Francisco Lo has been officially suspended from IBJJF competition for three years, following a failed drug test stemming from this year’s Pan Championship.

The test, conducted in-competition during the 2025 event, led to a swift conclusion compared to similar cases, with Lo now stripped of his medium-heavyweight gold medal.

Originally, the title marked what would have been Lo’s first major IBJJF championship win in the gi.
However, due to the violation, the IBJJF is expected to promote silver medalist Mathias Luna to gold – a standard protocol, though not yet formally announced.

According to test results, Lo returned positive findings for two substances: 4α-chloro-17β-hydroxymethyl-17α-methyl-18-nor-5α-androstan-13-en-3α-ol, a metabolite linked to dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (DHCMT), and 19-norandrosterone (19-NA), a byproduct of nandrolone use.

Under IBJJF’s anti-doping policies, a four-year suspension is standard for these violations.
However, Lo opted to accept the sanction within the 20-day window allowed for a one-year reduction, bringing the total ban down to three years. So, his suspension is backdated to April 28, 2025, meaning he will be eligible to return to IBJJF competition on April 28, 2028.

Despite the ban, Lo remains free to compete under other organizations, many of which do not honor PED suspensions issued by outside bodies.

In fact, Lo’s competition schedule appears largely unaffected.
He’s still set to represent Checkmat at the upcoming AIGA Champions League Final 2025, which takes place in just a few days.

He’s also booked to face Izaak Michell at ONE Fight Night 33 two weeks later.

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