Rafael Lovato Jr.

American Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner and mixed martial artist

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2025 Won gold medal in the super-heavyweight division of the IBJJF No Gi Brazilian National Championship, becoming the first person to win all four IBJJF majors in both gi and no gi.
August 1 2025 Originally scheduled to compete against Giancarlo Bodoni at ONE 173, but the match was postponed.
2025 Won a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling at the US Masters National Open.
2024 Competed in the 2024 ADCC World Championship under 99kg division. Defeated Elioenai Braz on points, submitted Patrick Gaudio, and beat Michael Pixley by decision. Ultimately submitted by Kaynan Duarte in the final and won a silver medal.
November 3 2024 Won gold medal in the super-heavyweight division of the IBJJF No Gi Pan Championship.
October 20 2024 Won the super-heavyweight division of the IBJJF No Gi European Championship.
May 10 2024 Faced Felipe Pena in a heavyweight match at Who's Number One 23: Meregali vs Rocha, losing the match by decision.
March 3 2024 Competed against Craig Jones in the main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6, losing the match by submission.
November 30 2023 Competed in the main event at Who's Number One 21: Ryan v Barbosa against Pedro Marinho for the WNO light-heavyweight title, losing by judge's decision.
October 1 2023 Competed in a non-title bout at Who's Number One 20: Night of Champions against Ricardo Evangelista (replacing Pedro Marinho), winning by submission.
September 2 2023 Won the master 1 super-heavyweight division at the IBJJF Master World Championship.
May 18 2023 Competed in Who's Number One 18, defeating Elder Cruz by submission with a rear-naked choke in the co-main event.
2022 Lovato Jr. won the IBJJF European Open championship.
2022 Competed at the ADCC World Championships, finishing fourth in the under 99 kg division and announcing his retirement from the competition.
2022 Competed in the IBJJF World Championships and retired from IBJJF competition after his final match.
December 28 2022 Returned to professional MMA at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye x Ganryujima, defeating undefeated Taiga Iwasaki by first-round submission via kimura.
November 2021 Represented Team LFA at UFC FightPass Invitational 1, helping the team win the tournament by submitting Mike Wilcox with a rear-naked choke and registering two draws against Jonathan Piersma and Travis Tooke.
November 14 2021 Competed at Raw Grappling 1, defeating Adam Wardzinski by penalty points.
August 6 2021 Defended his light-heavyweight no gi title at F2W 180, defeating Gabriel Arges by unanimous decision.
July 16 2021 Headlined Fight 2 Win event F2W 177, defeating Alexandro Ceconi by unanimous decision to win the Light-Heavyweight no gi title.
April 30 2021 Headlined a Who's Number One event against Gilbert Burns, losing the match by unanimous decision.
March 13 2021 Competed at Fight 2 Win 166, defeating Gabriel Almeida by submission with a kimura in the main event.
2020 Competed at the IBJJF Masters World Championships, winning silver in the absolute division after a close final match with Gregor Gracie.
November 14 2020 Competed at BJJ Stars 4, where he was submitted with a crucifix choke by Dimitrious Souza.
September 11 2020 Unsuccessfully challenged Aaron 'Tex' Johnson for the Fight 2 Win Light-Heavyweight Masters Championship at F2W 151, marking his return to competitive grappling after retiring from MMA.
February 10 2020 Lovato relinquished the Bellator Middleweight title due to his medical condition.
January 29 2020 During an appearance on the Joe Rogan Experience, Lovato revealed he was diagnosed with cerebral cavernoma, a brain condition that potentially threatened his fighting career.
June 22 2019 Lovato defeated Gegard Mousasi by majority decision at Bellator 223 in London, England, winning the Bellator Middleweight World Championship.
September 21 2018 Lovato defeated John Salter via submission at Bellator 205.
April 28 2018 Lovato defeated Gerald Harris via armbar submission in the first round at Bellator 198.
December 1 2017 Lovato won a unanimous decision against Chris Honeycutt at Bellator 189.
July 14 2017 Lovato defeated Mike Rhodes via submission in the first round at Bellator 181.
March 2017 Rafael Lovato Jr. made his Bellator MMA debut, defeating Charles Hackmann via TKO in just 13 seconds at Bellator 174.

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