating Nicholas Maglicic to the world title.
Rider Zuchi Stripped of IBJJF World Title — What Happened?
Rider Samelo do Amaral, the 30-year-old São Paulo heavyweight better known as Rider Zuchi, won the adult male heavyweight final at the 2026 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, beating Nicholas Maglicic to take gold. That result no longer stands. After an anti-doping ruling, the IBJJF published a revised results page on September 25 that removes Zuchi from the championship and lists Maglicic first.
The gap between the two records is the heart of the story. On the mat, Zuchi left as the 2026 IBJJF Worlds heavyweight champion. In the official record, he has been disqualified from every competitive result he achieved in IBJJF-sanctioned competition on and after August 23, 2024 — including the world title. The belt he won in the final is erased, and the finalist he beat now holds it.
Samelo do Amaral has been disqualified from all competitive results obtained in competitions sanctioned by the IBJJF or by any Code signatory on and subsequent to August 23, 2024, the date he began using the prohibited substances, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.
–USADA –
Why Was Rider Zuchi Suspended?
The Rider Zuchi suspension traces to an in-competition IBJJF PED test conducted at the 2026 Worlds on May 31.
The sample tested above the Minimum Reporting Level for drostanolone and 19-norandrosterone, a metabolite of nandrolone or other 19-norsteroids; USADA also names the drostanolone metabolite 3α-hydroxy-2α-methyl-5α-androstan-17-one. Those substances are non-Specified Substances in the class of Anabolic Agents, prohibited at all times.
Although the IBJJF is not a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code, it contracted USADA to run testing for the event, and the sample was collected and analyzed under WADA international standards. Zuchi accepted the violation and the sanction.
A positive drug test does not prove deliberate use, and there is no reason to speculate beyond the official language: multiple prohibited substances, an accepted violation, and a resulting period of ineligibility.
Who Is the New 2026 IBJJF Heavyweight Champion?
Nicholas Maglicic is now the official 2026 IBJJF Worlds heavyweight champion. The revised IBJJF Worlds podium reads: Maglicic gold, Leonardo Silveira Ferreira silver, Luiz Felipe Assis dos Santos bronze, and Francisco Papasidero bronze. That last line is worth spelling out — there are two official bronze medalists, not one. Assis dos Santos and Papasidero share third place.
Maglicic was the finalist Zuchi defeated on the mat, so his elevation is a direct rewrite of the final rather than a fresh result. Ferreira moves up to silver, and Papasidero joins the podium as the second bronze medalist.
How Long Is Zuchi Banned From IBJJF Competition?
Zuchi’s period of ineligibility began July 1, 2026, the date his provisional suspension was imposed, and runs for three years — which keeps him out of IBJJF competition until July 1, 2029. USADA notes that the otherwise applicable four-year period was reduced by one year because he admitted the violation and accepted the sanction within 20 days of being notified of the charge, a provision of Article 10.8.1 of the World Anti-Doping Code.
What Else Changed in the IBJJF Worlds Results?
The heavyweight revision rippled into the team standings. With Francisco Papasidero’s added points, AOJ is now officially third in the adult male team race, behind Alliance and CheckMat.
The same IBJJF update also covers a separate Tayane Porfirio case — a three-month ineligibility for an out-of-competition infraction unrelated to sport performance — which revised the female podium. That is an entirely separate matter, and not part of Zuchi’s sanction.
None of that softens the core change. Rider Zuchi stripped of IBJJF world title, the heavyweight record rewritten, and a podium that no longer includes the man who originally won the final.
