3x BJJ world champion Marcio ‘Pe de Pano’ Cruz revealed that he spoke about the case with two fighters suspended at the Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Worlds for PEDS.
Last week, during an edition of the podcast “A hora do Jiu-Jitsu”, Márcio Pé de Pano , three-time world champion, revealed about an alleged scandal within the USADA (United States Anti-Doping Agency). The black belt, without naming names, said he spoke with two of the five athletes who were suspended after the 2022 No-Gi Worlds.
At the time, Henrique Ceconi, Igor Feliz, Jonnatas Gracie, Roberto Cyborg and Vagner Rocha got three-year suspensions from the American body after testing positive in the anti-doping test. Pé de Pano pointed out that these two athletes revealed that they had received a “proposal” from USADA to “denounce” someone who was using irregular substances and, consequently, would have their sentence reduced.
“I met two guys who failed the test (at the No-Gi Worlds) here at the Miami Open. The two confirmed to me that it was offered to them to lessen the penalty, but to have to snitch on someone. The guys just got caught at the No Gi World Cup,” said the three-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion, who continued:
“I found two of those five (fighters). I told the story of Werdum (who also received a similar proposal, back in the UFC) and they said it just happened to them too. Before leaving (the result of doping).
