Rafael Lovato Jr. (born June 25, 1983) is an American retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitor. At the time of his original retirement, he was the

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) was an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 by Bjorn Rebney and operated until 2025. The promotion takes its name from ''wikt:bellator, bellātor ...

Middleweight World Champion and was ranked the no. 4 middleweight fighter in the world. He was the first non-Brazilian to win Brasileiros at black belt. In 2007, he was the first person to win the black belt "Grand Slam" of all major Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitions in a single year: Pan Championship,

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Brasileiro ''Brasileiro'' is a 1992 album by Sérgio Mendes and other artists including Carlinhos Brown which won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album. It marked Mendes's return to Elektra Records since 1979's ''Magic Lady'' with Brasil '8 ...

, and

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Early life

Lovato was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, but his family moved to

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, when he was eight years old. The son of a

Jeet Kune Do Jeet Kune Do (/ˌdʒiːt kuːn ˈdoʊ/; zh, c=截拳道, l=stop fist way' or 'way of the intercepting fist, j=zit6 kyun4 dou6; abbreviated JKD) is a hybrid martial art conceived and practiced by martial artist Bruce Lee. It was formed from ...

instructor, Lovato studied a variety of martial arts in his youth and competed in

amateur boxing Amateur boxing is the variant of boxing practiced in clubs and associations around the world, at the Olympic Games, Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games, as well as at the varsity sports, collegiate level. Amateur boxing bouts comprise three ...

before discovering Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age 13. He is of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

descent.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu career

Lovato was the second American, after B.J. Penn, to win the World Jiu Jitsu Championship as a black belt. Lovato is a black belt under Carlos Machado, the oldest of the

Machado family The Machado Family (also known as the Machado Brothers) are a family of Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners, mixed martial artists and grapplers. They are the founders of RCJ Machado Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and are cousins to members of the Gracie f ...

. Rafael has had a long and formative training history with Xande and

Saulo Ribeiro Saulo Mendonça Ribeiro Filho (born July 2, 1974) is a Brazilian submission grappler and former mixed martial artist. He is a 6th-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and brother of Xande Ribeiro. After earning a black belt in judo, ...

, one which began after he competed against Saulo in the finals of the 2003

Arnold Classic The International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness Professional League, IFBB Pro Arnold Sports Festival, also known as the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival, is an annual multi-sport event consisting of professional bodybuilding (''Arn ...

, when Rafael was just 19 years old. Lovato currently manages his own academy in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Return to grappling

After retiring from MMA due to medical issues, Lovato Jr. made a return to competing in BJJ, starting out by unsuccessfully challenging Aaron 'Tex' Johnson for the Fight 2 Win Light-Heavyweight Masters Championship at F2W 151 on September 11, 2020. Lovato Jr. competed again shortly after at BJJ Stars 4 on November 14, 2020, where he was submitted with a crucifix choke by Dimitrious Souza. He also competed at the IBJJF Masters World Championships 2020, claiming silver in the absolute division after a close final match with Gregor Gracie.

2021

He returned to Fight 2 Win for F2W 166 on March 13, 2021, to compete against Gabriel Almeida in the main event, submitting him with a kimura. On April 30, 2021, Lovato Jr. headlined a Who's Number One event against

Gilbert Burns Gilbert Alexander Pontes Burns (born 20 July 1986) is a Brazilian professional Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and Submission grappling, submission grappler. He currently competes in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight division of th ...

, losing the match by unanimous decision. Lovato Jr. returned to headline another Fight 2 Win event at F2W 177 on July 16, 2021, where he defeated Alexandro Ceconi by unanimous decision to win the promotion's Light-Heavyweight no gi title. He defended his light-heavyweight no gi title at F2W 180 on August 6, 2021, defeating Gabriel Arges by unanimous decision. He then competed at Raw Grappling 1 on November 14, 2021, against Adam Wardzinski, defeating him by penalty points. In his final matches of 2021, Lovato Jr. represented Team LFA at UFC FightPass Invitational 1. Team LFA won the tournament, with Lovato Jr. submitting Mike Wilcox with a rear-naked choke and registering two draws against Jonathan Piersma and Travis Tooke.

