BJJ legend Rafael Lovato Jr just made his folkstyle wrestling debut at the age of 42 and he even beat his much younger opponent too. It’s certainly an unique career-move for one of the best Jiu-Jitsu competitors in the world but Lovato Jr has clearly thrown himself fully into this transition. He made his debut representing Oklahoma City University in the NAIA division at the NWCA/USMC National Dual Championships and he was a part of his team making it through to the quarter-finals. OCU’s run to the title ended there unfortunately but Lovato Jr still finished his day with a winning record.
His first match ended in dramatic fashion, as he scored a takedown in the dying seconds and finished it with a score of 9-6 to take the win. His second match was against the 4th ranked competitor in his weight class and although he fought valiantly, this ended up being his first loss in the sport. Then in his third and final match, Lovato Jr won on points and finished his first day as a folkstyke wrestler with a 2-1 record. It was a very successful outing for him all things considered, and it’ll be interesting to see how he does throughout the rest of the season.
It’s no surprise that he was able to keep up with and even outscore his opponents though really, as Lovato Jr has decades of grappling under his belt and has been facing the best in the world consistently as well. In fact, his experience isn’t just limited to Jiu-Jitsu either. Lovato Jr has been working on his wrestling for quite some as a key part of his MMA career, where he went undefeated and became the Bellator middleweight world champion. He’s already tested those skills under a pure wrestling ruleset too, as he won a bronze medal in the freestyle wrestling US Open last year.
Rafael Lovato Jr making his folkstyle wrestling debut is available to watch on Flowrestling, click here to subscribe and watch.
