Sam Nagai promises no steroids, no stalling at The Crown
The 2023 champion speaks to VF Comunica three weeks after the Worlds podium was rewritten over a steroid case, with three athletes who moved up set to compete in Long Beach
Sam Nagai brought up the topic that shook competitive Jiu-Jitsu this season. In an exclusive interview with VF Comunica, the first featherweight champion in Crown history, in 2023, said he is going back to the event to prove he is still at the top, and made a point of saying how he plans to do it.
“I want to show that I’m still at the top of the division, with real Jiu-Jitsu. No stalling, no steroids, just looking to go to war with the best in the division,” Sam said.
Sam did not name anyone. Still, his words come three weeks after the IBJJF rewrote the 2026 Worlds podium because of a steroid case, and The Crown, set for November 8 in Long Beach, California, will feature three athletes who moved up because of that sanction.
The case that changed the Worlds podium
In September, USADA, the agency the IBJJF hires to run drug testing at its biggest events, announced that Rider Zuchi, the 2026 heavyweight world champion, tested positive for drostanolone and a nandrolone metabolite, both anabolic agents. The sample was collected at Worlds itself, on May 31.
Rider accepted a three-year suspension and lost every IBJJF result since August 23, 2024, the date USADA says he started using the substances. As a result, Nico Maglicic became the heavyweight world champion, Leonardo “Leo” Ferreira moved up to silver and Francisco Papasidero was awarded a bronze.
All three will be at the Pyramid in Long Beach. Nico and Leo compete at heavyweight at The Crown, and Papasidero at ultra-heavyweight.
In the same announcement, the IBJJF also revised the women’s podium after a three-month suspension for Tayane Porfirio. In her case, USADA said the violation happened out of competition and was unrelated to sport performance.
No preference on opponents
Sam also said he is not picking a rival. What he wants is to face people who come to attack.
“I want to fight athletes who push forward! It doesn’t matter who I face at The Crown, I just want it to be an epic match and for the fans to get fights worthy of a real show,” he said.
Two finals in 2026 and two rivals already beaten
Sam arrives after a season in which he was back in the fight for the biggest titles. He reached the featherweight finals at the Pans and at Worlds and lost both to Cole Abate, 6 to 4 and 4 to 2. Abate is not in The Crown bracket.
On the way to those finals, he beat two men he will see again in Long Beach: Jun Yong Cho, in the Pans quarterfinals, and Mateo Cardona, in the Worlds quarterfinals. Both wins came on advantages.
Chasing a second title
In 2023, Sam won the first featherweight title in Crown history, the same year he became world champion, getting past Diego “Pato” Oliveira and Isaac Doederlein. If he wins again, he will be the division’s first two-time champion.
The featherweight bracket was completed on Thursday with Rerisson Gabriel. Along with Sam, Jun Yong Cho, Mateo Cardona and Rerisson, the field includes João “Bisnaga” Mendes, Ademir Barreto, Will Wilson and Keven Carrasco. Jackson Nagai, Sam’s brother, competes at middleweight. Each Crown champion takes home $20,000.
Read more: Sam Nagai returns to The Crown, Nolan Stuart returns to The Crown to defend his title and Rerisson Gabriel completes The Crown 2026 featherweight bracket.
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