2022

Lovato Jr. had also verbally agreed to compete against the reigning ADCC World Champion

Gordon Ryan Gordon Ryan (born July 8, 1995) is an American Submission wrestling, submission wrestler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, considered by many to be the greatest no–gi grappler of all time due to his many accomplishments. Ryan is a seven-time ...

at some point in 2021. After the match did not come to fruition, Lovato Jr won the 2022 IBJJF European Open and competed in that year's world championships, retiring from IBJJF competition on the mats after his final match. He competed at the ADCC World Championships in 2022 and finished fourth in the under 99 kg division, announcing his retirement from that competition at the same time.

2023

Lovato Jr. was booked to compete in the co-main event of Who's Number One 18 on May 18, 2023, against Elder Cruz. Lovato Jr won the match, submitting Cruz with a rear-naked choke. Lovato Jr. competed at the IBJJF Master World Championship on September 2, 2023, where he won the master 1 super-heavyweight division. Lovato Jr. was then invited to challenge Pedro Marinho for the WNO light-heavyweight title at Who's Number One 20: Night of Champions on October 1, 2023. Marinho withdrew from the match due to injury and was replaced by Ricardo Evangelista, with the match being changed to a non-title bout. Lovato Jr. won the match by submission. The match between Lovato Jr. and Pedro Marinho for the WNO light-heavyweight title was then rescheduled for Who's Number One 21: Ryan v Barbosa on November 30, 2023. After

withdrew from the event, Lovato Jr. vs Pedro Marinho was promoted to the main event. Lovato Jr. lost the match by judge's decision.

2024

Lovato Jr. competed against Craig Jones in the main event of UFC Fight Pass Invitational 6 on March 3, 2024. He lost the match by submission. Lovato Jr. faced

Felipe Pena Felipe Carsalade Araujo Pena is a Brazilian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and two-time ADCC world champion. Career Pena, nicknamed ''Preguiça'' meaning "Lazy", has won several medals at both the IBJJF and ADCC world championships through ...

in a heavyweight match at Who's Number One 23: Meregali vs Rocha on May 10, 2024. He lost the match by decision. Lovato Jr. was invited to compete in the under 99kg division at the 2024 ADCC World Championship. He defeated Elioenai Braz on points, submitted Patrick Gaudio, and beat Michael Pixley by decision before being submitted by Kaynan Duarte in the final and winning a silver medal. He then won the super-heavyweight division of the IBJJF No Gi European Championship on October 20, 2024. Lovato Jr. then won a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division of the IBJJF no gi Pan Championship 2024 on November 3, 2024.

2025

Lovato Jr. won a bronze medal in freestyle wrestling at the US Masters National Open 2025. Lovato Jr. is scheduled to compete against Giancarlo Bodoni at ONE 173 on August 1, 2025.

Mixed martial arts career

Legacy Fighting Alliance

Lovato made his professional MMA debut on September 26, 2014, at LFA 35, against Canaan Grigsby. He won the fight by an arm-triangle choke at the end of the first round. His next fight came at LFA 46, against the future

UFC The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. The larg ...

middleweight contender Kevin Holland. Lovato Jr. won the fight by a rear naked choke, 84 seconds into the first round. After these two victories, Lovato Jr. was scheduled to fight Marcelo Nunes at LFA 54, for the Middleweight title. Lovato Jr. won the fight by TKO near the end of the second round. He was scheduled to make his first title defense against Cortez Coleman at LFA 62. He submitted Coleman with an armbar in the last minute of the third round.

Bellator MMA

In March 2017, Lovato made his debut for

. He faced Charles Hackmann at Bellator 174 and won the fight via TKO just 13 seconds into the first round. In his second Bellator bout, Lovato faced Mike Rhodes at Bellator 181 on July 14, 2017. Rafael Lovato Jr. won the fight via submission in the first round. Lovato faced Chris Honeycutt at Bellator 189 on December 1, 2017 and Rafael Lovato Jr. won the fight by unanimous decision. Lovato was expected to face John Salter at Bellator 198 on April 28, 2018. John Salter was later pulled from the event by the Illinois Athletic Commission due to an eye issue on April 24 and replaced by Gerald Harris. Rafael Lovato Jr. won the fight via armbar submission in the first round. Lovato faced John Salter on September 21, 2018, at Bellator 205. Rafael Lovato Jr. won the fight via a submission.

