World Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Rafael Lovato Jr. is relishing being at the bottom of a whole new ladder.
Lovato makes his debut with Bellator MMA this Saturday in Thackerville, Okla. at Bellator 174. It's a home date for Lovato who runs an academy in nearby Oklahoma City, and there will be plenty of friends and family rooting for him when he faces Charles Hackmann in a 195-pound catchweight bout on the evening's main card.
Also in attendance will be pupils of Lovato, one of the most successful Americans in the history of competitive jiu-jitsu. The 33-year-old owns a trophy case full of BJJ accolades, including being the only grappler from the United States to win an Absolute (openweight) gold medal at the Brazilian Nationals back in 2013.
As impressive as those accomplishments are, Lovato told theScore that his new life as an MMA rookie is providing a different, but familiar kind of thrill.
"One of the things that I love most about fighting now and having some MMA experience is that it takes me back to being a student again," said Lovato. "Obviously, I'm forever a student of jiu-jitsu, but having done it for so long, it's rare that you get those moments where you have those big breakthroughs. So it's just exciting and refreshing for me as a martial artist to feel those breakthroughs happen.
"I'm earning rank in Muay Thai under my teachers, I forgot what it was like to get a belt and receive a promotion and that feels amazing. I'm just having fun being a student and growing and learning so much right now. It makes me feel young all over again."
Lovato isn't your average newcomer, as he's already won and defended a regional title with the former Legacy Fighting Championship (now Legacy Fighting Alliance), a minor-league organization that boasts UFC stars Holly Holm and Thomas Almeida among its alumni.
Finding similar success in Bellator's 185-pound division isn't out of the question, given that it's lacked a dominant champion since Alexander Shlemenko lost the belt two years ago.
"I'm excited. There's not really like a big star in the middleweight division in Bellator," said Lovato. "Obviously you've got Shlemenko, and the champion Rafael Carvalho, several other guys, Kendall (Grove) in there, all these guys that have strong names, but I see that there’s an opportunity for me to kind of make my mark as kind of the face of the organization, at least for that division."
Regardless of whether Lovato is able to add more gold to his collection, he won't compare his accomplishments in the cage to those on the jiu-jitsu mats. He can recall how every title he's won is inextricably tied to a different place in his life, making each one special in its own way.
Win or lose, that's likely to go for his first fight in Bellator as well.
"Everything means so much to me," said Lovato. "One thing that I definitely love about MMA fights, especially coming up with Legacy and fighting close to home, I had just a special memory of all my students being there, my family, my father being in my corner. Those things definitely are really special to me and got me pretty emotional in the match. Now I’m back on the undercard, I'm working my way up, I'm making my Bellator debut, it's an accumulation of my life’s work.
"Every day is the most important day. I'm grateful for all of it and I'm just trying to ride the wave."
