Brazilian BJJ black belt Viktor Doria has stirred debate in the grappling world after openly discussing the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in master-level competition.

Doria claimed that PED use is nearly universal among older competitors…
Including himself:

If you’re going to test master athletes, you might as well close the category.

Because my friend, not one would pass. Not one would pass.
I include myself in that (category).

Doria also drew a sharp contrast between traditional academy-based training and competition-focused Jiu-Jitsu under organizations like the IBJJF:

There is the jiu-jitsu that we learn at the academy, self-defense, the attacks, the defenses, the whole thing, the fluid, beautiful jiu-jitsu, the jiu-jitsu that we like to see and that we like to practice.

And there is the IBJJF jiu-jitsu, which is a jiu-jitsu that only operates within the four lines of the federation.

According to Doria, the current rule set encourages athletes to adopt cautious, risk-averse styles that minimize exposure and discourage creativity:

The rule today rewards the guy who does not expose himself and who does not go after him, who does not attack.

He described recent examples from the World Championship, where submission attempts and aggressive play were often penalized or ignored in favor of strategic stalling.
In such an environment, Doria argues, athletes may be increasingly tempted to pursue chemical advantages to compensate:

The more the guys see, the fighters see that the less if they expose themselves, they have more chances of winning – they will be less athletic, we will see fewer attempts at submissions, we will see less plasticity and beauty in their movements and it will be a game of pushing and shoving.

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