American Jiu-Jitsu legend Rafael Lovato Jr has made history multiple times over, and he’s just been promoted to 5th degree BJJ black belt. It’s a moment that marks a tremendous amount of time spent honing his skills on the mat and he was awarded it by his long-time coach and training partner Xande Ribeiro. Lovato Jr actually started training in the sport under Carlos Machado when he was just 13 years old and he progressed through all of the colored belt ranks under him, eventually becoming one of the top prospects in the sport by the time he was a brown belt.
He was promoted to black belt in 2004 and eventually switched to training under Xande and his brother Saulo Ribeiro full-time shortly after, after having spent some time with them in the years prior. It didn’t take long at all for Lovato Jr to reach his full potential but he actually went on to do something completely unprecedented during his competitive career. Lovato Jr set a whole new standard in the sport in 2007 with two achievements that not only etched his name in the history books, but they also gave competitors who came after him a new goal to aim for.
It happened in 2007 when Lovato Jr made the trip to Brazil to compete in the IBJJF Brazilian National Championship and although it isn’t the biggest title in the sport, it was the only one that had never been won by an American at the time. Lovato Jr changed that by winning the super-heavyweight division and after winning the other two IBJJF majors at the beginning of the year, he was on course for another record. Lovato Jr won his first IBJJF World Championship that year and created a whole new accomplishment, as he became the first person to ever complete an IBJJF grand slam.
Not content with a historic grappling career, Lovato Jr also made the transition to MMA and became a Bellator world champion. Other than a single comeback fight in 2022, he has stayed retired from MMA since 2019 and has left the sport with a perfect 11-0 professional record. Although the 5th degree on his BJJ black belt is a signal of the fact that he has spent over two decades now at that rank, he has also proven himself on the mats time and time again. Under almost every ruleset and even as recently as last year, Lovato Jr has shown the world that he is one of the best to ever do it.
Rafael Lovato Jr announced the news that he had been promoted to 5th degree black belt in Jiu-Jitsu in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
