Rafael Lovato Jr has made history multiple times throughout the course of his career, and now he’s become the first person to win all four IBJJF majors in both gi and no gi. This has been a running theme through Lovato’s time on the mats, he has always pushed the limits of what competitors could accomplish. He actually created the concept of the IBJJF grand slam all the way back in 2007, when he became the first person to win all four gi majors in the same year. It has since become a very real goal for many grapplers during their career and several competitors have walked in his footsteps.
Although Lovato Jr’s biggest initial successes were in the gi, it wasn’t long before he won the IBJJF No Gi World Championship too. He then spent several years pursuing a professional MMA career instead, and he was equally successful there. Lovato Jr went undefeated during his time as an MMA fighter and initially retired with a 10-0 record and the Bellator middleweight title in 2020. He added another submission win to his record a few years later in a comeback fight, but has been focusing primarily on Jiu-Jitsu instead. Lovato Jr has remained one of the top grapplers in the world into his 40s and even won a silver medal in the under 99kg division at ADCC 2024.
Shortly after that incredible run, he set his sights on a completely new goal. He won the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2024 a little over two months later, and wasted no time in hitting the mats again after that too. Just two weeks later, Lovato Jr won the IBJJF No Gi Pan Championship 2024 and found himself within touching distance of setting a whole new standard for IBJJF competitors. After adding the IBJJF No Gi Brasileiro 2025 to his collection, Rafael Lovato Jr has now won all of the majors that exist on the IBJJF circuit. There’s genuinely nothing left for him to conquer there, so it’ll be interesting to see how he challenges himself next.
Rafael Lovato Jr shared the news that he had won all of the IBJJF gi and no gi majors in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
