If you’ve missed seeing Rafael Lovato Jr. in major IBJJF tournaments, good news — he’s signed up for Pans for the first time since 2014.
Lovato shared the news on social media, saying he couldn’t “let his students have all the fun.”
Based on the shot Lovato took for the post, we can see that he’s registered for the Master 1 black belt heavyweight division. The grappler and MMA fighter’s last appearance at the prestigious tournament saw him fall short to Yuri Simoes in the semifinals, but he earned gold at the event in 2007 and 2008.
The news follows the big announcement that Lovato would be returning to the Fight 2 Win stage for F2W 138 to compete against Vinicius Ferreira in the co-main event. He’s also a highly accomplished MMA fighter, but has had to take time away from the cage after revealing that he’s been diagnosed with a rare brain condition.
