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The International Judo Federation sent an email message today to its network of official schools and national confederations stating that IJF-ranked judo athletes are not allowed to compete in other international grappling events.

Contacted, GRACIEMAG’s columnist Jimmy Pedro confirmed the news.

“I just heard that the USA Judo got this letter today. It says that if you are ranked in the IJF, you can’t compete in other grappling events on an international level,” told us Jimmy, who is a two-time olympic medalist and the coach of Kyla Harrison, the first US athlete to win an olympic gold in judo.

Pedro, who is also a member of the USA Judo’s High Performance Committee, said that the measure does not seat well with him: “The athletes are not employed by the IJF, so it does not have authority to do that.”

One of the athletes that could be affected by the measure is also US Olympian Travis Stevens, who is known for competing in Jiu-Jitsu events like Copa Pódio, World Jiu-Jitsu Expo and several IBJJF events.