A local BJJ competitor by the name of Juliano Di Pelli Machado is now reportedly facing a lawsuit after he performed an illegal slam that left his opponent with a severe injury. The incident occurred on Friday, August 22nd, 2026 during a no gi match at the Moringão gymnasium in Londrina. At some point during the match Willian Hiroyuki Masuda was able to set up a triangle choke and although it wasn’t locked in, he had his legs connected around Machado’s head and one arm. It was at that point that Machado lifted Masuda off the mat and slammed him back down, with his head making contact with the floor at great force.
It was immediately obvious that Masuda had suffered some form of injury and it turned out that he actually endured a spinal injury at the C5 and C6 vertebrae. He underwent 10 hours of surgery after being taken to hospital and although it was reportedly a success, he obviously still has a fairly long road to recovery ahead of him. Prosecutor Renato de Lima Castro has now also submitted a complaint to the Civil Police in the area, requesting a formal investigation into possible serious bodily harm committed with intent against Masuda.
One of the more prominent factors that has been discussed about the incident is the size difference between the two competitors. BJJEE has reported Machado as being approximately 6 feet 1 inch (1.85m) and 265 lbs (120kg), while Masuda was reported at about 5 feet 6 inches (1.67m) and 176 lbs (80kg). Obviously the size difference would have an impact on the severity of injury, but the slam in question is still dangerous even if the competitors were of equal size. That’s precisely why it is banned in the vast majority of BJJ tournaments all around the world.
The footage of the slam that Machado committed against Masuda that may result in a lawsuit was shared to the official Instagram account of TV Fala: