Famous actor Mario Lopez just put on a great performance at the IBJJF Phoenix Open, where he came away with a gold medal in the Master 4 blue belt Lightweight division. The ‘Saved by the Bell’ star has been open about his love for BJJ in the past and has even championed it on massive platforms like ‘The View’. He’s not alone either, as an ever-increasing number of celebrities have started to spread the benefits of Jiu-Jitsu to the general public. What does make Lopez unique however is that he’s actually willing to test himself in competition as well.
It’s genuinely impressive to see someone who could literally do anything he wanted with his time still choose to train Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 48, but to actually put it on the line in competition as well is a whole other beast. Lopez is no stranger to martial arts competition however, as he was heavily involved in both wrestling and boxing throughout his youth. This isn’t even the first time he’s competed in a BJJ tournament since he started Jiu-Jitsu back in 2017 either, as he won gold in another blue belt division at a Gracie Barra Compnet tournament earlier this year as well.
Lopez currently has four stripes on his blue belt and given that he has proven himself to be better than his peers on more than one occasion now, it seems logical that a purple belt might be right around the corner for him. Regardless, he discussed the sport in a recent edition of iHeartRadio’s ‘On With Mario Lopez’, and confirmed that this will be his last time competing. He’ll now be focusing more on enjoying training for it’s own sake, and also encouraging his son to continue in the sport as well.
Mario Lopez shared the news of his gold medal in the Master 4 blue belt Lightweight division of the IBJJF Phoenix Open in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