Bellator Middleweight World Champion

Lovato was scheduled to face

Gegard Mousasi Gegard Mousasi (born 1 August 1985) is a Dutch mixed martial artist and former kickboxer. Mousasi most recently competed in Bellator MMA, where he is the former two-time Bellator Middleweight Champion. He is also the former DREAM Light Heavywe ...

for the Bellator Middleweight World Championship. This bout was expected to serve as the co-headliner of Bellator 214. On December 20, 2018, it was reported that Mousasi pulled from the fight, citing a back injury and Lovato was pulled from the card. The bout against Mousasi was rescheduled to June 22, 2019, in

London, England London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, at Bellator 223. Lovato defeated Mousasi by majority decision. On January 29, 2020, while appearing on the

Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and producer ...

, Lovato revealed that he was diagnosed with a brain condition called cerebral cavernoma, a condition where a group of abnormal blood vessels are formed, usually found in the brain and spinal cord, and can make one even more susceptible to brain damage than usual. Lovato stated that the condition was nearly a reason for him to be pulled from his title bout with Gegard Mousasi, but he was ultimately given clearance. However, after further review on the potential risks of the condition weeks following the bout against Mousasi, commissions in Europe have stated they will not give Lovato clearance to fight in Europe any longer. Per the advice of his doctors, Lovato then said for the time being his MMA career is on hold, though he did not announce retirement and remained hopeful he would fight again in the future. On February 10, 2020, it was announced that Lovato had relinquished the Bellator Middleweight title.

Post-Bellator

Lovato Jr. went on record to state his desire to return to professional MMA for at least one more fight, and ideally in 2021. However, his wish would eventually materialize later, as Lovato made his return to MMA on December 28, 2022, at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye x Ganryujima against undefeated Taiga Iwasaki. He won the bout in the first round, submitting Iwasaki with a kimura. After the fight, Lovato Jr stopped short of announcing his retirement from MMA and announced that he was open to the possibility of more fights in the future. As of March 2023, Lovato Jr. still remained indefinitely suspended by athletic commissions in both United States and Europe.

Personal life

Lovato Jr. and his wife have twins.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** Bellator Middleweight World Championship (One time; former) * Legacy Fighting Championship ** Legacy FC Middleweight Championship (One time; former) *** One successful title defense

Mixed martial arts record

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Sumida, Tokyo is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Sumida City. As of 1 April 2025, the ward has an estimated population of 287,766 and a population dens ...

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London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , John Salter , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Bellator 205 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:27 ,

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Gerald Harris , Submission (armbar) , Bellator 198 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:11 ,

Rosemont, Illinois Rosemont is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, located immediately northwest of Chicago. As of the 2020 census, the village had a population of 3,952. The village was incorporated in 1956, though it had been settled long before ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Chris Honeycutt , Decision (unanimous) , Bellator 189 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Thackerville, Oklahoma Thackerville is a town in Love County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located near the Texas state border. The population was 400 at the 2020 census. Geography Thackerville is situated near the intersection of U.S. Highway 77 and State High ...

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, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Marcelo Nunes , TKO (punches) , Legacy Fighting Championship 54 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:51 ,

Catoosa, Oklahoma Catoosa is a city in Rogers County, Oklahoma, Rogers and Wagoner County, Oklahoma, Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The population was 7,440 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census compared to 7,159 at the 2010 United States c ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Kevin Holland , Submission (rear naked choke) , Legacy Fighting Championship 46 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:24 ,

Allen, Texas Allen is a city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County in the U.S. state of Texas, and a northern suburb in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The population was 104,627 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and was estimated to be 111 ...

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External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovato, Rafael, Jr. 1983 births Living people People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu American people of Italian descent American people of Spanish descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American Jeet Kune Do practitioners American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Jeet Kune Do Mixed martial artists utilizing boxing Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Bellator MMA champions World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners who have competed in MMA (men) People with cavernous hemangioma